empressliu: (Default)
[personal profile] empressliu
Liu Mingyan has a lot on her mind.

In the three months since Luo Binghe vanished into thin air, Xin Mo abandoned at the foot of his throne, his Empire—her Empire—has... changed. The throne remains empty, of course—to have anyone else claim it, even temporarily, would be conceding that his absence is unintentional, either accidental or, more likely, a malicious coup. Whoever did the claiming would be the prime suspect for mal intent, including Mingyan herself. So it sits, empty, at the center of his great hall, Mobei-Jun standing sentinel beside it, never to be looked at directly by any visiting dignitary or sniveling demonic petitioner.

She's been redirecting all audiences to her wing of the palace instead. Her hall is not quite so grand, but it is nearly as imposing, and her own throne no less terrible and beautiful. When Luo Binghe is in residence, she primarily uses this hall for meetings with her network of all-female spies—not because Luo Binghe doesn't know about them, in his vague and uninterested way, but because Liu Mingyan has learned from experience that if they encounter him they turn very quickly from useful and competent agents to fawning and lovestruck young maidens, and then it's only a matter of time before they join the ranks of the harem. Liu Mingyan does not resent this; there would be no point. But she prefers to conduct her business in private nonetheless.

Now, of course, even from her own throne many of her edicts must be delivered as if they're orders that Luo Binghe left for her to give. Ning Yingying has been surprisingly useful on this front; despite Liu Mingyan's disdain for what she believed a naive and trusting heart who had given up her sect loyalty to marry for love, Ning Yinging does know Luo Binghe, perhaps better even than Liu Mingyan does, offering insight into what Luo Binghe would have said, if he had in fact instructed Mingyan on how to handle this matter. Liu Mingyan does not always take this advice—she does not always want to do what Luo Binghe would have done, especially as his absence stretches from days into weeks into months, but she does not resent it, either.

In truth, what Liu Mingyan resents is the idea that Luo Binghe will return, and she will be expected to relinquish rule back to him, and everything she has built—the tenuous and confusing peace between herself and Sha Hualing, and thus the quelling of the constant threat of southern rebellion; the ease with which she receives the other wives and soothes their fears, rather than holding herself above them;1 the shifted tenor of court itself, with fewer public displays of violence2—all of it will go back to normal, and Liu Mingyan finds she has less taste for normal every day. It's not that she doesn't want Luo Binghe to return—of course she does—but she wishes that somehow he might return different. It's a futile thought, and a disloyal one to think about a man who created this life for her, a man she cares deeply about, but she cannot deny that she thinks it.

So when she steps down a secret stairway into a corridor that should lead to her chambers and ends up in an unfamiliar hallway instead—the light entirely wrong, the architecture unfamiliar—her first thoughts are uncharitable. It seems obvious that this is the same trap that ensnared Luo Binghe. It also seems unfair to make her the one to bring him home, and be the agent of her own undoing. She'll do it—he is her husband, and while that doesn't mean the same thing to her as it does many of his wives, it does mean something significant, as undeniable as it is ill-defined—and her Emperor. But—

She sets her jaw behind her veil and wraps her fingers around Cheng Luan's hilt, proceeding silently down the hallway.

[NSFW: Susan's thread, Janet's thread]

1 Well, sometimes she's still above them. If you know what I mean.
2 Not that there has been no violence—it's just generally conducted elsewhere. Her floors are harder to clean than Luo Binghe's.

Date: 2023-12-13 04:22 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (43. still i came back)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
Well, here's a woman clearly familiar with wielding authority! Susan takes in the veil and the sword, and then takes a step back so she can get a better look.

"You're new," she observes and then - nothing ventured, et cetera; it's a good day: "I'd remember if I'd seen you before."

Date: 2023-12-13 04:48 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (43. still i came back)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
"Liu Mingyan," Susan says. The name means nothing to her, of course, but the woman's bearing is familiar. She curtsies, precisely as deeply as one queen might curtsy to another. "Well met. I'm Susan Pevensie. Do let me know if I can be of any -" She pauses here, and tilts her head to one side. "- Service."

Date: 2023-12-13 05:25 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (05. easy they go)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
"Of course," says Susan, graciously. She draws herself up and gestures down the hallway. "There's a table with information, but nobody has managed to create a useful map yet." She knows; she's been trying during her attempts to inventory the Mansion's supplies. "Do you have any particular interests or needs? We can begin the tour accordingly."

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Date: 2023-12-13 05:28 pm (UTC)
protagonisthalo: (mild surprise)
From: [personal profile] protagonisthalo
Luo Binghe's body reacts to Liu Mingyan's presence before he consciously recognizes her. It's an immediate feeling of relief, conditioned by how many times he has gone to her chambers for support.

But this isn't Luo Binghe visiting Liu Mingyan to seek her counsel or company. Liu Mingyan is here, in the same place as Shen Yuan—the same place where Luo Binghe has been trying to find a new way to live. An unwelcome sense of insecurity unfurls in his heart, as though he's been discovered naked—if he was the kind of person who would be bothered by that. He's thought about introducing Shen Yuan to Liu Mingyan and the others, when he arrives back in his world, triumphant, with his new, best wife on his arm. Not like this, when Luo Binghe is still learning how to fit himself into the shape of someone Shen Yuan deserves.

