I had to say, Yi Wang picked the right location. We were at a pretty sloping terrain. There was a cotton field behind us; they could march in to fight enemies and could easily retreat and disappear into the field if the circumstances proved to be unfavorable for them.
The Great Qi’s soldiers were imposing and solemn; they were wearing black uniforms and armors. They slowly stopped at around fifty steps away from us; a slight signal from Feng Zhao Wen would be enough for them to march in and kill all of us. Amidst the choking silence, Yi Wang laughed mockingly, “This king thought that the rumor of the Great Qi’s emperor loving General Guang Wu was just that; a rumor. Only now does this king realized that it is true.” His eyes were piercingly cold when he glanced at me, but his voice was warm.
I wonder if that rumor was a silent threat from the palace or the work of his spies….
Xiao Huang eyed me from head to toe before whispering, “The Great Qi’s emperor’s taste is really extraordinary.”
I felt a bit embarrassed, “Wangye may not know this, the Great Qi is extremely cold. The women are all tall and strong, unlike the weak and vulnerable me…..” I could not help but sigh, “A ruler’s love is originally short-lived, wangye must not take it seriously.”
Even though I was already a pro at lying and being shameless, this was the first time for me to praise myself like that. Sorry, Your Majesty; I didn’t mean to discredit you, but when death was already hovering over my head, I could not care for anything else.
The coldness in Yi Wang’s eyes did not dissipate as he warmly spoke, “General Guang Wu is only doing this for the kingdom and the people; so the Great Chen could recover. The common people will thank you for this.”
Those words sounded like something he would say to someone who was about to die…..
Xiao Huang suddenly gave Feng Zhao Wen a commiserating look. That kid’s head was really muddled; it was truly unfortunate that my hands were tied and I could not give him a knock in the head.
Before we departed, Yi Wang had said, “Even though General Guang Wu is a former official of the Great Chen, it is time for you to sacrifice yourself for the kingdom. We will have to trouble you to play along.” Without waiting for my consent, the little miss stepped forward and tied a dead knot around my hands. Then, she followed me closely from behind, her sword clutched tight.
Unwilling to yield to others, Xiao Huang grabbed his own sword and stood in front of the little miss. I had no idea if he was trying to find the opportunity to run with me or to end the little miss in one go.
I could sense his hatred for the little miss these past few days. The little miss too seemed to be ruthless when fighting with him. Seems like he would have his chance for revenge today.
Yi Wang’s aide suddenly spoke out, “Does Your Majesty brought our military seal?”
…… That thing should still be in Father’s grave, right?
Someone from the Great Qi’s side replied, “The seal is here. What about our empress?”
My head buzzed, I could only think of one thing; Feng Zhao Wen, you dared to dig my Father’s grave?
Xiao Huang kicked my legs. I angrily glared at him; it was not his family’s ancestral grave that just got dug up!
He blinked at me and I was promptly relieved. Perhaps, the seal was fake…
I blinked back at him in agreement. When the little miss grabbed my arm and dragged me through the crowd, he chased after us and grabbed my other arm tight. The three of us stood at the very front of the Great Chen’s side.
One of the officials behind him whispered to him, “Your Majesty, you must not put yourself in danger.”
Yi Wang casually spoke, “The emperor of the Great Qi is the type that stays true to his words. Since he promised us the seal in return of the empress, he naturally will not go back on his own words. Your Majesty is not young anymore, it is time for you to gain experience.”
………. A complete silence ensued.
I slowly turned my body to look at Xiao Huang whose face was changing in embarrassment. He looked at the Great Qi’s troops tensely. Then, he laughed lightly, “What imperial uncle said is right!” That must be how someone who had been abandoned by an entire camp looked like.
He dragged me towards the opposite party with firm steps while two soldiers from the Great Qi stepped forward while carrying a box.
5 steps…. 10 steps…. 15 steps…. The deafening silence and Feng Zhao Wen’s dark gaze pressured me greatly. Deep inside, I was scared that Yi Wang would suddenly shoot me with an arrow from behind. I wouldn’t put it past him….
The two parties’ troops exchanged us mid-way. The soldiers in black handed over the box that they were carrying. I glanced at it and froze….. That was clearly the seal that was buried with Father……
I only regained my mind when Xiao Huang gave me a push. The little miss took the box while Xiao Huang cut the rope that was restraining me. The two guards promptly stood on both of my sides to protect me.
I outstretched my arm and grabbed Xiao Huang firmly around his wrist. He unexpectedly did not put up any fight and obediently let me dragged him towards the Great Qi’s side.
Just, he grabbed the little miss along the way and dragged her along with him. I did not know if we could count that as ‘obedient’.
