Zhan threw himself onto the bed with overwhelming joy, a soft laugh escaping him. All he could see in his mind were the eyes of Prince Deng, Dowager Taihou, and Prince Langya. He rolled back and forth across the mattress like someone unable to contain himself.
"Your time has come, Zhan," he said aloud, bursting into laughter like someone who had just received news of a victorious homecoming to Beiping.
The way Zhan felt, he could have jumped up and danced. One of his greatest wishes had been fulfilled.... fulfilled at the very moment he least expected. Becoming the royal consort of King Yibo had never been part of his plans. His only mission had been revenge....vengeance for the blood of his family that he could never forgive.
But everything had changed. It changed the moment Prince Deng inserted himself into his path unexpectedly....without Zhan having any time to shield himself. And it changed even more with the arrival of King Yibo, who had come to occupy a place far beyond anything Zhan ever intended.
-----
"Momma, the world is terrifying. Even though we always knew Deng never cared for Yibo, seeing everything laid bare today still shocked me. I always thought his hostility was only about power...about the throne he desperately wanted. But never did I imagine he could plot the destruction of his own brother's son life for it."
"How is it that someone with the same blood could choose betrayal over loyalty for something so temporary? Where is the father who once held this throne before them? He is gone, as if he never existed. Our uncle took his place....and he too vanished like smoke. If they could be patient, one day Yibo would also leave the throne behind."
"I won't lie to you, Momma… my heart has begun to doubt the death of Murong Gege, and the many royal consorts we lost. I can't help wondering if their deaths are tied to Deng as well.... if he accepted the same tempting offer we've feared since childhood."
"My heart is split in two now, especially after the whispers about Cao, whose name vanished from our records long ago… Perhaps someone like her is back among us now, hidden, watching."
Dowager Ruyan, who had been quietly nodding her head, drew in a long, heavy breath and exhaled sharply.
"Truly, this world deserves to be shaken, Daneen. Even my heart is trembling....trembling so fiercely that I can't trust myself anymore. Yes, Shaman Cao disappeared along with her history, but years later, my mind still refuses to rest. There is nothing Deng wouldn't do, especially considering the bitter war I fought with his mother in this palace. Which means he too must be questioned. But there is something that boy... Zhan.... said that refuses to leave my mind. It has been echoing in my head since earlier…"
"And what did he say, Momma?" Daneen asked.
"He spoke of tracking down the body of the last royal consort we lost...the one whose disappearance led to his encounter with Deng. I must speak with Zhan immediately."
Silence washed over Daneen as she stared at the Dowager, her mind spinning. Yes, that statement was something worth pursuing...it seemed to connect two matters that didn't appear linked at first glance. Deng himself was also a suspect in this case, even though traditionally every royal consort who passes is first brought before the Dowager.
A sudden tap on her knee from Dowager Ruyan startled Daneen from her thoughts. She let out a deep breath and asked,
"Forgive me, Momma, I drifted off. Shall we begin an investigation with Zhan? Is that what you mean?"
The Dowager nodded.
"Find him for me immediately. Call him."
Zhan was still lying on the bed, glowing with happiness and excitement, when the landline rang. He stared at it, unwilling to move, but finally sat up just as it was about to disconnect.
He didn't speak at first, almost losing his voice when Daneen spoke....his composure scattered.
"Oh...Mamy, forgive me. Good evening."
Daneen smiled softly, warmth filling her voice as though Zhan stood before her. She loved the boy more deeply than she could explain.
"It's all right, dear. Momma wishes to speak with you."
Zhan greeted Dowager Ruyan with deep respect, despite the fact they had only just parted ways after the court session earlier. She responded with calm authority before asking:
"Is your husband around?"
Zhan's voice tightened slightly with embarrassment.
"No, Grandma."
The Dowager nodded with a faint smile.
"If you have no urgent matter, I need to see you after 8 o'clock."
"Understood, Grandma."
The call ended. Zhan stared at the phone in silence, thoughts swirling restlessly as he ran a hand through his hair and stood up.
