THE BLOOD MOON

             The people gathered in the streets, each one of them stared at the sky and they watched the brilliance of the moon.

            There was hardly a crimson shade in it's path, and for a moment, Manyin and Xiaoyang were rather worried.

             "The moonlight is still pure." Manyin pointed out.

             "Her Grace was rather daring but of all things why did she have to say this?" She asked herself.

             "I don't know." Manyin replied.

             "I surely hope that Her Grace knows what she is doing." Xiaoyang mentioned.

             "Certainly." Manyin replied in a rather sombre tone.

             "Could it really be that the blood moon shall ascend above us tonight?" One of the commons in the streets asked.

            "I heard that Yang Guifei claimed that it was her Revelation when she had a prayer ceremony arranged at the Liuhe Pagoda." Another man replied.

             "The moon is itself clearly Bright." One mentioned.

             "Equally, the chances that this Crimson moon shall be there tonight are very few." Another remarked.

             Meanwhile, Bao Langya who was present in the vicinity was hearing everything uncomfortably.

             "You don't think that Her Grace was right?" Yang Cishan asked him.

             "You tell me Your Excellency, you know her as much as I do at least by now I trust that, there isn't a reason in the world that she would be careless to make such a prediction despite knowing that it wouldn't come to pass given the type of enemies we're surrounded by." He responded.

            "You seem to understand her much better." Yang Cishan mentioned.

             "We were orphans, we were a very strong and powerful brotherhood, I recall more than once we'd vowed before heaven and Earth, regardless of our cause, whether feasible or not, it was worth fighting to the bitter end." He responded.

            "And what are your personal opinions this time, I can't trust that your perception of things doesn't allow you to at least for once attempt to reason why." He said.

             "What is it that Your Excellency cares about, aren't we but mere pawns of this game?" Bao Langya inquired.

             "But she is the biggest pone compared to us all." He mentioned as he turned from the table on the balcony where they were seated and he looked at the sky, "After all a mere pawn such as herself in this game would also become a Queen." He asserted as he smiled at himself.

             The Crown Prince Zhao Jun in the dark he arrived right outside a small Chamber and being escorted by Liu Zhan, he made his entry where a number of assasins dressed in thick black attires with their faces veiled awaited him bowing his head.

              "Sir?" They said in unison.

              "Hear me my brave warriors." He mentioned and at that moment they each raised their heads to him.

             "Give us your order." They said in unison once again.

              "You already know the person that you are looking for and as I speak she shall certainly be in the Emperor's Chamber, the security is rather lax today and everyone shall be anticipating for the blood moon which might or might not come." He said.

             "What about it Milord?" One asked.

             "Nothing." He replied.

             "What!" The latter exclaimed.

             "I don't care if you have to burn the Palace to the ground but one way or another, Yang Guifei must die tonight." The Crown Prince mentioned.

              "Yes Sir?" The assassins replied and himself smiling at them they immediately moved out of the room while Liu Zhan confidently stood beside the young Prince.

               The Crown Princess Cao Xuan seated in the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan's room Shaanxi walked in with a bowl of medicine and noticed the worry on her face.

               "Your Highness?" She called her.

               "What is it?" She asked.

               "You seem rather worried." Shaanxi responded.

               "It's nothing." The Crown Princess remarked.

               "Really?" She asked.

               "Yes." The latter confirmed.

               "Is it about the blood moon?" Shaanxi inquired.

               "Yang Guifei is in deed as smart as they say, but the night sky is still normal and the moonlight is itself still pure, there's still a couple of hours so it is to early to tell, however if she were mistaken why would she make such a fatal blunder?" The Crown Princess responded.

              "Lusi is watching so Your Highness needn't worry, besides, heaven knows your good will much better than anyone else it would show you a most remarkable resolve." She replied.

               "I can't help but feel worried, I haven't seen the Crown Prince around and it's been like two hours." She muttered.

              "I am sure that he is fine." Shaanxi mentioned.

              "I really need to see him." She said.

              "Be patient Your Highness." Shaanxi pleaded but the Crown Princess still unsettled at the moment she couldn't help it but feel inwardly uneasy about everything.

              The assassins making there way through the Crimson walls of the Imperial Palace, they carefully placated themselves around it and surveyed the territory.

               The one in the lead making every deliberate effort to keep the others coordinated, they were certainly sure that Yang Guifei was inside the Emperor's Chamber.

              Beiyuan accompanied with a group of Eunuchs he mounted the stairs that led to a simple pavilion that was stationed at the left wing of the palace overlooking the capital, it was itself beautifully adorned with many flowers and a simple chair on which the Emperor usually sat.

              At a distance he could notice Manyin and Xiaoyang present and while his eyes travelled to the Emperor's seat he noticed that Yang Guifei had made herself comfortable in that very place.

              He slowly got closer to her while everyone had their eyes fixed up at the sky in the moon's position at that moment being temporarily veiled by the thick dark clouds.

              "Ma'am?" He said calmly while bowing his head.

              "You made it." She mention sounding somewhat relieved.

             "Yes." He replied.

             "You don't think I can make it, do you?" She asked while he kept quiet.

             "You don't certainly think I can gain the world?" She said to him.

              "Have I a choice Ma'am?" He responded.

             "Perhaps." She replied.

             "Is this still about Maha?" He inquired.

             "I merely had to admit that Maha was a tragic chapter that was written in my life, Maha was the biggest joke that fate ever made on me." She responded.

