Pernicious Feelings

When a person is about to die, his whole life will flashback before him in a matter of few breaths. Although Emperor Huang Le is surrounded by King Ru Ning's troops, his mind had already been wondering about the life he had been living. 

Fragments of memories had been playing in his head. He remembered his grandfather and the events when he became the ruler of the Huang Empire. To live under his grandfather and to be the man sitting on the imperial throne, it was but a totally different life. 

Emperor Huang Le was raised not by an imperial family but by his aristocratic grandparents. Even though he has the lineal blood of the emperor, his father had kept him away from the public eye in order to protect him from potential threats.

He was sent away from the Huang Palace few days after he was born. He grows up having great literary skills. Nobody would have expected that the young boy who was writing great poems in the streets of Huang Capital before would now turned out to be the emperor of Huang Empire.

And when he rejoined the imperial family, his father thought him of all the military ways. And he learned them all without complaining. From a frail looking scholar, Emperor Huang Le was transformed into a fine emperor. 

But before his father passed him the throne, the grandfather who raised him was accused of a heavy capital crime that caused his death. Later on, when emperor Huang Le started sitting on his throne, he discovered that the accusations of his grandfather were also arranged by the former emperor!

It was his father who had plotted his grandfather's death!

Emperor Huang Le remembered confronting his father. And he also remembered the exact words that his father had said to him. 

'It was all your fault! I, the emperor, and your father, has all the right to execute your maternal grandfather. I endured the pain of being away from my son until you have reached the right age. But when I see you now, I can't find my son anymore. You may have shown politeness to me but you have showered that old man with sincerity. The kind of sincerity that only I, the emperor should feel towards his subjects! Most importantly, your father! Yet you made me feel like that old man is worthy of sincerity more than me!'

His father blamed him.

Perhaps the former emperor was just envious of the closeness between the grandfather and grandson bond. Or he was plainly jealous of the man that had raised Emperor Huang Le. Either way, one important person had died and at that time Emperor Huang Le could not do anything about it.

He wanted to avenge the death of his grandfather but was conflicted for it was against the principles that his grandfather taught him. So he ended up forgiving his father. Or so he thought? 

Though he may have forgiven the man, but he had not forgotten what he had done. Emperor Huang Le had already kept a deep hatred from the man.

 And that hatred unknowingly grew on each passing day. 

One day, his father received a letter from King Ru Ning himself. It was a proposal of ending the territorial conflict in the Yellow River. The letter says that the yellow river could be their trading ground instead of their battleground.

It was a good proposal of peace and harmony between two rivals. But because Emperor Huang Le had kept unwanted feelings on his father, he was compelled to decline the proposal.

His father wanted to agree on King Ru Ning but he is no longer sitting on the throne. When he discussed the idea with Emperor Huang Le, it was as if throwing a piece of chicken to a crocodile.

Unbeknownst to him, he had given his son both an opportunity and an excuse to kill him!

Not long after, Emperor Huang Le had ordered for his father to be executed under the accusations of giving his side to their enemies.

Betrayal was a capital crime. He even added that the man was planning a rebellion and had already made an alliance with King Ru Ning. With the proposal letter as evidence, he successfully convinced the public that their former emperor was a threat and must die. And from then on, he focused his resources on the Yellow River conflict.

Now that his enemy had pushed him in the corner, he was completely defenseless. There is nothing he can do other than to ponder the mistakes he had made. He realized that his situation is more pitiful than a dog. Even dogs will bite when being cornered but he can do nothing.

Despite the enemies in front of him, Emperor Huang Le casually took the cup of tea on his table. He slowly took a sip on the cup and give King Ru Ning a determined look. As their eyes meet, countless emotions had reflected at once but before the King could saw them, the emperor siting before him had already looked away.

He continued to remember how his alliance with Emperor Chi Xing formed. And he also remembered when he asked for Emperor Chi Xing's help but the man was found dead. He could not understand his thoughts at that time. It was as if he had also lost something completely unknown to him. Perhaps it was the influence of the Chi emperor that he, himself, was not aware of.

'Emperor Chi Xing had induced such influence pernicious to me. The heavens allow good men to be deceived but it is not the heavens that have deceived. Perhaps, it is heaven's way for me to learn how to measure someone's motive. I have learned, but it is also my end. This is the end which begins with regret. In my next life, I will be a scholar. A life with no deception.' Emperor Huang Le vowed on his thoughts while he continues looked again at King Ru Ning. 

He gently placed the brush back on his table. A painful burning sensation started to invade his internal organs yet he did not flinch and still maintain his composure. Soon, he leaned back to his seat and calmly closed his eyes. There was no pain evident on his face.

He had accepted his fate.

No movements were made from the troops of King Ru Ning. They are waiting for his orders but their King just stared at the man sitting on his throne. They waited patiently until a physician accompanying them break the silence.

"The man is dead." The physician stated while staring at Emperor Huang Le.

"What! How can it be?" King Ru Ning asked the physician. He was eager to avenge the death of his Ru Elite Army. The soldiers he had considered as brothers must get their revenge but now that Emperor Huang Le is dead without doing anything yet, he felt an extreme feeling of disappointment.