465 Bad News (1/2)
”Lady Ge, you are no longer a child. You can't expect to get everything that you desire at your whim and fancy,” the Empress softly said. She reached a hand out and clasped it over Lady Ge Beining's hands.
The Empress's heart stung when she saw the tears in Lady Ge Beining's gaze. The lady-in-waiting rarely cried, and if she did, it was for an exceptional cause. ”You can't have him, child.”
Lady Ge Beining rapidly shook her head. She rose to her feet, her lips trembling like her watery eyes. ”I'm so sorry, Your Grace,” she whispered as she approached the Empress.
Not a second later, Lady Ge Beining dropped to her knees as she clasped her hands over the Empress in a desperate plea. ”This heart of mine beats for no one but the Crown Prince, Your Grace! I do not want anyone but him—”
”Then, you will learn to.” The Empress did not bother to help the young woman up. Lady Ge Beining knew better than to kneel and beg like this.
”I-I can't—”
”You will.”
”I truly can't—”
”Then you will wed another man whether you love him or not.”
Lady Ge Beining's eyes widened at the Empress's words. She tightened her grasp and blinked once, the tears trickling down faster than rain.
”Then you are sentencing me to a life worse than death and torture in itself, Your Grace!” she exclaimed.
The Empress let out a small sigh. She pulled her hand back and stroked the side of Lady Ge Beining's face.
”Why do all of my daughters yearn for a man that they can't have?” the Empress whispered, as she recalled Princess Yu Lingluo who had locked herself in her room. It had been nearly a week now, and she never stepped outside her palace. She even banished all the maidservants from the premises and refused to eat.
”Begging in a pathetic state like this does not work on me, you should know that the best, Lady Ge,” the Empress sniped.
Lady Ge Beining's heart clenched. Even now, she could remember the deceased Imperial Consort kneeling, screaming, crying, and begging for mercy upon the only illegitimate daughter of the Emperor. In the end, the Imperial Consort died pitifully, without her only daughter by her side.
”And I should know that it didn't work because not a day later, she dropped dead under mysterious circumstances that can only be explained as heartbreak, Your Grace,” Lady Ge Beining slowly said. Her words seemed light, but the intent was poisonous—and the Empress knew it.
The Empress shot out of her chair, a dark and fierce glower in her eyes. They burned brighter than ever, like the fire in her soul. ”You dare to bring her up in front of me?”
The Empress narrowed her gaze. She sharply turned to her servants. ”Lady Ge Beining has lost her mind, have her stand up.”
The maidservants immediately came forward but Lady Ge Beining shook them off. She stood up on her own, but still bent her head in obedience.
”Your Grace, for all of my life, I've served you and no one else. I've stood by your side, through the storm and hurricanes, with a smile. Never once have I asked anything of your benevolence,” she slowly said. ”But just this one, just this once, please give me the impossible.”
Lady Ge Beining shakily grasped the Empress's sleeves. ”And that will be all. I will ask for nothing else from you after this, Your Grace. I will never lower myself to this extent, never embarrass you, ever again. I will carry our secrets, from the smallest to the darkest, to my grave.”
Lady Ge Beining sucked in a trembling breath. She felt her heart begin to rip open with pain. Even breathing was difficult. ”S-so… can't I have the Crown Prince? Even if it costs me my freedom?”
The Empress's frigid expression melted. She let out a small, heavy sigh. ”Even if it costs you your pride?”