***Fan Family Residence***
The main gates of the Fan Residence swung open just in time before someone rode in through the gates leaving dust in his wake. The rider came to a stop near the entrance of the huge imposing mansion before getting off the horse. The man’s heavy boots landed on the ground as his hands still held the reins firmly, showing that this man was a natural at riding and spent a lot of time on horseback. He wore light armor with a dark red cape, signifying he was of a high ranking military official, as servants started to approach he took off his helmet, letting his high ponytail to fall against his back revealing a handsome stern face. This was Commander Fan Qin Fong, father of General Fan Long Wei!
He had a masculine facial features, lightly tanned, a straight nose, a neatly trimmed mustache and wide dark eyes. His handsome f
***HoGuo Temple*** Even from a distance, the entrance of HoGuo Temple was visible in all it’s glory. It was not grand in terms of luxury but more of splendour in terms of heritage it represents over the centuries. Legend has it that this temple was once a home to the gods which lived on Earth during their trials and the descendants of those gods would come to this temple to pay homage to their ancestors. This temple is also said to have artifacts locked away which used to belong to those very gods and goddesses of old. However those artifacts are not open to the public eye and the monks that reside in the temple have never revealed any of it’s secrets. Many have tried to break into the temple in an attempt to obtain those treasures but proved unsuccessful for various reasons, some of which are said that the senior monks and head monk of the temple are actually guardians that are protecting the temple and
Chapter 1 "Please Your Highness, we need to resume your lessons for today!" Li Roushi, the Imperial Tutor, called out desperately from the entrance of the Frost Place, the private residence of the Fourth Prince, Jin Huan. Around him, many palace maids and eunuchs were running about searching and calling out for Prince Jin Huan. "What's going on?" A young soldier who freshly joined the Imperial Guards asked his senior brother in confusion. He was surprised and confused that such a ruckus had occurred within the Imperial Palace. "Haihh" his senior brother sighed out loud. "The prince has escaped again." "The prince?" "Yes, the Fourth Prince, His Highness, Prince Jin Huan has always been running away from studying. He runs
Jin Huan was dreading facing his father. He was certain that his actions would warrant a scolding from his father from the very beginning, but that didn’t make things any easier! His Father is scary! But this was one of the rare times where he would get to meet with the Royal Father alone without the pretext of official dinners or ceremonies which were often held in court and required the entire Imperial Family to be present. “Well no point dwelling on it now.” He sighed as he stepped out of the carriage, the servants and eunuchs bowed in respect before him. “Your Highness I will be leaving now.” General Fan said bowing before him as well. “Yes, of course.” As soon as those words left his mouth the general mounted his horse and took off into the direction of the trai
Sunlight filtered in through the curtains hung over the huge windows of his bed-chamber. The warmth of the sun felt pleasant on his exposed skin as he usually went to bed naked especially during the warm season. This morning the air was cooler therefore it felt pleasant on his naked body even if he was under the sheets. As he stretched, he could hear the sounds of birds chirping and slightly faint sounds of weapons clashing. He then woke up from his sleepy daze when he realized that the troops were probably training outside led by General Fan as usual. “hmmmmm.” Jin Huan groaned as he stretched and rubbed away traces of sleep from his eyes. “What should I do today? Go out on dates and dally around with some young men and ladies? Or maybe I should…. Oh, wait I can’t. Today is the first day of my 7-day confinement.” Jin Huan sighed in disappointment. “Well, never mind I am sure there is something I can amuse myself with.” Then a thought jumped into his head as the soun
“Your Highness, your breakfast is ready.” Ming Xuan said as he faced the the prince who was already kneeling at the table waiting for his breakfast. Two servants were behind him with the trays which held the prince’s breakfast.“Thank you.” He replied towards Ming Xuan and the servants courteously. As soon as the servants have served him the meal, he began eating.“Your Highness, I will be leaving to complete the chores now. Please remember to remain in the Frost Palace for the next 7 days of your confinement.“Of course. Don’t worry Ming Xuan I ‘ll behave.” Jin Huan replied with a wry smile on his face.As he was not expecting any guests or even allowed outside he had dressed very casually. He had donned on a baby blue thin robe over his white underclothes and his hair was left loose without a single hair ornament though it was brushed back accentuating his wavy hair.After breakfast he b
