Binding the Dragon for the Empress

“Your Majesty, have something to eat.
This is a fresh confection from the imperial kitchen, a new design.” Qingmei brought an enamelled tray to the bedside, which contained pink pastries in the shape of peaches.

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Ning Zhiyu looked out of the window at the green willows, the summer was about to pass and the afternoon was already a little cooler, “…
A'Yuan has not seen me for thirteen days.
This is the first time he has been this busy since we met.”

“The servant does not understand the affairs of the court, but His Majesty is always so busy because he cannot get away.” Qingmei whispered soothingly, “Yesterday, when the servant went to the Qiankun Palace to deliver fresh peach juice, His Majesty instructed this servant to take good care of you, telling you to take care of yourself and that he would come when he was free.”

Ning Zhiyu: “I want to go and see him.
If he doesn't come to see me, I will go to see him, and I will make a pot of tea for him.”

“Your Majesty, you are not well, so you should not go out at will.” Qingmei said worriedly.

Ning Zhiyu shook his head, “I'm fine.
I have been lying down for too long, it might be good to go out for a walk.”

Qingmei knew that she could not persuade him, so she did not.
She waited for Ning Zhiyu to get out of bed, then changed his white robe and put on a cloak before going out.

Qingmei asked someone to prepare a phoenix carriage, but Ning Zhiyu did not want to take it and insisted on walking.

Although Qiankun Palace is not far from Luanfeng Hall, it still takes a little more than half an hour to walk there slowly.
With such a weak body, it didn't take long for Ning Zhiyu to break into a sweat.
As the sun set within the palace walls, Qingmei followed him with an umbrella, holding a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from the corners of his forehead.

Seeing that the palace gate of Qiankun Palace was just around the corner, Qingmei rejoiced, “The Empress is going to see the Emperor personally, and the Emperor will be happy to see you.”

“Is that so?” Ning Zhiyu smiled, clearly in a better mood.

“Yes.”

Chen Yan and Xiao Dezi were standing guard outside the hall, and when they saw Ning Zhiyu coming, they hurriedly greeted him and saluted him, and Ning Zhiyu exchanged pleasantries with them and explained the purpose of his visit.

When Chen Yan went in to inform Yan Yuan, Yan Yuan was sitting on the edge of the bed, wiping the unconscious man's face.
Hearing Chen Yan finish, Yan Yuan turned his head in surprise, “A'Yu is here?”

“Yes, the Empress is waiting for you outside the hall.”

“He is ill, why has he come to seek me personally?” Yan Yuan frowned, threw away his handkerchief, and got up to walk out, “It is all my fault that I have not taken the time to visit him recently and have left him out in the cold.”

Yan Yuan's pace was brisk and he was about to leave the inner hall when a few tiny whimpers suddenly came from behind him.
He stopped in his tracks and jerked back to look, only to see the man's hand on the bed moving on the brocade quilt.

Yan Yuan excitedly returned to the bedside and called out to Xuan Long, “A'Po…”

Xuan Long's dense black eyelashes trembled, and after a few breaths, he slowly opened his icy turquoise eyes.
Yan Yuan took hold of his hand, “A'Po!”

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“You're awake…
you're finally awake.”

“Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Xuan Long shook his head, and Yan Yuan spoke with red eyes, “You scared me to death, you slept for a full thirteen days.”

“How can you be so sick? I have given you medicine used by the human race, but it has no effect at all.
If you didn't wake up, I wouldn't know what to do.” 

Ten thousand years of Taoist virtue were scattered in an instant and he became like a mortal, and with a child in his womb, it was normal for him to be sick, and it would not be normal for him not to be sick.

Yan Yuan's hand was holding him so tightly that it hurt a little.
When Xuan Long saw how worried Yan Yuan was, he didn't know how to explain it to him.

“Did you use up too much spiritual energy to save me?” Yan Yuan had read a story in a storybook about a spiritual monster giving up half of its Tao to save a person in order to repay its benefactor, and associated it with this matter.

“No.” Xuan Long spoke in a mute voice.
Instinctively, he did not want Yan Yuan to know the truth.

“Then what is the reason?”

Xuan Long was quiet for a short while: “Perhaps I was a bit tired, so I was sick for a bit longer.”

“That's good…
that's good.” Yan Yuan grabbed the back of Xuan Long's hand and pressed it against his own face, still scared, “Then I'm relieved.”

Seeing that Yan Yuan had not come out for a long time, Chen Yan came in to urge him, standing outside the beaded curtain and saying, “Your Majesty…
the Empress is still…
standing in the sun.”

Yan Yuan's gaze met Xuan Long's, and inexplicably felt a little weak.
After a pause, he said: “You can tell him to go back first.
I will go and look for him later.”

“Your Majesty…” Chen Yan seemed to want to persuade him.

“Go on.” Yan Yuan interrupted him without looking back.

Chen Yan could only retreat.

“A'Po…
I…” Yan Yuan wanted to explain something, but Ning Zhiyu was his legitimate Empress, and this was something Xuan Long knew, so what was there to explain.

“He came to seek you, will you not go?” Xuan Long asked.

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Yan Yuan tightened his hand and said truthfully, “You've only just woken up after a long time, I'm worried about you.”

“I'm fine.” Xuan Long lowered his eyes and tried to pull his hand back.

He wasn't used to Yan Yuan acting this way.
In the past, when Yan Yuan had heard that something was wrong with Ning Zhiyu, he had been eager to leave, but how could he have changed once he woke up from his sleep?

Yan Yuan refused to let go of Xuan Long's hand and unhappily said, “Are you pushing me out now?”

