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duhdumb89 · 9 months

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A Forbidden Happiness | Chapter 1

The fifth month of the 19th year of the Chaoxiang Emperor, 17xx

It was the dead of summer in the Forbidden City but, 18 year old Xi Jiayi still felt cold sweat running down her neck. The sun had set and she could smell and hear the rest of the bondslaves eating the nightly meal. Jiayi was starving, but Su gonggong* was at the door of the mess hall.

Since her arrival five years ago, Jiayi lived her life as a slave quietly. She went where she was told and did what she was told from dusk til dawn. She would've been content to do so until the day she died, if not for one thing:

Su gonggong.

In the last few months, the overseeing eunuch had been approaching her. At first Jiayi didn't understand it. Her bunkmates weren't shy in letting her know that her looks came nowhere close to something that could be called beautiful. So when Su gonggong began to appear near her at all times, Jiayi assumed someone thought she was stealing and he was forced to keep watch. Then, one night before they were all sent to bed, Su gonggong told Jiayi to follow him. Even if she suspected something, she couldn't disobey him. Su gonggong has pushed her up against a wall and began to grope her. Stunned, Jiayi tossed him to the ground and ran back to her rooms. The small bit of violence did nothing to deter the middle-aged eunuch. Any chance he got, he would try to touch her. It drove her mad.

Lately, Su gonggong has been bragging about the reward he was allowed after serving in the Forbidden City after so many years. For his 50th year, he was going to ask to be rewarded with a wife. Jiayi didn't have to look at him know where his eyes were when he said it. If Jiayi ended up tied to that man as a reward, she had no shame in killing herself. Death would be better than Su gonggong, gaunt, sallow face for the rest of her life.

Stomach grumbling, Jiayi went back to women's barracks. She'd have to satisfy herself with sleep for dinner.

"Yi'er,"

Jiayi froze as the slimly voice called out from behind her. Su gonggong had spotted her from across the courtyard.

"Yi'er," he said again as she turned around, "I have wonderful news,"

"Oh," Jiayi blurted out, her tongue thick in her mouth.

Su gonggong put a gnarled hand on her shoulder and grinned widely, showing off his blackened gums, "Thanks to the grace of His Majesty, we can finally be married. The Astronomy Department is searching for an auspicious date for us,"

"No," Jiayi said as she curled away from him, "Su gonggong, a lowly sinjeku† has no right,"

Su gonggong laughed and grasped her hands, "Don't worry, don't worry! When we marry, I'll give you a new name and make a true Manchu clanswoman,"

Seeing the lack of joy on her face, Su gonggong tightened his grip around her hands, "You have a chance to change your fate Jiayi. Don't waste it,"

Jiayi went to bed, belly full to the brim with fear.

–––-

The next morning Jiayi and a dozen other slaves were taken out to weed the cobblestone roads. Jiayi dug into the ground the sun beat down on her. She imagined that it Su gonggong's neck she was squeezing instead of the green weeds in the ground.

"Did you hear, The Empress is actually letting a prostitute inside the back palace††?"

"Really?"

The servants began to chatter excitedly.

"I heard that she's so beautiful that she caused a cart accident by just sticking her hand out of the window," said a eunuch.

"I heard that His Majesty asked her to enter the palace as soon as he saw her. Love at first sight!"

The chatter grew in intensity.

"Apparently she's going to be given the rank of gui ren," said a maid.

"And an honorary name! No woman has ever gotten one without a great merit to the Imperial Family!"

"If I were one of His Majesty's wives I wouldn't take kindly to that. To be the same rank or lower than a woman who's been ridden by more men than a cart-horse? It's shameful!"

At that point, Jiayi went back to fantasy of wringing Su gonggong's neck. Why should she care that The Emperor was getting a new woman? He owned the world.

"I hear the Imperial Household Department is having trouble finding maids to serve her,"

"You're surprised? Those uppity maids won't stand having to walk behind such a famous lean horse§,"

"I've been here for 40 years and its never happened before! I hear they've had to cover up a lot of suicides because of this,"

"How many? I heard 10 maids have gone off these last few months,"

"10?! The girls at the hothouse said it was close to 20! I heard one was the daughter of junior deputy. They had to lie and say she died from a snake bite,"

"And they don't dare send the bodies out. They burn them, right away!"

A dizzyingly daring thought popped in Jiayi's head. If she served The Emperor's favored woman, Su gonggong wouldn't disrespect her by approaching her for marriage.

Yes, she was a slave.

Yes, the entirety of her clan was executed for distributing slanderous materials.

Yes, she only fit to clean the shit buckets that were brought in every night.

It didn't matter.

Su gonggong was right. Jiayi wasn't going to waste the one chance she had to change her fate.

