"REPORT!" the guards shouted as they came towards his chamber, and he slowly got up from his bed confused as to what they were doing so early in the morning.
"What is it?" Li Cheng asked but there were some whispers outside of his room but no one replied to him, a minute later Yun-Bao and Su Yang came into his room. Their face darkened and the two looked at Li Cheng for a long time.
"What is it you two? Spit it out." Li Cheng said to them and the two of them fell to their knees.
"It's her majesty.....the patrol guards said that her majesty was assassinated last night." Yun-Bao said to him and Li Cheng got up and took hold of his shirt collar
"You better watch what you say, you may be my friend but-" Li Cheng said to him with a stern voice, tears streamed down Yun-Bao's face as he looked Li Cheng in the eyes.
"Your Highness, they're clearing the queen's palace as we speak." Su Yang said to him, and he let go of Yun-Bao's shirt as he ran outside.
It was late December and even though the snow was light it was still cold, but the king ran out of his palace without shoes, and he was barely dressed but he didn't feel the cold. He was numb and only wanted to see Mei.
He bumped into trees, he tripped but there was no pain. He would get right back up again and rush towards her palace. He ran and he ran until he reached her palace, the place that was always warm now felt so cold as he noticed all the bodies lined up together in front of her palace.
Li Cheng rushed to her side and lifted the covers, her eyes was shut, her red lips was pale, and her flushed cheeks now lacked color. With trembling hands, he slowly reached out his hand to touch her, tears rolled down his face and when he finally touched her cold face, he gasped for air. The warm body that he once held in his arm was now stiff and oh-so-cold, in a trance he couldn't what had happened.
"No. No. No. No.NO! NO! NO!" Li Cheng shouted as he scooped up her cold body from the floor against his chest but she wasn't getting any warmer.
"NOOOOO." Li Cheng said as he leaned his face on her head, he rocked back and forth with her in his arm. It was early morning, he sat there until noon came around; there was nothing that the guards could do or say to make him let go of her cold body.
News reached Yi Ru and she rushed to get ready to go to the queen's palace but since she also had morning sickness as well, so it took her a while to get ready and head out.
when she got there the scene that she saw was heartbreaking, she knew how much Li Cheng loved his queen, the king was a strong man who didn't often show his feelings to anyone other than the queen. Even he spends time with her at night, he merely see it as his duty to do so, to see someone so strong break down and best friend laying so still in his arm was quite heartbreaking.
Yi Ru walked over to his side, holding herself together, she squats down by his side. At this time Li Cheng was no longer crying out loud and shouting; he's just sitting there rocking back and forth lightly as he held her in his arm.
"....Why don't we bring her back to your palace and clean her up?" Yi Ru said to him, and he slowly turned to look at her, the moment that he saw Yi Ru, he teared up even more.
"She-She's." Li Cheng tried to say with his coarse voice, Yi Ru could no longer hold her tears in and she let out a sob as she nodded.
"...I...I know but....its so cold out here. Let's take her inside where it's warm." Yi Ru said to him and he turned back to look at Mei's body.
"....That...That's true.... Mei....Mei doesn't like the cold...." Li Cheng said as he slowly picked up her cold body in his arm and walked slowly back to his palace along with Yi Ru.
The two of them cleaned up the bloody Mei, changed her clothing and did her hair. When the two of them were done, they sat there watching her as they cried their hearts out.
"Who...Who could've done this?" Yi Ru asked him, and he looked at Mei's body.
"No matter who did this, I'll make sure that they pay the price with blood." Li Cheng said to her, and she nodded. Li Cheng turned around and noticed Yi Ru's maid.
"Go get the royal physician." Li Cheng ordered the maid bow and headed out of his palace. Later the maid returns to the king's palace with the royal physician at this time everyone in the palace already knows about their queen's death.
"Your Majesty." the royal physician greeted him and he nodded.
"Get me a remedy to stop her from decaying." Li Cheng said to him
"But your-" the royal physician was about to refuse Li Cheng's order.
"I didn't ask you, I'm telling you to do it." Li Cheng said to him, and he sighed as he nodded.
"I shall bring it here as soon as I can." the royal physician said to him and the king waved dismissively at him and the royal physician headed out.
After a while, Yi Ru and Li Cheng sat down together to talk about who would benefit from Mei's death the most. After the two talked for a long while, Yi Ru became quiet and she sighed as she looked at Li Cheng.
"What about my side of the family?" Yi Ru asked him, and he turned to look at her in surprise.
"What makes you think that?" Li Cheng asked her, and she sighed.
"My uncle once asked me if I would like to become queen instead. Of course, I said no, but my uncle has always seemed to want more for me. For himself." Yi Ru said to him and he nodded.
"But if what you just said is true, if he got her out of the way then it is true that you and your family would benefit the most from her death." Li Cheng said to her, and she nodded.
"Let me handle it, I believe that he would tell me if I were to ask him." Yi Ru said to him, and he nodded.
"That is not possible, I want him to pay for what he did to her." Li Cheng said to her but she shook her head.
"You don't think I want to do the same? But you have to think of the others that weren't involved in this, you can't just kill everyone from his family." Yi Ru said to him and he slammed his fist against the table.
"And why can't I?!" Li Cheng asked in anger.
"Because that wouldn't be what Mei would've wanted." Yi Ru said to him and he sighed as he looked at her body still lying on the bed.
"That....you're right. She wouldn't want me to kill anyone in her name." Li Cheng said to her and Yi Ru nodded.
Yi Ru rushed out of the palace to go find her uncle at his place, she didn't wait for anyone to open the door for her, Yi Ru had the soldiers with her break the door down and go in.
"Where is my uncle?!" Yi Ru asked the servants.
"Master is in the dining room with the others." the servant said to her and she ordered for the soldiers to wait outside the dining room while she headed inside.
"Uncle." Yi Ru said and her uncle turned to look at her with a smile
"Your Highness!" her uncle called out to her and she took a glance around the room, among the many people that were there, she saw her parents.
"Did you all have a hand in this?" Yi Ru asked her parents and her parents looked at each other then back at her and she sighed.
"I sure hope that that is true or else I will not be able to help you." Yi Ru said to her parents as she turned her attention back to her uncle
"Uncle, the queen was assassinated last night. Do you have any idea of this?" Yi Ru asked her uncle, he rushed her inside with a smile
"Are you here to thank me for opening the queen's position for you? Just don't forget me when you rise up in rank." her uncle said to her and she sighed
"Do you know what you're about to put our family through?" Yi Ru asked her uncle, they weren't poor and since she got married into the harem. They weren't living any differently from before she got married but her uncle was greedy.
"No one needs to know that I've helped you out in this." her uncle said to her and she stood up
"HELPED ME? When did I ask you to help me? And the queen was a dear friend of mine! How can I consider her death a good thing?" Yi Ru asked her uncle and he slammed his hand on the table, that was when her parents came into the room
"What are you two yelling about?" Her mother asked her uncle, since her uncle is the younger brother of her mother.
"I only helped your daughter to climb the rank but she is being ungrateful." her uncle said to her mother but Yi Ru shook her head
"SEND THEM IN!" Yi Ru shouted and the front gates opened, the soldiers came marching into the mansion