open post: Empress Liu Mingyan

[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.

Comments

[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."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan is of half a mind to dismiss this man as entirely mad, but he recognized her, and the things he's saying do ring true, except one—what, precisely, differentiates Luo Binghe's devoted lover from the ranks of his wives? She will have to ferret it out, it seems, and weave some sense out of his ramblings.

"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?"

[wickedwit]

Claudius sighs and crosses his arms, leaning back against the wall -- which feels solid enough. He's been sleeping better, and hasn't been waking the mansion in a haze any more, so it would be strange to find he's passed out on some other solid surface and taken it for a wall in his dream. But not unprecedented. Was he drinking with Crowley last night? Is Galahad going to find him and drag him back to his room?

"If you are a dream, Luo Binghe's at least taking a different tack -- I'll give him that. That's how I know you. Luo Binghe introduced you all to me through a dream. I know his entire harem now: you, Zhu Naonao, Qin Wanyue, Ning Yinging ... all lovely women. All the proof anyone should need, really. You know, I used to believe most men were bisexual -- that's a word I learned from Luo Binghe's lover, by the way -- except that some men do marry women for convention's sake, and find they prefer other men. They then go on to have affairs in secret, which is how I tend to meet them. But I've never met a man who married over a hundred wives. He truly was not prepared for that kiss, was he?"

[empressliu]

Only half of this makes any sense at all to Liu Mingyan, and the tone it is delivered in puts her in mind of one of those members of the demon nobility who are very certain they know everything better than you do and will pontificate on their insights to a situation for hours if allowed. Her patience is running thin, and she dislikes hearing her fellow wives listed in this way, as if this stranger does know them, just because Luo Binghe may have shown him their pale shadows in a dream.

She barely seems to move, but suddenly Cheng Luan is free of its sheathe and its point is levelled at the stranger's throat, keeping him pressed against the wall he leans against. "I am no dream," she says, eyes narrowed to slits above her veil. "If you like me, as you claim, do not make me prove it."

[wickedwit]

Claudius looks down at the blade-tip, and back up again at Liu Mingyan. The rules of this place change so often, he needs to stop forgetting the basic ones. Visitors come here from various fictions, sometimes the same ones, and then then they're here for the foreseeable future, so it's best to start off on the right foot. The magic spells, sent by the mansion itself or by its more irritating denizens -- those shuffle around, never too predictable. It was cocky of him, to think he caught this one.

"Well, I've made a fool of myself," he says. "Shall we try again? It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Claudius."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan sheathes her sword and offers him a shallow bow. "Claudius," she repeats. "I am Liu Mingyan. You know this already. Why did my husband introduce us in a dream?"

[wickedwit]

Because he's obsessed with me is the mean girl answer¹. "You likely have better insight into him than I do," he says instead. "It was a bit too colorful of me to say introduced. He didn't make any introductions." Claudius refrains from adding he wasn't that polite of a host. That's also a bit too mean girl to say to Luo Binghe's Empress. "He sent me a dream where I was a part of the harem -- one of the wives, you might say. Naturally a lesser one than you, but we crossed paths." And the other wives loved her -- which would be a nicer thing to say, but still forward.

¹ Claudius has never seen Mean Girls, but after making a burn book with his two friends, he feels like he gets the mean girl lifestyle.

[empressliu]

This does sound like the kind of indulgent dream Luo Binghe might send someone who desired to court him, but--this Claudius is not Luo Binghe's lover. There will be no others, he'd said, with a new kind of certainty--not a wall against a desire, but an expression of fullness, of wholeness. Claudius had mentioned a kiss, as well--likely one that Luo Binghe had granted him, along with the dream, as a consolation prize.

The mystery of Luo Binghe's actions solved, she moves on to this man's next bit of nonsense. "Bisexual," she says. "What does it mean?"

[wickedwit]

"As I understand it, it means being desirous of intimate company and romance with women and men alike. I'd ask you to forget the rest of what I said, but I know you aren't the type to take one answer and discard the implications." Or the type for starting over, he really. He sighs. "For what it's worth, I was being glib. I didn't mean to suggest your rank and status as Luo Binghe's wife was a trivial thing, whatever Luo Binghe's preferences may be. I've made a fool of myself, but I'm not that foolish -- not if you're anything like the Liu Mingyan of my dream."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan regards him for a long moment. "I am already aware that his preferences do nothing to threaten my rank," she says finally, "given that my rank has never relied upon his interest in me, nor mine in him. If you had intended to suggest otherwise, you would simply be incorrect. I have little reason to care about the incorrect opinions of men."

[wickedwit]

“It’s a trait I admire, believe me. For my part, I can spend an exhausting amount of time caring about a person’s incorrect opinion of me.” It’s why he needs to untangle himself from Luo Binghe — though with their truth-spelled conversation and their brush with childhood friendship, it’s more worrying to think Luo Binghe might understand him, or find they have more in common than their obvious, vicious differences. It’s safer when they’re completely irreconcilable. Thank someone he isn’t visiting Claudius’s dreams this time, or gleaning anything more from his nightmares. “You’re an empress who knows her worth, worthy of her own respect, and I never imagined you were anything else.”

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan frowns, slightly. It is clear from the dream, and the kiss, that this Claudius holds at least some of Luo Binghe's regard, but she is struggling, right now, to imagine why. "Is there something you hope to gain, with this flattery? I am only a visitor here, I can offer you no favors."

