Phoenix's Requiem

Yun Moxiao arrived one day after his estimate. When Li Qianhan received word of his impending arrival, he waited by the gates of the palace himself, accompanied by all his officials from court. The outskirts of the palace were swarmed by the common people of the capital, and it was so crowded that it rivalled the New Year celebrations.

When Yun Moxiao’s dashing figure appeared on the horizon, Yun Ruoyan saw two tears fall from Li Luo’s eyes. Brother, your long vigil has finally borne fruit!

Li Qianhan and Li Mo stood at the front of the imperial procession, followed immediately by Yun Ruoyan and Li Luo. From afar, Yun Ruoyan could see Yun Moxiao riding on a large flamesteed, garbed in imposing dark armor with a blood-red cape trailing behind him.

After three long years, Yun Moxiao had matured into a man. Perhaps because he had just returned from the battlefield, he seemed to have an air of blood about him. When he saw Yun Ruoyan, his indomitable impression swiftly melted away, leaving only a brother’s gentleness. When he turned to Li Luo, the sharpness in his eyes morphed into tender affection.

When Yun Ruoyan saw how the two of them were behaving, she mentally pushed forward their wedding. Ideally, she would be able to see her brother establish his own family before she had to leave for the Jiyuan continent.

Yun Moxiao greeted Li Qianhan and Li Mo, and was only able to speak briefly to Li Luo before being escorted toward the royal palace by the gathered officials. Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo followed them there.

Along the way, Yun Ruoyan cast curious glances at the Farsighted King, imprisoned in a wagon being escorted by imperial soldiers from behind. He seemed dejected, and his face was a stark white, rather similar to his appearance when she had rescued him from imprisonment within his own home. A demon had taken on his appearance and imprisoned him before he was saved by Yun Ruoyan, and she hadn’t expected to see him locked up again.

“Li Mo, I’m going to speak with him a little,” Yun Ruoyan said, then trotted her horse over to his wagon. “Long time no see,” Yun Ruoyan greeted the Farsighted King, Li Sheng.

Li Sheng blinked. “Long time no see, Consort Yun. I’m disappointed that you have to see me imprisoned again.”

“You told me you didn’t intend on staging a rebellion, Your Highness. What led to your current situation?”

Li Sheng chuckled bitterly. “The demon’s rebellion was so close to fruition that, after you saved me, I was blinded by the promise of power.” Li Sheng had bitterly hated the snake demon for what he had done, but he had nevertheless chosen to follow through with the rebellion. From this, it was evident that he did covet the throne.

“Take care, Your Highness.” Her doubts quelled, Yun Ruoyan walked off.

The banquet hosted for Yun Moxiao’s return was only open to court officials and the royal family. Although Yun Ruoyan tried to bring Li Luo into the banquet with her, she was still requested to step aside. The banquet lasted deep into the night, and Yun Moxiao had to be carried out in a drunken haze.

“Third Prince, oh, no, Emperor, haha.” Yun Moxiao smiled drunkenly at Li Qianhan and the gathered officials. “Ah, I’ve had so much to drink that my brain isn’t quite functioning, haha. I should head to rest.”

“In that case, let’s end the banquet here. I’ll satisfy your request tomorrow, Yun Moxiao,” Li Qianhan replied, smiling.

Yun Moxiao, with a servant’s help, bowed deeply toward Li Qianhan. As Li Mo walked him toward the entrance to the palace, he slowly leaned in toward Yun Ruoyan and asked, “Sister, I saw you with Li Luo. Where is she?”

Yun Ruoyan turned to her brother to see him looking at her with crystal-clear eyes, his drunken haze nothing but an act. “Ah, you’re not drunk?”

“Shh!” Yun Moxiao hurriedly shushed his sister. “If I didn’t pretend to be drunk, the emperor and the gathered officials wouldn’t have let me go! Where’s Li Luo? I want to see her.”

“Brother, what did you request from the emperor?” Li Qianhan had promised Yun Moxiao one wish, but Yun Moxiao had whispered it into the emperor’s ear. Thus, although everyone knew that he had made a request, no one knew what exactly the request entailed.

Yun Moxiao whispered his request to Yun Ruoyan.

“He agreed?” Yun Ruoyan asked excitedly.