             "And me Ma'am, where is it that I can affix my name, I am without honour, I am without a home, you made me Ma'am a human that was once a living corpse, without you I am no less than breathless clay it can equally be said that I am a man without purpose." He replied.

              "That's what binds you to me." She replied.

              "Yes Ma'am." He agreed.

              "Others support me as they have something to lose, but you who has affixed your name with nothing amongst them are therefore the only one that serves me entirely." She muttered.

             "But will you Ma'am?" He asked.

             "I think about our brothers, all those people that died for us to be here, they each made a priceless sacrifice in blood, when I see them, even if it breaks me, even if it kills me I'll do it." Yang Guifei replied.

              "It shall be a very long night Ma'am, I only wish that you kindly remember that regardless of what is to pass I am here by your side." He said.

             "Yes." Yang Guifei replied while she kept her eyes fixed onto the dark sky.

              "The Crown Prince is taking long, I am rather worried." Crown Princess Cao Xuan mentioned when Lusi walked into the room.

              "Your Highness." She said.

              "Has the Blood Moon ascended?" She inquired.

              "A thick cloud has hovered over the dark sky." Lusi replied.

              "Everyone is as anxious as you are about the situation Ma'am." Shaanxi mentioned.

              "But I can't help it." The Crown Princess mentioned.

              "Yang Guifei is seated in the Emperor's pavilion watching the sky herself." Lusi said.

              "Did you say the pavilion?" Shaanxi inquired.

              "Yes." The latter confirmed.

              "What about the Emperor's Chambers?" Shaanxi asked yet again.

             "His Majesty retired their early." She responded.

              "I thought that he was going to spend the night in the study, as far as I know that's what Liu Zhan was informed and she passed the information to the Crown Prince." Shaanxi mentioned.

              "What did you say?" The Crown Princess asked.

              "His Highness the Crown Prince was informed by Liu Zhan that thd Emperor would stay held up in the Imperial study and that Yang Guifei would wait on him in his Chambers." Shaanxi replied and hearing these words, the Crown Princess seemed to recall what Yang Guifei had mentioned to her.

              "I have already spoken too much Your Highness, you might be confused but nonetheless you know what I am capable of doing more than anyone else just as much as you would perhaps understand your husband, if he is rather hasty in his actions you must offer your counsel to him one way or another but above all it's important that you let him know, his reaction shall be my victory, whether it'd be peaceful or by force." She'd mentioned.

              "No." The Crown Princess muttered when she simultaneously recalled the words that the Crown Prince had mentioned to her before parting.

              "I am worried for you that is, I am worried for my brother." He'd said, "I want you to watch the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan for me." He'd ordered.

              "It can't be." She mentioned to herself.

              "What is it Your Highness?" Lusi asked her.

              "Where's the Crown Prince?" She asked.

              "How would we know Your Highness, he left us without saying a word." Shaanxi responded.

              "We must stop him." She mention as she stood up from where she was seated but Shaanxi and Lusi blocked her path.

              "Where are you going Your Highness?" They demanded in unison.

              "We must hurry to the Imperial Palace." She responded.

              "Why Your Highness?" Lusi asked.

              "Something bad is going to happen if we don't hasten our steps." She replied as she immediately dashed out while the others followed her swiftly behind.

              The thick cloud that was lingering around the country started to shift away and reveal the moon once again, it's pure colour still in sight Lan He who was stationed outside the Emperor's quarters was watching as well.

              The people in the streets themselves were rather anxious and caught up murmuring amongst themselves and before long Yang Guifei stared at the clear sky and white moon expressionless at the moment.

              Manyin and Xiaoyang were worried while Beiyuan was just about the same but trying so hard not to let it show, the ladies in waiting at a distance could have reserved their speech but they inwardly felt that the night was a waste, even with a couple of hours to go they had lost just as much hope.

             "There shall be no blood moon." Lin Xue mentioned to Han Touzhou who was staring at it from his balcony as well.

             "So it is." Han Touzhou concluded as he lightly smiled at himself as well.

              "Ma'am?" Beiyuan said ultimately.

              "This is it?" She mentioned in response and his eyes turning to the moon a brown shade slowly started to appear.

              The people in the streets and everywhere took to notice the gradual change in the moonlight and the Crown Princess rushing into the direction of the Imperial Palace had to halt when Shaanxi shouted pointing at the sky.

              "Your Highness?" She said that the latter had to raise her head as well, and with Lan He right in front of the Emperor's door finally a bright crimson moon lingered above them all.

               The people at the pavilion stared at Yang Guifei very much surprised and also at the same time frightened.

              "Yang Guifei was right!" The people in the streets exclaimed amongst themselves.

              "No?" Han Touzhou couldn't help but feel himself totally shattered and the assassins taking that opportunity they launched themselves into the Courtyard of the Emperor's Chambers immediately.

              "Guard His Majesty." Lan He shouted as he unsheathed his sword from it's scabbard and he pointed it at the attackers while the Crown Prince standing at a distance close to the Imperial pond his eyes were fixed onto the crimson moon.

             "You lost Your Highness." Yang Guifei thought to herself as she smiled at herself ghastly despite the attention that she was given.

              "In deed Ma'am, you were victorious." The Crown Prince with Liu Zhan watching on the other end thought to himself inwardly.

              Emperor Ningzong in his Chambers he heard the sound of swords and spears clashing outside and Eunuch Deng rushing in at the moment he turned his attention to him.

              "What's happening?" He asked.

              "Your Majesty, the Blood moon has ascended the sky." He responded.

