Ning Ren licked his lips as he looked through the letters that had been intercepted by his agents. Maybe today his efforts would finally be recognized. It was so beautiful to see the fruits of his labor in front of the only person he wanted to get praise from. In a pile in the corner were all the letters that Ning Zhuo had tried to send to Jungpi. The emporer sat opposite who personally slid open several letters and read them.
"Such a good boy this child has been. It's unfortunate that he could be ruined so." As he kept a letter open, he turned to Ning Ren. "Has there been any reply from the other side? This threat needs to be removed if the dreams of our forefathers should come to be accomplished."
"Wei, Yan, Jungpi . . . shall all fall by dominos. Brother is befuddled by women. He has really lost his touch as he pours his heart out in these letters. It's very fortuitous that his heart--"
The emporer's eyes
"You're packing? I was wondering when you would be feeling well enough to get up. Now you're getting ready to hit the road with dirt and danger. I wouldn't have believed it if I had not come myself." Langhua said quietly as she had not let the servants come in to warn that princess that she was coming in. "Are you sure that you're ready? I understand that you have a lot of emotions running through you which is why you're taking so much longer to heal. How much we can help you does have it's limits as we have sent you outside where we knew little of what was happening to you. I can see it all over your skin and eyes. It's very unusual that it hasn't changed to your normal eyes and coloring by now. I do worry about you, but the monks who are responsible for this type of enchantment won't be in Jungpi again as they are traveling. The imperial physicians will just call in an exorcist which is their own lack of skills.&nbs
Ning Zhuo rushed through the doors of his brother, Ning Qi's house in the capital city of Caiwong. He was stopped by the manor's guards and there was a brief tussle between his own guards and that of his brother's. Both pulled out their swords and stood off against each other as they waited for orders from their respective princes. Ning Zhuo was furious that people would even dare question why he would come here. This was the capital city for goodness sake? Did they not see that he was presenting his own token which was bestowed upon him by the empoer?Ning Qi rushed to the front to see what all the fuss was about but finally crossed his arms and sighed. "All men of crown prince will wait outside. Crown prince will only be protected by his closest servant. Anyone who disobeys will be caned or be sent to be tortured at the palace dungeon. I'm not kidding this time as I have a serious matter to discuss with the crown prince
"So this scrawny welp is what my cousin adopted into our illustrious line?" The gruff voice was strange as Yan Sha sat up. She was wrapped in furs and her inner garments had been removed. The furs were bound around her body with little pieces of twine that itched against her exposed skin. She had a strong urge to remove everything so the texture of the soft fur was undisturbed, or even better to ask for soft inner clothes. There was light seeping through an opening in the flap to the tent and it smelled strongly of grilled meat. She put her hand over her face as the flap was tightly wrenched closed and the torches were lit showing the scar marked face of the chieftain.Yan Sha squealed and wrapped the furs more tightly around herself. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to a much thinner woman standing behind the chieftain whose skin was marked in the same way that she was. Yan Sha gingerly moved and pointed. "Why do you loo
In the camp, Yan Sha was treated well as she would have been at her home or in Jungpi. With these new revelations of who she was and why such things had been done to her, she felt really strange. If she looked at her reflection in the congee that she was handed, her eyes were no longer pitch black. There were no longer streaks of necrotic flesh wrapping around her body. The tattoo at her back was no longer seeping ink. She was no longer coughing up copious amount of blackened boluses of whatever she had tried to get down. All of the new signs of health that she had taken for granted were there, but her body was still almost skeletal. Her hands hurt when she tried to move them. The hollows of her cheeks were sunken in and shriveled. Everyone was always handing food to her and bundling her to more and more layers of fur. After a while, the boredom sank in and Yan Sha stood, sloshing the congee angrily. Everyone look
