Chapter 119: Aflame

The sound of rain outside the hall grew heavier, the curtain of rain so dense it could practically wring out ink. The bean-sized raindrops hammered against the glazed roof tiles, as if trying to shatter them. Within the hall was dry, but the scent of petrichor had increased.

Hearing her words, Jiang Changbai turned her head, unspeaking, and evasiveness rose on her expression—because this question was equally unanswered in her mind. Regardless of if it were the dynamic of sovereign and minister or master and servant, neither seemed to properly encapsulate the emotion between the two of them. But at this moment, the ground was speckled with bloodstains, carving a gulf between them and the word "lovers".

"Bixia, please dispel this minister's doubts," Song Juguang said as she took advantage to press forward, not having the intent to let Jiang Changbai off the hook. Her fingertips hung on Jiang Changbai's collar, and in the space between touch and having yet to touch, the metallic scent of blood intermingled with that of ambergris to form a web.

Jiang Changbai couldn't help but bite her lip and lean back on the Dragon Throne, the frigid reliefs on its back making a layer of goose flesh rise on her skin. From somewhere, the usually threatening dragon, its fangs bared and claws brandished, pressed firmly against her spine, as if she were, now, a butterfly pinned to the Dragon Throne.

Thunder sounded outside the hall once more, and the final speck of candle's flame extinguished alongside the sound. With the light having grown dim once more, Jiang Changbai raised her gaze; she could no longer see Song Juguang's face, only the hazy outline of her.

Jiang Changbai felt as if, at this moment, she was blind. But with her sense of sight gone, the other four senses grew sharper in response. Jiang Changbai could clearly sense Song Juguang's fingertips pressing against the pulse of her neck, and the sound of her heartbeat hammered in her ears, each beat louder than the last, as if trying to shatter something to pieces.

"Bixia's always been afraid this minister covets power," Song Juguang said as she sighed heavily, her voice fanning over Jiang Changbai's ear along with the scent of blood, "but do you know what it is that this minister wants most?"

The fine hairs on the nape of Jiang Changbai's neck rose, and she vaguely recalled that, back then, when they'd fled the capital in a small sedan, before Song Juguang had leapt out to take the bandits down with her, she'd used the same low murmur against her ear. Now, memory overlaid itself with reality, and in the pitch black, Jiang Changbai could clearly see Song Juguang's youthful features.

"We don't wish to know," Jiang Changbai scoffed, turning her head to avoid her, but she hadn't expected Song Juguang would catch her chin. In the dark, she heard the sound of fabric tearing, and then cold rushed over her.

"Impudence!" Jiang Changbai cried out. She wanted to say more, but the final syllable was shattered by the mouth pressing against her. Song Juguang gently bit her earlobe, her tongue sweeping over the birthmark behind her ear.

Jiang Changbai felt her essence rise within her, as if all the blood in her body had rushed, in an instant, to her head. She struggled to raise a hand, wanting to push Song Juguang away, but unexpectedly, her hand was seized, and pressed against the armrest.

"When Bixia was teaching this minister to write back then, didn't you hold this minister's hand like this?" There was a mockery in Song Juguang's voice, and she said, "How come now that our positions have changed, it's this minister being impudent?"

"Do you think We won't kill you?!" Jiang Changbai threw her all into struggling, but it was as if her wrist was lashed to the armrest with iron chains, and she couldn't move it in the slightest.

"If it were at Bixia's hand, this minister would, of course, be utterly willing to die. More than that, if a sovereign wished a minister to die, the minister would have no choice but to die." Song Juguang loosened the force of her hand as she spoke, and raised it to entangle her fingers with Jiang Changbai's. "But if Bixia doesn't hold the faintest affection for this minister, then why did you take the initiative to kiss this minister?"

Jiang Changbai was left at a loss by the words, and for a moment, could say anything. The two's palms were pressed against each other, and it was as if even their hearts were beating the same rhythm.