[wickedwit]

No, I just spend an inordinate amount of time being pleasant to people who'd sooner draw swords on me, or threaten me with parasitic blood, or torture me with said parasites when I stop being pleasant.. It's a good thing he isn't truth-spelled right now. But it is, he realizes, a blessing. If Luo Binghe sent him that dream to taunt him with the idea that the harem was a pleasant place to be with women Claudius could befriend, that's gone. He didn't even have to be a mean girl about it. "Nor would I ask for any," he says, even more pleasant than before. "I hope you enjoy your visit."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan nearly lets him go. He reminds her of her least favorite kind of politician; always with a ready word and never a clear intent. But—she sighs. "Wait," she says. "You offered a fresh start, and I refused it; it was—unkind." She can almost hear Sha Hualing laughing at her; since when has she been kind? Gracious, yes, and occasionally merciful. She doubts that's the same. "I am struggling to socialize in a place where the power dynamics seem so—flattened, and I disliked the idea that you had some knowledge of me that I did not grant. I apologize."

[wickedwit]

Oh. An apology's the last thing he expects, and it steals the silver lining Claudius was reaching for, along with the rest of the raincloud. He looks uncertain, like someone not dressed for sudden changes in weather. "Well, I did make a fool of myself. I said that, but ... I did not apologize for it." He sighs. "It's never a pleasant thing, finding your reputation precedes you and not knowing how it spread. Even worse when it makes people treat as little more than a figment. Let me offer my own apologies, accepting yours."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan gives him another bow, slightly deeper this time. "Liu Mingyan," she says, "Empress of the Three Realms. I have only recently arrived, I can see my eventual method of departure clearly, and I find things with my husband--not as I expected." She straightens up. "There. An introduction I have control over."

[wickedwit]

"That makes you rather unique, if you can see your way out. Even more like a guest than the other guests who find their way here." But Claudius isn't inclined to doubt her. She wouldn't say such a thing, he thinks, without certainty. "Well, I shouldn't neglect hospitality. Would you care for food or drink? We've a café here for both, and a game room for entertainments."

[empressliu]

"I have been introduced to strange, dark wine by Sagramore, and a heavily spiced noodle soup by lovely Nina," says Liu Mingyan, "but no one has yet thought to offer me games." Unless you count her sparring with Janet. "Lead on."

[wickedwit]

"Ah, if you've seen Nina and Sagramore, I know you've been given the best of welcomes. Sagramore is the soul of charm, and Nina a talented woman at making friends." He speaks with fondness for them both, though his fondness for Nina is tinged with some wonder at the friends she's made. Once more, Claudius reminds himself how dangerous it is for him to be invested in Luo Binghe's relationships -- but here he is leading Luo Binghe's wife and empress to the game room, curious what she'll make of it.

Claudius finds the way easily, well-acquainted with it now. Even without the pleasant victory, playing billiards with Grantaire reminded him much he enjoyed shifting calculations and assessing angles, during a time where he needed to keep his mind occupied, or else spiral into grief. Learning new entertainments, and devising new strategies, served the purpose. It also meant Claudius had many more hustles in his pocket, if he ever wanted to pretend complete ignorance of pinball.

[empressliu]

Perhaps it is how much she has been discussing Shen Qingqiu that has brought her disciple days to the front of her mind, but when Liu Mingyan sees the game room she misses her shizun with a sudden and startling ache. Qi Qingqi had gone missing after the siege in Cang Qiong, and Liu Mingyan sometimes imagines she sees her face in strangers that pass her in the street when she is out on night hunts, or in wandering cultivators drinking alone at inns. How wonderful it would be if instead she had been taken here, allowed to take up any of these strange and dazzling games and enjoy these strange and dazzling people. What joy it would have brought her gambler's heart.

Liu Mingyan's heart is somewhat less enamored of games of chance, but she has an equal love of games of strategy. She notices a go board arrayed on a table at the back, and nods to it. "Do you play?"

[wickedwit]

"I recognize the board for weiqi -- I'm somewhere beneath a novice at it. A friend of mine is teaching me to play, and he's merciless teacher." And he likes already the idea of playing it with Liu Mingyan. "Perhaps you can show me your skills?"

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan inclines her head, and leads him over to the board, kneeling at the table. She slides the little bowl of black stones toward Claudius. "I play mostly with Luo Binghe," she says—a further olive branch, if Claudius enjoys hearing of him. "It settles his mind."

[wickedwit]

It is something of a consolation, and an amusing thought. "His is a mind not easily settled ... but neither is mine, I suppose. Strategy tends to distract it sufficiently." Lan Wangji told him black stones begin, so Claudius considers his first move. All games seem to start in taking the corners, though he did try once to start in the center just to see how he'd handled defending multiple fronts. Not well. Politely and practically, he places his first stone more towards the upper right.

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan begins in the upper left. She will begin defensively, building her own connections, but such that she can extend easily to stop her opponent's breath. "Is there much here you need distraction from?" she asks, mildly. So far her experience has been shockingly, even suspiciously pleasant, the beginning of this encounter notwithstanding.

[wickedwit]

Claudius laughs, and decides to tell an illustrative story, but tell it in a different way. "In the world I came from, I had just executed the first step in a plan to take over a kingdom. Naturally, I'm uneasy leaving work unfinished, and I soon started looking for other objectives to distract myself. I had a very dramatic misunderstanding with Luo Binghe, early on, because we both share the same ambitious mindset. We both intended to become leaders of the mansion ... yet somehow never directly made it known to each other. So when Luo Binghe found out, he was not best-pleased." As he speaks, he builds his own defenses on the board. He keeps his plays gentle, testing, sticking to uncontested territory before conflict becomes inevitable. When he strays closer to Liu Mingyan's side, it feels like a deliberate probe to see if Liu Mingyan will switch from defensive tactics, rather than a sincere attempt at offense.