open post: Empress Liu Mingyan
Dec. 13th, 2023 10:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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.
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.
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Date: 2023-12-13 04:22 pm (UTC)"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."
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Date: 2023-12-13 04:40 pm (UTC)It's a greeting and also a test; one can learn much from how someone reacts upon learning they are in the presence of the Empress.
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Date: 2023-12-13 05:28 pm (UTC)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."
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Date: 2023-12-13 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-13 06:42 pm (UTC)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 07:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2023-12-13 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2023-12-14 12:36 am (UTC)"Hi there," she says, crossing her arms and a little bit glad she has her axes strapped to her back today.
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Date: 2023-12-14 02:10 am (UTC)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."
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Date: 2023-12-14 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2023-12-14 03:35 am (UTC)"We are strangers," she says, evenly. "And I don't often take kindly to criticism of the Emperor. But I understand this is not my Empire. You say you like me. How do you know?"
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