Xing exited the mountains and got Seiren when she heard a loud angry roar from behind."Did you hear that? What was that?", Seiren asked perplexed. He never knew there were tigers in these mountains!
"Nothing! Just a proud, fake, angry tiger", Xing chuckled. That G.o.d must have realised by now that he had made a big promise in return for nothing!
G.o.ds never think of themselves as superior beings and sitting in their high horse, they are bound to underestimate humans.
Well! It"s not late to learn a lesson that not all humans are dumb! But who is this G.o.d? Xing wondered.
Seiren was still not convinced of her answer but decided to let it go.
"How much do you know about Li ChengNuo, Seiren?", Xing asked while they were walking back to her Manor. They had bought some snacks from the stalls on the roadside.
"Not much. I"m yet to meet him. Do you know him? ", he asked back eating his candied hawthorn . He had tried to meet him but that guy evaded him like water slipping through the fingers, true to his name!
"You really don"t?", Xing was surprised, "Don"t you own that bank with him?". Isn"t he a partner? Seiren is not someone who decides on a whim, right?
"Yes, I do. But I haven"t met him. I just have letter correspondence with him. He never meets anyone. It"s a rule he follows. I was skeptical at first but he never felt like a threat so I still continue doing business with him", Seiren answered, "But why do you ask about him now?", he asked.
"Mmm, nothing", Xing shook her head. So he kept his ident.i.ty as Li ChengNuo under tight wraps just to protect her and gain wealth for her.
Why do I feel so little before you, my Prince! Before your love! I can"t even make my own decisions! I"m sorry!
Seiren was walking by his side thinking why she suddenly brought up Li ChengNuo and he started connecting the dots and her face revealed it all.
"No way!... Really..? Just no way...!", he grabbed her shoulders and shook her as he realised Shengli is Li ChengNuo.
Xing just rolled her eyes and pushed his hands away and Seiren left as she reached her Manor.
Xing didn"t mind Seiren knowing because unlike his brother, he knows which secrets to keep for his own good.
Xing was welcomed by Xu mama who was waiting for her return as it had already become dark and Xing went to her father"s study to tell him about her decision.
Xing tried to tell her brain that it is like staying in a relative"s place for a while, like when she stayed in the Zhong Manor or with her uncle in the Ancestral Manor. Not much difference, right? The Emperor is her brother-in-law by relation , right?
Xing entered her father"s study to see him reading some missives and noticing her, he closed it and looked at her from top to bottom. Xing could see the bags under his eyes and his worried looks. He loves her too much and probably didn"t sleep well in the past days, she thought.
"Mingxia, you are back", AoTian smiled, " It"s getting late. Go change and get ready for dinner. Yushen insisted on leaving but I forced him to stay for dinner", his smile reached his eyes.
"Father, I need to tell you something", Xing said clearing her throat.
"What is it?", AoTian asked gently.
" Father...",
"Send me to the inner palace".
It was a simple sentence she rehea.r.s.ed in her head many times but she could not say it.
This is the same place that she proclaimed to her father that Shengli is the most important person in her life and nothing can change her mind. Seeing her father"s sharp eyes, which had a bit of worry in them, she felt guilty asking him that, even though she must do that.
"Father, allow Haru to stay here tonight, please"
In the end she could not say it.
"That"s it? I was worried by your reluctant look that it was something serious. He"s your friend, of course he can! You don"t have to even ask for my permission. You get him to stay, father will arrange the Yun courtyard for him", AoTian chuckled. This silly girl! Did she have such worried face to ask this?
Xing bowed to her father and got back to her courtyard. Her heart was hurting a lot more than before. She took a deep breath.
It"ll be fine, soon! She told herself.
After dinner, Xing forced Haru to stay and he agreed half-heartedly. After advising Haru and Shurei to have a good talk, she returned to her courtyard and got ready for bed.
Xu mama was brus.h.i.+ng her hair when Xing asked Xu mama to prepare a gift for Shurei and asked for her suggestions.
Xu mama liked Shurei a lot too so she happily suggested a gift. Apparently in their Kingdom, when a daughter-in-law enters a n.o.ble household, the matroness of the home will give her a Trousseau fit to her status to welcome her to the family. Xu mama suggested that since Lady Ming might not have received the Trousseau, Xing could give her on behalf of Haru"s family.
Xing liked that idea very much. Haru"s marriage happened in an odd situation and if her mother was alive, she"d have definitely given Shurei the Trousseau to welcome her.
The next morning, Xing trained with Haru after a very long time and felt like they are not good in the opposing sides. They had fought alongside each other for the better part of their lives and fighting against each other felt weird and wrong like interlocking your fingers the other way.
"Huh!", Xing lied on the gra.s.s beneath a tree, "I miss those days we fought mindless a.s.sa.s.sins and bandits each day. They were more fun to beat. We had a pretty good time in the village as heroes helping people ", she sighed.
"Seems like a long time ago", Haru sighed," Like it was in another life even though it was until four months ago. Mother pa.s.sed away... Now you are a Young Miss, I am a Lord with a big business.... Time changes a lot"
Xing looked at the sky and the autumn wind was blowing away the red leaves making the trees bare and prepared for winter.
If you are a deciduous tree, you"ll have to shed your leaves in fall, so that you"ll be full of beautiful leaves and flowers in spring.