The Imperial Court is thrown into chaos. The ministers and court officials assembled have long since abandoned any semblance of propriety, throwing their usual dignified calm manner out the window before the Northern Guards Commander could even end his verbal report. Only a few ministers remained calm along with the other parties assembled in court. The Emperor who summoned these people in order to address the situation in hopes to come up with a counterattack is growing increasingly irritated but hid it behind a mask of calm…. Which was as noted by Head Eunuch Hong mentally, closed to breaking as the noise increased.Head Eunuch Hong gulped as a cold sweat broke out on his skin as he switched his attention towards the squabbling group of imbeciles…. Cough cough… I mean……respected ladies and gentlemen who are in charge of assisting the Emperor in governing and safekeeping the empire. the pillars of their great empire with the hopes that some
The court fell into complete silence as the Crown Prince stepped into the throne room. Jin Qiqiong the Crown Prince who had just returned to the capital was still donned in his armor with his long jet black hair held in a high ponytail bore a commanding presence befitting that of the future emperor of their empire. Jin Qiqiong the Emperor’s heir and first son bore the most resemblance towards the Emperor compared to the rest of his siblings.Aside from the gentle look on his face as opposed to the Emperor’s cold stoic one he is almost a younger version of the current emperor!The entire court held their breath as the Crown Prince knelt before the Emperor, eager to hear the news he brought with him a swell as the report of his mission when he was summoned back to the capital.“Crown Prince Jin Qiqiong greets His Royal Father the Emperor. Reporting to Your Majesty, the restoration efforts of Xuanxi village is near completion. Half of the troops i
Jin Qiqiong stepped into the residence of his Fourth brother and immediately scanned his surroundings. Yesterday as soon as court was adjourned, he found out from Jin Ling and Jin Xiu Ying that Jin Huan had been misbehaving and before Jin Ling could even come up with a plan of rescue their father had gotten the news and immediately sent out Fan Longwei and punished Jin Huan with confinement. Thus Jin Huan had been unable to leave Frost Palace to greet him upon his return as he usually did for any of his siblings who had been away. Jin Huan had always been a filial person and valued family relationships that would always welcome his family home even if they had been gone for only a day!Due to the long journey home and the extended court session and joyous reunion with his father, Jin Ling and Jin Xiu Ying he had decided to visit the next day after paying respects to his mother the Empress.Right after breakfast with his mother he then took the time to visit his aunts,
***HoGuo Temple*** Even from a distance, the entrance of HoGuo Temple was visible in all it’s glory. It was not grand in terms of luxury but more of splendour in terms of heritage it represents over the centuries. Legend has it that this temple was once a home to the gods which lived on Earth during their trials and the descendants of those gods would come to this temple to pay homage to their ancestors. This temple is also said to have artifacts locked away which used to belong to those very gods and goddesses of old. However those artifacts are not open to the public eye and the monks that reside in the temple have never revealed any of it’s secrets. Many have tried to break into the temple in an attempt to obtain those treasures but proved unsuccessful for various reasons, some of which are said that the senior monks and head monk of the temple are actually guardians that are protecting the temple and
***Fan Family Residence*** The main gates of the Fan Residence swung open just in time before someone rode in through the gates leaving dust in his wake. The rider came to a stop near the entrance of the huge imposing mansion before getting off the horse. The man’s heavy boots landed on the ground as his hands still held the reins firmly, showing that this man was a natural at riding and spent a lot of time on horseback. He wore light armor with a dark red cape, signifying he was of a high ranking military official, as servants started to approach he took off his helmet, letting his high ponytail to fall against his back revealing a handsome stern face. This was Commander Fan Qin Fong, father of General Fan Long Wei! He had a masculine facial features, lightly tanned, a straight nose, a neatly trimmed mustache and wide dark eyes. His handsome f
***Frost Palace*** This was the day! Finally the period set by his father for his confinement has finally ended! It felt like forever! Jin Huan sighed to himself as he flopped down onto his bed lazily. As he lay there idly, he fiddled with the package from his Second Brother, by the feel of it Jin Huan knew it was a book! His second brother knew his tastes very well. Frequently when any of his elder siblings traveled they would always be able to bring back presents for them all, and for him it was always romance novels! Whenever they travel all around they almost always travel to the city of the region or district they were in, unless it was for military business, they would always stop by the largest