Inside the Palace Court Room
All of the ministers in the court are lined up according to their respective rank and are currently awaiting the Empress Dowager's urgent announcement and meeting. After an hour of waiting, the Empress Dowager began the meeting. Some of the Ministers were perplexed as to why their Emperor was not present and why the Crown Prince and his two wives were present at the court.
"I know you're wondering where Your Emperor is right now and why he's not at the court; the reason for this urgent meeting is because *sniff* *sniff* my dear husband passed away last night *sniff* *sniff* e-e-even I c-can't believe that he's already left *sniff* *sniff* but the throne *sniff* the throne of our Emperor can't be left as an empty throne. As such, I, as your Empress Dowager, formally declare Crown Prince Zhu Mio Shin, the son of the departed 婕妤 jié yú (Lady of Handsome Fairness) Concubine Xiang Fu Mei, who is our current Crown Prince, to be his throne successor. Emperor Mio Shin, our new Emperor!"
"*gasp!*"
Everyone was taken aback by their Empress Dowager's statement; they couldn't believe the former Emperor had already passed away.
"Emperor Mio Shin, please ascend Your Royal Father's throne right now."
When Zhu Mio Shin (Zhu Meihua - impersonating his twin brother) heard the Empress Dowager's signal, he walked calmly down the aisle of the court, past the Ministers, and towards the Emperor's throne, where everyone in the court paid him reverence.
"Long live, the Emperor!" shortly after, Minister Zhang's exclamation drew the attention of the others and followed him.
"Long live, the Emperor!"
"Long live, the Emperor!"
"Long live, the Emperor!"
"As your new Emperor, I, Emperor Mio Shin, hereby declared to open the Harem for my Concubine selections."
"*gasp!* 陛下 b-bǐ xià, how about your Empress's throne? Which of your two spouses, Concubine Mu Zhongwei and Crown Princess Lei Nian Zhen, will you choose as your Empress?" and this time, Minister Shun's exclamation drew the attention of the others and followed him.
"陛下 bǐ xià, out of your two wives, which one will you pick as your Empress?"
"陛下 bǐ xià, out of your two wives, which one will you pick as your Empress?"
"陛下 bǐ xià, out of your two wives, which one will you pick as your Empress?"
"陛下 bǐ xià, out of your two wives, which one will you pick as your Empress?"
"My Empress will be chosen once my Harem of Concubines is full, and the first one who can give me a dragon heir will be My Empress automatically."
"We respect your decision, 陛下 bǐ xià" Minister Shun bowed his head in defeat, and the others followed.
"We respect your decision, 陛下 bǐ xià"
"We respect your decision, 陛下 bǐ xià"
"We respect your decision, 陛下 bǐ xià"
'Huh! He has no right to do this to me! Because I am his first wife, I am entitled to be his Empress! And how come? Lei Rouxi! Stop ruining my plans, you bitch! I've already warned you! You dared to mess up with your older twin, Lei Nian Zhen! No! This is not going to happen! Because of my curse, his hair should now be white! Why is his hair still black?! This is something I'll have to look into! Prepare yourself, Lei Rouxi!'
'*smirk* Rouxi 姐姐 jiě jie and Xharmynt 姐姐 jiě jie is right. 哥哥 gē ge 对不起 duì bù qǐ, 对不起 duì bù qǐ Mio 哥哥 gē ge I hope you understand our decision and I also hope that you and Xharmynt 姐姐 jiě jie will end up together in the end'
'对不起 duì bù qǐ Shin, 对不起 duì bù qǐ'
*******
Before the court meeting begins
Inside the chamber of the Crown Prince
"*gasp!* Br-brother, h-how did your hair become white? D-don't tell me~~~"
*sounds of the door that being knocked*
"你是谁 nǐ shì shéi? (who are you?)"
"救命啊 j-jiù mìng a! (help me!)"
"*gasp!* C-crown Princess?!"
"对不起 d-duì bù qǐ"
"Eh?"
"Please be careful Milady!"
"I know what I'm doing Lady Min!"
"But *sigh* 奴婢 n-nubi will shut her mouth now"
*sounds of the door that being immediately closed*
After seeing the Crown Princess with her personal maid Lady Min, Princess Zhu Meihua instantly closed the chamber door and turned to face the other Crown Princess who was hiding inside his twin brother's bed.
"*gasp!* H-how did we end up with two Crown Princesses?"
"你是谁 nǐ shì shéi?"
"L-let me e-explain first"
"*sigh* Explain yourself, now!"