He left the room and went to the top level of the Palace....his favorite place, more than anywhere else in the Palace.
-----
"Langya, are you all right? Since we left court you've been unable to sit still. I know what your brother did to Yibo must have shaken you, but your distress seems even heavier than anyone's. Remember, he is also like a son to me. We all lost our minds over Zhan, and now I feel ashamed to face him. The Dowager Ruyan tried to show us the truth, and we fought her. You kept fueling my anger so much I lost sight of everything and now I'm drowning in regret…"
Prince Langya just stared at her, jaw clenched, not even swallowing. He felt a violent urge to silence her...her voice squeezed painfully against the storm raging in his mind. No one knew the scale of the turmoil inside him. At first, he assumed his long-serving attendant was simply doing his duties monitoring his brother, but the look Zhan gave him when they left the courtroom nearly stopped his heart.
He had written the word "Next…" in the air....perfectly timed....as he leaving the hall.
That single word had lodged itself deep inside Langya's chest, refusing to leave…
"Langya!"
Jasrah's loud call dragged him violently out of his thoughts. He pointed at the door in anger, signaling her to leave. Offended, she raised her voice:
"What do you mean leave? We're still talking! Or is there something you're hiding? Because your behavior is frightening me."
"Jasrah!"
His voice thundered, startling her. Rage twisted across his face... something she had never seen from him. He pointed again at the door.
"Get out before I lose control. You're suffocating me. Leave me alone."
Terrified, Jasrah rushed out as he glared after her.
"Fool…" he spat, collapsing heavily into a chair, clutching his head as pain pounded through it.
His phone rang. He ignored it until it stopped, then another call came in. Frustrated, he yanked the phone from his pocket...ready to switch it off...when the name Royal Consort Xuan ji appeared on the screen.
He almost refused the call, but finally answered sharply:
"What do you want? Why are you calling me at a time like this?"
From the other end of the line, her voice trembled with panic.
"I had no choice but to call you, Langya. There is a serious problem... an enormous one. I can't understand anything anymore. You've thrown my mind into complete chaos with what you did in court today. What does it mean? How did everything we planned...everything the three of us did...suddenly fall entirely on Deng alone? Did you do that on purpose, or did that cunning King set us up through that reckless troublemaker of his husband? My head is spinning. Please, choose a place for us to meet immediately before I lose control."
"Let it explode then...everyone will finally be free. Please, woman, leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone, okay?"
He cut off the call instantly.
She stared at the phone, shaking, then exploded:
"I swear I'll destroy you if you dare turn into a threat to me, Langya!"
She hurled the phone onto the bed and continued pacing frantically around her room. Ever since leaving the courtroom she had been unable to sit or stand still. She knew that if Langya planned everything against Deng, then she was also in danger....because they always operated as one. And if King Yibo had discovered them and only captured Deng, then disaster was closer than she thought.
There was something she needed to know... something she had to uncover tonight, not tomorrow. If Langya continued trying to avoid meeting her, then she would go straight to his quarters this very moment. Whatever accusations his wife would throw, she would handle them. Even if she had to run into a battlefield barefoot...she would never allow Langya to walk away free while she fell, the way Deng did.
-----
Furious, she snatched her phone again and began typing a long message, hands trembling violently. Sweat drenched her like someone running across a blazing desert.
Her fingers moved with desperation, almost ripping through the screen. She was one breath away from screaming...but she clung instead to calling Princess Chuchu, who had been ignoring her since she left the courtroom. She had hoped Chuchu would call back, but there was no sign of it happening. This was already the seventeenth call. Not including the five...or maybe more...text messages she had sent.
And then, like a miracle, the call finally connected.
Her whole body shook as she pressed the phone to her ear and whispered:
"Chuchu, where have you been? I nearly collapsed from panic waiting for you."
With her usual playful tone, Princess Chuchu replied, "Oh please, calm down. I left my phone in my room; I'm in your in-law's room. Why, did that troublesome witch cause another scene?"
