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

[protagonisthalo]

The first half of this is surprising, but not shocking—Luo Binghe does not ever involve Ning Yingying in statecraft, but she does know him very well, and can often intuit his wants. But the second half draws him up short. There are many things to admire about Sha Hualing, but few people would call her wise. Also, he does not like the idea of anyone making decisions about his inner circle on his behalf. If this was absolutely anyone besides Liu Mingyan, he would consider it open insubordination—maybe even treason. Mingyan's position allows her a great deal of liberty, and Luo Binghe can understand that someone needs to rule in his absence. Mingyan, with her sharp mind, is more suited for it than Mobei-jun—but he still doesn't like it.

"I did not think you held Ling-er in such high regard." Luo Binghe rarely pays attention to the squabbles between his wives, but this particular one is too high-profile to ignore.

[empressliu]

"I do not," says Liu Mingyan, her nose wrinkling in dismay at the idea. "But—there are four souls in the Palace who know your absence is not by your own design. Myself, Ning Yingying, Mobei-jun, and her." How exactly Ning Yingying and Sha Hualing found out, when it had been Liu Mingyan and Mobei-jun who found Xin Mo, is beside the point.¹ "You know she toys with the loyalty her former subjects still have for her like an assassin with a knife. The appointment was strategic; she believes I hold her in high regard and have granted her power, but with the Empire at peace there is little use for her other than shoring up guard outposts and overseeing the building of ships, both of which she finds boring and tires of easily." She folds her hands over her knee. "And I intend to keep the Empire at peace."

This is approximately the truth. It is as much the truth as anything she ever tells Luo Binghe about Sha Hualing. She has a momentary pang at the thought; are these half-truths at odds with their newfound friendship?

¹ There may have been an argument; Ning Yingying may have been beautiful in her anger over Liu Mingyan keeping secrets; Sha Hualing may have been a fucking sneak who'd developed counter-talismans to specifically spy on Liu Mingyan's warded conversations—and other encounters²—in her private quarters.
² Sadly said other encounters do not yet include Ning Yingying. Though not for lack of trying on Liu Mingyan's part, recently.

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe relaxes a fraction. Of course Mingyan's choice was clear-eyed and sensible; he would expect nothing less. He doesn't object, exactly—it's possible he would have made the same decision himself, especially if he had discussed it with Mingyan, as he often does. But it wasn't his decision. It's all well and good to put his Empire behind him while he focuses on his time at the Mansion, but he really doesn't like the idea of it moving on without him.

He also doesn't like the idea of Liu Mingyan coming to believe she can run the realms without him. He does trust her, but "trust" to Luo Binghe means understanding someone's motivations, and knowing they do not conflict with his. He trusts Mobei-jun, because Mobei-jun responds to power, and no one is stronger than Luo Binghe. He trusts Liu Mingyan because they need each other, and therefore will not work against each other. If that balance shifts, he's not confident in a friendship that is less than an incense time old.

But he won't express any of this. "What more news?"

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan hesitates. If Luo Binghe had only been gone a short while, on a night hunt, or quelling a local dispute, or acquiring a new wife, her report would be easy to make. But he's been gone for more than three months, and so much has happened in that time that it would take many sticks of incense to recite. She does not believe she was brought here for that purpose; if Luo Binghe returns with her, today, she can make a full report in his audience hall, and if he does not, it serves no purpose for him.

Besides, she has another question. "My lord. I know of course that you would break no promises to your wives. But--given your true preferences. Will you no longer be visiting their beds?"

[protagonisthalo]

These are questions Luo Binghe thought he would have more time to answer. He told Shen Yuan on their date that he was leaving his harem behind, and he meant it. But what that will look like when he actually returns is still unclear.

"No, I won't. It holds no appeal for me. As for what that means, for me and my wives and my rule... I do not know. Fear of that question is exactly what kept me from realizing it for so long. I had to come here, where my preferences mean nothing, to admit them."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan nods. "I ask as your friend," she says, gentling her voice, a little. "I can speak to them, when I return, and prepare them for this eventuality as you see fit. In your absence, many of them look to me for guidance." She hesitates. "I can help them with fulfilling other needs, as well."

She already is, of course; she has been for years, in some cases, and there are other dalliances between wives, as well. Luo Binghe knows this. But they do not speak of it, the way they do not speak of happiness and its impossibility. But—if his preferences truly mean nothing, here, perhaps hers can, as well.

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe considers this. "Do not tell them about Shen Yuan. Many of my wives will not take it well, if they believe another lover has turned my head and cooled my affections toward them. It will breed resentment before they have even met him. Imagine Naonao," he says with a grimace. "But if they have some idea that I am focusing on other pursuits, and won't be as attentive when I return... Yes, it may help manage expectations."

