Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ningguang was a powerful woman who, at first glance, has everything that anyone could ever want.

An elegant palace, full of servants that tend to her every beck and call. A prosperous empire, with merchants swarming every corner of her realm like worker bees in a beehive. Beauty unmatched by anyone else in her country—her flowing white hair and petite face have been praised even by nobles in other kingdoms. Money, land, beauty—all belong to Empress Regent Ningguang, the rightful ruler of the heavens.

However, unbeknownst to her subjects and only known by her closest advisors, even Empress Ningguang has her troubles, namely two, which occupy much of her time.

One, the neighbouring kingdom. Ruled by the slightly eccentric King of the earth, Zhongli, it was a flourishing land whose belly was stuffed full of ores and minerals. Despite being half the size of Ningguang’s empire, it was quickly rivalling its strength in wealth. She had sent diplomats to his kingdom, but all she has received so far are hostile answers. Tensions are rising, and the wise empress believes the time to teach them a lesson is coming.

Matters of diplomacy and war are tense and unrelenting, but they all come as part of the job. Rather, most of Ningguang’s troubles come from one person.

“Beidou!” Ningguang shouted, slamming the screen door shut behind her as she burst into the tearoom.

The dark-haired woman was squatting on the ground, turning a jade vase in her hands. “Oh, there you are, Ningguang. What’s up?”

“It’s Lady Ningguang to you.” She crossed her arms. “What in heaven’s name do you think you are doing?”

Beidou set the vase back down on the ground, and a loud clink sound echoed in the room. “Just inspecting the wares. Can’t trust anything from that trickster Zhongli, right?”

“Can you please handle those with care?” Ningguang said through gritted teeth. “From King Zhongli’s land or not, we purchased those, and it would be a waste of money if those were to break.”

“Oh, my mistake.” Beidou lifted the vase back up, checking the bottom to see if it was cracked in feigned concern, before shooting to an upright position. She brought the vase to her shoulder, her other arm outstretched in preparation to throw the vase out the window.

Ningguang let out a strangled gasp. “No!” She lunged towards the other woman, trying to get her to stop. Ningguang crashed into her, flinching when she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, pulling her in. But Ningguang wasted no time—she grabbed the vase out of Beidou’s hands, immediately cradling it protectively in her chest. She turned back to glare at her attendant, only to draw back in surprise when she realized their noses were mere inches apart. They were so close, Ningguang could make out each individual eyelash adorning Beidou’s one visible eye. Ningguang felt her face flush as she hastily pushed her away.

Beidou threw her head back, mouth wide open as she pointed at Ningguang and laughed. “Oh my god…you should’ve seen…you should’ve seen the look on your face!” she wheezed, slapping her thighs.

“You…!” Ningguang shot her a dirty look. “I should fire you for this.” An empty threat—Ningguang has threatened to fire Beidou several times already, and the fiery woman always had the same reply.

“You can’t fire me, I’m your bodyguard,” Beidou responded, lifting her eyepatch to wipe away the tears before pulling it back down again.

Ningguang pondered this for a moment. “Then I’m cutting your paycheque by fifteen percent this month.”

“Hey, wait—you can’t do that!”

“I am the Empress and your master. I can do whatever I want.”

“Aw, c’mon, Ningguang, it was just a joke!”

“It’s Lady Ningguang to you!”

Ah, yes. The person who is supposed to be the biggest supporter of Empress Ningguang, ruler of the heavens, is also the biggest pain in her side.

Although, if there is one thing Ningguang will admit about Beidou, it is that she is reliable. Despite the one-eyed woman’s pesky habit of being annoying, Ningguang would still trust her with her life. But of course, this is easy to forget when Beidou causes her so much trouble.

“Scootch over, I want to sit next to the window,” Beidou said after helping Ningguang into the carriage.

“You can sit by the other window if you so desperately want a window seat,” Ningguang responded.

“But I want to sit where you’re sitting.”

Ningguang sighed. “Honestly, Beidou, can’t you just—what are you doing? Put me down this instant!” The Empress whacked the back of Beidou’s head with her fan, but it was no use. Beidou lifted Ningguang up with ease and set her down further inside, so she was sitting in the middle.

Beidou let out a hup as she climbed in and closed the door. “Much better. That wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it?” She waved at the carriage driver, signalling for them to start moving.

Ningguang leaned back in the seat. “I want to know where you get your boldness, Beidou,” she huffed.

“Well, you know what they say, like master, like servant, right?”

“I am the Empress and you are but my bodyguard. Our places are not the same.”

“Maybe, but…” Beidou leaned closer to her, a playful smirk on her lips. “To me, you will always be my Ningguang.”

My Ningguang? Ningguang replayed her voice in her head. Since when has she started addressing me like this? A flash of heat rose to her face, so she held her fan closer to her face. She turned away, looking out the window on the opposite side so Beidou would not see her blushing.

The carriage was quiet until Ningguang spotted a peculiar flash of ginger hair in the trees.

“Get down!” Beidou barked. Before Ningguang knew what was happening, the side of her head was being pushed into the seat, Beidou’s body pressed on top of hers.

Ningguang let out a sharp gasp. Despite the soft velvet material of the seat cushioning her fall, the intense force in which Beidou threw herself over her left Ningguang winded. She squeezed her eyes shut, just as she heard a whoosh of an arrow overhead, impaling itself on the inside walls of the carriage with a sickening thwack. A heartbeat was thumping wildly against Ningguang’s body—was it Beidou’s or her own?

Even though she knew Beidou was shielding her, Ningguang could not stop her body from trembling. The assassin must be highly skilled to be able to shoot into the window of a moving carriage. Only someone with money could hire an assassin of this caliber—but by whom? Zhongli? Or was she betrayed by one of her own?

Beidou must have felt Ningguang’s body shaking against hers, as the knight slid a warm, calloused hand over hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

It felt like they were laying there for an hour, both of them unsure if it was safe to move lest an arrow found a home in their neck. In reality, it must have only been a few seconds—shouts of her other soldiers could be heard, but Ningguang could barely register what they were saying, their voices mere noise to her ears.

“Where is the star in the sky?” one voice could be heard, inquiring about their status.

Beidou slightly lifted her head from the crook of Ningguang’s neck. “Behind the moon,” she responded.

“…You protected me,” Ningguang whispered.

Beidou turned back to face her, the tendrils of her dark hair falling onto Ningguang’s face. “Of course I did. I will do anything to protect you, my Lady Ningguang.”

Ningguang blinked in surprise, taken aback by Beidou’s unexpected pledge. She put her hand on her attendant’s shoulder, intending to push her off, only to quickly withdraw when Beidou let out a small grunt of pain.

“You’re hurt,” Ningguang realized, looking at the wet blood that coloured her fingers red.

Beidou winced. “It’s nothing. Give it a day and it’ll heal.” She forced a smile, but Ningguang could see the beads of sweat on Beidou’s skin.

The Empress narrowed her eyes. “No. It is not ‘nothing.’” She pushed herself up so she was leaning back against her elbows. “You are my guard, which means you belong to me. Any harm to you is an insult to me.”

She pulled a dainty silk handkerchief from the inside of her sash, pressing it gently against Beidou’s shoulder. “So I will make that Zhongli pay for harming my most prized possession…one hundredfold.”