"M-my name is L-lei Rouxi, the younger twin sister of Lei Nian Zhen and t-the older sister of Lei Xharmynt. T-the one who entered and joined the selection for the f-first and second stage was me, and t-the rest was my twin, a-as you can see w-we have the same face and voice b-but we don't have the same attitude. O-our father knows that m-my twin was already dead at her birth b-but my mother's eunuch f-follow the midwife who assisted my mother in giving birth to us and i-immediately get my twin, f-fortunately my twin miraculously survived her death and b-became alive after hearing our mother's voice. Our mother is aware that our father permitted Lei Xharmynt, the daughter of his favorite Concubine Wan Meixiang, to pose as my deceased twin, but our f-father is unaware that our mother is aware of this. My elder twin was the one who constantly bullied and abused her, while I was the one who discreetly helped our younger sister. A-also, she and my mother were the ones who plotted to kill and assassinate L-Lei Xharmynt, but I-i had previously warned her in secret, and regrettably, she did not survive. S-she's the one who always bullies Her Highness Meihua, and t-the one you met at the Imperial Garden was me, but m-my twin is also there."
"Y-you mean it's because of your twin that my twin brother's hair has become white?"
"I-i-i saw her put something into one of the tea cups in my peripheral vision, but I-i-i didn't anticipate there to be another tea cup she prepared because I-i-i instantly smashed the other tea cup that H-his Majesty was supposed to drink, and she's also the one who a-acts as L-lady Min"
"*sigh* And why are you saying this to us now, Lei Rouxi?"
"B-because my twin g-gave me a warning last night, and I-i-i guessed it had something to do with the E-emperor and the E-empress, that s-something horrible would h-happen to them"
"What are we going to do now, Brother?"
"I-i-i guess it's time for me to come out now"
"Wh-what are you talking about, Mu Zhongwei?"
"Please pardon your Concubine for concealing her true identity from you." Except for Princess Meihua, who already knew the truth and helped her keep it from her twin brother, Mu Zhongwei gently removed her fake mask and showed her true face to them, shocking the Crown Prince and Lei Rouxi.
"*gasp!* L-lei Xharmynt?! *sniff* *sniff* My Xharmynt, you have no idea how much I grieved when I found out you were dead and that I had to marry your f-fake twin, Lei Nian Zhen *sniff* *sniff* My Xharmynt, please don't leave me alone again *sniff* *sniff* My Xharmynt..."
"P-promise, I-i-i won't leave My Shin again"
"T-thank you My Xharmynt, thank you"
"Ssshhh... s-stop crying now, I-i-i won't leave you again My Shin.. I won't leave you again no matter what happened. Ssshhh... Ssshhh..."
"Your Highnesses! It's me Eunuch Xiang Gui!"
"Come in, Eunuch Gui!"
"Your Highnesses, horrible news! T-the Emperor... t-the Emperor was already dead, and 奴才 n-nucai believes that 陛下 b-bǐ xià was poisoned last night in secret."
"*gasp!* 所以 s-suŏyĭL-lei Rouxi 姐姐 jiě jie is telling the truth. Omo! Zhongwei 姐姐 jiě jie I-i-i mean Xharmynt 姐姐 jiě jie, what shall we do now?"
"I need someone to console the Empress and also buy me some time to distract her so I can make a fake mask, and you Meihua 妹妹 mèi mei will pretend to be your twin brother, while Rouxi 姐姐 jiě jie will pretend to be the Crown Prince's younger twin or you as Princess Zhu Meihua, and I'll face them as my Mu Zhongwei mask. And, if I'm not mistaken, Lei Nian Zhen wants to make the Crown Prince the new Emperor, so she assassinated the Emperor last night, and since she's the first wife and Crown Princess, she'll be the Empress automatically, but if you can open your Concubine's Harem and pretend to tell them that if one of your Concubine gets pregnant, then she'll be your Empress"
"B-but, I-i-i want only you My Xharmynt t-to be my Empress, so please d-don't say that words to me please"
"I-i-i'm sorry, My Shin, but if we don't do this, we won't be able to vanquish her, and if that happens, according to the rules and law, she will become your automatic Empress."
"*sigh* I-i-i got it now My Xharmynt"
"Good, don't worry My Shin we will survived this. Okay?"
"O-o-okay My Xharmynt"
"Now you have to hide yourself later in your secret chamber, when the shows start okay?"
"Y-yes My Xharmynt"
"And you two, get dressed and be ready because I'm going to make your fake mask now. Got it?"
"We got it!"
"Good!"
ns 64.252.185.80da2
