The emperor and that other version of An Ning

The river was one the most beautiful he had ever seen. It was wide, with shallow waters which flow gently as it wind around the base of giant trees. It was early in the morning and as had become his habit, he lay on the banks and looked up at the sky. Clear and blue, the clouds like foams passing lazily before his eyes.

He was Gu Fang, the emperor of Yuqui, and he was about to go to war with a country that owns this beautiful river, this part of the brilliant sky above him which makes him think of nothing but pleasant thoughts all morning.

A noise suddenly intruded on his solitude. It was a girl humming a song, her face hidden under a furred hood. Gu Fang lay flat on his stomach, hiding himself among the bushes. Thankfully, the sun had yet to rise so he was quite safe where he was.

He watches as the girl walks near where he is hiding, carrying a straw basket in her hand. She starts picking leaves then putting them in her basket, still humming that lovely tune. She has long ago removed the hood from her head, which left her fair face exposed to his gaze. Gu Fang stares at that pale, perfect face and felt something tighten in his chest.

The scene changes and the watcher in shadow twitches in her sleep.

Gu Fang and the girl meet for the first time. Her father has just given her to him in marriage, thereby avoiding the prospect of war between the two countries. The king is unhappy. He doesn't want his daughter to marry a barbarian but the emperor literally put him in a choke hold: war or peace. His choice.

Gu Fang stares into his betrothed's eyes and felt his heart clenched. It is the first time he has felt a strong desire to know a woman after Wei Ling. The girl is tall, with a pale face dominated by gentle yet sharp eyes. She smiles shyly at him, not intimidated at all. Her name is Li An Ning. Her father calls her Li An. Gu Fang calls her An Ning.

The scene again changes.

This time, Gu Fang and An Ning are travelling together to Yuqui. Custom dictates that they travel in separate carriages but Gu Fang did away with all that by riding his horse and sticking close to An Ning's carriage. Six months of travel and many stops along the way and the two people who suddenly found themselves engaged got to know each other very well.

Gu Sheng meets An Ning. He is surprised that she is only a year older than him. His father is in his thirties and seems old even in his eyes. He throws his father a look and is surprised by the soft smile on his face as he gazes at his fiancee. Under the guise of helping An Ning choose dishes on the table, Gu Fang gently holds her hand, his fingers caressing her palm. An Ning blushes but does not pull her hand away.

Gu Fang is in the throne room with his ministers. His face is red with anger, his hands clenched on the arms of the chair he is sitting on. The ministers look at him with sneers on their faces, mocking him openly while they argue with him about his upcoming marriage.

They'd rather have war, they said, than have a foreign-born woman as their empress. The prime minister is vociferous in his disagreement, almost openly rebellious of the king. Gu Fang watches them with hooded eyes but there is a distinct anger in their depths that the ministers did not see or if they did, they indifferently ignored.

The wedding is lavish and the red wedding dress An Ning is wearing is a marvelous creation worthy of a museum. She is almost lost in the layers of fabric, her veil is long and flowing behind her back. She is feeling a bit sad because although she is surrounded by women, none of them are related to her, none of them are her friends, none of them even liked her. They are there to marry her to the king because they are obliged to and not because they wanted to.

It is evening. The bride awaits her bridegroom in the nuptial chambers. An Ning is nervous and hungry at the same time. Nerves, she is thinking.

The minutes passed. Nearing half an hour. Still no Gu Fang.

Suddenly, she hears screaming. She tenses then runs outside. The hallway is lighted by fat, thick candles so it is easy to see her way. She runs until she nears the place of the commotion. She barges into the room and stops. There are three people inside. A eunuch, a servant and the emperor, who is writhing on the floor screaming in pain.

An Ning is shocked then runs towards the king, intending to help him. The emperor screams for her to stop. Poison...he manages to gasp, writhing and thrashing in agony. An Ning is scared, her eyes wide in fear. The robe...continues the king, still writhing, still moaning. His skin is turning red as a lobster. The blisters appear, raw, open, ugly.

An Ning watches in nightmarish anguish as the poisoned clothing works its way into Gu Fang's body, literally consuming him in flames.

An Ning is sobbing, almost maddened with grief as she watches the man she loves dies a slow and agonizing death in front of her.

