The Moon Falls into the Galaxy - Chapter 2

Shishi gazed at him blankly, a roar echoing in her mind as crystal tears rolled down her cheeks.

That night, Li Yue did not touch her. Before long, he left the cavernous, desolate palace.

Before departing, he wiped away her tears. Like a beast lurking in a deep thicket, he brushed his cold fingertips across her brow and lips. “My dear Shishi, wait a little longer.”

Shishi’s body trembled, her eyes once again clouded by a layer of mist. Though she was innocent and naive, she understood the true meaning behind his words.

He wanted her to be a high-ranking, noble prisoner a shield to hide his sanctimonious hypocrisy, a tragic sacrifice for his “gentlemanly” facade.

“Once Father ascends the throne, I will certainly make you the happiest woman in the world,” he said affectionately, lightheartedly pronouncing a heavy sentence upon the remainder of her life.

The Crown Prince was not favored by the Emperor. There were even rumors among the people that he had secured his position in the Eastern Palace by plotting against his elder brother and slandering his younger brother; consequently, even the Imperial Grandson had to be cautious.

Aside from humbling themselves before the Emperor, the Crown Prince’s lineage had to walk a razor’s edge among the court officials. However, they were the most legitimate successors to the throne; once the Emperor passed away, nothing would be able to stop them.

Shishi knew Li Yue did not love her; he only valued her beauty. His palace was filled with young girls like her, possessed and discarded like mere objects. His powerful consort, Lady Xiao, would never allow him to show these women true affection. But Shishi was different due to her status as a daughter of the Xie family, they had to grant her some measure of dignity.

On one hand, he lusted for her; on the other, for the sake of his reputation and power, he did not truly touch her.

Shishi’s heart sank into an abyss. She collapsed amidst the red bed curtains, sobbing until she could barely breathe.

Following that night, she did not see a single ray of sunlight for two whole years. She spent the years of her youth years that should have been brilliant and radiant—within the dim confines of the palace. She was never permitted to attend imperial banquets, and gradually, no one remembered her. She was deliberately forgotten. When the world spoke of the daughters of the Xie family, they only recalled Xie Erniang, the wife of Xue Yun.

Though the Emperor was aged, his health remained relatively stable. Just as Shishi thought she might be locked in the deep palace for her entire life, he suddenly passed away.

Even more unexpected was the sudden coup staged by Li Yan, the Prince of Yong, who had always been on good terms with the Crown Prince. Before the Crown Prince could even warm the throne, he was stripped of power.

Upon becoming the Prince Regent, Li Yan began a massive purge, painting the Imperial City in shades of blood. Li Yan’s biological mother, Noble Consort Xie, also hailed from the Chen Xie clan; by seniority, Shishi should have called him “Cousin-Uncle.”

Yet everyone knew that Li Yan, the Prince of Yong, loathed his maternal family because the Xie family had stood by with folded arms during his time of crisis.

By the time Shishi learned of these upheavals, it was already too late. She did not know how Li Yan would treat her, nor did she know if her father was still alive. She only knew one thing: she did not want to die alongside Li Yue.

She was only seventeen…

As night fell, Li Yue, driven to a dead end, summoned Shishi to the main hall of the Eastern Palace. He intended to enjoy one last moment of carnal pleasure before his death.

The dramatic rise and fall of his fate had driven him near madness. No trace of a “gentleman” remained on his handsome, gaunt face; there was only sinister malice. Though he was a youth in his twenties, he looked incredibly aged.

He greedily caressed her face, murmuring, “Shishi, my dear Shishi, this deep palace has nurtured you well. Two years have passed, and you have grown even more enchanting.”

Li Yue’s cold hand brushed against Shishi’s slender ankle, the sensation akin to a snake slithering over her. She felt nauseated and fought desperately to push him away.

It seemed all the courage of her life was summoned in this moment. She was a fragile dodder flower, lacking even the strength to master her own fate, but she loathed him too much. She secretly wished she were stronger so she could snap his neck.

During the struggle, the gold thread of the beaded bracelet on her arm snapped. Lustrous jade beads scattered across the floor with a series of crisp clacks. Her heartstrings snapped along with them; she realized no one would come to save her.

No one ever had.

In her despair, Shishi turned her tearful gaze aside.

Suddenly, a crack of celestial light split the darkness. She watched the doors of Changle Hall swing wide, and the mist in her eyes condensed into heavy droplets that fell away.

Countless attendants followed the man standing in the center, but Shishi had eyes only for him.

Soft moonlight fell upon Li Yan’s face, which was as fair as carved jade. Rare it was for him not to be wearing a veil, revealing eyes of a color so light they were almost eerie, clear and translucent like glass, flickering with a luster like drifting clouds.

Of dragon-like stature and phoenix-like grace, he was beautiful beyond description. Even the most exquisite words were insufficient for him. The Imperial Grandson, Li Yue, was famous for his elegant appearance, but before Li Yan, he appeared as dull and vulgar as rusted bronze.

He wore a dark cloak, with silver dragons embroidered in hidden thread only at the shoulders and cuffs. Li Yan merely gazed silently in her direction, and Li Yue immediately scrambled to adjust his disheveled clothes, prostrating himself before him.

“Seventh Uncle…” Shishi called out in a trembling voice.

He cannot see me, she thought with a pang of sadness.

It was common knowledge that Li Yan had followed the Emperor on a personal campaign at fourteen, where an accident had blinded him, severing his connection to the throne. His mother, Noble Consort Xie, had consequently lost favor and died shortly after of a sudden illness.