“Of course! It wasn’t anything unreasonable.” Yun Moxiao was quite displeased with how excited his sister seemed to be. 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂

“In that case, it looks like I’d better step up my preparations.” Yun Ruoyan had expected that she would need to plan for everything, but her brother had already arranged matters promptly. “Brother, you’ve left Li Luo to herself all afternoon, and she doesn’t seem happy with you,” Yun Ruoyan intentionally whispered.

“Ah, bring me to her!”

Yun Ruoyan pointed at one of the Slaughtering King’s manor’s carriages. “Li Luo’s in that carriage. Go on!” Then, Yun Ruoyan dragged Li Mo off to another carriage by their side.

Li Luo had long since left the palace and was waiting for Yun Moxiao from within the carriage, complicated emotions warring in her heart. Her relationship with Yun Moxiao had primarily been pushed along by Yun Moxiao himself, and she had slowly been touched by his efforts to woo her over. However, she wasn’t certain if her feelings toward Yun Moxiao were love, thankfulness, or gratitude—until she saw him appear, safe and sound, from beyond the horizon. Her heart suddenly began beating at a rapid pace, and tears suddenly fell from her eyes. Only then did she finally realize that she had already developed strong feelings for Yun Moxiao.

But with that realization came fear and trepidation. She saw how many officials had crowded around Yun Moxiao, and while she was glad that the man she liked was so bright and dazzling, she was also worried that she was hardly a match for such a man. What if he no longer liked her?

While Li Luo was deep in thought, the door to the carriage suddenly opened, and Yun Moxiao’s handsome face beamed at her under the moonlight. Li Luo blinked at him, momentarily at a loss for words. 𝙛r𝚎𝐞𝑤𝚎𝗯𝗻𝗼𝐯e𝚕.𝒄𝐨𝓂

“Li Luo, I’m back!” Yun Moxiao stepped inside the carriage and sat by her side, prompting Li Luo to try to get off.

Yun Moxiao caught Li Luo in an embrace, resting his head naturally against her shoulder. “Wait, don’t leave! Let me lean on you for a moment.”

Li Luo sat back down. She sat very still, but her heart beat frenetically. After a while, she asked, “Where are the Slaughtering King and Ruoyan?”

“In another carriage.” Like a big puppy, he nudged his head against Li Luo’s shoulder. “Li Luo, you don’t know how many nights I spent alone, dreaming of hugging you like this. I told myself that, if I could just hug you in this manner, I wouldn’t mind dying on the battlefield—”

“Don’t speak nonsense!” Li Luo broke him off sharply. “We both have to live well.”

“Right, right, we have to live well,” Yun Moxiao repeated. “Only then will I be able to hug you like this everyday.” Yun Moxiao’s gentle voice and warm breath impinged on Li Luo’s earlobe, causing a red flush to spread across her face.

“You—you’re not asleep yet, so why are you sleeptalking?”

Yun Moxiao reached out for one of Li Luo’s hands, which he placed against his face. “Pinch me, as hard as you can. See if I’m dreaming.”

“You—stop messing around!” Li Luo turned away from Yun Moxiao and studiously looked down at her knees.

“Alright, alright, I won’t mess around.” Yun Moxiao continued to hug Li Luo tightly as he shouted for the carriage driver to take them away. Leaning against Li Luo, amidst the rocking motion of the carriage, Yun Moxiao really did end up falling asleep. He slept so soundly that he didn’t awaken even when they arrived at their destination.

“Miss Li Luo, we’re here!” the carriage driver shouted from the outside.

“Wait a few more moments.” Li Luo couldn’t bear to wake Yun Moxiao up. She looked at his face, worn from the heat of battle, and the bags under his eyes. It was clear just how much a toll quashing the rebellion had taken from him.

Yun Moxiao smiled inwardly. Tempered by the battlefield, he had awoken the moment the carriage stopped moving, but he was so greedy for Li Luo’s warmth that he didn’t want to open his eyes.

After a few more moments, when he felt Li Luo’s shoulders start to tremble, he finally stood up.

“You’re awake.” Li Luo glanced warmly at Yun Moxiao.

“I had a very good nap, the best since I stepped on the battlefield.” Yun Moxiao stretched as he gazed at Li Luo. “I have a surprise for you, one that I hope you’ll like.”