Yan Sha ran over to where her mother was sitting with the chieftain. Realization dawned on her now that this was her mother's new husband and that there were more changes here than she had previously realized and understood. Things would not be the same as before even if she stayed here and pandered to her mother's wishes of a retirement of her character. Was it really the best course of action to leave her country, now that she had properly saved it? Who would become the new legend if she did not come back to what she had hoped would be her new home? She felt a strange set of restlessness as the thing that she had worked so hard to cultivate was now left to curl into a ball and die. "Bring her over here," the words were slurred as the chieftain was holding a wineskin and pointed at Yan Sha. Yan Sha felt uncomfortable as she was forced to stand by the two matrons who stood at either elbow and forced to move closer and closer to the fir
Yan Sha stood stiffly on the edge of a cliff looking down at the caravan train of tribesmen passing by as she considered her life choices now that her motivations were dashed away by the last couple months' series of events. Her own mortality was on her mind often these days as she wondered what the purpose of her being skinned alive of her innocence. She had been so ruthless in life already to get this far and strangely she did not regret a moment of it although it was like a boundary had been drawn between the old her and the new her. The two halves of herself could touch each other in a mirror and mourn the loss of their joining. If she had not gone so hard she would not have reached any of the pinnacles she had touched so far and as she had tasted first blood already from the battle, her body still longed to return to it. It was strange for her now to sit idle and wait for a decision instead of going out and fin
“You’re a lot like your mother. I always told her that the past doesn’t matter as long as she is willing to make a future with me. There are many young men here with whom you could make a good future with. But if you want to start again beyond the central plans, that too is within my power.” “You’re very kind, but to be married is not the only worth of a woman. I have responsibility to a country and whom I am very happy to know is my kin. It would be very easy to run away from all my responsibilities and disappear into a marriage. My husband’s name and title would be melded as my identity.” “Wasn’t it some high and mighty perfumed prince who did all this to you? He’s married now with many woman around him. Why did he give you his daughter if you do not desire to be his wife? A
“In our tribe we place our bets on both children, but this daughter is not one of mine. You left the father of her as he got tangled trying to seek glory at the capital and you married me hoping again for a peaceful existence as you thought all whom you loved had left you. No one knew that your daughter was alive until she reaped accomplishments. Her adoption has gotten her some benefit. You forget that through this adoptions that you are no longer her true mother.” She shrugged and then looked at the retreating figure of her daughter. Yan Sha had insisted on not leaving in a carriage. It was strange that she felt a sort of restlessness that maybe she would not see her daughter again in this lifetime. =//= Yan Sha walked to the neare
“Who dares to disturb the emperor after the court session? That’s bold of whatever minister can even bear the thought of death for his point. This is not the time to keep pushing a point that has died through discussion. Tell that courtier that I will execute him if he persists with his petition. I am not in the mood to entertain anybody under any circumstances. I will not be forced into doing more things that I have no care for.” Ning Zhuo nursed his head as his head was spinning after reading so many memorials. Even though the pile to the left of finished memorials was more in height than the one on the right, he knew there was a whole pile of them that his eunuchs had hidden behind a pot to encourage him to continue. It was incredibly annoying as work now was never ending. He already knew all the sides to the argument so he was irked that some small person was still trying to push after being re
Langhua, the queen of Jungpi, put her arms around Yan Sha tightly and started to cry as Yan Sha was too shell shocked to move or react. “You’re healthy. My daughter has finally returned to me the way that she does in my dreams. To see such a beautiful sight is beyond what I have hoped for so many years. I am so happy. You’re healthy finally. I have felt such guilt as your mother for sacrificing so much just to stabilize the reign of the incumbent. I searched so hard for an answer to my question of how to stabilize what I had put up for slaughter.” “Mother I—“ Yan Sha didn’t know what to say as she was so used to the brutality of the ruler. To be even here to see the tears and true joy in her return to a better state of health made Yan Sha realize that her aunt really did love her even if she preferred her own daughter above Yan Sha. 