The next moment, Song Juguang, grasping Jiang Changbai's fingers, shifted them to reach into her collar, moving them, bit by bit, towards her heart. Jiang Changbai felt something sticky on her hand, and the metallic scent of blood in the air increased.

But it seemed as if what Song Juguang felt wasn't pain, and she said to herself, "This minister knows, these past few years, Bixia's vigilance towards this minister has been far beyond distrust, but due to a lack of trustworthy persons in the court, you've had no choice but to feign civility with this minister.

"But Bixia must know, each time you feigned familiarity and looked at this minister, it hurt this minister here a hundred thousand times more than the pain of being stabbed. This minister has wished to dig her heart out and let you look at it—to see whether or not there is anyone else within it besides you.

"This minister truly doesn't know what she's done wrong; this minister merely wished to fulfil the wish that that fevered young princess had mumbled back then."

The words were earnest and honest, and even Jiang Changbai's stony heart struggled not to be moved. Feeling Song Juguang's hand, which had been clasping hers tightly, loosen, she took advantage and pulled it away, and in the darkness, cupped Song Juguang's face.

The hazy outline gradually grew clear at touch, and Jiang Changbai felt the tears that spilled out of the corners of Song Juguang's eyes, and she went to brush them away, and only then recalled that her fingertips were stained with blood.

"Don't cry, don't cry," Jiang Changbai said, as if they were children, and, without thinking, pulled Song Juguang into her embrace. However, she had overlooked the fact that her clothes had already been pulled apart by Song Juguang just then, and now, it really was the intimacy of skin against skin.

A strange sensation rose from her collarbone; though she'd never experienced such intimacy, Jiang Changbai could guess at the origin of the sensation. Her face suddenly flushed scarlet, and it was lucky that there was no one else in the hall just then, and that it was dark; it was only because of this that she could deceive herself that the blush didn't exist.

But before Jiang Changbai could react, a faint sensation of pain rose from her collarbone as well—Song Juguang had bitten her, only willing to let go once the metallic taste of blood had filled her mouth.

She reached out and grasped the back of the Dragon Throne, taking advantage to press forward. Jiang Changbai felt Song Juguang's breath move up her neck, until it returned, once more, to the outside of her ear.

"Just now, Bixia left a wound on this minister's chest, and this minister has left a bite on Bixia's collar—we're even, now," Song Juguang said into Jiang Changbai's ear, and the next moment, took her earlobe into her mouth, cherishing it like a child who'd earned a piece of candy.

Only now did Jiang Changbai realise that she'd been tricked by Song Juguang, and she forcefully grasped the nape of Song Juguang's neck, anger in her voice. "You weren't crying at all—you were fooling me. You've deceived your sovereign—a capital crime."

"Now, why does Bixia say that?" Song Juguang's voice was full of innocence as she spoke, and, taking a mile when given an inch, she took Jiang Changbai's chin, forcing her to look at her.

Even if it had been even darker, at such a distance, everything was clear. Jiang Changbai saw that the blood and tears had mingled together on Song Juguang's face, making her look rather sorrowful.

"This minister truly was hurt, and the tears I cried were real tears—where does the claim of false tears come from?"

Jiang Changbai wanted to say something more, but before she was able to speak, the words were stoppered up by Song Juguang's lips, and she could only swallow them back in their entirety. It was as if, in the muddledness, she forgot herself; as if she were the glazed tiles on the roof, allowing the rain to continuously fall against her. In the state of lack of conscious, Song Juguang's knee slotted between her thighs, and the hair on their heads, which ought to have been neatly combed and bound, grew disordered with their motions.

Boom, sounded thunder outside the hall once more, and a flash of lightning lit up the hall. Jiang Changbai, startled by the sound, came back to herself, and only now did she recall herself.

"Not here," she said. "Not today."

Song Juguang raised her head, her expression full of earnestness. "This minister still doesn't understand—what is the relationship between this minister and Bixia now?"

Seeing Jiang Changbai wasn't speaking, Song Juguang softened her tone, and the hand that held Jiang Changbai's pressed it against her heart. "This minister is a fool; Bixia, please instruct this minister."