He pressed the little miss’ acupuncture point and her pretty face was twisted rather uglily. I could tell that she was angry beyond words, though I’m afraid, the angriest of all would be Yi Wang. He probably wanted to push Xiao Huang into a dead end. To him, it was impossible for Xiao Huang to change camp into the Great Qi’s side, so he had wanted Xiao Huang to send himself in front of death’s doorstep. The situation was volatile; anything could happen. Someone could ‘accidentally’ release an arrow and the Great Qi’s troop would hit back with a thousand more.
Me, Xiao Huang and the little miss ran towards the other side in a really embarrassing manner. I raised my head and could see Feng Zhao Wen’s handsome face becoming nearer and nearer. His dark cloak was hiding him really well underneath the dark sky. He was riding a black horse, speeding through the night. He raised his sword and with that cue, the Great Qi’s troops released their arrows. The troops rushed into battle, causing the ground to shake a little. The two troops rushed into each other, drowning the three of us amongst them.
The screams and shouts followed suit. I held onto Xiao Huang’s wrist tight while he held onto the little miss in return. We stayed rooted at where we were and let the troops passed us, as though those troops were waves and we were the sands that were left behind.
A person riding a horse slowly stopped in front of us. He looked at me with his god-like face before outstretching his hand towards me. I held onto Xiao Huang firmly, not taking Feng Zhao Wen’s outstretched hand. He waited for a long time, his eyes turning icy before he laughed, “Zhen’s empress actually dares to hold another man’s arm and refusing to let go…..” I could see the murderous air radiating from his eyes.
…. Father….. This daughter had wronged you. This bastard dared to dig your grave but your daughter couldn’t do anything to him in return. The way he looked right now; as though he wanted to kill someone, was really scary. Honestly, I never really had integrity……
As he was leaning down and holding my waist to help me up, I had no other choice but to let go of Xiao Huang’s arm. As I settled nicely inside his big cloak, I could not help but feel aggrieved. Who could understand the plight of the powerless people?
His Majesty must have forgotten that other than good appetite, I also had a good set of teeth. I grabbed his arm and gave him a powerful bite. The flesh that I bit into was hard, like iron. I made a secret note to bite him in the body, somewhere in the future.
Xiao Huang and the little miss made a surprised sound. Then, a light laughter followed suit, “Did Yi Wang not give you any meat to eat?”
I raised my head and could see a shameless smile hanging on his lips. In the end, I could not control my feeling and ended up weeping helplessly. I kicked and punched him in anger, “B*stard, how dare you dig up my family’s ancestral tomb….. Jerk…..” You’d actually go that far for that stupid seal.
He seemed confused for a moment before looking at me in shock. He held me tightly in his arms, comforting me repeatedly, “Be good, it is not what you think it is….. I didn’t do it…. It’s fake…. It’s really fake…..”
It was clearly the real seal. How could he still lie when the truth was right in front of us?
I furiously glared at him. Although I could not move because he held me too tight, I looked at him in utter dislike. He laughed at my expression, “You can go and ask Uncle Tong once we go back. It is not what you think it is. Zhen swears!” Then, he lowered his head, completely disregarding the shocked Xiao Huang and the little miss, before kissing the tears on my face.
It was said that the primary requirement to become a good emperor was to have a thick skin. Under so many eyes, he could still coddle around with his consort.
I did not possess his thick skin, so I glared at him and unwittingly cried on. Just as he was about to give me another kiss, I ducked and buried my face against his chest. In the end, my tears and snots were all plastered there.
I could hear his laughter again as his chest shook. It was as though the battlefield in front had nothing to do with me. This guy’s chest was indeed a special place. It felt warm and safe, if one wasn’t careful, they would grow dependent.
Feng Zhao Wen’s cavalries were highly-skilled and experienced. Even though Yi Wang was not weak, he was defeated after four hours. His close aides were killed and the rest were captured.
The little miss was white in the face. A couple of times, she looked like she was about to rush to the battlefield, only to be stopped by Xiao Huang. I could hear her screaming while I was nestling against Feng Zhao Wen’s chest, “You b*astard, let go of me! Let go of me!”
At this moment, I finally discovered an uncanny similarity between Feng Zhao Wen and Xiao Huang; they were both petty and wanted to seek revenge over the smallest things.
He not only refused to let go of little miss, he even ridiculed her, “Let go of you so you can go and die? If you die, who will bear the brunt of the torture you put me through for the past half a year? You better stay alive so I can repay everything!”
Hm, if Feng Zhao Wen really accommodated Xiao Huang, that little miss would be in deep trouble.
Serene: This chapter is brought to you by Nurulfasihah!
