While the Emperor of the Wind Kingdom was drowning his sorrows in wine, another Emperor from the kingdom to the East of the Wind Kingdom was leaning leasurly on the couch eating his fill of fruits from a platter in front of him."Eunuch Lee", his green eyes shone with the excitement he had and his soft voice carried that mockery toward the person addressing him. His red hair pulled up to a top bun was fixed with a dragon coronet and his red dragon robes fluttered in the gentle breeze that brought the scent of the flowers in the garden they were seated. The Emperor"s personal guard was standing by his side like a tall tree and the majestic halberd he weilded with great ease would make anyone to think twice before speaking in front of him and all the servants serving scattered around when he waved his hands leaving only the trio in that well lit garden that had various exotic flowers in full bloom.
"Your Majesty", Eunuch Lee answered with his tone flat.
"Should we expand our Kingdom? If we send even a little of our soldiers now through the NanCheng pa.s.s, we could easily capture the capital city of the Wind Kingdom. Those weaklings of the Wind soldiers are all busy getting beaten up in their Southern borders by those tribal army", he laughed mockingly and picked a grape and thew it at Eunuch Lee.
" Hmpf", Eunuch Lee snorted moving aside not getting hit by the grape in a swift motion. Unlike other eunuchs he didn"t slouch or had a shrill voice. "How stupid of you", he smirked and his deep voice had no trace of respect towards the one above all and his Emperor.
" How impudent of you to call the Emperor stupid", Yi Kwan spoke and his hoa.r.s.e voice carried a threatening tone.
"What are you going to do?" Lee Daejung asked and the Eunuch uniform he was wearing didn"t hide the regal bearing he had. "Just because I"m not touching my sword these days doesn"t mean that I cannot beat you and that blunt weapon of yours. So don"t get too c.o.c.ky with me"
The Emperor rolled his eyes at those two who had started their banter, "Is it because of that person you said you met years back in the past war? If that person is that great as you say why isn"t he fighting for his country now? Why is he hiding? ", he got intrigued and sat properly waiting for answers.
"Xiao Xing wants to meet me and I agreed",eunuch Lee informed.
"That.... How could you meet with our enemy? Their kingdom kills our soldiers and Envoys. I sent gifts for the Emperor"s recent coronation out of courtesy and all of them were brutally murdered by that country"s soldiers. So how could..... Wait... Is this another one of your plots where you invite them and stab them in the back...? Just like you killed my father... , cousin? ", the Emperor looked at the eunuch and his face was filled with enmity towards him.
" I"m going to meet Xiao Xing. That"s it! And start a war with the Wind Kingdom and end up destroyed by her. I don"t care", Lee Daejung said coldly and left with his sleeves fluttering and not turning back.
"Yi Kwan, did he say "her"?", the Emperor pulled his sleeves.
"I heard so too... But shouldn"t you monitor him and restrict him a bit more? He is doing whatever he wants...And get inside... The wind has started to chill up, don"t catch a cold", Yi Kwan"s tone was soft towards the Emperor as he wrapped him with a coat.
"Maybe We misheard. How could a girl from the wind kingdom help them win a war? But monitor him, I want to know who that Xiao Xing my cousin is too proud of", the Emperor said and he sank into deep thoughts.
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Xing saw the Emperor drunk and sad and she felt bad for him and broke the silence in the room.
"Kouki, not everything is bad... Don"t be sad.. We can get through this", she said and she actually believed it. Surely their situation is not good but it is not like there is no hope either.
"Kouki", she put aside the jar he was holding, "Do you think the Tribals just want their lands back? Do you think that is what this war is about?"
The Emperor rubbed his face with his hand and he thought about what she asked. The reports he received from the battlefield are weird. One of the generals mentioned that they feel like they were mocked by heavens and those people and not being taken seriously. The Emperor thought so too since the report about one battle was that when the Tribals saw them about to retreat, they didn"t even follow them but mocked them for being cowards and just went back to their encampments. It was like they were not seriously fighting for their land but playing a game... A game to trap them... To isolate them... And with the help of the G.o.ds they had achieved it.
The wind Kingdom has no relations.h.i.+p with the neighbours and the Natural resources they had been depending on are depleted and they are now free to be attacked by anyone.
"They want us to bow down to them and ask them to take their lands and beg them to pray for our prosperity as the G.o.d of Rain supports them, don"t they?", the Emperor finally got what this war was about. Everything leads to this...
"Exactly...! And guess who they are working with to come up with such plans? "
"s.h.i.+hong...?", the Emperor gasped considering this idea. It fits...
"Yep! And Old Rong too... Colluding With the other G.o.ds... And guess who is going to help us...?"
"Who?"
"Fei Lian", Xing raised her eyebrows with a smirk.
"I thought you cannot ask for his help", the Emperor was confused. Didn"t she make a big deal out of it?
"I cannot... I can"t ask him to interfere with the G.o.d of Rain... But... There is only one way he"ll jump into action!", she looked out of the window where the breeze made the curtains flow.
The Emperor took a full minute to think about what she said. The only one that Wind G.o.d seems to care about and act...
" No way! How can you place yourself in danger? "
" It"s no biggie! I won"t be in actual danger", she was nonchalant. She has Bai Li and Fei Lian too. And she herself is pretty strong. Xing had decided to depend on other strong people these days because the last encounter with s.h.i.+hong did a number on her and she didn"t want to be put in such dangerous situations anymore by herself. That day if not for her Master Yuan she"d have been reduced to Ashes by now.
"What... What have you planned...? How..."
"Don"t know how... But I know what kind of danger I"ll be in.... And I don"t have to plan... s.h.i.+hong will plan it for me..."
"Are you deliberately trying to get trapped in s.h.i.+hong"s trap?", he thought for a while, "Don"t tell me... You are going to the battlefield...?", the Emperor wasn"t drunk anymore.
"Yes, I am... But I"ll have to make a detour first...", she looked at him radiating confidence. She has decided to act her part. Didn"t the G.o.ds want her to bring glory to their kingdom? She will do that.
"Detour... Where?", the Emperor didn"t understand the entirety of her plans but it all seemed dangerous to him.
"To meet Brother Lee of Earth Kingdom", she said flatly.
"What? That guy who killed his uncle and usurped the throne and later was made an Eunuch by the rightful heir, the now Emperor of the Earth Kingdom? ", the Emperor had to think deeply to remember that person she had already mentioned to him. Is it okay for her to meet such a vicious person? And how is going East and Cross the border a detour from going South to their battlefield? She really sucks at directions! And sense!
" I don"t think it"s all that simple... Anyhow, he owes me. We made a blood pact afterall", she gently traced the mark on her left palm with her other hand in deep thoughts.
She could never understand people, that brother Lee seemed like a really good person to be killing his own uncle in cold blood. But... He is the only one she could use to contact the Earth Emperor to open a trade sanction between the two countries and possibly prevent each countries from standing against each other either now or in the future.
"And what is the purpose of meeting him?", the Emperor asked.
"To meet the Earth Emperor and ask for trade sanctions. Don"t worry, I won"t be going here as the Empress but as Lord Táng", she replied. These people care about their reputation more than anything! And brother Lee knows me as a man anyway!
With the political situations and the war happening now, the Emperor or the Empress cannot make a tour to the neighbouring kingdom but she can go there in secret.
"You are not going anywhere alone... As Empress or as Lord Táng... ", the Emperor was decisive. Some man who she met years back... Not to mention he has the dreadful Lu Blood that made him kill his own family... How could she meet him alone..?