49- You were Never a Monster

Announcing arrival of The Crown Prince of Lian!

Consort Hua couldn't believe her ears. Is she hallucinating now?

"My lady?" Tutu shakes her arm, waking her up from her daydream.

She exhales. She must thinks too much. There's no way that the crown prince is here, at this time.

"Let's go Tutu."

"Where My lady?"

"Prepare my bath."

"My lady?" Tutu frowns

"That's enough. You don't have to pity me anymore." She walks out from the room.

"My lady! Wait!" Tutu runs to her lady. "The crown prince is here! We need to greet him!"

The consort stops. "He's here?" She is in disbelief.

"Yes my lady!"

______

Her swollen eyes is an obvious sign that she was crying. Consort Hua sits uncomfortably in front of the crown prince.

"Please have a drink." She says

"Thank you." He sips the hot ginseng tea. "This crown prince is very sorry to come at this hour, I have no idea a casual visit in Zhang Kingdom can not pass mid-day." He bows a little to apologize.

Oh, right. He is not from The Great Zhang, he won't know.

"But, is Consort Hua feeling okay today?"

"Yes, yess I'm good!"

"Your hand..." he touches her delicate fingers, and lift it up. "This. Is this okay?" He points at her bleeding fingers.

She quickly pulls her hand away from him. Consort Hua didn't realize that her fingers are bleeding until he mentions it.

"This consort just arrange the rose, it's not a big deal."

"This one?" he points at the vase on the table.

"Yes."

"It's beautiful, Consort. You must be very talented." He smiles. The crown prince really thinks that she is amazing at everything she does.

But he couldn't trust her so easily. This is the evil Consort Hua after all. Even though in his heart, the crown prince believes that she is not what others claim her to be.

"Can this crown prince asks something?"

"Hm?"

"Has the consort ever heard of 'The Fool Who Fishes in the Mud' ?"

"A poem by ancient philosopher Li Tu Yan, yes, this consort recall reading that."

"What does the consort think about the poem?"

"This consort might have different opinion than what majority people think."

"Please kindly explain what does the consort think."

" Pond as dark as the night sky

Uphill the rocky road

A fool come by everyday

To feed hungry mouths at home." Consort Hua recites the poem.

"This is sure a poem about a fool. He won't get anything from fishing in the mud. Even if he got something, it is too nasty to feed his family. In summary, it's about a person who did useless stuff."

"Hm. How about consort's interpretation?" The crown prince asks because what Consort Hua just explain is the general meaning of the poem.

"If you read it from the bottom up, it gives different meaning." She says. "And that's how This consort likes to interpret it."

"Hmm.. interesting way of thinking ." The crown prince nods.

"For his family needs and demand, he is willing to become a fool in the eyes of everyone. Everyday he goes through hardship and distress, wishing the next day will be different. But in the end, it is still the muddy pond waiting for him." She explains. "He surely is a fool." The consort smiles painfully.

"He is not a fool. Because his motivation is pure and upright. He already did his best, in fact, the outcome is not on his hands to decide. Whatever he did, I believe it won't be waste." His tone is soft but sure, giving Consort Hua comforts that she desperately needs.

Consort Hua looks up at him. She doesn't expect him to say that. The crown prince makes her feel..understood. All these years, finally she meet someone who doesn't judge her. Someone who is willing to listen.

______

The crown prince decided to go visit Consort Hua's place today. But at what time? The consort didn't specify yesterday. He finally decided to not go early, because the consort might still sleep in the morning.

When the sun goes up, he thinks is the best to go. But,

"Crown prince, here is your lunch." An eunuch come with egg dish and fried fish.

"I don't need that. I have to go somewhere."

"Where crown prince? How about your lunch?"

"I'll eat it later. This crown prince need to visit someone."

"Right now might not be the best time, because it's lunchtime."

That's right, he thinks. The crown prince doesn't want to disturb Consort Hua's lunch so he decided to go later.

"Okay then."

"Where should this servant put the food?"

"No need."

"Huh?" The servant is confused, didn't the crown prince just agree to go later?

"This crown prince have to make something to bring there."

It took him a few hours to finished his calligraphy. The crown prince is satisfied with his work and prepares to leave.

When he arrives at Consort Hua's palace, the guard stop him. They all looks confused why is the crown prince visit at this time. But the guards are too afraid to extrude the crown prince, so they let him in.

As the crown prince walks into the study, he sees a painting on the wall. A guy fishing into dark pond. This is very interesting for the crown prince, because they said Consort Hua is illiterate.

"Has the consort ever heard of 'The Fool Who Fishes in the Mud' ?" He asks.

Her explanation is very deep, he lost words. Is this the consort Hua that everyone know? She is such an intelligent scholar.

"It must be hard, isn't it?"

"What do you mean, crown prince?"

"Pretending to be someone else."

Consort Hua is taken aback by his words.

"H-how do you k-know?"

The crown prince just smile as an answer.

"A victim of greed." He commented. "Is it the time to be yourself again?" He smiles, feeling happy for her.

"Unfortunately, there's no time left." She says sadly, unable to lift her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I have 2 weeks it's not that bad."

How can someone be so calm when they are dying?

It's because she has had enough of life.

Her life is so miserable that death seems to be a better option.

"But I'm happy, in my very limited time here, I can meet you." The Consort says, not using any honorific to the crown prince.

"I have never thought that I would be able to feel it. Love." She smiles at the crown prince, an honest smile.

The crown prince frowns, is this a confession?

"Who would've guessed that a monster could fall in love.." her eyes are full of tears, yet she tries to stop herself from crying.

"..." the crown prince couldn't say a word back. But in the end, he answers,

"Consort Hua, you were never a monster."

Thanks for reading!