              "And what reason is it to cause the people to become noisy?" The Emperor inquired.

             "Pardon me Your Majesty but you are under attack." Eunuch Deng replied.

             "What?" The young man said as he immediately shot up from his seat.

             "What nonsense is this?" He furiously asked.

              "Somehow assassins have infiltrated the Palace Your Majesty, it is important that we escort you to safety." Eunuch Deng replied and the Emperor hurrying out of the room he was escorted by armed Eunuchs.

             Lan He still engaging the assassins a large force of Imperial guards moved in through the gates into the courtyard and another force equally from behind the palace surrounding the numbered assassins in the centre.

              The Crown Princess Cao Xuan on her way to the Imperial Palace caught sight of her husband situated next to the Imperial pond and hurriedly, she rushed to his aid.

               "Your Highness?" She called to him while he turned his attention to her.

               "What are you doing here?" He asked.

               "Please stop whatever you are doing immediately." She pleaded.

               "What are you saying?" The Crown Prince Zhao Jun reprimanded her.

              "It's very reckless Your Highness." She responded.

              "I have already made up my mind." He muttered.

              "Your Highness.....?" She was saying when he raised his hand and halted her.

              "Return the Crown Princess to her Chambers at once." He ordered Liu Zhan who bowed her head to him and moved closer to the Crown Princess to do his bidding.

               "Yang Guifei is at the Grand Pavilion Your Highness and His Majesty even retired to his Chambers early today." She informed him that the Crown Prince shocked turned around and faced her.

               "What?" He asked.

               "Her Highness is right Your Highness." Lusi responded and the Crown Prince for a moment he was startled when he happened to recall the words that his Grand Uncle Han Touzhou had mentioned to him.

               His warnings had never been more vivid than they were at the moment and while he thought things through he looked back at the blood moon.

                "We'd better hurry to the Imperial Palace right now." He said at the moment as he rushed into it's direction while Yang Guifei seated at the pavilion she looked at the fierce strife that transpired underneath her.

              "Who would have thought?" He asked.

              "Ma'am?" Manyin said to her frightened.

              "The will of heaven is with me and not with my enemies, whatever it is that the heavens require from this day the world shall know that they shall speak through me." She replied as she stood up from where she was seated and walked away while her Retinue accompanied her.

               The assassins brutally wounded they were ceased and the doors of the Emperor's quarters being flung open he walked into their sight for a moment they themselves surprised ceased conflict and resistance to meet submission while they were forced to their knees.

               "How dare you attack your Emperor?" Eunuch Deng shouted aloud and at that very moment the Emperor hoping to believe for himself he stared at the blood moon that was stationed in the sky.

               "Impossible." He muttered as the men were bound by thick and strong nylon chords and their veils being removed from their faces they each were recognized.

              His Majesty still surprised at that moment, Yang Guifei and her retinue appeared through the gates of the Courtyard as she immediately rushed towards the Emperor's side.

             "Your Majesty?" She said bowing her head to him while she held his hand and himself looking at the latter he felt frightened for a moment.

             "How?" He asked her, "how did you know?" He persistently inquired while she lowered her head and took a glance at the assassins that had been taken prisoner.

             "It was the will of heaven Your Majesty, no one may come close to the Imperial Palace lest they know what transpired, if hell wills it the people will become disorderly my Sire, it's therefore in my opinion best that you have these men interrogated." She mentioned.

             "Yang Guifei is right Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng mentioned.

             "But Your Majesty, there isn't an Imperial State Tribunal as of yet." Lan He mentioned.

             "Peng Zishou along with yourself I trust shall deal with this situation sufficiently, Yang Cishan shall be your aid." The Emperor mentioned in a lowly tone.

             "I shall escort Your Majesty to the Yuxiangling Palace." Yang Guifei muttered, "as long as the night stands that is, I understand that it might make you uncomfortable being here a while longer." She remarked.

             "Yes." The Emperor reluctantly agreed and the young woman leading him slowly away, they moved past the assassins while Yang Guifei smirked at herself.

             The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess on their way to the Imperial Palace were intercepted by Yang Cishan and his on soldiers.

              "Your Highness?" He said.

              "Step aside." The latter commanded.

              "Pardon me Your Highness, you may not go in." He refused.

              "You best understand that I am your senior my power therefore is above yours it's your position to meet by Imperial decree my demands, any opposition or reason is not welcome and should it be forceful I shall take it as an act of insubordination." The Crown Prince reprimanded.

              "Your Highness is the Crown Prince of this nation but you are not it's Emperor, the laws of civility govern our Dynasty as you must be aware my brave Lord that protocol and decorum can't be breached even by your mere Imperial prerogative." Yang Cishan mentioned.

             "Move aside or I move you by force." The Crown Prince said moving up to him.

             "An attempt on His Majesty's life is an act of treason and by Imperial decree all are forbidden from the vicinity, the culprits shall be interrogated and until then it is important that the safety of all other Primary members of the Imperial family be ensured." Yang Cishan mentioned when a number of more guards rushed out of the building behind him and they stood on either side of the Crown Prince.

             "What is this?" He asked.

             "Your Highness and the Crown Princess are still young and the future of this glorious Empire His Majesty merely wishes that you have a very long life, these men have been deployed to watch you and protect you with their lives." Yang Cishan mentioned.

              "Please come with us Your Highness." One of them said.

