Hours before the surviving men returned to the imperial palace, the emperor, the princess general, the two lieutenants generals, and two units of imperial soldiers were mounting their horses as they are heading towards the reported commotion.
"Xiulan." The emperor matches his sister's pace. "Don't you think we're lost? We've been running for a while now yet we're still in the woods."
"I've been thinking about that too." She looks at Lieutenant General Song who's leading the way.
Before they departed, he suggested a shorter route towards the reported town. However, from the looks of it, it seems they're getting deeper into the forest. There's no way there'll be a town in the heart of the woods, right?
The general gives her white horse a gentle kick and her pace accelerated, leaving her brother behind to catch up with the leading lieutenant general.
Seeing this, some soldiers under Liu Chen's command told him to go after them and not let Lieuten
The emperor and the princess start to move again. It doesn't matter where they're heading to. What's important is that they can get farther from the ones hunting them and also find their way out of the woods. The sun is about to set too. This puts them at more disadvantage. When it gets dark, they'll be forced to stop. Since tonight is going to be a new moon, there will be no light to guide their way. However, stopping for the night doesn't mean they're safe. Who knows? There might be some wild animals that will attack them during their sleep. But if they go on, they might get attacked by these animals instead. Whatever they do, it seems they're only bound to face danger. It seems they're cornered, a checkmate. Princess Yin Xiulan already stopped crying. However, she's not saying anything. She's still down and worried for Liu Chen. Her restlessness only makes her feel worse. She can't explain it but she has a bad feeling. On the other hand, Em
Eunuch Xu is lying flat on the bed, staring at the high ceiling. He's been like this for a few hours now. It's already dark and it's time for dinner yet he hasn't eaten lunch until now. Speaking of which, his stomach growls for who knows how many times already? He wonders, is he going to die here like this? When he arrived at the underworld and he's asked what caused his death, would he answer "I starved to death."? He would sound so poor by then! Well, he won't deny it. This beau is broke but for the span of time he's working in the imperial palace, he got some compensation and saved it. He never spent even a single copper coin. What else would he spend his money for? The food here in the imperial palace is free. Servants got their uniforms and even have spare clothes. Basically, all basic needs are given here. And besides, they can't go out freely to even go to the nearby market. And in some cases, when he got to go out of the imperial palac
Xu Zhengming and Sect Leader Zhao are facing each other at a small tea table having their afternoon tea. Their jaws are literally aching because of forcing their smiles on each other. No one talks, just drinking jasmine tea, and smiling. This is awkward to both of them. Very awkward. Setting his jaw aside, Xu Zhengming has something else that bothers him for a good while now. He wants to pee. For goodness sake! Xu Zhengming and Zhao Yangguang are pouring each other's teacups for who knows how many times already? Wang Junjie brewed them tea a couple of times too. Eunuch Xu's stomach is full of tea and he really wants it out as soon as possible. However, he doesn't want to be rude to the sect leader. Wouldn't leaving sect leader Zhao here make him look bad? Xu Zhengming could only hope that the emperor will find his twin sister as soon as possible, and come back here real quick. He doesn't think he'll be able to handle this level of awkw
"Have you seen the prince?" The grand empress dowager asks the empress dowager as soon as the latter steps inside her hall. It's been two days since the news about the emperor's death circulated in the entire imperial palace. This news also spread into the nearby towns and will soon notify all the colonies that the empire holds. The prince is nowhere to be found. Since Prince Yin Wenyan didn't show himself before her after the last time they met, the grand empress dowager suspects that he went out to search for his siblings, which is actually the case. "Grand Empress Dowager, I still couldn't see even the shadow of the first prince. The emperor's personal eunuch isn't in the Lotus Hall as well." The empress dowager replies. "Could it be he gave up and run away?" The old empress sneers. "We're talking about Yin Wenyan here. That man is cunning. Let's not assume that possibility. It's still too early to say that." Yin Wenyan is the empire's tact
It's already nighttime when Emperor Yin Renshu and Princess Yin Xiulan heard a loud exploding sound in the sky. His majesty immediately extinguished the campfire and get his guards up. As for the princess, she still remained crouching, spacing out while facing the small mound. It seems she already gave up trying so hard to survive. She lost her holy weapon during that fall. Her brother lost his sword too. She's hopeless and feels like they really got defeated in the game of fate. The loud explosion is followed by a sharp whistling sound as a light launches into the sky. When it reached a certain point, the small light scattered with a loud bang. The firework forms a white five-petaled flower. It's Wan MoliHua Palace's emblem. "Xiulan let's go!" Emperor Yin Renshu grabs his sister's wrist and drags her along towards the direction where the firework came from. He thought it must be Prince Yin Wenyan or anyone in Wan Moli Hua Palace. The Princess, on the
As soon as the day breaks, the three of them started their journey, Emperor Yin Renshu, Princess Yin Xiulan, and Prince Yin Wenyan fly their way back to the palace mounting their swords. A few meters away from the imperial gates, they noticed that the guards on duty doubled. They lowered themselves, leveling on the tree to hide their presence. It seems they are very tight with the security. However, what's worse here is that the men in charge are Lieutenant General Song's subordinates. From the looks of it, any of the three of them isn't allowed to step inside the imperial palace again. "This is clearly a message from the grand empress dowager to us." The emperor said while hiding on top of the tree. "She forbids us to enter the imperial palace." "The grand empress dowager very much anticipated our return." Princess Yin Xiulan commented. Emperor Yin Renshu, "What should we do now? Should we force ourselves in?" His majesty's suggestion
"It suits you very well, Ming'er!" Zhao Yangguang said with all smiles. "Don't you think so, Ah-Jie?" "Mn." The sect elder nods. While the emperor, the prince, and the princess are struggling to eliminate the ongoing corruption in the imperial palace, Sect Leader Zhao, Sect Elder Wang, and Eunuch Xu are having a peaceful morning together. For a short period of time, Sect Leader Zhao and Xu Zhengming became comfortable with each other as if they met for a good while now. Xu Lin's death was never brought up ever since Xu Zhengming set his feet inside the Wan Moli Hua Palace. He doesn't think there's someone to blame. It's his father's choice so he respects that. Also, he can't disregard the fact that the sect leader didn't force his father to do so. Sect Leader Zhao, on the other hand, is being sensitive to the other. If he wants to talk about it, he's willing to exchange words with him. But if he doesn't bring the topic up, it could only mean one thing
The long and slender fingers of Sect Leader Zhao pluck the strings of his guzheng. The series of strum created a harmonious melody, pleasing the ears of everyone who can hear. The music he plays is slow in tempo, truly soothing. Like a mother humming to a sleeping child. Like a stream of water that flows towards the sea. Like a gentle rain that falls on one's cheek. This melody can calm one's troubled heart and mind in a mess. Xu Zhengming yawns as he lay down on the wooden floor. The music that Zhao Yangguang plays makes him sleepy in broad daylight. The sect leader, Sect Elder Wang, and our silly eunuch just finished their pot of jasmine tea for the nth time of the day inside the main hall of Wan Moli Hua Palace. It's been five days since Yin Wenyan left Xu Zhengming here yet there's no sign of him coming back any time soon. Not even his shadow is coming for him. They don't even know his whereabouts, or if he already found his siblings or not yet. Z