Lady Meilin is seduced by her green tea brother-in-law everyday-Chapter 289: Declaration of death
The flag of the empire was flying at half mast and above every royal palace in every city of the empire, the hologram of the dead empress was on display. Drones in the sky projected her image, stretching across the clouds of the capital like the wings of a mourning bird.
The number of mourners outside the royal palace had increased from thousands to hundreds of thousands, nearing a million. Human traffic stretched all the way from the royal palace to the center of the city. When news of the emperor’s speech was shared, they readied themselves to hear the bad news.
When he stepped out in black, quiet whispers traveled in crowds and heads were bowed. Silent tears poured from eyes of the soft hearted in the crowd, muffled sobs darted from those that could not control themselves. The blue sky seemed gray and the sun lacked warmth.
One nation prepared itself to mourn in the open.
Emperor Junjie stepped forward onto the balcony which was closest to the crowd. Cameras shattered, as images of his grief stricken face were taken. Hearts clenched when he covered his eyes for a moment--an expression polished for performance.
The Empress Mother displayed a handkerchief deliberately and yet used her back to block the cameras. She made it obvious that she was comforting her son by wiping away his tears. She was more worried about the make-up being ruined, giving away the fact that he was not grieving at all. In fact, his face was rosier than usual.
But the crowd lapped up the performance like cats lapping on milk in a saucer. They shouted out words of comfort, encouraging the Emperor to be strong.
The Empress Mother stepped back and Junjie became visible again. He raised his hand, and the noise started to die down. All over the empire, even outside, every news channel and other medias that were interested captured the ongoing address.
"My dear citizens." Junjie began, his voice steadier than he expected. "I come to you today to share some terrible news. I stand before you not just as an Emperor, but a man gripped by loss. A tragedy visited our empire and it resulted in the unfortunate death of close friends and loved ones. In the explosion of the Celestial Mo, the Empress and others died. I personally involved myself in the investigation and oversaw most of it. I can confirm now that there were were no survivors."
Even though it was old news, gasps still came from the crowd below the royal palace.
Junjie’s voice cracked and he paused before continuing, "The investigation revealed that there was mechanical failure which resulted from the new software that was used. Software that was acquired from the foreign company Cosmosis. Even though this company was already aware that there software was faulty, they chose not to address this to avoid making losses. I would like to declare right now that we will be suing the company."
His voice cracked again. Some people in the crowd clutched each other, others wept even louder. The skeptics that believed a tech company was involved refused to believe his words.
Angry citizens shouted curses. The air buzzed with a mixture of fury and disbelief. There were those in the crowd that were demanding for war. Some were already thinking that the American royal family was involved. Conspiracy theories were brewing in the minds like afternoon tea on a hot day.
Junjie calmed the crowd. "I will not go into details about the investigation or legal process. We are a nation in mourning and we should first do that and start hopefully start to heal. The Empress was more than just my wife, she was the mother of the empire. She was a woman with grace, compassion and courage. Her last fight was one that so many of us do not dare to take on. This fight will not end with her. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
In her memory, the royal family will continue to advocate for change in the relationship between our people and technology. Someday, as the Empress watches over us, she will be able to smile proudly because her death bore some good fruit.
We will not rest until we do all the people that died justice. This unfair....unnecessary death which was a result of greed and cowardice will not go unanswered."
He stepped back as the prime minister Chi Rui stepped forward to he address the people and share the arrangements for the funeral which was in two days. "Tomorrow is to be declared a public holiday as the empire will unite in prayers for the victims of....."
Princess Rize, yawned beneath her mourning veil, her thoughts were more concerned with the half eaten breakfast she had left on the dining table. As for her husband’s speech, it was very boring. Everything he was going to say, she already knew.
Prince Long Bo sneered behind the black fan that he was holding in front of his face. The odds of the Empress dying in a random accident were zero. Their royal family did not step into a vehicle or aircraft that was not cleared by a special secret team of people. Half of those people belonged to the Jun, Su, Bo and Huang family. His eyes roamed over his royal relatives. Someone among them knew the truth about the explosion and it was not the Americans!
In the crowd below, Hui Zhenting whispered to his father Deputy Chief Hui Dong "They have found the convenient scapegoat. The American empire just increased taxes on all exports from our empire to theirs. Some threats were made and now this! With such an accusation made, that bastard is tightening the noose around them."
Hui Dong grimaced. "I guess a diplomatic meeting or party of some kind is going to be held within a week. That bastard, I cannot believe that he used his own wife’s death to solve an economic crisis."
In the royal palace, servants peeked at Agent Waning and kept their questions to themselves. Like how he had recovered so quickly from a gun shot wound to his chest and why no royal agent had been on the ship with the Empress. No matter what explanation was given, those things made no sense.
Some wondered why the Empress had been released from her confinement before the time was up and made to undertake a great task of battling technology.
In the crowd, a little girl saw on a hologram that Princess Ruoxi smiling briefly. She was ten--old enough to understand that a tragedy had occurred, everyone was sad and they should be crying. "Mommy, why isn’t princess Ruoxi crying?"
Her mother hushed her. But she had the same question. Why were most of the members of the royal family dry eyed? Were they truly grieving or were they simply keeping up appearances and putting on a brave front for the world?