              "Is this Yang Guifei's idea, is this that cunning woman's resolve?" He lashed out, "I am the Crown Prince of this nation and you are putting me under house arrest, damn you, I wish to speak to my father." He said.

              "His Majesty isn't at the Crime scene." Yang Cishan mentioned.

              The Crown Prince froze for a moment as he seemed lost in his thoughts.

              "Please come back with us to the Eastern Palace Your Highness." The guards pleaded with him.

              "No." He replied as he immediately rushed away leaving the Crown Princess into the direction of Yuxiangling Palace.

               The Blood Moon still in the sky above, Yang Guifei was inside her Chambers with the Emperor lying on her lap while she had fed him an ataractic.

               "I feel tired." The Emperor mentioned.

               "Your Majesty was merely exhausted." She responded, "you have hardly eaten anything or slept in the past couple of days, it's natural that you feel weak and sleepy." She replied as she caressed his head.

               "The Blood Moon......" He was saying.

              "Sssshhhhh." She muttered to him and he immediately went silent and started to doz off.

              "Please sleep Your Majesty." She whispered to him and he was immediately out while Xiaoyang and Manyin watched her.

              Eunuch Deng situated outside the building at the moment the Crown Prince rushed into the Courtyard pursued by the Imperial guards that had been designated to keep a close watch on him.

              "Your Majesty?" He was saying when a couple of Eunuchs led by Beiyuan rushed up in front of him and blocked his path.

             "You can't go in Your Highness." They said to him.

             "I need to speak to father." He yelled.

             "Your Highness?" Eunuch Deng mentioned to him.

             "Announce me to my father." He said.

             "Please Your Highness, you are making a crazy scene here." Eunuch Deng reprimanded.

             "Your Majesty?" He shouted aloud that the noise penetrated to the bed where Yang Guifei was seated.

             "What's with the commotion outside?" She asked.

             "I think it's the Crown Prince." Manyin mentioned.

             "Of Course." Yang Guifei replied and looking at the Emperor, she slowly lifted his head and settled him comfortably on the bed where she stood up and organized herself.

              "What are you going to do Ma'am?" They asked her.

              "Don't worry." She mentioned as she smiled at herself.

              "Your Majesty, please?" The Crown Prince yelled as the Imperial Eunuchs held him.

             "Let him go." Yang Guifei's voice exploded from within and a couple of her Ladies in waiting that were stationed outside opened the doors for her while she stepped out into the crimson moonlight with a rather ghastly smile on her face.

              Her scarlet robes adorning her she looked regal in everyway and everyone in the vicinity that was present bowed their heads to honour her.

             She carefully stationed herself at the top of the staircase as the Crown Prince looked up at her.

             "Your Highness." She said to him bowing her head.

             "I need to speak to my father." He demanded.

              "That won't happen." She stopped him.

              "Are you out of your mind?" The Crown Prince asked.

              "Perhaps the only one here that has lost control is Your Highness." She replied.

              "Ma'am......?" He refuted.

              "A threat was designed on the life of His Majesty it is without a doubt that someone out there orchestrated such a bitter plot on his life, what's worse is that the lives of other members of the Imperial family within the Palace can not be compromised it is therefore right that Your Highness respects His Majesty's earnest wishes and accept the security of the Imperial guards that have been dispatched to protect you." She mentioned.

             "You witch?" The Crown Prince lashed out.

             "Your Highness is not Sovereign in this country yet therefore if you won't peaceful receive His Majesty's order then the Imperial guards shall escort you back to the Eastern Palace by force." She informed him.

             "I am not going anywhere." The Crown Prince mentioned.

             "Take him." Yang Guifei said.

             "No." The Crown Prince protested but the guards got closer to him and they ceased his hands.

              "You dare to disrespect the Crown Prince?" He questioned.

             "They serve His Majesty and his wish is their command." Yang Guifei responded as she turned around to return to her Chambers.

              "YOU?" The Crown Prince yelled and she halted at once.

              "You Ma'am have bewitched His Majesty and heaven is watching, you shall die a death that is worse than that of a dog and you shall watch everything before you perish and vanish one by one." He asserted while she smiled still showing him her back.

              Shrugging, she pretended to have not heard anything as the Crown Prince was forcefully dragged out of the Courtyard.

              The Crown Princess and her husband being forcefully bound by the Ladies in waiting and guards alike they were moved into the Eastern Palace where they were cast and the doors shut behind them.

               At that moment bound by strong chords they were locked in while logs were hammered onto the doors and the guards stationed outside them.

              "This is the Imperial order, no one is to go in or out of this building." Beiyuan announced at that very moment and the guards bowing their heads he withdrew while the Crown Prince pounding at the door furiously he eventually got tired and fell onto his knees.

             "Your Highness." The Crown Princess said as she got close to her husband and held his shoulder while he wept bitterly.

             "This is it." He muttered.

             "It's all my fault." She mentioned.

             "No." The Crown Princess replied.

             "Those assassins shall be interrogated, once it happens to pass you will be implicated because of me." The Crown Prince Zhao Jun mentioned.

             "All that Her Grace wanted was for me to leave the Palace." Crown Princess Cao Xuan mentioned.

             "No." The Crown Prince mentioned, "my mere existence is a threat to her power, more than anything she would want me dead and in her wanting it means that those I love as well." The Crown Prince mentioned.

              "You must stay strong Your Highness." The Crown Princess said to him.

              "Of what use will that be to me?" He inquired.

              "I was hoping for a better moment to find the courage to tell you Your Highness, I am with child." She said to him and at that moment he immediately froze before he turned around and he looked at the young woman touching her abdomen.