"No....this time she didn't start it. She was dragged into it. Chuchu, I swear I have seen what will kill me in this palace today. Do you know who provided the milk used to feed your nephew? It was Prince Deng."
"What!"
Princess Chuchu jumped up, abandoning the seat she was about to take.
"Wait....wait, Cixi, what exactly are you trying to tell me right now? Are you saying my brother Deng planned to kill Yibo or something? You've scrambled my brain completely."
"It's not only your mind that's scrambled... everyone in this palace is losing their balance today."
Slowly and in detail, she narrated everything that happened in court, just as she always relayed every royal move...especially when it involved Dowager Taihou. A wave of shock seized Princess Chuchu; she began spitting furious curses. She was known to carry her father's fierce temper more strongly than any of King Tengshan's children.
Finally she said, "I will be in Beiping tomorrow, my sister. There is no way this storm continues without me present. But don't tell Momma yet. Tell me...how is Taihou going to survive watching them nearly destroy her only golden child, the one she worships?"
"The news is heavy, but since you're coming, I'll stay calm until you arrive."
"Good. I'll go start packing immediately. And trust me, I'm bringing my daughter Wuxia this time. I want Yibo to see clearly that I am not his mate or joking with him,... and whether he likes it or not, he will marry her. Since royal consort are no longer die now."
"I'm with you one hundred percent."
They ended the call, Dowager Cixi smiling in satisfaction, her heart strangely light after the chaos of the day.
(Princess Chuchu is the younger sister of Daneen, daughter of King Tengshan and Dowager Ruyan. She has a strong bond with Dowager Cixi, almost like true sisters, ever since their years studying together abroad. Princess Chuchu once played a major role in helping Dowager Cixi become a concubine to King Tengshan....though he already favored her.
Princess Chuchu's greatest ambition has been arranging the marriage between her adopted eldest daughter and King Yibo, since they are close in age. Her daughter, Wuxia, is deeply in love with King Yibo, although he hardly notices her.
Princess Chuchu has long opposed Dowager Taihou because she blocked the marriage alliance. Dowager Taihou understood that Princess Chuchu wanted to use the marriage to gain influence over Beiping's throne. Moreover, Cao left a strict condition that King Yibo must never marry within the royal bloodline, or everything they built would collapse.)
:-*:-*:-*:-
Cao nearly lost composure. She hadn't expected things to reach this stage so quickly, long before she completed her strategy. Had she underestimated the Inner One? She was supposed to be the final pathway to the power Cao had spent years, step by step, building toward....power that would reshape the entire royal line.
Seeing the way the Inner One stared at her, Cao swallowed everything she wanted to say and regained control. Her expression sharpened, her posture regal and steady.
"Inner One, I didn't hide anything from you out of deceit. I did it to protect you from distraction. But understand.... I've been following Deng's schemes closely, ensuring none of his plans could hurt the Ghost. Aren't you surprised by today's events? Didn't you wonder how everything collapsed around him? Let me tell you what you do not know.... I personally set Deng's path into motion today. From the moment he delivered the forbidden items to the Ghost's royal throne. I told you nothing because I wanted the truth to surface at the perfect moment. Everything that happened in court today...I orchestrated it with you."
(Liar, Zhan was the one protecting Yibo and blame everything on Deng not you. 🙄)
Dowager Taihou released a heavy breath, feeling something sharp and lodged in her chest finally loosen. She believed every word; Cao had never once lied to her.
A slow smile spread across her face as she bowed at Cao's feet.
"Now I understand. I always knew you would never let me fall. But I wish you had told me sooner....I would have crushed Deng in a way no one in this empire would ever dare compare to my son. I would have ended his legacy myself."
Cao burst into a wild, echoing laugh.
"You're extraordinary, Inner One. That's why I favor you above all who serve me. I promise you...you will never shed another tear. I will guard the Ghost far beyond the protection you think he has. I will astonish you. I swear it."
"You astonish me every day, Cao. You are unmatched...uniquely dangerous."
"Hahahahaha!"