The vigorous pulse of her heart in her chest passed through her hand, its force travelling to Jiang Changbai's mind, and the fog in her mind was swept clean; the words that she never could have said before, at this moment struggled to be first to rush out of her.

But before Jiang Changbai could speak, another clap of thunder sounded, striking the glazed tiles of the hall's roof. The light this bolt brought didn't flash and then fade, but rather left behind a stretch of flame. The scent of smoke filled the entire hall, and the darkness and charm that had drifted about the hall before dispersed in a flash, leaving only the mess of fire.

The downpour outside the hall still fell hard enough to topple mountains and overturn seas, and the glazed tiles weren't an easily burnt material. Even if the lightning could cause flames, they ought to have been extinguished by the rains while minuscule. But despite the fact that it didn't look like conditions for a fire, the major hall, which had stood for a century, and had countless sticks of incense burnt within it, caught flame without any regard for the facts.

Just like a punishment from the heavens.

The flames blazed, and even outside the hall was lit up bright as day. Xun Zhu, who was standing on guard outside, no longer remained still, and cried out, "Push the doors open!"

The imperial guards looked at each other, and only after hesitating for a long while did they drop the already-broken fine steel blades in their hands, and join together to shove the doors open. Though the massive doors truly were heavy, they weren't this heavy usually. No matter how the guards' veins pulsed, the doors didn't shift in the slightest.

Cold sweat rose on Xun Zhu's forehead, but she forced herself to remain calm, and indicated to the guards to split up and go and call for help. She herself headed towards the doors as well, intending to push on them.

However, she'd only just touched the frigid doors and used a tiny amount of force when, with a bang, they opened inwards, and all of those in front of the doors, caught off guard, fell over, happening to fall into a crouching position.

They all raised their heads, and saw Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang standing shoulder to shoulder, unhurriedly heading out of the hall. Their gait was languid, and they didn't seem as if they were walking out of burning tongues of flame, but rather as if they were wandering an ordinary path. Their bearings were calm, entirely at odds with the desperate struggle the imperial guards outside the hall had guessed at before.

Before the doors had closed, everyone had thought that only one person would walk out of the hall. Even though Xun Zhu was utterly loyal to Jiang Changbai, she'd ordered the guards that whoever it was who came out would be Emperor. But now, when the doors opened, two people emerged, utterly uninjured.

"Greetings to Bixia." The imperial guards knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads. Only Xun Zhu rushed forward, her gaze, filled with concern, flicking over Jiang Changbai.

"Don't go in," Jiang Changbai cried out, as if terrified that Xun Zhu would walk into the sea of flames, and then ordered, "have someone come watch the flames; the fire cannot be allowed to extend elsewhere. This hall was originally intended to be reconstructed, so if it burns, that's fine, as long as no one comes to hard."

Xun Zhu, who'd been about to take a step forward, froze in place, but nodded anyway. Those imperial guards, having received Jiang Changbai's permission, retreated from the limits of the hall. Despite the downpour, the blaze differentiated into layers, the lower layer the scarlet of smelting flames, the middle layer suffused with a strange, dark purple, and the highest layer of flame appearing as clear as the glazed tiles.

The bean sized raindrops fell in wave after wave on the flames, but burst and crackled as if it were molten iron. They didn't seem like rainwater, but rather like stars that had fallen from the heavens to the mortal realm.

In the haze, countless figures emerged; they had piously offered sacrifices here, prayed to the heavens for protection, and prayed for favourable conditions for crops. However, now these industrious forebearers had long since merged with the dirt, just like this hall was, bit by bit, turning into ash.

Everyone knew the hall had a history, and now that it was burning, there wasn't anyone who wasn't shocked. But her majesty had ordered it, and so no one dared to halt the flames, and they merely watched as this major hall, which had had countless ceremonies conducted in it, collapsed, bit by bit, amid the growing tongues of flame.

-

< LAST | HOME | NEXT >

-