              "What?" he asked.

              "It's been a month Your Highness, I didn't want you to worry." She responded.

              "Then why?" He asked.

              "Yang Guifei has had her chance, she will cease that opportunity and now that the Blood Moon ascended, the people will Honor and respect her, they shall listen and the whole world has a reason to dance onto her tunes it's best that this child of ours lives on." The Crown Princess mentioned while the Crown Prince bowed his head.

              "Me and you might not live but this child Your Highness has to live on and that shall only happen if he is delivered out of the Palace." The Crown Princess Cao Xuan mentioned.

             "Alright." The Crown Prince mentioned.

             It was early in the morning and Yang Guifei arriving at the Lanling Court she entered her usual room where she occasionally met her supporters.

             Standing up before her, she sat down and they followed her example silently as they lowered themselves into their seats bowing their heads as well.

              "What's with that awkward silence?" She asked but they each seemed frightened themselves.

              "Langya?" She called to him.

              "Yes Ma'am?" He replied.

              "Brother?" She said to Yang Cishan.

              "Yes Ma'am?" He responded as well.

              "Is it fear that I see in your eyes?" She inquired.

              "Surely." They replied.

              "You seem surprised." She remarked.

              "The blood Moon....." Master Bao said as he hesitated.

              "Oh, about it." She muttered.

              "Rumour has it that the people call you a demigoddess and others heaven's Imperial maiden, some even a prophet and others a shaman, others delude the people into calling you a witch." Bao Langya said.

              "Is it that they can do better?" She asked.

              "No Ma'am." Jinglan said.

              "Heaven has justified your cause to have the Crown Princess sent from the Palace." Yang Cishan mentioned.

              "Not just yet." Yang Guifei replied.

              "What do you mean Ma'am?" Bao Langya asked.

              "The blood Moon came to pass last night as I had warned, surely the Crown Princess with her dark materials is an evil presence in the Palace, but the Crown Princess isn't solely to collapse, the Crown Prince should collapse with her as well." She replied.

             "I don't understand." Bao Langya said.

             "A record from the Tang Dynasty identified the Blood Moon as a bad omen in the event that a coup was what it best symbolized and to put it briefly you can now guess what it is that I intended this time." She muttered.

             "It wasn't just the Crown Princess' evil presence but also the fact that Your Grace prophesied that a coup will transpire in the Palace." Jinglan said.

               "I have the Crown Prince to thank for those Assassins, they only made the work much easier for me than it would have been in the first place." She said.

               "You mean to say that Your Grace was aware?" Master Bao asked.

               "I was only cautious and even if the Crown Prince didn't send Assassins there I would have sent them there myself." Yang Guifei mentioned.

               "I see." Yang Cishan remarked.

               "The Interrogation will begin the moment that Peng Zishou arrives in the Capital and now that we have things in our control it is hereby important for us to sow just about enough discontentment amongst the people against the Crown Prince." Yang Guifei mentioned.

              "How are we going to do that?" Bao Langya inquired.

             "The Princess Royal and the Crown Prince will collapse altogether." Yang Guifei responded as she smiled at herself ghastly.

              Shaanxi tending to the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan she noticed that his breathing had become uneasy.

              "What is it Ma'am?" One of her attendants asked her.

              "Something is wrong with His Highness." She mentioned, "go and call the Imperial physician." She ordered.

             "Yes." The young woman replied as she dashed out of the room at once.

             Yang Guifei arriving in her Chambers she sat down behind her table when Beiyuan moved up to her side and he bowed his head.

             "Ma'am?" He said.

             "What is it?" She asked.

             "His Highness the Crown Prince requests to have an audience with you and he claims that it's urgent." Beiyuan replied.

             "That's strange." Yang Guifei mentioned.

            "Shall I decline?" Beiyuan inquired.

            "No." She replied, " if it is his wish, at the very least we should hear him out but it should be in an open place where everyone can see us." She added.

             "Alright Ma'am." Beiyuan said as he bowed his head and he withdrew from the room leaving the latter still quite surprised by what she'd heard.

             Yang Guifei walking out of her Palace arrived outside the Eastern Palace where she saw the Crown Prince standing in the pavilion which overlooked the Grand Palace.

             "Let me see him alone." She mentioned when her retinue halted behind her and she mounted the stairs that led her to where the Crown Prince was standing.

             "Your Imperial Highness." She said to him bowing her head while he turned around and faced her.

             "Ma'am?" He mentioned and did the same signalling for her to sit down which she took in good faith and humbled herself before him while he did very much the same.

             For a while some silence prevailed which she personally broke mockingly.

             "The heir presumptive to the dragon throne, you most Noble heir to the house of Zhao and the Great Southern Song Dynasty, myself once an ordinary slave rebel girl now an Imperial Noble Consort, your fate I must say Your Highness is itself quite remarkably tragic." She mentioned.

             "Tragic, yes Ma'am." He responded.

             "You seek me out now, why is that?" She asked.

             "All this fighting Ma'am, I am tired, all that I am longing for is the sole opportunity to embrace peace, I want it to finally stop as much as you would desire, I want it to come to an end." He replied.

             "Don't you think that it is a little bit too late for that Your Highness?" She inquired.

             "Suppose it was Ma'am, in a battle our engagement is to protect something that we already have but here I am." He responded, "I am without a thing." He added.

             "Isn't life the most precious thing in battle?" She asked.