Luo Binghe does know, of course, that Mingyan's bed is not cold, even though she is scrupulously devoted to chastity.¹ He doesn't mind at all, but it is like the quarrels and rivalries among his harem—as long as no one's trying to kill each other, it's best to let his wives work things out between them. They would not thank him for being overly vigilant. But, if he and Mingyan speaking as friends... He raises an eyebrow. "Are there any among my wives who... particularly need fulfillment?"

¹Once again, gay sex doesn't count. I don't know why I have to keep explaining this, it's so obvious and reasonable.

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan can easily imagine Naonao. She is angry enough that Luo Binghe has been away so long, and if Liu Mingyan's cultivation were less high she would have the (mostly consensual) whip scars to prove it. "Fei Tianwu, of course; she feels—" perhaps rightfully "—robbed of her due time with you, as your newest wife." She also likes to bring her knife to bed, as if it will do any more to Liu Mingyan than it had to Luo Binghe. "Guo Tanglang, recently, as well; I believe she is... used to a certain level of attention, whether from you or at home, and I have been glad to provide it."

There is also Sha Hualing, of course, but what Liu Mingyan does with Sha Hualing is not about fulling her needs. That would imply she cares about Sha Hualing's needs, and she does not. She skips over her and ventures, letting some of her frustration bleed through into her voice, "Yingying will not come to me."

[protagonisthalo]

The mention of Fei Tianwu causes Luo Binghe a rare stab of guilt. It's all seemed so far away, here—so far away that he forgot her name, and considered only how thoughtless it made him look to Shen Yuan. The rest, though—

"Yingying?" He smiles at the thought of her. "She is so kind and accommodating. She spurns you?" She's never rejected Luo Binghe, but he'll try not to be smug about it.

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan frowns at this, a little. "It is not that she spurns me," she says. "She only--does not--" she stops, feeling suddenly and unexpectedly embarrassed. What was the problem, truly? That Yingying did not offer herself, prostrate, the moment Liu Mingyan began acting as de facto Emperor? "I have not asked," she admits, finally. "But I do not need to ask. Not with anyone else."

[protagonisthalo]

This, Luo Binghe understands. He felt the same on arrival here, when none of the women were responding to his attentions as expected. Liu Mingyan has his sympathies. But she is speaking to Ning Yingying's husband. Luo Binghe is perhaps the person most qualified to assist in all the realms. "Yingying has a compassionate heart. Displays of strength and power do not entice her. But if she sees that you need her, she will not be able to resist. Even better if she believes you need only her—if you are strong and confident with everyone else, but unveil a more troubled side to her alone."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan sighs. "And I suppose it must be a true unveiling," she complains. What a new feeling, to complain to Luo Binghe, but she knows this is a difficulty he will understand. "She will see through false vulnerability."

[protagonisthalo]

"Oh, yes. She's far too perceptive for that." Luo Binghe didn't really have a choice in this matter—Ning Yingying has known him since he was too young and pathetic to conceal anything. "It's too bad you can't do it in a dream. That's what I do when I want to reveal something I have no desire to talk about."

[empressliu]

"That does sound convenient," says Liu Mingyan. She wonders if this conversation, itself, may serve as her opening—her experience finding their husband in this strangest of all realms, the changes she found in him, how unsettling but simultaneously hopeful, even joyful she found them. But—and this is the thing that has really prevented her from starting this conversation with Yingying so far—something else will be required of her, as well. "I'm afraid I may owe her an apology."

[protagonisthalo]

"Oh?" Luo Binghe crosses his legs, his mouth quirking upwards. "What has my Empress done to my First Wife?"

[empressliu]

"Underestimated her," Liu Mingyan says, immediately. "Sidelined her, in my estimations of those in your harem with power and skill." She folds her hands together and stares at them. "I have never entirely understood your relationship with her. I thought her ruled by sentiment." And his regard for her born of the same, but that is too much to say to Luo Binghe, even speaking as friends.

[protagonisthalo]

Hm. Luo Binghe loves Ning Yingying, but he would not deem her particularly powerful or skilled either. Perhaps he has underestimated her as well—perhaps, in his absence, his wives are discovering things they could not discover with him near, just as he has learned things he could not discover with them near. "When you speak of this to her"—he is not going to bother advising Mingyan to do so; he can see she already intends it—"will you also tell her I miss her?"

[empressliu]

"Of course. She misses you, too." They have not spoken of it, but she knows it's true nonetheless. She regards Luo Binghe thoughtfully. "She is your friend, I think, without needing to change anything at all."

[protagonisthalo]

"We were friends," Luo Binghe acknowledges, "when we were children. If I have ever had a true friend before this place, I think it must be her."

Marrying her was the only thing he could think to do with how much he loves her. If he thinks on it too deeply, he's going to fall back into brooding over all his failures. "If we've finished with the business between us—would you like to meet Shen Yuan? It would please me to introduce you."

