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: 2023-12-24 06:42 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (43. still i came back)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
"Of course you must." Susan draws herself up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. The ornament Liu Mingyan had been wearing in her hair has fallen in between the folds of the covers on Susan's bed; she retrieves it and holds it out as she casts her gaze about the room, trying to remember where Liu Mingyan had put her veil.

Date: 2023-12-24 07:22 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (35. and if you wouldn't mind)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
Oh, there's the veil! Susan wrests herself out of bed, walking unselfconsciously nakedly (save, of course, for her garter belt and nylons) over to where it's draped against her doorknob so she can retrieve it and - ideally - put it on Liu Mingyan for her.

Date: 2023-12-24 09:30 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (37. hope you don't mind)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
Susan approaches Liu Mingyan, veil in hand, but she kisses her, intent and focused, running a hand over the warm curve of her side once, touch firm and lingering, since she's likely not to see it again. "This has been a most pleasant diversion," she says, helping to straighten her robes.

Date: 2023-12-25 05:14 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (05. easy they go)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
The veil is easily returned to Liu Mingyan's face, though Susan steals one more kiss before attaching it fully. She is a little sorry to see those fantastic lips vanish behind the fabric of it, but it does add a particular allure to the woman!

She retrieves her own dress and shrugs it over her shoulders, leaving her underwear behind for the time being. "Might I take you anywhere in particular? Do you know where your husband is most likely to be?"

Date: 2023-12-26 08:48 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (41. i don't need your baggage)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
Given that every fiber of Susan's being is still humming from Liu Mingyan's touch, she can imagine at least some of the complexities of her marriage! "Very well," she says, buttoning her dress. "I'm afraid I don't know his usual haunts, but I can show you to one of our common spaces, if that would be helpful?"

Date: 2023-12-27 03:41 am (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (12. i've been the prey)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
So Susan leads her to the cafe. But it seems like the loud Frenchmen have trebled in volume since she snuck out pastries for Lucy, so she shakes her head and takes her to the bar down the hall, instead. "Here we are."

Date: 2023-12-27 05:09 pm (UTC)
quote_gentle_unquote: (19. and i am gravity)
From: [personal profile] quote_gentle_unquote
"As do you," says Susan, squeezing Liu Mingyan's shoulder briefly. "Enjoy the rest of your stay!"

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