“……”

–

When Ning Zhiyu saw Chen Yan come out, he unconsciously took a step forward, and Qingmei immediately followed.
Chen Yan closed the hall door and turned back, saying apologetically, “Your Majesty, the Emperor was suddenly caught up in other affairs and could not get away…
I'm afraid he won't be able to see you now.
You should take more care of your body, the Emperor said he would visit you later, so you should go back first.”

“Is he really so busy that he can't even see you…” Qingmei muttered.

Ning Zhiyu did not speak for a long time, the slanting sun overhead reflected on his face, clear and elegant, but also pale as paper.
He smiled and nodded, “En, I know, I'm grateful to Eunuch Chen.”

“You're welcome, Your Majesty.” Chen Yan, who had a whisk clutched in his arm, ambled away.

Ning Zhiyu turned around, the smile on his lips faded, and as he stepped out of Qiankun Palace, his lean figure swayed.
Qingmei nervously held him up: “Your Majesty…”

Ning Zhiyu looked gentle, but in fact there was some unknown stubbornness.
He gently drew back his hand, avoiding Qingmei's support, and left under the umbrella.

“I once said to him that if one day he fell in love with someone else, he should give me a cup of arsenic and feed me with his own hands to drink it…”

“It would also be good to die in his arms.”

“Now it seems that even this wish cannot be granted…
when he dislikes me, he is unwilling to even look at me.”

He walked inside the vermilion palace walls.
For many people this palace was a prison, for Ning Zhiyu, this was the place of his salvation in this life; those few feet high palace walls were the strong barriers that defended him, and when he was here, he had nothing to fear.

There was nowhere else for him to go but here.

“Empress, you must not say anything foolish, how could the emperor give you arsenic…” Qingmei said after him.

Ning Zhiyu smiled and did not say anything more.

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After returning to the palace, he fell into an exhausted sleep.
When he woke up, it was late at night, Ning Zhiyu sat up from the bed and asked, “Did he come?…”

Qingmei shook her head and whispered, “Not yet.”

Ning Zhiyu was not surprised; he was lost in bed for a long time and ordered, “Qingmei, go and have someone prepare some food.
If he comes and doesn't have a hot meal, I'm afraid he'll be unhappy.”

Ning Zhiyu's spirit was obviously not good, and Qingmei was anxious, but she did not dare to show it on the surface: “What are you saying, Your Majesty? The Emperor loves you so much, how could he be angry with you?”

Ning Zhiyu shook his head and said with a smile, “The times are different now.”

Qingmei didn't answer, but said with red eyes, “The Emperor doesn't know when he will come, so you should eat something to fill your stomach first.
The medicine must be taken after the meal.”

“No, I want to wait for him.” Ning Zhiyu said softly.

After the palace maids withdrew, he was left alone in the hall.
The night was like a demon with a huge mouth; the air was filled with an endless void and silence that could devour him completely at any moment.

Yan Yuan broke his promise.

He didn't come.

Perhaps it was because the 'later' he had spoken of had not been tonight.
Ning Zhiyu sat on the bed with his legs crossed, remaining in the same position throughout the night, as if he was thinking about something, or as if he was thinking about nothing.

Since the voice that called itself the 'Honourable One' had given its word three days ago, it had not reappeared, and today, after midnight, the three-day period had come.

“Is this honourable one right?”

“He's not even willing to see you now.”

“What are you waiting for?…”

The low, magical voice appeared in Ning Zhiyu's head just as the striking of the clock outside had sounded.

“……”

Seeing Ning Zhiyu's lack of response, the other party slowly said to himself:

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“If you don't act now, it will be too late…”

“You are still so young and will have great prospects in the future, are you really willing to give up just like this?”

“You say you want him to give you arsenic, but ask yourself, are you really willing to die like this? Your happiness has only lasted for a few short years.”

“Although Yan Yuan and Xuan Long were an immortal couple in their previous life, in this life…
it was you who became husband and wife with Yan Yuan, and it was you, Ning Zhiyu, who met Yan Yuan first.”

“Xuan Long is the despicable third party, shouldn't you get rid of him to vent your anger? Once you get rid of him, Yan Yuan will be yours alone, and he will belong to you for the rest of your life.”

It is instinctive for people to feel fear of the unknown, just as Ning Zhiyu did with Xuan Long.
When he heard Yan Yuan talking about Xuan Long, he only felt absurd and scared, but he never thought of getting rid of the other party.

Since he was a child, Ning Zhiyu had never even killed a chicken, so how could he do such a thing?

Ning Zhiyu shook his head, tightening his arms around his body, and spoke in a trembling voice, “No…
no…
I can't do it.” 

The demon spoke in a warm voice, “It's not like I'm asking you to do it yourself, I'm just asking you to borrow a knife to kill someone.”

“No, it's not a person, it's a dragon.”

“He's a demon…
you're killing him for the people.”

The demon dwelling inside Ning Zhiyu could easily obtain all his memories and gain insight into all his thoughts, thus gradually breaching his psychological defences.

“He's a demon…” Ning Zhiyu was really pulled along by his thoughts.

“Yes, he is a demon.
He will compel Yan Yuan's mind and steal your lover, he is the culprit who took your lover.
Kill him and nothing will change from what it once was.”

“The method is simple, do you see the demon compulsion in front of you? Just infuse it into Yan Yuan while he is asleep, and he will wake up and fall deeply in love with the first person he sees for no reason, and all other living beings will no longer matter in his eyes.”

“By then…
you will do whatever you tell him to do.”

 

As the devil spoke, a small cluster of flame-like material emerged from Ning Zhiyu's forehead and floated before his eyes.