“I won’t,” Xiao Tian said flatly.
He felt there was no point explaining to His Majesty; the Emperor could never grasp Yi Qing’s kind of pride — the pride that would never tolerate sharing a man with any other woman.
Seeing the Emperor about to argue, Xiao Tian cut him off. “If you insist on this, Your Majesty, think of the Empress. Didn’t she do her part for you?”
The Emperor’s face darkened. “Don’t you dare speak that woman’s name to me.”
“Your Majesty,” Xiao Tian said evenly, “to me, Ping Xinian is not even on the same level as the Empress. At least the Empress never truly harmed anyone. Ping Xinian tried to kill Yi Qing and the child.”
“She never harmed anyone?” The Emperor laughed, angry and incredulous. “If it weren’t for her persecution, Ci’er wouldn’t have been unable to conceive for so long!”
Xiao Tian’s lips twitched, but he didn’t reveal the whole truth. He didn’t have enough proof to make the Emperor believe him — not yet. He used to act on impulse; not anymore. He had someone he loved now, someone whose trust was unshakable, and he knew how bone-deep the pain of betrayal could be.
“Ping Xinian and I explained everything,” Xiao Tian said. “She suspected that Yi Qing and her child were posing as your relatives and acted out of anger. The misunderstanding’s been cleared up — they can live together in peace now. And Xiao Tian, think — you’re dead. She still carried your memorial tablet into the hall. Doesn’t that move you at all?”
“Without Yi Qing, maybe I would have agreed,” Xiao Tian said. “But now I won’t. Especially knowing she harbored such vicious intent. People can be selfish, but they mustn’t be cruel. Even if everything she said were true, the child is innocent. A woman who would lay hands on a child — I won’t take her.”
He paused. “And I put it plainly today: I want only Yi Qing.”
The Emperor was speechless for a moment. “I’ve already issued the edict.”
“If you insist, then I’ll leave with Yi Qing and the boy.”
“Leave where?”
“Somewhere on this big earth we three can find a place,” Xiao Tian said.
The Emperor laughed in spite of himself. “Is this a threat?”
“Your Majesty, don’t you understand? Yi Qing is the woman I want to spend my life with. Aside from her, I want no one.” Xiao Tian met the Emperor’s eyes, steady. “You may take on many wives and concubines — that’s your burden. I’ll live simply and look after the three of us.”
“You… are hopeless!” the Emperor snapped.
“Then so be it,” Xiao Tian replied calmly.
The Emperor was left speechless with fury. After a long moment he swung his sleeve and pouted like a spoiled boy. “I don’t care — the edict stands. A ruler mustn’t go back on his word. Besides, Ping Xinian donated three hundred thousand taels to build the northern defenses…”
“You sold me!” Xiao Tian blurted.
“Three hundred thousand taels is a good price,” the Emperor said, amused. “So why not take her? Why not accept?”
Xiao Tian pressed his lips shut.
“It’s not like I agreed to everything she wanted,” the Emperor said, feigning innocence. “She asked me to formally divorce you from Yi Qing and offered to raise the child. I didn’t agree to that.”
Xiao Tian: “…A woman with a venomous heart would make mother and son part — what’s so good about her, Your Majesty?”
“Don’t forget — you’re a dead man in the eyes of the court. If even that’s enough for her, shouldn’t you be moved?”
“I can’t accept her, truly.” Xiao Tian’s voice was low. “I could have gotten you the three hundred thousand taels myself. But don’t ever speak of making her a wife.”
“How would you get such a sum?” the Emperor leaned forward, suddenly eager. “Xiao Tian, don’t forget the Ping family has served the realm honorably. We can’t have abuses of power, arrests and torture like you once did — otherwise I’ll be blamed for it.”
“The Ping family is not as spotless as Your Majesty imagines,” Xiao Tian said coldly.
The Emperor’s face hardened — he knew Xiao Tian never spoke lightly.
“What are you saying?”
“When I searched the Chu Prince’s mansion,” Xiao Tian began, “I found letters from the Ping family to the Chu Prince — correspondence that showed they were in league. Out of gratitude for Ping Xinian’s past aid, I secretly sent those letters back to her and hid them.”
He knelt as he spoke. “I ask Your Majesty to punish me.”
The Emperor sprang up, furious. “You hid that from me? You — how dare you! If you’d told me, I could have understood. The Ping family was only trying to survive; I wouldn’t have condemned them for that. You don’t trust me at all!”
“Your Majesty,” Xiao Tian bowed his head, “it wasn’t distrust. I owed Ping Xinian. Her supplies saved my ten thousand soldiers. I haven’t forgotten that debt. If she’d known I’d informed you, she’d have been restless.”
“You could have told me in confidence!” the Emperor snapped.
“I couldn’t play both sides,” Xiao Tian said.
The Emperor paced, clenching and unclenching his fists. “So now you use it as blackmail? You claimed it was to repay the Ping family — now you change your tune and threaten them with it? Isn’t that worse than being two-faced?”
He seethed, as if determined not to let Xiao Tian feel any peace. “What am I supposed to do now? My edict means nothing? If you’d told me earlier, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Deal with it yourself.”
Xiao Tian said nothing, his silence a quiet protest.
“Have you considered what telling me would do to my sleep? Xiao Tian, you force me to suspect you. How can I know you’re not hiding more things from me?” the Emperor demanded.
Still Xiao Tian remained mute.
“Being emperor is such a burden,” His Majesty muttered, throwing a cup to the floor in a fit of fury. “They say when the crafty rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked. I’d swear I would never wrong you — and look at you, stabbing me for no reason! Xiao Tian, I want to kill you right now!”
“Spare me that life,” Xiao Tian replied calmly. “Exile me to the frontier. Let me stand guard for you there.”
“Fine — the door is over there. Leave, now. Leave Yi Qing and the child behind as hostages!”
Xiao Tian bowed his head.
The Emperor paced some more, unable to find a way out. “No, the edict’s been issued; I can’t back down. You accept the man I give you and bring him into your household. What you do afterward — kill him or spirit him away — is your business. Get out of my sight. If you try to bargain again, I’ll issue an order to punish Yi Qing!”