Her laughter ricocheted through the halls, loud and unrestrained...like the entire kingdom of Beiping could hear it.
(Clearly Cao is weaving something dangerous. What is she plotting? Time will reveal it...slowly but inevitably.)
Zhan jolted awake from a brutal nightmare, his heart hammering. He clutched his head, pain tearing through his skull. He sat frozen on the carpet for nearly three minutes before he forced himself upright. His entire body trembled, the dream replaying vividly in his mind.
Dizzy, he lowered himself to the edge of the bed, gripping his head tighter.
"Cao… Who is she? Where do I begin to uncover her?"
His headaches worsened. Never in his life had a dream felt so heavy. Though he couldn't see the face of the woman seated on that iron throne, surrounded by grotesque creatures, he knew instinctively she was someone terrifying.
He had seen Dowager Taihou kneeling before her.
And he had seen King Yibo, bound by burning chains...though his face was hidden, Zhan could hear him struggling, calling out in agony....
"What's wrong?"
Zhan looked up sharply, not realizing someone entered the room. King Yibo stood there, watching him, eyes slightly narrowed.
"My head hurts," Zhan murmured, lowering his gaze...King Yibo's intense stare always unsettled him.
King Yibo took a slow step forward, posture composed and commanding. He extended his hand toward Zhan.
Zhan hesitated, then placed his hand into the King's open palm. King Yibo closed his eyes briefly, something shifting in his expression..something he didn't want to explain.
"Did you eat?"
Zhan shook his head...no.
"Why?"
"I'm not hungry."
Silence settled between them for almost a full minute. King Yibo lifted the hand resting on Zhan's back and placed it on his forehead...the heat blazing through it was impossible to miss.
"Should I comfort you?"
Zhan nodded faintly. He didn't speak. Yibo shifted them toward the bed, pulling Zhan with him until they were seated, Zhan sitting sideways across his lap. Yibo closed his eyes, holding him quietly until Zhan relaxed, resting his head on Yibo's shoulder and breathing deeply to steady himself.
They remained silent for a long time before Yibo spoke again in a low, steady voice.
"Mr. Wang Zhan?"
"Mm."
Zhan answered softly without lifting his head.
"Why did you hide it from me?"
Zhan didn't understand at first. He lifted his tired, slightly reddened eyes to meet Yibo's. He couldn't hold the gaze for long; he looked away.
"I don't know what you're talking about, My King."
Yibo exhaled sharply, anger finally breaking through his restraint.
"Deng.
Why did you hide what he said to you in the cell?"
Zhan went quiet again. After a moment, he sighed.
"I'm sorry. At the time, I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't know how you would take it. And in the end, the truth revealed itself."
Yibo said nothing, his jaw tight. Jealousy and fury churned hotter in him than the betrayal itself. He had always known his uncles hunted him. But why did Prince Langya refuse to leave his thoughts? He clearly remembered Zhan hinting about more than one person involved. So if Deng wasn't alone... who else was there?
Why keep it secret?
He didn't want more questions...his patience had already burned out.
Zhan understood the storm inside him. His face was harder than it had been even when they left the courtroom. Zhan felt a heavy sympathy for him. If Yibo was this shaken by his uncle's schemes, what would happen the day he learned his own mother was the one destroying the lives of his wives for years while the world accused him? The thought alone stabbed deeply.
Zhan reached up gently, running his fingers through the soft hair along Yibo's head, his voice quiet:
"I'm sorry. You handled everything with courage. Every burden placed on you… you faced it. Even ruling a city tests the strongest. And everything we struggle through shapes who we become."
Yibo's eyes opened slowly at the touch... sharper now, clearer. He caught Zhan's hand and pressed his lips to the center of his palm. Zhan shivered hard, his whole body reacting uncontrollably.
He tried to pull away, but Yibo stopped him, cupping his face firmly and pressing their lips together. They both exhaled at once...Zhan squeezing his eyes shut, terrified but forcing himself to stay still.
He remembered Mamy's advice: when Yibo is angry or overwhelmed, help him calm down....stay close, talk to him, ground him.
