The Tyrant's Sickly Consort Refuses to Die novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: The Left Cup
"I heard all of it," said Su Ming, and his voice was a rasp. "The throne, the village on a river. The plain coat."
"You were not supposed to."
"I was lying there and could not move my fingers. But I heard." He drew a slow breath. "You should know you said it badly."
"I have never said it before."
"I could tell. You called the Prime Minister a hand."
Xiao Jue made a sound that was half laugh and half sob.
Su Ming turned his head on the pillow, and looked at him in the grey light.
The Emperor's eyes were swollen and his hair was a mess.
He had a smear of tea on one cheek and the crown of the court was gone from his head entirely.
Something in Su Ming's chest, which he had kept shut for twenty years, came open.
"Xiao Jue," he said. "May this one say something ugly?"
"Say it."
"When my father counted out the three thousand taels, I stood in the doorway with my bundle. I was twenty-four."
"He counted each silver ingot on the table, and he did not look up." The words came out slowly.
"I thought, that is what I cost. I thought, that is the whole sum."
"I thought it all the way to the capital in the sedan chair."
The Emperor's hand tightened on his.
"Then I walked into this room, and you handed me a cup. And I thought, well. Now I know what I am for."
"Su Ming," said Xiao Jue.
"I was a cup. I told myself that for nine days. I was a taster, a tool, a thing with a good tongue."
"I told myself I did not mind, because it kept me alive, and because you sat at the bedside." His breath hitched.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Tyrant's Sickly Consort Refuses to Die are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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