bookstore to purchase the latest and popular novels at the time. Actually practically 2 of the 4 large bookshelves that were filled in his
At that time, JIn Ling who had arrived home minutes ago, disembarked from his carriage and was about to head back to his palace before he caught sight of two familiar figures in the garden nearby. It was the Empress and the Crown Prince Jin Qiqiong, the mother and son must be spending time together after a long while apart. Jin Qiqiong who had his arm linked with his mother’s suddenly spotted his third brother, he then waved at him, the Empress also turned as she caught sight of her stepson smiled gently with a fond expression. It always pleased her to see any of them. “Greeting to the Empress and Crown Prince.” Jin Ling who had walked over greeted them both with a bow. “A-Ling, it’s good to see you again. Did you just get back from another erand? Do remember to get some rest sometimes, your mother has been getting restless latel
After about 2 hours spent in the autopsy room, examining the body and listening to all of the doctor’s explanations and findings, Jin Ling finally leaves the building with a pounding headache and a head full of questions instead of clarification or a clearer pathway in the investigation. He contemplated on his bad luck as he stepped into his carriage, trying to think of the best way to proceed. Doctor Liu Ron Yue had promised to write to his contacts in order to reach out to doctors or coroners who have encountered the strange circumstances in any patients or deceased. Jin Ling heaved a long sigh as the carriage took off heading back towards the palace. He then thought to himself; “There is nothing much that can be done about the condition of the body, we will just have to wait, though there is also the matter of releasing
With those track records of the elder princes and princess’ performances, Jin Huan’s own skills in the academic aspect alone is...severely lacking, not just lacking, but he was underperforming to the point he could not even pass the entrance exams for the enrollment of the Imperial Academy. In order to educate his children, the Emperor had sworn never to interfere in the matters in regards to his children’s performances, academically or otherwise. This self-imposed rule applies to each and everyone of his children no matter the circumstances, including the Crown Prince. His Majesty wishes to produce heirs who are not only steadfast in duty but genuinely skilled in the paths that they choose to walk in the future. Therefore, he would do anything to ensure his children are equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge in order for them to move forward in life, and what better way than allow
***THE NEXT DAY*** It was finally the last day of his 7 week confinement, tomorrow he would finally be free to do as he pleases again. Though on second thought he might just stay in his residence for the next few days or just simply go out with a guard as was protocol, his father certainly would not be pleased if he were to leave the palace unattended again. It was not like he wanted to cause unnecessary troubles, he just thought that he would be able to leave and return home in time before anyone even notices, after all he does not have the responsibilities that his elder siblings have to shoulder. There was nothing that needed his attention or presence at all. His miscalculation last time was that he had forgotten there was an extra lesson session for his upcoming examination in preparation for his ‘late enrollment’ into the Imperial Academy.
“Doctor Liu, you have arrived, thank you for coming at such a late hour.” Jin Ling replied courteously with respect. “Ah! It is of no matter Your Highness. It is an honor to be working for Your Highness again this time.” Liu Ron Yue replied, tone filled with excitement, full of vigor in his entire demeanor. Jin Ling gave a small laugh and instructed the man with a smile. “Very well then, you go on ahead to begin your examination, i'll have to make my rounds and speak with the family members of the deceased of this household before i join you. Please, go on ahead.” Jin Ling said as he stepped to the side to allow the coroner and his assistants to enter through the gates. “Very well Your Highness, I shall begin my duties.” He replied as he waved his assistants to move in
The sound of hoofs clopping through the window of the carriage have started to fade, signaling that they have arrived at their destination. Jin Ling straightened up from his slouching position from his cushioned seat and stretched his legs as he peeked through the curtains of the small window of the carriage to assess the situation of the Qin Residence. As expected, news had already spread out, by his guess, by nightfall the entire capital city would know about the news of the magistrate’s death. The situation at the huge lavish manor was a bustle of activity, the residence’s guards rushed around in a panicked and disorderly gait as they tried to settle family members of the recently departed, a man in a stewards uniform, most likely the head steward of the Qin Family stood at the top of the steps is giving out instructions to the servants gathered at the steps of the manor. Just outs