             "To live a prisoner Ma'am and to die a free man, which of these would you desire in my shoes?" He asked.

             "Nothing had to be like this, all I wanted was to be an Empress then perhaps, perhaps I would have spared Your Highness." She responded.

             "And I would have been an unfilial son unable to avenge my mother." The Crown  Prince Zhao Jun mentioned.

             "But haven't you become one now that you speak of surrender?" She asked.

             "I am undeserving." The Crown Prince mentioned.

             "Once that gusto which was the offspring of your most coarse hauteur served inefficient to repress me, what you offered was a most foolish display of your Imperial chauvinism that demanded by subjugation." Yang Guifei remarked.

             "Hence as it is that I have noticed, I have certainly learnt." The Crown Prince mentioned.

             "And what is your resolve My Prince, what is your resolve Your Highness?" She inquired from him.

             "Nothing much Ma'am." He responded.

             "Perhaps it is understanding, most prominently it could be a coalition." She asserted.

              "The Crown Princess will leave the Palace as you want, I shall testify and confess that I sent the Assassins as I did so that Innocents don't have to be implicated because of me." The Crown Prince mentioned.

              "Your Highness will what?" She asked.

              "I'll confess everything." He mentioned, "with my own mouth and hands in front of the world." He said.

              "Your Highness does understand what your saying and better than anyone else, you'd know the consequences for your actions and what it would mean?" She mentioned.

             "Yes." The Crown Prince replied.

             "I can not guarantee that you were too early yourself, as I speak much of what I have initiated can hardly be stopped." She said when Shaanxi rushing up to the pavilion she halted beside the Crown Prince.

             "Ma'am, Your Highness, something is wrong with the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan." She mentioned.

              "What?" The Crown Prince mentioned as he stood up from where he was seated while Yang Guifei herself seemed surprised.

             "What's wrong with the Imperial Prince?" The Crown Prince asked.

             "His Highness' condition is critical, his fate is uncertain." Shaanxi responded and hearing this the Crown Prince immediately dashed from the pavilion while Yang Guifei gracefully standing up, Beiyuan rushed to her side.

              "Ma'am?" He said.

              "Is this how we run things in His Majesty's the harem?" She reprimanded.

              "Pardon me Ma'am, we were all too worried with everything that happened yesterday night we weren't quite as bothered with the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan and his general health and welfare." He responded while she furiously took the lead after the Crown Prince.

             The Crown Prince arriving through the doors of his brother's room he halted when he saw the Imperial physician kneeling seated beside his brother.

             Slowly he walked up to the two while the old man as though checking for the young boy's pulse, he let go of his hand which fell lifelessly down.

             His eyes closed he had become pale for a moment he put two of his fingers over the boy's nostrils but there was no breathing.

            Slowly he walked up to them while the physician seeing him he immediately stood up from where he was seated.

             "Your Highness." He said bowing his head to him.

             "How is my brother?" He asked.

             "You'll have to forgive me Your Highness." He responded.

             "What are you saying?" The Crown Prince asked.

             "His Highness was already of frail health, he wasn't doing well, it appears as though he died of natural causes due to poor feeding, he's been malnourished his condition was out of control." He responded.

             "I see." The Crown Prince said.

             "Besides his mother had him but was poisoned during pregnancy, considering the fact that he survived this long is a miracle, he was bound to die sooner or later." The physician mentioned.

             "Leave." The Crown Prince mentioned.

             "Your Highness......." He was saying when the young man interrupted.

             "I won't be repeating myself." Zhao Jun informed him.

             "Yes Your Highness." The Imperial physician replied as the young man falling to his knees at that moment he ceased his brother in his hands.

              "Brother?" He called as he shook him but the latter did not respond.

              "Tan'er?" He called to him but there wasn't a response.

              "No." He said to himself as he embraced the small corpse within his hands and unable to contain his grief, he cried on top of his voice that his sobs escaped the walls of the room.

             Yang Guifei standing outside and hearing everything she mounted the stairs and walked in where she found the young man distressed.  

             "Your Highness?" She called to him.

             "Was this what you meant by it being a bit too late?" The young Prince asked while Yang Guifei responded with silence.

             "You killed a child Ma'am, you killed a young Prince?" Zhao Jun asked.

             "Yes." Yang Guifei didn't deny the allegation.

             "All this to get rid of the Crown Princess?" He asked.

             "Yes." She replied.

             "What is it that our family did to you Ma'am, what crime was so great that we may deserve this scourge that is upon us?" He asked.

             "Are you seriously asking me Your Highness?" Shs inquired.

             "Do you really want to be an Empress that much?" The Crown Prince Zhao Jun asked.

             "To be Empress, yes, for me that's all that matters." She replied as she moved next to the corpse of the little boy and looked at him, "how could you even prove that I killed him, how to start when the whole world knows how I was so fond of this world, but you can't blame me Your Highness for you acted up so fast against me, I trusted that you would learn from the Empress' example and be mature enough to know your place, to understand that I am not your size." She muttered.

             "But it turns out I wasn't." He muttered.

             "This is the fate Your Highness, this is the reality before your eyes, as you made it clear that you would murder those I call my children, you have delivered to me every reason I have to fight you entirely sparing not even the slightest of efforts." She replied.

           "Where in the world is a woman as heartless as you Ma'am?" Crown Prince Zhao Jun inquired.