Unless driven to desperation, the Xie family would not have abandoned such a powerful force. But at that time, the family had already lost influence. After the death of the previous Duke of Wei, the Xie family was adrift and barely able to protect themselves, let alone interfere in palace affairs. And so, this grudge was formed.

Standing in the night, Li Yan’s long, fair fingers rested on a walking stick. He looked like a bloodthirsty deity emerged from the underworld.

Cold, composed, and lethal.

He walked toward her slowly, as if the entire world were merely the palace steps beneath his feet.

Shrinking back into the bed, Shishi finally felt a surge of fear. When Li Yan came to a stop before her, her heart leapt into her throat, but he merely unfastened his cloak and draped it over her.

Only then did Shishi realize her robes were in a state of extreme disarray. Her cheeks flushed a light red as a faint, chilling incense enveloped her, wrapping her in warmth.

As he tied the ribbons for her, he did not touch her in the slightest. Shishi looked up at him. Li Yan’s expression was calm and cold, yet it smoothed away the long-accumulated unease and terror in her heart. Great tears began to roll down uncontrollably.

“Seventh Uncle…” she sobbed softly, her voice thick with tears.

Li Yan allowed her to embrace him transgressively. He waited until she had cried her fill before asking softly, “What is your name?”

“Xie… Xie Qingshi.” Her voice was hoarse, her almond eyes swollen from weeping.

She explained her experiences in a disjointed manner before finally gathering the courage to ask hesitantly, “Can you… can you help me?”

Li Yan nodded slightly and said slowly, “I can.”

But before they could say more, an eunuch hurried over to report urgent news from the army.

“Bring her over,” Li Yan said softly to Li Yue, without further word.

That cold voice sent a bone-chilling shiver through Li Yue. He did not doubt that the moment Li Yan heard Shishi speak, the urge to kill him had been born. Even those who spent years on the battlefield did not possess such a terrifying aura. Li Yue had to force himself not to collapse.

After Li Yan left, Li Yue slowly straightened his body from the ground. “All of you, leave.” He dismissed every palace attendant in the hall.

He wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his face twisted in a dark, distorted expression, entirely unlike the humble loyalty he had shown before Li Yan.

“My dear Shishi, you certainly are capable,” he whispered, leaning down.

Shishi instinctively sensed danger. This was different from any hardship she had faced before; previously, Li Yue had at least maintained his composure, but now he seemed completely insane.

He groped for something in a hidden compartment at the head of the bed. “Just two sentences and you’ve hooked my Imperial Uncle’s heart.”

“Wh-what are you saying?” She frowned and stood up from the bed. Her fingers clenched as she trembled. “He is my uncle.”

But Li Yue acted as if he hadn’t heard her. He continued rummaging through the compartment while muttering to himself, “It wasn’t enough to take my empire; he won’t even let my woman go.”

Shishi retorted, “The empire was never yours, and neither am I.”

Her gaze shifted, secretly calculating the distance to the hall doors.

“You think he’s a good man? He demands a price for everything he does.” Li Yue’s expression grew increasingly dark. He finally withdrew an object and directly blocked Shishi as she tried to bolt for the door.

He seized her wrist and forced her back onto the bed.

“My father acted as his dog for so many years just to buy us these few days of lingering breath,” Li Yue said crazily. “But what use is keeping this life?”

He leaned close to her ear and said warmly, “Better to be reincarnated early.”

The moment her neck was seized, Shishi finally realized what he intended to do.

“This poisoned wine was originally meant for myself. I didn’t expect it would come in handy so soon,” Li Yue continued. “I’ll have to trouble Miss Shishi to accompany me to the underworld.”

The toxic wine entered her throat, and her vitals began to burn. She curled into a ball, her glazed eyes staring fixedly at the doors of Changle Hall, finally dying in regret at the dawn of hope.

After Li Yan finished the urgent business, he left the North Command. As he washed his hands, he asked the eunuch, “How is Miss Xie?”

Before arriving at the command, he had sent men to bring Shishi directly to him. As for Li Yue, he had no intention of letting him survive the night.

He hadn’t seen her in years. In his memory, she was still a tender child; in the blink of an eye, she had grown up. She had entered the palace while he was recuperating in a temple, so he hadn’t noticed the matter.

But then he frowned. I didn’t notice, but there is no reason the Duke of Wei would overlook it. Just how did he take care of his daughter?

Fortunately, it was not too late. She was still a young girl. Once he ascended the throne, she would be his niece and the most noble lady in the world. If she wished to remarry, it didn’t matter who the groom was. If she didn’t, he, as her uncle, could protect her, ensuring she lived out her life in peace and prosperity.

Suddenly, the eunuch knelt on the ground. “Reporting to Your Highness… when the Archers reached her, Miss Xie had been forced by the Imperial Grandson to drink poisoned wine. She has already ceased breathing…”

In the warm spring of March, the empty hall suddenly felt as if it had plunged into the depths of winter. A profound chill began to spread.

Li Yan’s finger tapped lightly on the rim of his cup. “And Li Yue?”

The eunuch replied tremblingly, “He still has a breath left…”

He said softly, “Death by a thousand cuts.”

His handsome face remained unmoved, still as cold and exquisite as fresh snow on a cliffside, carrying a touch of celestial transcendence. His expression was utterly indifferent, as if he were speaking of an insignificant triviality, yet the heavy killing intent caused the eunuch’s heart to stop for a fleeting moment.