__________________________

* eunuch † State slave. Of a lower status than bond slaves or bond servants. Usually a status of punishment †† Lit. translation of harem § Slang, prostitute

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#chinese drama #chinese novel #qing dynasty #ruyi's royal love in the palace #empresses in the palace #original fiction #historical fiction #writer #booklr #wattpad #wattpad writer #period drama #writeblr #writerblr #a forbidden happiness

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knaite-solo · 4 years

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Dear Lee - Zuko x Reader

Summary: After being rescued from prison, you discover that you fell in love with a lie.

Pairing: Zuko x DaiLi!Reader

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Swearing

Word count: 2105

“Hand me the prison keys.” Zuko ordered to the semi-conscious warden that he found in front of his uncle's cell.

Warden Poon was barely able to open his eyes due to the hard confrontation he had with Iroh.

“But, Prince Zuko…”

“Just do it.” Zuko didn’t even try to use a calm tone this time, even threatening Poon with one of his fists on fire.

With no other choice, the warden handed the bunch of keys to the prince. He no longer wanted any conflicts, mainly because he didn’t have enough strength to do so and also because he knew that his firebending was inferior.

With the keys in hand, Zuko began his plan, starting to free the remaining prisoners from the tower. Initially, his intention was just to free his uncle, but as he had failed to do so, he decided not to let the opportunity go in vain.

Most of the people who were there weren't dangerous, but very prestigious. Big business owners, high-ranking military men, former rulers. Even his uncle was only there and not in the Boiling Rock, as he was part of the Royal Family. Fortunately, thanks to this foolish choice, Iroh had benefited from the average security prison to escape.

When Zuko finally thought he had just opened all the cells, he came across one that was different from the others. It wasn’t surrounded by iron bars, but by large metal plates with a small window in the middle, apparently where meals were placed. Not even his uncle had been put in such a bad place. Could someone really be there?

With some caution, the firebender turned the key in the lock and subtly opened the door, placing his head inside the small gap he had opened.

“Hello?”

Unfortunately, Zuko identified someone lying in the back of the dim cell.

And that someone was you.

But since you hadn’t responded to his call, he was uncertain if you had heard him. So, the prince decided to enter the cubicle and shook you gently, trying to awake you.

“Hey. Wake up.”

It all seemed too confusing in your head when you started to wake up. A familiar voice rang in your ears and a small amount of light illuminated the cell, but the brightness irritated your eyes since you hadn't been dealing with it for weeks.

“Hey.” He called you again and then you finally remembered who that voice belonged to.

“Lee?” You questioned in an uncertain but hopeful tone.

“Y/n?” Hearing your name coming from his lips filled you with happiness.

Without restraining yourself, you wrapped the prince in a tight hug and he reciprocated you a bit shyly since he didn't expect that demonstration of affection, much less to find you in a place like that. But you didn't care about his shyness. Just having him in your arms was good enough.

“I'm so happy that you're okay, Lee.”

You called him Lee again. After all, he was Lee to you.

For you, he was the guy from the teahouse you used to go to after your earthbending training. The guy who had caught your interest so suddenly that when you noticed you would show up to see him even when there was no reason to.

For you, he was the guy who made you laugh even when he didn't mean anything funny. He had such a weird and grumpy way of looking at things that you couldn't help but think it was cute.

For you, he was the guy who had taught you a bit of swordsmanship and when he wielded those double swords, you were even more attracted to him. He always seemed to dance with them. And he made it look so easy when you knew it wasn't.

For you, he was the guy you had your first date with. In fact, you weren't even sure if it was a date, but you always treated the memory with the amount of affection you think it deserved.

You couldn't forget when you had dinner with him and he yelled at one of the waiters, apparently a little embarrassed by a silly comment. You also couldn't forget how you tried to hold his hand and he allowed it, walking with you like that for a while. You couldn't forget the fountain where you took him to and how the candles magically seemed to light around it. It was the perfect place and the perfect time. You could almost feel that he wanted to kiss you just as much as you wanted to kiss him. And suddenly, he left, leaving you with a coupon for the teahouse he worked at.

Shortly after that small step in your relationship, you graduated as part of the Dai Li. You wished you could protect your people and you felt that that was the right way to do it. You had grown up in the Lower Ring and aspired to bring some justice to this region. It is a pity that you got it all wrong and chose the worst way to achieve it.

Before joining the other agents, you had a last cup of tea at your favorite spot. You already wore the typical Dai Li costume and you expected the farewell to be kinda hard. But to your surprise, that day, Lee didn't show up, just his uncle. You said goodbye to Mushi and asked him to deliver the message, but it always hurt you that Lee wasn't there to hear it in person.

So, you met again. And you had so much to say to your dear Lee.

“Why didn't you come to say g-”

“Not now.” Zuko interrupted you a little roughly, but it wasn’t intentional. He just was in a hurry. “I’m sorry. We need to go before they find us.”

He cautiously broke away from your embrace and lifted you, pulling you by your hand. However, you were so weak from the hard days in prison that you almost fell backward. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and held you tightly by the waist so you wouldn't fall.

“What’s wrong?” Zuko asked worriedly.

