LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

"What are you planning to do?", he asked Seiren dryly. He didn"t think that they would hide such an important detail from him.

So that girl is actually a n.o.ble from the Sky Kingdom?

"I"m going to let her decide for herself!", Seiren answered and Xing could see his face pale and extremely worried. He was wondering how he is going to break it to her that the vile men from her kingdom had realised she is here and has waged a war for her.

"Should we send a girl to such a person in exchange for our safety?", the Emperor had the same moral conundrum as them too.

No matter what, shouldn"t they protect the one in their care? But is putting their citizens at risk for an outsider a right thing to do?

As they were discussing, Xing noticed someone walking past the tent and she found it was Maya.

How much did she listen and how much she understood?

Xing wondered. Maya is extremely smart and she could already understand their language. She still isn"t that good at speaking though. Xing decided to have a talk with her.

They were staying in tents in the outskirts of a group of small villages near the coast and the Zhong army were guarding the Royals and the Emperor had sent the Imperial Army to guard around the other villages and the sh.o.r.e.

During dinner, Xing noticed Maya being too silent and she asked Xing to let her sleep somewhere else tonight. She"d been sleeping with Xing in the past days.

After dinner and bath, Maya started doing some complicated braids in Xing"s hair,

"You have beautiful hair, Mingxia! ", she gently combed her hair, "It is so straight, smooth and silky and the colour of your hair is so beautiful like the golden threads used to weave clothes! It is thick and long too! This type of hair is suitable to make a lot of hairstyles. Particularly this one from our kingdom... My elder sister always did these types of braids because her hair is straight. I wish my hair is straight too! ", she was really immersed in doing her hairstyle.

"Maya!", Xing called her and turned to look at her but she pushed her to face to the front, "Sit properly or else the braids won"t be symmetrical"

"What is it?", Maya asked after Xing sat properly.

"You will tell me if you need anything, right? You can ask me anything", Xing told her.

Maya"s hands paused for a moment but she regained her composure soon and started to braid.

"Okay, I will", she agreed but her voice didn"t have much conviction.

"Maya! Do you have to tell me anything?", Xing asked. She knew that Maya knows that she and Seiren knows who she is actually. She could ask their help if she wants.

" Thank you for taking good care of me till now. You remind me of my big sister", she said and Xing could hear a slight sniffle and she just let her be. Xing felt like Maya had already decided to leave.

But where? Does she think that we will hand her over to that sc.u.m? Is she trying to get away from here or will she still try to avenge for her father now that her enemies are here?

Xing decided to tell her that Maya has a place with them.

"Maya, stay with us, in our kingdom... ", Xing spoke as she was sitting hugging her knees, "Seiren is a good man, I can guarantee. Even though in our kingdom, polygamy is the norm, my Huang family and Seiren"s Zhong family are the only two families that have monogamy as family rules. So he won"t look at another woman and will take good care of you. His mother is also a sweet lady and she will accept you. So stay in our kingdom.. ", Xing tried to tell her that she won"t be giving her up that easily.

Maya bit her lips as tears rolled down her cheeks. What did she do to deserve such love from strangers she knew just for days when the one who grew up with her viciously ruined her family?

She wanted to... She wanted to let go of her past and look forward to a new future with the man she loves, with the new friends who really care for her. Care, she last enjoyed from her family... The family which is now destroyed... But when her dark past is threatening the future of the ones she love, how could she keep quiet..?

That sleazy sc.u.mbag who destroyed her family is now coming for her friends. How could she let him? And if let go, he will destroy her sister too!

" Here! Finished ", Maya pretended to not care about the words Xing spoke and showed her using two mirrors the braids she had done in her hair. It looked amazing making Xing feel she is less of a woman. How come everyone knows something feminine when I know nothing?

"It is beautiful! But, What do you say? ", Xing held Maya"s hand that was as calloused as hers, looking into her deep brown eyes flickering in the candle flames. She wasn"t willing to let her go!

"I"ll stay with the other maids tonight!", Maya forced a smile and before Xing spoke, she pulled away her hand and ran outside the tent.

Xing followed her out to see Seiren outside, "I tried to change her mind.. But...", she sighed, "Have an eye on her if you want", she told him.

