Conquering the Emperor

I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what they were all whispering about. The emperor, probably as curious as the rest of them, had decided to ask Ren straight out about the reason why I was wearing a wedding dress to court. He was right, Ren and I had not wed. I sat up a little straighter as I too focused on hearing Ren’s response to the emperor’s question.

Slowly and deliberately, Ren got up to his feet and walked to the center of the platform where he would face the emperor directly when delivering his response.

“This minimal wedding dress is to be worn for a month after a lady has married a prominent member of the royal family. The true intent behind this dress is to announce and remind all that the lady now belongs to her man and that she is now completely off-limits to all others. Of course, sever punishments are in place for any other man who would dare lay hands on her…” Ren began recounting the customs and tradition behind the dress that I was wearing.

“…and?” the emperor said, encouraging Ren to go on and make his point.

“The recent event has shown to me vividly that the title of the Lady White Lotus and its implications was not enough to make other men recognize that Rin belongs to me. I sincerely hope that this outfit that I have chosen for her to wear is extravagant and symbolic enough that the crimes committed against Rin’s and my honor would not be repeated in the future,” Ren said, clearly and solemnly before he bowed to the emperor at the end of his statement.

The room was left stunned into silence at Ren’s words. Although I was not used to the formal language used in these types of situations, I did not miss the accusation in Ren’s words. He had just openly accused Prince Kin of committing a crime against him and me. The emperor’s eyes were narrowed and his face very stern, meaning that he did not miss it as well.

“Are you accusing my son of committing a crime?” the empress said in shock as she stood up from her seat.

“Silence!” the emperor commanded loudly, shutting the empress up at once.

“Absolutely. Your precious son and my dear younger brother, made the mistake of laying his hand on my woman. According to laws and customs of the royal palace, I demand suitable punishment for Prince Kin. Emperor and court members, please consider my request,” Ren said before bowing respectfully.

“Before that, let’s hear Prince Kin’s side of the story,” the emperor said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Prince Kin said as he came to stand beside Ren in the center of the platform.

The brothers glared at each other, and everyone could sense their hostility towards each other. I have never seen Ren so openly hostile like this towards anyone before. The pain that I felt in the palms of my own hand made me realize that I had been clenching both my hands tightly on my lap. My nails were digging into the palms of my hand.

“It is true that I have been in contact with the Lady White Lotus; however, none of our interactions have been romantic or inappropriate. I have high respect for the crown prince and never have I had the intention of doing anything to dishonor him. Since it seems like the crown prince holds the Lady White Lotus in high regards, I decided that it would be best to get to know her more as someone who will most likely become my sister-in-law and a part of our royal family,” Prince Kin explained flawlessly.

“Apart from the crown prince’s view of what happened yesterday at your palace between you and the Lady White Lotus, General Shin has also presented his view. Please tell us what happened on that day that led to them witnessing what they did,” an old man spoke up. I didn’t know who he was, but he must be a senior member of the high court.

“I invited Lady White Lotus to have lunch with me at my palace. At first, Lady Mimi was supposed to join us as well but, unfortunately, she didn’t feel well on the day. While we were having lunch together, the Lady White Lotus became ill, and it seemed as if she was going to faint. Hence, I helped support her so that she could get some rest,” Prince Kin told his version of the story smoothly before bowing low to the Emperor.

Prince Kin’s version of the story conveniently left out a lot of details and glossed over many things. There were many things that I wanted to say to that, but I sat still in my seat and held my tongue. Ren’s words reminded me to stay put. There was nothing that I could do but pray silently and put my faith in Ren.

‘…I can’t get the emperor to punish him without sacrificing you as well. Where does that leave me, Rin?’

Ren’s frustrated words came back to me. One wrong move from me could get me executed and worse, put Ren at a disadvantage. It was killing me on the inside, but I didn’t dare do or say anything out of turn.

“Emperor, you heard him. Nothing inappropriate happened. It’s all just a big misunderstanding…” the empress quickly cut in.

“Empress, are you implying that General Shin and I both misunderstood the situation that we witnessed?” It was Ren’s cold voice that shut the empress up this time.

I guess this is what happens when you speak out of turn. Ren was clearly not going to let the Empress step in and disturb the process of justice.

“Please refrain from speaking out of turn,” the emperor said coldly, and the empress apologized immediately.

I don’t blame her for standing up for her son, though. Any mother in their right mind would have done what she had just done, after all.

“With investigation from General Shin, we were able to verify that Prince Kin was in possession of love potions and have laced it in the tea that he made the Lady White Lotus drink. Her illness that he just described was caused by the love potion. If you would like more details of the effects of the love potion, I suggest that you ask the user standing next to me,” Ren said dispassionately.

--To be continued…