Gusheng...the emperor manages to whisper. An Ning...he says, looking at her...begging.

No...no...no! An Ning screams.

But Gu Fang's eyes remain unwavering on her face.

An Ning walks on numb legs to the table. Gu Fang's sword lies on top of it. With shaking hands, she grasps the sword, looks at it with dazed eyes, and walks back towards Gu Fang.

His body is twitching in insufferable pain but his eyes remain on her face. Calm...begging..

I love you. I love you. I love you.

An Ning keeps repeating the words...tears streaming down her face.

The sword plunges into Gu Fang's chest. The flood flows...the body shudders.

There is one final gasp then he lies still. Very still.

An Ning is beyond shock. She is beyond suffering. She collapses on the floor half dead with grief.

The watcher in shadow groans in her sleep, tossing and turning. The tears run down her pale face unchecked.

"An Ning! An Ning, wake up! Wake up!" The voice was insistent; the hands holding hers trembling in fear.

The scene again changes.

She knows she is dying. She could feel it in her bones. Poison. So, all her precautions did not work.

They got the empress dowager. That only leaves her and Gu Sheng....

Gu Sheng...Gu Fang while dying an unspeakable death tells her to take care of Gu Sheng. How is she going to do that now?

Gu...Little Gu...Sheng Sheng...forgive me.

She is dead. She knows she is dead. She can hear the wailing. The crying.

She sees Gu Sheng's face. His face is expressionless, his eyes empty. She could feel his despair, his grief. But she is proud that he can hide it all under a mask of indifference.

That's it. Do not show them how much all of this is hurting you. You must do everything to survive, Little Gu. Survive, for both your father and I.

She is dead but why does her soul still lingers in the land of the living?

She wants to be with Gu Fang. The loneliness is unbearable for both of them. Gu Fang is waiting for her.

There is a blinding light and she could see her shadow, this shadow that appears out of nowhere. It looks at her standing there, looks at her and the dead body inside the coffin.

Then the shadow lies down then merges and hides itself within the dead body.

She could feel some sort of electricity connecting them together. They share each other's thoughts, each other's memories.

Who are you? Are you me?

If you are me and you live as me, avenge me. Avenge Gu Fang. Do this and I will disappear forever.

Promise me. Promise me.

I promise.

An Ning opened her eyes.

Gu Sheng was looking at her, fear and hopelessness etched on his pale and wan face. He looked so much like his father, so much like the young and carefree Gu Fang who traveled with her to Yuqui, who told her he loved her and wishes with all his heart to make her happy.

An Ning turned her head and wept bitter tears. She had kept her promise to that old version of An Ning. That old her who was optimistic and happy and whose life ended in tragedy before it could even begin to grow and flower.

"An Ning, thank god you're awake," Gu Sheng cried. "I was so afraid. You wouldn't wake up. We tried everything but you still wouldn't wake up."

An Ning sniffed loudly and looked tearfully at him.

"What?"

"You've been asleep for three days. We couldn't wake you. We thought you might be ill, wounded or something but you were perfectly fine. No wounds, no fever, nothing. You just wouldn't wake up."

"Three days? I've been asleep for three days?" An Ning said, sitting up. She was feeling dazed and her head hurts.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Gu Sheng said. He hesitated then he leaned forward and closed his strong, young arms around An Ning. "I was so scared. I thought you'd left me. I really thought you'd left me."

An Ning returned his embrace and tightened her arms around him. She could feel him trembling, could hear the tremor in his unsteady voice. That old version of An Ning loved this boy because he was an extension of Gu Fang. And now, this new An Ning inhabits this body and she made a promise.

What about her though? How is she going to get home back to the future?

Someone knocked on the door and when it opened, a middle aged man carrying a food tray was revealed. An Ning frowned. He looked vaguely familiar.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, my lord. I was waiting by the door to hear news of her majesty and heard murmurings inside. I assumed her majesty is awake and wanted something to eat. If my lord permits," the man said, bowing and entering the room.

"Yi Ying is right. You must be hungry. Come and serve imperial mother."