“Nothing. Let's go.”

You broke free from him politely, trying to prove that you were well enough to walk alone and get out of there on your own, but deep down, you knew it was all just a lie. You had been tortured during so many days that you didn't even know how you could still speak. You didn't even know how you could still pronounce the word hope. Perhaps it was the fact that you were from the Earth Kingdom. Your people were known for being enduring and strong and so were you. You had to go on despite everything.

“Let me help you.” Zuko offered again but you denied.

However, when you started to leave the cell for the first time in weeks, your body again lost its balance. You were so thrilled to finally be able to touch something other than cold metal walls that you didn't look at your steps. Until warm hands held you again.

“Please, I just want to help.” He practically begged this time and you could feel his hands tightening around you.

“Fine.” You said it reluctantly, knowing that he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Zuko was pleased to finally get your consent and cautiously, he put one of your arms over his neck, supporting your weight against his body. The prince could easily carry you on his back, but he knew you were a proud person and would be offended if you were treated that way. He wanted to give you the proper respect. After all, you were a fighter just like him.

“Now, can you tell me what happened?”

Zuko wanted to ask that question since he found you in that cold, dark cell. It never crossed his mind that you could be so close to him and he never noticed. And if it weren't for his change of heart, you might have rotten there and he would never know.

He wanted to know why you were in that tower since you weren’t a relatively important person.

He wanted to know why you seem to be a thousand times more mistreated than the other prisoners he had released. You could barely walk without stumbling and that didn't match the determined person he met at Ba Sing Se.

He couldn't help but look at the injured extension of your body. All he could see was a large number of bruises, burns, and marks. You looked like a macabre work of art and probably the artist of this work had a mind as macabre as.

He wanted to ask so much. Zuko was immensely concerned about your condition, but at the same time, he was more concerned with how he would say he wasn’t who you thought he was.

“Fire Nation happened.” You finally responded sarcastically. “Do I really need to tell you that, Lee?”

Zuko didn't dare to say anything. Every time he heard his false name, everything seemed to get worse. So he decided to go down the stairs with you in silence. If he could take care of your safety by pretending to be Lee for a while, then he would do it.

“Why are you wearing these disgusting clothes?” The red suit with golden details annoyed you a lot since it looked a lot like the clothes of that woman you despised so much.

Zuko remained silent. You couldn't help but be irritated by his attitude, but you knew you were dependent on him at that moment. You could either adapt to his sudden silence or return to your unhappy cell. Although even if you wanted to return, Zuko would never let you go back.

You finally made it out of the tower and your eyes shone with excitement. How long have you been since you breathe some fresh air? You were so happy that you would have jumped, screamed, and even danced a little if some guards hadn't shown up.

You quickly let go of Zuko and placed yourself in front of him.

In your mind, you were stronger than him. You were the person who had been blessed with the ability of bending. You were also the person who had been trained to be an elite fighter and serve Ba Sing Se, even it was all a big fat lie. You couldn't change the fact that you joined Dai Li and were manipulated to do bad things, but you could use your strength to do things differently from now. And so you would protect Lee.

You took a rigid stance and levitated some blocks of earth. You were ready to attack until you hear them communicate with Lee.

“Prince Zuko!” One of them spoke up trying to communicate with the man behind you, but that didn't make any sense. He wasn't this Zuko guy.

A woman ran towards you with fire daggers in her hands, but that didn't make you back off. You knew you were superior and even if you weren't, you would force yourself to be.

When you tried to throw the rocks at her, you were stopped, with your hand being held behind your back.

Only one person would be close enough to you to act that fast.

“Lee, what are you doing?” You tried to get loose in vain.

“I’m sorry.” Zuko whispered.

Before you could answer or try to earthbend something with your feet, Zuko threw you over one of his shoulders, almost like you were a sack of potatoes.

"Stop."

You didn't understand why he told you to stop until you realized that the order wasn't for you. He was talking with the guards.

“But, prince Zuko, she’s the Dai Li agent that princess Azula-”

“I don’t care. I’m ordering you to stop.”

You couldn't understand anything anymore. Why did Lee seem to have authority over those guards? Why weren't you being attacked? Why were they constantly calling him prince Zuko?

“I’m afraid we can’t, Your Highness.” The guard with fire daggers replied.

And then, a battle of flames started.

You were outnumbered. You knew that Lee was good with swords, but that would be insufficient. You would have to fight. Only you could defend the two of you.

"Lee, please." You practically begged, pulling his shirt with as much strength that you could.

"I'm sorry, Y/n. For everything." And when he started to firebend, your heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

Lee never existed.

Maybe I will write a part 2 since I liked this theme so much. Please let me know in the comments if I should continue. Suggestions for the next part are also accepted! To this imagine, I inspired myself with the song Natalie - Milk & Bone.

Request made by @bucky-blogs Thank you so much for requesting this!

Since English isn’t my native language, please be kind. Any criticism is appreciated.

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