The last thing I remembered was his hands trembling as they clutched my shoulders, and the look in his eyes—wide with disbelief, pain etched into every crease. He couldn't grasp what had just unfolded. Guilt and sorrow clung to his face like a shadow.
Chao Xing's POV :
He murmured to himself, stunned. "Did I… did I kill her? I only meant to scare her…"
His voice wavered as he stared into the fading light of her eyes. They were still—too still to read—and slowly closing, like the final flicker of a candle. He wanted to scream, to cry, to plead for time to reverse, but his body refused to move. His heart shattered, and yet he was paralyzed, as though bound by invisible chains.
Narrator's POV :
Moments later, the room burst into chaos as people rushed in, tearing Chao Xing's away from Zeitan's side. He didn't resist. Chao Xing was thrown into prison for his crime, while Zeitan was sent to the imperial court's prison the following morning.
At court, ministers stood in neat lines, heads bowed as Emperor Chao Xing's entered the palace with solemn grace. He ascended the throne and seated himself. The calm was brief.
"What am I hearing?" he thundered suddenly. "Why has Minister Aiguo's son been thrown into prison?"
A voice emerged from the back of the court. "Your Majesty," a minister stepped forward, "he has committed a grievous crime."
"What crime?" the emperor demanded. "Tell me, Minister Lee."
Minister Lee gestured to the man beside him—an elderly figure with sharp eyes and silent authority. "Your Majesty, he imprisoned a young girl in his home… and tried to kill her."
Gasps echoed through the court.
"By the will of fate," Lee continued, "Minister Lee Yang was passing by and heard her screams. He intervened and saved her."
The emperor's gaze turned to Lee Yang. "How did you come to know Aek-ho's son had imprisoned a child?"
Lee Yang bowed low. "Your Majesty, I did not know. I was simply passing their residence when I heard desperate cries from within. I followed the sound and found the child, moments before the blade fell."
The emperor exhaled a long, heavy breath. After a pause, he declared, "Pass my decree—Aiguo's son, Chao Xing's, is stripped of his court title and will serve on the battlefield for fifteen years. He is forbidden from entering the palace until his service is fulfilled."
A murmur stirred among the ministers.
"Your Majesty," Lee Yang spoke again, undeterred. "Do you not think… this punishment is far too merciful?"
"Are you questioning me?" the emperor snapped, his voice sharp with rising fury.
"I dare not, Your Majesty," Le Yang replied, bowing his head low, his voice barely above a whisper.
With the matter settled, the court was dismissed. The imperial edict, written in ink and finality, was delivered to Chao xing.
Without protest, Chao Xing departed for the battlefield, bound by duty and consequence. Within the court, life resumed its quiet rhythm, as though nothing had stirred its foundations.
Yet not all was left untouched.
Out of a rare gesture of pity, the Empress Taizong summoned Zeitan's mother to the palace. She was instructed to remain there—safely tucked away from scandal, grief cloaked in royal mercy.
And so, the matter ended.
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