[empressliu]

"Please," says Liu Mingyan, with some relief. It's not that she doesn't value Luo Binghe's advice, but she doesn't know how much he truly might like to hear that his wives find pleasure in her; she will not mention, for example, that some of them call her husband in hushed tones, or admit they prefer the company of women. None of them regret their marriages, of course, but there is a sense of relief, in his absence, living alongside the sorrow of it, sometimes within the same heart. "I am eager to see this beautiful ghost who has so enchanted you."

This is mostly true. She does not relish looking upon Shen Qingqiu, whole; but she would like to see for herself how a physical form can be changed by a new soul alone.

[protagonisthalo]

Of course, Luo Binghe can easily locate Shen Yuan with his blood. He takes Liu Mingyan through the halls, finding Shen Yuan near the entrance to the mansion, in conversation with a shorter man Luo Binghe doesn't recognize.

Or does he? Luo Binghe narrows his eyes. Isn't that the An Ding Peak Lord—Mobei-jun's former spy? He wasn't very good at it, to Luo Binghe's memory, and Mobei-jun killed him without ceremony as soon as he was exposed. But perhaps he comes from Shen Yuan's world, where he might not have outlasted his usefulness yet. If so, his presence may put pressure on Shen Yuan to continue acting like Shen Qingqiu, something that would surely burden him. "My love," Luo Binghe says to Shen Yuan in greeting, keeping a suspicious eye on the spy.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan would school his expression from threatening Airplane to looking at Luo Binghe, but it kind of happens automatically, his scowl melting into a soft smile. If Airplane makes fun of him he'll definitely still claim to have done it deliberately, though. "Hi," he says, and then takes in the figure with Luo Binghe. "Oh--oh my god, hi." He sweeps into a bow that befits an Empress.

[greatmasterairplane]

Shang Qinghua is about to respond to the news that his favorite OC fed his trashy fantasy novel blood parasites to a character from Hamlet, but then he glances up. And freezes.

That's—that's Luo Binghe! Shang Qinghua has seen him before, the miniature disciple version, but he always tried not to get too close, or even know too much about it. He might have written this tragic backstory of child abuse, but it still made him squeamish to actually watch it. But this is the real thing! The stallion Emperor, conquerer of warlords and women, radiating demonic power and vitality!

Shang Qinghua is pretty proud of himself. Luo Binghe is really fucking cool. And handsome—which he notes with an artisan's eye, since Bing-ge is not to his taste—but he crafted him for mass appeal, and the result is undeniable. Next to Liu Mingyan, whose presence is almost as impressive—like a rare flower, cold with the morning frost—it makes for an extremely intimidating tableau.

He's also, it must be said, a little impressed with Cucumber-bro. Not for scoring Binghe—Luo Binghe is unbelievably easy. But for daring to! Even if Shang Qinghua were interested, he'd be scared out of his mind! Like kissing a fire-breathing dragon!¹ Does the beauty really outweigh the danger??

Well, he's not about to stick around to find out. Great to see you, son—time for your old dad to leave before he finds out where in the original Shang Qinghua's lifespan Bing-ge is from!

"We'll talk about this later," Shang Qinghua tells Shen Yuan, and high-tails it out of there.

¹Sorry, Temeraire.

[protagonisthalo]

Luo Binghe will have to check in with Shen Yuan later, and make sure that Mobei-jun's lackey said nothing to offend or upset him. For now, he pulls Shen Yuan up out of the bow with a hand on his elbow, and leans in to kiss him on the cheek. "This is my Empress. Liu Mingyan."

[empressliu]

Liu Mingyan gives Shen Yuan the same bow she gives to every wife that Luo Binghe presents her. As she straightens up, she regards him: it is Shen Qingqiu's body, but it takes her a moment to be certain, because both his dress and his mannerisms are so entirely different. He is dressed in the same strange style as Luo Binghe, though his shirt has longer sleeves and a softer, thicker fabric, for comfort rather than fashion. His bow is uncertain, slightly awed, rather than vicious and mocking. His smile--he is smiling at all, and it is aimed at Luo Binghe, and it is genuine, and warm, and everything she needs to be certain that this is, in truth, an entirely new person.

Luo Binghe also touches him differently than he ever has his wives. Casually, but compulsively, as if he cannot help it. There had been no flirtation or purpose to that kiss on his cheek, simply an expression of genuine and unthinking fondness. It makes something in her chest ache, sharply.

Still--she does not know this ghost. It is possible, if not exactly likely, that he might have some sinister motive--possible, even, that it is he who has brought Luo Binghe here, and that his winsome and yielding exterior is the sweetness at the heart of this elegant snare.

This must surely have occurred to Luo Binghe as well, and he has presumably dismissed it; still, she holds herself back from unreserved acceptance as of yet.

"Young master Shen," she greets him. "My husband has explained to me his heart belongs to you, now."