The Concubine Who Was Supposed to Die in Chapter Three novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: What the Court Woke To
He said the names in the order he had written them.
He did not read them from a scroll.
He knelt on the dais, bare-chested, with the gold scars shining across his ribs.
He said eleven names into a hall that did not make a sound.
After each name he said what the person had been, a seamstress, a student of the lute, a girl who kept bees.
After each one he said, "I sentenced her. It was my voice. It was not my wish, and that does not make it less mine."
Zhiyao stood beside him the whole time with her hand on his shoulder.
When he finished, nobody moved.
The tall woman in grey spoke first.
"You say it was not your wish."
"I do."
"We believe you." She looked at him for a long time. "That is not the same as forgiving you."
"I did not ask for that."
"Good. Here is what my clan asks."
She named it plainly.
The eleven clans would each have a seat in the council, with a vote on every decree for as long as the Terrace floated.
The tablets would be moved to the Hall of Ten Thousand Lamps.
The Emperor would kneel before them on the day of each death, every year, in plain white.
And the Rear Palace would be emptied of its ninety-nine ladies.
They could go home with their pensions, or stay in the garden as guests.
"Done," said Wuyan, before she had finished.
"You have not heard the rest."
"Whatever the rest is, it is done."
The tall woman drew a long breath through her nose.
"Then we will see," she said, "whether you keep it."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Concubine Who Was Supposed to Die in Chapter Three are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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