“You needn’t worry, Empress,” Jinshi said.
The hell she needn’t! Maomao thought as she wiped the blood from Jinshi’s lip with a handkerchief. Had they called her here just so she could watch two brothers fight? If so, she wished they would have left her and Empress Gyokuyou out of it.
“I knew what I was walking into here. I’m prepared for much more than a bloody lip.” Jinshi stood, removing another layer of clothing and walking step by step over to the brazier. “Rest assured, Empress Gyokuyou: your enemy I shall never be.”
Jinshi smiled and loosened his belt, revealing his midriff, his belly button. No sooner had the belt come loose than he was picking up a poker from the fire. And then he did something none of them had expected, something none of them had even imagined.
There was a collective gasp and the stench of burning flesh. Even the stouthearted Gyokuyou swooned, and Maomao rushed over to catch her. The Emperor looked on aghast; he didn’t even try to cover his open mouth.
Jinshi fought the pain, forcing himself to smile. He returned the poker to the fire.
Maomao rested Empress Gyokuyou on a couch, then stared at Jinshi’s abdomen. He’d avoided his stomach, but on his flank, just above his pelvis, there was a burn. She recognized the shape: it was the crest Empress Gyokuyou had been given.