What will Liu Mingyan think of him here? She would expect him to be ruler of this place. The population here is so small and easily dominated. Luo Binghe has stopped seeking power, but now it shames him how easily he let it go. Wouldn't it be simple to assert his rule? He is undoubtedly the strongest here. He should have everyone else pledging him tribute and bowing at his feet. That is undoubtedly what Liu Mingyan would expect—what she will assume is true. And what is he doing instead—brooding over his past, and worrying about making friends?

It's truly pathetic. He has been seeing himself through the eyes of Shen Yuan and Nina Zenik, who like this softer, more introspective Luo Binghe. But that is not who Liu Mingyan married—her partner in rule. If he has failed to secure his own position, it means he has failed to secure hers as well, and the foundation of their relationship is how they protect each other.

But let it not be said that Luo Binghe was ever afraid of greeting his own wife. He strides forward. "Mingyan."

Date: 2023-12-13 06:42 pm (UTC)
protagonisthalo: (Default)
From: [personal profile] protagonisthalo
The outfit signals Shen Yuan's claim to him, and even if Luo Binghe is not proud of how he's conducted himself here, he could never be ashamed of that. He raises his chin, daring her to comment further.

The words he spoke to Shen Yuan come back to him unbidden—Mingyan is my closest friend, said so confidently. An easy thing to say in her absence. It strains his nerves to put it to the test. "It is good to see you. My thoughts have turned to you often, these past few months. Come, sheath your sword and let us sit in the parlor. You are in no danger here, and we have much to discuss." He gestures in the direction of one of the mansion's many lounges.

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Date: 2023-12-13 06:54 pm (UTC)
ravkanwitch: (b&w confused)
From: [personal profile] ravkanwitch
Nina rounds a corner and nearly runs into her, mildly startling herself in the process. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she says - before realizing that it's someone new. She eyes the veil and the sword. "Hi, I'm Nina. You must be new here?"

Date: 2023-12-13 08:56 pm (UTC)
ravkanwitch: (smirk)
From: [personal profile] ravkanwitch
"Skulking or not, it's a pleasure to meet you," Nina says with a smile. "Have you been here long?"

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Date: 2023-12-14 12:36 am (UTC)
sorrowandsorrow: (magic time)
From: [personal profile] sorrowandsorrow
Whoa. Janet had thought the badass woman shtick was basically being filled by her and Susan, but this is kind of a new level of badass. There's some crazy power radiating off this lady, too.

"Hi there," she says, crossing her arms and a little bit glad she has her axes strapped to her back today.

Date: 2023-12-14 02:09 am (UTC)
sorrowandsorrow: (royalty moment)
From: [personal profile] sorrowandsorrow
"Liu Mingyan," Janet repeats. She's subdued for maybe half a second, but then she's smiling her best queenly smile. "I'm Janet. Queen of Fillory. By the way, I hate to break it to you, but this place is probably a lot more boring than wherever you came from."

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Date: 2023-12-14 02:10 am (UTC)
wickedwit: (faceclaim is Aidan Turner from And Then There Were None) (Default)
From: [personal profile] wickedwit
There's a time for lines like you look familiar and have I met you before? Even when you're well aware where you met -- it can be worth playing the game of going through all your past engagements and acquaintances, dancing around where your interests happened to meet. It's the feeling of getting to know someone again, enlivening in its way, with plenty of opportunities for smiling flattery because how could you forget a face like that.

But Claudius couldn't forget a face like this one. It's veiled, yes, but her clothes, her manner -- they're all things Claudius couldn't invent. Tell-tale signs. He even thinks he remembers her name, Liu Mingyan, because even in his dream he had to memorize everyone's names.

"Luo Binghe," Claudius says out loud, to no one. "I'm conscious for this one. You caught me in the middle of a nightmare, last time, and if you want me to thank you for interrupting, I will. But I'm ..." What would Luo Binghe want to hear? It's a waste of time to even consider it. Claudius isn't giving him more extravagant flattery, and it's not as though they're friends. He's not going to flatter himself into thinking the interruption of his nightmare came from any personal concern. Nevertheless. "I'm fine. You can go back to manipulating the dreams of other mortals."

Date: 2023-12-14 02:57 am (UTC)
wickedwit: (mm really?)
From: [personal profile] wickedwit
"Ah, we're strangers now, I see. Listen, Liu Mingyan, I like you. I like how sharp you are," he says, directing his comments to the vision now. He spreads out his hands, even, talking through it, the way he would if he were awake. "So sharp it makes me reconsider Luo Binghe's own intelligence, but you and I both know that isn't fair to him. He's intelligent enough when he isn't following phantasms, which he conjures out of his own insecurity. And, for whatever reason, all I see of him is insecurity ... but he has a devoted lover and should be quite happy now. Other than his hundred of wives, of course. You know what I mean."

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Date: 2023-12-14 03:12 am (UTC)
sagramore: (distant)
From: [personal profile] sagramore
He's in a less pleasant mood than he was earlier for having spoken to Reynaldo, but not so unpleasant that he doesn't bow to this new newcomer when he rounds the corner and sees her. "My lady."

Date: 2023-12-14 02:32 pm (UTC)
sagramore: (wintery)
From: [personal profile] sagramore
"It depends on the nature of the questions," inasmuch as they'd better not be about Laertes, "but I'll try."

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