Yi Ying placed the tray on An Ning's lap. He removed the covers and a beguiling smell immediately swirled around the room. An Ning looked at the bowl of hot, mouth-watering chicken soup garnished with green onions and feel saliva pooling on her tongue. She picked up the spoon and started to eat, the bites growing bigger as her hunger grew. The soup was delicious. So was the plate of thin, crunchy biscuits and the cool and appetizing mango jelly that went with it. The green tea served on an exquisite cup was fresh and minty.

There was silence as An Ning satisfied her hunger. The emperor looked at her indulgently; Yi Ying quietly.

"Yi Ying?" An Ning asked finally, putting her spoon down and looking inquiringly at the other man.

"Yi Hai's father," the emperor said. "He and his wife have been taking care of us these last three days, cooking and cleaning and basically running the kitchen."

"Is there anything else you need, your majesty?" Yi Ying asked with a gentle smile in An Ning's direction.

"You know how to cook," it was not a question.

"My wife and I used to run a restaurant together but unfortunately we had to close it after a few months."

"Why? What happened?"

"The prime minister has a friend who opened a restaurant in the same street as our little restaurant. They told us we needed to leave. Yi Hai tried to lodge a complaint with the civil department but I didn't want him to lose his job so I closed the restaurant instead."

"You could have moved on to another area," the emperor pointed out. An Ning smiled at this innocent comment.

"My lord, the prime minister had long arms and I didn't want to bring trouble to my boy so..." Yi Ying shrugged.

"Just stay here and work for us," An Ning said, sighing and leaning back on the pillows. "My first priority is to find a cook anyway. If you want the job, it's yours."

Yi Ying looked at her, thunderstruck.

"Are you sure, your highness? I mean, I don't want to impose..."

"Do you want the job or not?"

"Yes."

"Then there's nothing else to say," An Ning said.

"Yes, your majesty," Yi Ying bowed. "Do you have any request for dinner tonight, your majesty? My lord?"

"Beef roast and something sweet."

"Yes, your majesty. My lord?"

"The same and jellied fruit, if you please. Any fruits would be fine," the emperor said.

When Yi Ying finally collected the tray and left, An Ning asked the emperor for updates.

"We killed all the ministers and slaughtered their families. Those that did not die were banished. The prime minister and his daughter are still alive though."

"Let them rot in there," An Ning said vengefully. "Don't feed them or let anyone see them. I want them to die an excruciating death."

The emperor was silent.

"What happened, An Ning?" he asked after a while. "Is she gone?"

An Ning looked at him with her brows furrowed.

"I don't know. I told her I've fulfilled my promise but I don't know if she's gone or not. I can't feel her anymore though so maybe she is gone and I'm the only left in this body."

"What happens now?" Gu Sheng's voice was barely a whisper.

"I need to go back. You know that, don't you? I need to return to my family."

The emperor turned his back and walked towards the window. The air was cool. Winter was coming. He could feel it on his bare skin where the air stung like tiny icicles. When he turned back, An Ning was standing behind him, looking at him with sadness in her eyes.

"Can you take me with you?" the quiet plea had the weight of the world in it.

An Ning sighed, remembering her dream. Her old version clung to her because she wanted revenge. Was she still clinging to her now because of her concern for Gu Sheng?

"What about Yuqui?"

"It never meant anything to me other than the kingdom where I live with my father and my grandmother. They're both gone now, An Ning. There is nothing here for me anymore. There is only grief and sadness."

An Ning sighed and surrendered.

"I don't want to leave with this mess though. Let's clean up first because people are still looking up to us, to you, to show them the way out of this mess. Let's give ourselves another six months then we'll leave, okay?"

It seems as though a heavy weight had fallen from the emperor's shoulders. He smiled and clutched at An Ning's hand.

"Six months then we'll go," he agreed, smiling. "By the way, when do you want to set up another interview for those people you need? I told everyone you were sick and we had to cancel. The news that you're awake must be out by now. Everybody will be expecting an announcement soon."

"Let's do it tomorrow at eight in the morning," An Ning said. "No use making anyone wait, right? A sudden frown crossed An Ning's face. "We still haven't found the poison maker."

"Torture the prime minister and his daughter?"

"Bleed them dry until they tell us the name of the poison maker who killed your father," An Ning said grimly. "After we get him, then we're finally done here."