So he let himself soften, helping him instead of resisting.
Zhan's willingness shattered Yibo's control. He had never expected Zhan to give in like this, not here, not now. His eyes closed, and he shifted them onto the bed, guiding Zhan with steady confidence. Yibo never rushed anything, no matter how intense the moment was; patience and authority were his nature.
But when the moment escalated beyond Zhan's comfort, panic took hold, and he tried to pull away. There was no escaping Yibo's strength...not when he was fully focused.
No matter how much Zhan tried to remind him of the stitches still healing on his body, Yibo was far beyond noticing. He was determined to finish what he had begun, eyes closed, lost in the moment…😉
he deepened the kiss…
(Poor bunny🫢)
Inside the dark, suffocating prison cell, Deng slammed his head repeatedly against the wall with violent force. Only a tiny window allowed the faintest strip of light inside. His whole chest burned, his heart tightening with rage so intense it felt like boiling iron.
How could Langya...the worthless brother he had once protected....be the reason he was thrown into a cell?
How could Langya's and his own trusted aide of many years betray him in front of his enemies?
How could the world be this dark and twisted?
He kept smashing his head into the wall, shouting with raw fury, loud enough to terrify even the elite guards assigned by King Yibo himself. One brave guard edged closer and peeked in. In the weak light, he saw Prince Deng's face covered in blood, his forehead split open.
The guard stumbled back in shock, calling his comrades. Within seconds, they contacted the chief of security, reporting that Prince Deng had collapsed, bleeding heavily.
King Yibo squeezed Zhan tightly into his chest, eyes closed, feeling Zhan's sobs tremble through him. Zhan was crying uncontrollably...after everything that had happened between them.
"Take me to Mah, please…"
Zhan cried harder, tears and mucus running freely, his voice shaking.
Yibo almost laughed...just moments ago, Zhan had stood in court fierce and fearless, destroying Deng without mercy right before everyone. But now, crying over something so small, he looked pitiful and childlike.
Yibo understood then: he would have to be firm and guide him. If he wasn't, Zhan would turn lasy and unwilling. And Yibo had no intention of marrying anyone else....Zhan had to learn to take him whole.
He swallowed his smile, gently wiping Zhan's face. His voice dropped low and soft.
"I'm sorry. I won't do that again, baby."
"You will! You said the same thing last time and still did it today! I'm not staying in this room one more night to die there!"
Zhan sobbed even harder.
This time Yibo couldn't hold back the quiet laugh, his perfect white teeth flashing. He lifted Zhan again, holding him tightly and kissing his neck before heading toward the bathroom to clean him up.
Zhan squeezed his eyes shut, gripping Yibo tightly, embarrassed to let him see his body or see Yibo's.
After checking and seeing that he hadn't reopened any of the old wounds, just some minor irritation, Yibo helped him shower. Zhan continued crying, and Yibo didn't say anything more....what was the point? Afterward, Zhan refused to walk and insist to be carry, so Yibo simply carried him out with ease.
Zhan pressed his small, trembling mouth together, pouting as he struggled weakly against Yibo's arms, eyes still swollen from crying.
"If you don't stop pushing that mouth out, I'll make you cry by doing it again,"
Yibo warned, drying Zhan's hair with a towel.
Zhan's face scrunched as if he might burst into tears again. Yibo tapped a finger to his lips.
"Enough, I'm not joking."
Zhan immediately swallowed the tears back. Yibo smiled and continued drying his hair…
A call came in, and they both looked toward the phone. At first, Yibo ignored it, but just as it was about to disconnect, he answered.
The chief of security respectfully explained the situation.
Silence.
Then Yibo exhaled slowly, voice deep and controlled:
"Send Doctor Fei to examine him in the cell."
He ended the call.
Zhan looked up, red-eyed, his voice weak.
"What happened?"
For a full minute, Yibo didn't speak, continuing to dry his hair. Finally, with effort, he forced the word out:
"…Deng."
Zhanxianyibo 💚❤️💛