            "I am the only one." She replied, "I am the only curse and scourge upon you, I am that fire and your suffering will not end today or tomorrow for if there is something that I have against you then it is the fact that you are flawed with Han Touzhou's blood." She said as she stood up and bowed her head to him while she prepared to walk away.

             "Those many that you have killed Ma'am, heaven is surely watching, all those Innocents one day Ma'am, you shall come to pay for it, you'll die in pain and fly forgotten like a dream, my your nights be dark and the sun never rise in your sky." He cursed.

              "I am already dead Your Highness, dying a second time won't hurt me, it shall only set me at peace." She said as she stood out through the doors and the Crown Prince turned to look at his young brother.

              "When shall the darkness disperse above us, when shall our sorrow and misery certainly come to an end?" He whispered to the dead boy while Yang Guifei stepping out of the building she could hardly walk.

              "What did you do Ma'am?" Manyin asked, "why did you tell her that it was you that killed the Prince?" She persisted.

              "Would he have thought otherwise?" She responded and the latter quiet she looked down while Yang Guifei smiled.

             "He reminds me of myself, he's blinded with eternal hatred we can never cure, what better way to let him die in comfort certainly he is aware than that time he'll face death and feel remorseful that he devoted nothing?" She muttered as she descended the stairs and showed herself out of the Crown Prince's compound.

             "What?" The Emperor Ningzong said as he shot up from where he was seated.

             "Your Majesty, pardon me but His Highness the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan has passed." Eunuch Deng responded and the young man at a loss of strength he was about to fall down when they held him up.

             "What was the cause of his death?" He asked.

             "The Imperial physician deduced that he was already of frail health Your Majesty, but rumour has it that it is as Yang Guifei had predicted, the Blood Moon, your attempted assassination Your Majesty, the Crown Princess' presence in the Palace and the fact that she brought in dark matter have brought this scourge upon us all." Eunuch Deng responded.

             "Where is the Crown Princess?" He asked.

            "As Your Majesty had ordered, with the Crown Prince they have been secured within the Eastern Palace." Eunuch Deng responded.

             "I wanted to protect the Crown Prince more than anything else but Her Highness the Crown Princess as one of the pillars of the Inner Court has failed in her matriarchal duties, what's worse is that Yang Guifei had deliberately offered her counsel as the will of heaven and we declined I have learnt that for having not seconded her, perhaps it's all my fault." The Emperor mentioned.

             "What shall you do Your Majesty?" Eunuch Deng inquired.

             "There's only one person that started this." The Emperor replied.

             "I don't understand." Eunuch Deng mentioned.

             "So much has happened, this issue is itself far too complicated, thank God that the Crown Prince and myself are alive, have my Imperial Decree drafted by the Grand Secretary and sent out to the Eastern Palace stripping Lady Cao Xuan of her titles and exiling her from the Palace." Emperor Ningzong said.

             "Yes Your Majesty." Eunuch Deng replied as he withdrew from the room.

             The Crown Princess Cao Xuan inside the Eastern Palace, its doors were drawn open and Beiyuan walked in accompanied by a couple of ladies in waiting holding in their hands the Imperial Decree.

             "Your Highness." He said.

             She knelt down before he even notified her.

              "I shall receive His Majesty's Imperial Decree." She mentioned and the latter not opening it he handed it over to her.

              "His Majesty wills that you are unfit to aid the Crown Prince, he wills that you can not manage the Inner Court by example, you have grown overambitious and you have distorted the reputation of the Imperial family." He said.

              The ladies behind him moved up to her and started undressing her and removing the jewels that adorned her body.

              "You are exiled from the Palace and shall be sent to a nunnery where you shall spend the rest of the days of your life." He said as he turned his back on her and looked down while she didn't even whimper or sigh as she was being tortured.

              The Crown Prince Zhao Jun seated before the altar that had been set for his brother Liu Zhan walked in before him, bowing her head to him he barely recognized his presence.

               "Your Highness?" She said.

               "I want to be alone." He said.

               "It's about the Crown Princess." She muttered to him and for a moment he was silent.

              "What about her?" He asked.

              "His Majesty has decreed that she's exiled from the Palace and she has already left, she'll live in a nunnery until she dies." Liu Zhan responded.

              He laughed as he looked at the plaque bearing the Imperial Prince Zhao Tan's name.

              "All my life I was no match for a mere woman." He said.

              "Your Highness....." Liu Zhan protesting he raised his hand and halted her.

              "I failed my mother, I failed my family, I have failed my ancestors and those that have preceeded me at last I have made way for another female Emperor to emerge in our Dynasty." The Crown Prince said.

              "No." Liu Zhan protested nonetheless.

              "The Crown Princess has been banished, there's one more thing that I am to do." The young man mentioned.

              "What is it Your Highness?" She inquired.

              "Prepare me a cup of Mengding Tea and then I shall see Yang Guifei." He said.

              "Yes Your Highness." She replied and moving out of the room while the latter pulled from his sleeve a small white bottle which he stared at intensely.

             Yang Guifei seated in her Chambers and lost in her thoughts Manyin walked into her presence.

             "Ma'am?" She said to her bowing her head.

             "What now?" She asked.

             "His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to have a word with you." She said.

             "Let him in." Yang Guifei mentioned and the latter complying, she welcomed the young man before her mistess while he bowed his head to her.

             "My Prince?" She said.

             "I wish to have a word with you in private Ma'am." He said.

             "Surely." She responded as Manyin left the two and the Crown Prince sat down in front of his step mother and stared at her for a while.

             "What is it?" She asked, "is there something on my face?" She inquired. 

