Know your place!Something Xing always believed is that one should do what they must do. If you are a horse, carry people. If you are a dog, guard the home. If you are a tiger, rule your territory.
Lying on the ground, Xing laughed at herself. What is her place? She"d always thought that being with her prince was her destiny. But why is everything different?
Also, In the short amount of time, she had broken two of her own vows, she"d killed unnecessarily and made a deal with a G.o.d.
Xing knew she cannot fight destiny head on. It is unwise to swim against the current when you are stuck in a flooding river. That doesn"t mean she should just flow through the current and end up in a place she does not like. She has to find a way to swim diagonally to reach the sh.o.r.e. It may be hard and take a long time but if she wants to be in the sh.o.r.e, that"s her only way.
Of course Xing understood all that. This whole situation would be better if she was literally trapped in a river. She"d prefer a fast river current with crocodiles to add more danger than being in such a position she is in now. But she is not and she should act properly not only for her sake but for the sake of the people who love her too.
Xing sat up and gave Haru her Peony Token and the White Tiger Token. Haru saw the resolute look on his friend"s face and he knew she had reached a decision.
"Make sure Lord Táng lives somewhere. You don"t have to go out of your way for this but some little signs here and there. And remember you don"t know Huang Mingxia", Xing gave him the tokens. She also gave him the red bridal veil her mother had made for her. That is only for her wedding with her prince. She won"t need it for now!
Those are the three things that Táng JiaXing owns and there are only a few who know Táng JiaXing and there are only two who"d call her "Xing". One has disappeared and the other one has to be kept away from her for his sake.
"Are you going to do something foolish again, Xing?", Haru asked. He didn"t have the guts to get that from her.
Xing placed all that in his hands, " Be nice to your wife. She is a really good girl"
"Stupid Xing, what have you planned? You won"t contact me anymore?", he asked with his voice shaking. He saw the veil and he knew for sure she is going to do something she does not want to do. He knows how much she wanted to marry her prince. Why is she giving that up now?
And those tokens? He could read her like a book. She is planning to give up her ident.i.ty as Táng JiaXing and only take the ident.i.ty of Huang Mingxia.
" She"s just having worries like any normal woman would do. Don"t be rude to her", Xing continued her lecture.
Haru could see the red veins popping in her usually clear eyes and knew she is stressed. But what is she planning to do?
" Is her sickness somewhat related to what you have planned to do? If so, don"t. You know what happened when you tried to speak for my family to the Emperor. Everything changed only after that!", Haru spoke in a pleading tone.
"When have I ever done anything for the sake of others, Haru? I"ve done everything only for my sake! And that day who wanted to speak to the Emperor for your family? I wanted to meet the little brother, Chenglie was so proud of!", Xing said flatly and stood up and dusted her clothes and extended her hands to get Haru up.
" Yeah! Then you end up helping others more than yourself ", Haru mumbled and stood up. But this fool seemed to have made up her mind and it cannot be changed.
" Stupid! I"m going to spend all your money if you leave it with me "
" Fine by me! ", Xing laughed.
" I"m going to use this tiger token and rob poor people! "
" Okay"
"I"m serious, stupid Xing! I will do it"
"It"s okay! But be good to your wife. It"s hard being a woman"
"What do you know about being a woman?"
"Turns out, I"m one!"
"Stupid! Stupid Xing. You are stupid"
The two friends bantered to their hearts content and Shurei met them halfway. Xing brought her to her courtyard and gave the Trousseau Xu mama had prepared.
Shurei looked at the beautiful box made of red sandalwood and ivory filled with various exquisite Treasures and she could not control her tears. This was nothing short of what an Empress would receive from the Dowager Empress.
Xing hugged her, "Don"t be like that, you are our Haru"s wife. Nothing can change that! Just don"t worry about silly things. Everything will be alright", she patted her back. She knew once she entered the palace, Shurei"s sickness will disappear too.
Later Xu mama told her that when she was preparing the gift, it was her father who gave this box he had prepared for his daughter-in-law. "My son Rijun is still not willing to bring a daughter-in-law to my home. Yushen thought of my wife as his mother, so that makes him my son too. So that girl is a daughter-in-law of my family too". Apparently these were the words her father told Xu mama, which made Xing very happy.
Soon after she sent off Haru and Shurei, Xing called for Lin Mubai,
"How long are you with Shengli?", She asked. Of all his subordinates she knew Shengli trusted Lin Mubai the most.
"Seven years, Sister-in-law! I met him one night when... ", he started to blabber as usual.
"How long do you know me? As your sister-in-law?", she asked.
"Four years. Actually it was an accident I found out about..."
"Does s.h.i.+hong know about Li ChengNuo?", Xing asked interrupting him. This guy never closes his mouth. How did Shengli end up trusting him so much? Four years... That"s a long time! Even though he talks a lot, he can keep secrets. May be that"s why!
"No, sister-in-law. He doesn"t. In fact most of the time, I"ll be the one pretending to be Li ChengNuo even though it was Brother Wolf who advices me on each step", he answered.
Xing handed over the accounts of Li ChengNuo to Lin Mubai,
"Handle all this and businesses of Li ChengNuo as usual as your brother does. s.h.i.+hong must not have any idea or doubts that your brother might be Li ChengNuo. Got it? I trust you!", she looked at Lin Mubai who was confused and felt proud at the same time that she trusted him enough to give such a big responsibility.
"I"ll do my duties well, sister-in-law. I"ll never betray brother or you", he gave a deep bow and Xing sent him off.
Xing let out a deep breath. For now she is Huang Mingxia and he is the Lone Wolf and she had no idea what would happen in the future. But she"ll fight her way to get her prince.
Now there is one more thing to do for now!