Seiren looked in the direction she went and clicked his tongue, "Let her do what she wants. We tried and now it is upto her"

Xing knew even though Seiren is telling her that he is hurting in his heart and left him be. She thought of tying that stupid girl and keep her safe with her. But she knew, Maya cannot be forced to take a decision because she will regret it later. At least now, she will be content that she tried to do what she wanted to do. She is responsible whether it succeeds or fails.

Xing went to bed in serious thoughts about what might happen if they don"t come up with a solution in a couple of days. And with the weird dreams she got, she was scared to sleep.

She just rolled in the bed in the braids Maya made for her, half asleep for sometime and very early in the morning she heard some faint cry for help among other things and she wondered what it might be.

She got up and hurriedly changed her night clothes to some simple red robes with the help of Bai Li and picking up the mask the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor gave her, she left her tent along with Bai Li.

Minister Zai had asked her not to show her face to the soldiers as it is a "distraction". Xing understood that it must be because of her hideous face. Poor Minister Zai had to lie to her saying "birds will fall down forgetting to fly seeing your beauty". "He must be pitiful to lie to me", thought the one who never realises how divine and earth shattering her beauty is to the point that it is a sin.

Xing fixed that mask on her face and walked in a fast pace towards the source of the noise from the village nearby. And the scene she saw made her tremble with anger and broke her heart at the same time.

A group of men were surrounding three women and doing what they want with them with the others in the village doing nothing and hiding in their houses. The guards who were supposed to protect weren"t there.

"What are you doing?", Xing screamed and that"s when she noted the men are from the Sky Kingdom. She immediately got a sword from one of them and killed those ten men with no regrets.

She sent for a doctor to treat those three women immediately. They looked battered and half-dead .

"Your highness!", the people of the village knelt in front of her scared by her angry looks.

"These men demanded our women and we had no other way.."

Their answer only angered Xing more as her eyes were s.h.i.+ning amber. She was very well accustomed to such people these days. Giving up some of them to make sure everyone else survives. But they cannot be blamed either. They had no power to protect themselves.

"No other way?", she shouted, "Where are the guards a.s.signed to protect you?"

Hearing her shout, five guards from the Imperial Army came there.

"Why weren"t you protecting them?",she interrogated.

"Your highness, there were too many of them.... One of us tried to stop them but was killed....please have mercy on us!"

Their captain who had come there after the Empress" sudden visit saw his men on the ground prostrating and got mad.

"You could have sent for help! Why are you called soldiers if you can"t protect the people? Shame on you!",, he screamed at them.

"Please forgive my incompetence!" The captain knelt in front of her.

"Give the military punishment for desertion to those who are a.s.signed to this village and take back the welfare their family receive and give it to the family of the one who died fighting those men. And twenty lashes for you! ", Xing spoke angrily to the captain and started walking,

"Send some men to carry these sc.u.ms back to ther camp. Follow me!", she screamed without even turning back and Bai Li followed her.
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Everyone were shocked by the Empress" stern decision.

"Isn"t the punishment for desertion, death?"

" And their family won"t receive any welfare too!"

"Isn"t that a bit cruel?"

The other soldiers who were gathered there murmured.

"What happened?", Zhong Huojin who heard about the commotion made his entry on a horse and the captain explained everything and he also felt the punishment was excessive for the soldiers who were scared to fight those men who were stronger than them.

"The Empress has no authority over the military to mete punishments ", the captain said hesitantly.

"Those dead men... They were the ones who scared you?", he asked in a mocking tone, "So how did they die?"

"That.... The Empress..."

"Hmpf!",Huojin snorted and without saying anything they realised what he meant.

If a single woman could kill them all, why couldn"t five trained soldiers do it? Why can"t they even try to fight them? Isn"t this desertion of their duties?

And isn"t her being powerful than them, give the Empress the authority over them all?

"Execute the punishment the Empress meted! And quickly get these dead men to us! ", he ordered and followed Xing who had gotten on a horse.

Xing was in extreme rage but what she heard from behind made her snort.

True, I have no authority over the Imperial Army! But my show of power back in the previous war, even changed the mind of Zhong Huojin who is a stickler for rules! The one who previously called me out for entering the Imperial Study saying I was tainting that place. The one who thought I had a hidden agenda. And he is speaking on behalf of me now!

Isn"t power an amazing thing?

Xing smirked...