             "Isn't it funny how I had sworn that I would ask nothing from you?" He said.

             "But here you are." Yang Guifei responded.

             "Fate truly is cruel." He asserted.

             "I want to believe that isn't what brings you before me." She said.

             "Surely Ma'am, I understand my greatest faults I finally profit in my weakness to have been acquainted with a villainess as smart as you are." The Crown Prince said.

             "Villainess?" She asked.

             "Am I wrong?" He said.

             "Perhaps historians and future generations with a mere stroke of a brush could eclipse both our good and ill nature's, slander us once vanquished and even redeem us to be blameless if they are ever sincere but what can't change is the fact that none of us write our history." She mentioned. 

              "Yet it doesn't bother you Ma'am?" He asked.

              "Suppose you couldn't beat me in two years, in a decade, in a generation, who best understands when compared to the two of us that we are each heroes in our own tales, we each remain prudent in our own sight." Yang Guifei replied.

             "But the same won't be said for me, what if I won in fifty years, or in a hundred, who would care for this rebel?" He inquired.

             "The Crown Princess is gone." She said.

             "But your tale still remains imperfect with my mere existence." He said.   

              "At the very least let me promise you one thing." She requested.

              "And what would that be Ma'am?" He inquired.

              "A valiant and brave, a gifted but young Prince is what the next a hundred years will tell." Yang Guifei responded.

              "Can you do this for me?" The Crown Prince Zhao Jun asked.

              "Circumstance made us foes yet it is my earnest wish that in your grave you rest easy with the understanding that your retaliation to me wasn't any action equal to sin." Yang Guifei replied.

              "There's a gift that I left in the Eastern Palace for you Ma'am, pardon me, I must see His Majesty at least." He said and standing up, he bowed his head to her and walked out of the room humbly while she was rather startled.

             "Manyin?" She called while the latter rushed in.

             "Yes Ma'am?" She asked.

             "Go and search the Eastern Palace." She said.

             "What is it Ma'am?" She asked.

             "Apparently the Crown Prince left something for me so hurry up and find out what it is before anyone else does." She ordered.

              "Yes Ma'am." The young woman replied as she immediately withdrew from the room.

             Emperor Ningzong in his study Eunuch Deng walked in with Lan He.

             "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is here requesting to have an audience with you." He said.

             "Let him in." Emperor Ningzong said and the doors being opened the young man walked in and bowed his head to his father.

              "Your Majesty." He said.  

              "Have a seat." He replied and the latter sat down in front of him.

             Staring at each other for a while alone in the room, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

             "What's the problem with you?" He asked.

            "Forgive me father for I am sinful." He said.

            "How so?" He asked.

            "I didn't have the chance to tell you, the assassins that attacked you the other night of the Blood Moon were my handiwork." He surprised him.

             "What are you saying My Prince?" The Emperor asked.

             "I hated you and I blamed you for having banished my mother every day I was hoping that you would die soon enough and I would butcher your concubines and parade them throughout the Capital I hated you so much I would have wished you never bore me." The Crown Prince mentioned.

               "I am your father." He said.

               "So what?" The Crown Prince asked.

               "You dare raise your voice to me?" The Emperor smacked the table as he stood up from where he was seated.

               "Don't worry father." The Crown Prince mentioned, this shall be the last time I do so." He mentioned and the old man froze.

               Yang Guifei unsettled in her Chambers Manyin rushed in holding an envelope and a piece of paper in her hands. 

               "Ma'am?" She said. 

               "What is it?" She asked.

               "It's His Highness' letter." Manyin mentioned as the latter took it into her hands and she perused through its contents.

               "His Highness has confessed to have attempted to assassinate the Emperor." She said and at once Yang Guifei widening her eyes she recalled his last words.

               "No." She said as she strode out of the room while Manyin rushed behind her. 

               "What did you say?" Emperor Ningzong asked.

              "Your Majesty may be the Emperor but you shall never rule this world, one day you shall die in pain and you shall recall what I said to you Sire, I'll never forgive you." The Crown Prince said and at that moment looking at his father blood started flowing out of his mouth.

             "Jun'er?" The Emperor called but the latter falling from his seat onto the ground the white bottle rolled out of his hands up to his father's feet while he stared at it slowly.

              "Anyone?" He called when Eunuch Deng walked in.

               "Your Highness?" He shouted as he reached out to him and checked for his pulse while the Emperor still in shock was expressionless.

              "No." He said as Eunuch Deng raised his head and he looked at His Majesty, nodding with a sombre expression, he understood better what was next.

              "Pardon Me Your Majesty, but His Highness the Crown Prince is no more." He mentioned and the Emperor at a loss of strength he fell onto his knees and ceasing the young boy in his hands he shouted on top of his voice and grieved while a tear ran from the corpse's eye.

             Yang Guifei arriving through the gates of the Grand Palace the sky roared with thunder and hearing the cry of her husband, rain started to pour on her while she ceased moving any further.

             "Ma'am?" Manyin said to her.

             "We are too late." She said as she raised her eyes up to the sky and fell onto her knees as well raising her hands to the heavens.

             Everyone around watched with awe while she seemed hardly bothered.

             "Ma'am?" She said.

             "Darkness will be lifted, my days will be glorious, and just as I have won in cold blood, I pray that the heavens hear me and pardon my son that this rain may heal the land." She inwardly prayed as the Emperor's sobs were eclipsed by the heavy rain.

             "My son." He said, "I killed you." He grieved bitterly.