Yan Sha was led to an unmarked carriage on the side gate of the Jungpi palace. It was odd at this time of day and she tensed when she saw it. This was out of her usual routine. No one had left her a note or explained why there was such a deviation so she was instantly alert. Her daggers were with her and she brandished them quickly in a way that would disarm the people around her. But as her movement was swift, there was a clothed man in animal skins who was silent and unexpected to Yan Sha such that she had not thought that such a person would be waiting for her. She couldn’t remember what happened after as the disgusting taste of medicine filled her mouth and she slipped out of consciousness. Her body was dragged into the carriage and the wild man drove off in a huff as all the servants scattered.
Yan Sha looked at Ning Zhuo with a sigh as she could feel the world around her come crashing down. Her breath came in harsh strokes as she tried not to breathe at all, if this was a dream she had to fight hard to make sure that she didn’t wake up. But reality was quick to set in. The bath house behind them was abruptly searched. They could hear the sounds of the maid explaining that there were people just here. “Don’t you feel bad for them?” Yan Sha said with a forlorn expression as she could see their panic and expressions. “They work for me. They are all paid well and even if they are taken into the Prefecture Penitentiary. I will take care of their families and make sure that their descendants are well.”
The black melange was moving up her body which as her clothing disintegrated covered all of her up to her neck. All below the water was pitch black and pulsating. He dropped the torch and there was a hiss as the fire went out. “Crown prince you cannot. I have burned many people. Everyone gets burned as they come close to me. You should not. You cannot. I am poison to everyone. Crown prince, please.” He picked up her body and the black color dripped down onto his hands. He moved swiftly out of the lake. Yan Sha touched his face and bounced back as she remembered what was wrong with her. “Crown prince? Since when have you called me that? If I truly am the cause of this, then I will search day and nig
Yan Sha laughed as she heard this. “Sister, I can’t believe that I hear you say this that you want to share me with others and even outsiders. If the Duke would hear of this I’m sure he would be positively shocked. He would say that someone has stolen away his beloved concubine sun and replaced her with a pious monk. He would look all around the moon for you until he found you right at home where he left you. But truthfully, sister, business is not for me. I could never keep all of the older matrons happy with tinctures. It would be a lot more talking than simply giving medicine.” “Well then you can be in all of their good graces and then they will want to invite us to all of the good gatherings and food tastings. Who is to know what nice things that they will share with us then?” “
“What kind of school are we talking about, your highness. I have definitely never heard of it. Whom is this legendary teacher? But on second thought I would say he has been brutal to you. Your back is full of burns and scars and marks. It doesn't sound like a place where a delicate princess should be sent, even if you are the spare.” “I am not one who has been confined to private quarters like my sister all of her life. One sibling must learn of the outside world to keep the other safe while ruling. It is my duty to protect her and guard the line in front of our house. But these is explained in the words of men, I guard the land so I may have a place to go home to and a bed to sleep on and a sister whom I know will raise my children if I am to die first.” “If you say it in this way
The person was walking upside down now and Yan Sha wondered how that could be. Then she realized that the ground was by her face. She struggled listlessly as the person dragged her away and out of sight. The scene that she had left behind was strange as there was just cloth and bones that were swept away by the morning sweepers as they wondered why this area of town had gotten so dusty. The local magistrates guessed all that ash had come from fires. Not knowing the whole area was hallowed with human remains. =\\= Yan Sha spat up black phlegm again and she coughed to clear her throat. No matter how much she coughed her throat continued to burn until she just gave up that she had gotten used to it that there was no point trying anymore. 
Ning Zhuo then turned and saw a shadow in his study. He strutted back to find his bookcases trembling. His movements to fix everything were quick. Maids immediately rushed behind him and one poked him, “Crown prince, your man from Jungpi has arrived to see you.” Yan Sha froze as she sat on the roof. There was a good opening to jump over the roofs but she was torn as she knew that it was incredibly difficult to get spies into this manor. She was proud of her former partner but could not stop the lick of nostalgia. She wanted to say that she knew him. Below her, Ning Zhuo replied. “Oh good. Send him into my study. I want to hear what he has to say immediately.”