LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

She wrote, "He was not at all like I imagined. I froze in my place forgetting who I was for a moment seeing the face of a G.o.d. His obsidian coloured hair that flew like silk threads in the wind made him look like a fairy descending from the heaven and that crimson robes he was wearing added his allure. His burning eyes that shone like the sun showed the power he held and yet it felt like it hid a deep sorrow within. His silky smooth skin was not tanned and rugged as that of a warrior but was pale and even better than mine and his face was that of a well bred gentleman, not that of a beast. His voice was authoritative as the G.o.d he was and his posture that of a warrior who knew no fear. And... He hates me! His eyes are going to burn me..But how beautiful are they...! "

"Oh, come on lady!", Xing shouted suddenly waking up the Emperor who was half asleep on the couch in surprise. But seeing her still reading, he went back to sleep.

Can"t she just read like a normal human being?

"How could you fall for a man you hated your whole life at first sight?" Xing was furious, "I had hopes for you! You value beauty that much?", Thought the one who told her lover she fell for him because he was a handsome Prince.

Upon further reading Xing learnt that was not when Empress Shu fell in love with him. She was just admiring beauty!

Good girl!

But few days pa.s.sed without her meeting the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor more like she was hiding from him and that morning Empress Shu was in the temple doing the alter arrangement as usual when that domineering footsteps were heard. She had really changed the hearts of the officials against the war. He should be furious!

Although her heart was beating in her throat, Empress Shu put on a brave face and greeted the Emperor when his cold voice echoed inside the temple, " Do you think the G.o.ds will stop me if I do something to you "the Priestess who hears the voice of G.o.ds" , right in this temple... ? Should we try... ? You think your little stunts will do anything to me? "

Whoa! Scarlet Tiger... What a jerk you are? So unbecoming of my hero! Do not do anything... No... No...! Not my hero...

Xing didn"t want to read anymore fearing her impression of her hero might change but curiosity got the better of her.

Empress Shu wrote that she wasn"t intimidated by his threat as she knew he won"t do something inappropriate to a woman without her permission. After her becoming the Priestess she had heard that he"d taken many women to bed but he was never violent with them as they described and the inner palace of the Caijing Palace was filled with his women whom he had bedded, sent back from the places he visited.

Well! This is a new information... So he had many women prior to Empress Shu?

Xing got back to reading and she had written that she felt sad looking at the eyes of the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor who looked so lonely. Even though he wanted to threaten her, she felt like he was a pitiful person so lonely and she said it aloud unconsciously, "I feel sorry for you"

Of course that drove that tiger insane and he grabbed her throat and pushed her to the wall and her feet were dangling in the air with her back pressed on the wall.

Great! He manhandled a woman! Oh, My hero, how could you?

Empress Shu wrote, " I was surprised! What I saw in his eyes wasn"t anger but shame... Like someone had drilled a hole in the wall he had built up around his heart and saw him as who he originally was... Not a ferocious beast but a pitiful little boy who needs someone!"

He do have a good heart. Even though he killed an entire harem of people, he still saved three of his brothers. She knew those three were the least favourable princes as one had the red hair that belonged to a tribal race that was not much respected and the twins he saved were deemed as demons by everyone else as they had heterochromia - both had one blue eye and other green eye. Don"t they brag about their valiant bid brother all the time to me? He should have some heart.

"I"m sorry", he said letting me down and leaned on my shoulders, "Don"t look at me like that", he said with his throat hoa.r.s.e, "I don"t deserve your pity".

"I don"t pity you", I wanted to say to him. I wanted to tell him," You are not alone!"

The Tians.h.i.+ Emperor left with out looking back that day but would come to visit her every day at the same time in the temple and what started as a friendly chat between friends gradually turned to an ambiguous relations.h.i.+p.

Almost a year pa.s.sed and news from the Harem was that the Emperor was sending back most of his women back and only a few remain but the Emperor is not visiting them anymore.

The women got jealous of the one woman in the temple who is not supposed to have a secular life because she was a Priestess as anyone with eyes could see the Emperor was head over heals for that forbidden fruit in the Harem.

Empress Shu wrote that those two were in the phase of their relations.h.i.+p where both knew what kind of feelings they got for each other but never expressed it to one another. The yearnings they had for each other and the moments that felt like years waiting for the Emperor visit and also feelings she began to develop that wanted her to be with him all the time.

But at that time, the G.o.d of Wind appeared directly to Empress Shu and warned her against having these kind of feelings towards the Emperor. "As a priestess of mine, you belong to me. If you don"t comply, I"ll take everything you value and destroy it right in front of you", he warned.

What the... Fei Lian..? Why would he do this? And didn"t he mention me as his too? Xing wondered and that thought sent a chill through her spine. She noticed the Emperor asleep on the couch and covered him with a blanket and went back to reading. Whatever Fei Lian"s plans are, he cannot change my heart!

But unlike Xing, Empress Shu decided not to pursue her feelings and from then on she tried to avoid the Emperor and she didn"t tell him the reason too. But the Tians.h.i.+ Emperor found out about it and he tried to change Empress Shu"s heart but she stood firm in her decision.

"It broke my heart ", she wrote, "But we cannot stand against the G.o.ds. They always win! But when he came that night dead drunk staggering, at my doorstep saying "Don"t push me away, please!" , I could not let him out in the snow and I let him in... In my room, in my heart and in my life."

So they did it? Fei Lian allowed it? But why did he stop us ...? How partial is he? d.a.m.n G.o.d! And why are there no explicit details..? Just let him in?

Xing got furious and drank some tea to calm herself down. How stupid have I become to be jealous of someone who lived centuries ago! She chided herself and continued reading.

"The next morning, He brought me a beautiful jade set. It contained an entire set of jewellery with the fine workmans.h.i.+p of the Huang family in green Imperial jade. He placed that bracelet that had a fault in the shape of nine quailed chrysanthemum in my hands and kneeled in front of me, "Chrysanthemum represents being together for a long time. I want to be with you for a long time. Do you know, it also means nine generations living peacefully at home? I want to have a family only with you. You, me and our children! Will you be my Empress?", he asked. At that moment I only saw him as the man in my heart and I agreed without thinking twice.

After that he told me to trust him no matter what and he didn"t visit me for almost a year. I knew he was planning in full force to s.h.i.+ft the capital to the East and he had already built a city and a Palace there and he brought me there and gave me that amazing looking courtyard just for me. There was no other women there and I was the only one in the harem. He had overthrown the court decisions and made me the Empress.

I could sense he had put layers upon layers of spells around my place and the entire palace was protected against G.o.ds and when I asked he didn"t give me a clear answer. But when I knew of the reason it was too late and I had to make a heavy choice. "

Xing felt like the later part of the story missed many details missing. Maybe she didn"t want to write it or maybe she didn"t know either?

The last page was this,

" Even thought the time I spent with you is very limited, I am glad I get to see you and touch you and feel you. You are so beautiful I feel like I want to be with you for long. And I am glad for all the decisions that I made that led to this moment,the moment I have to say good bye to you. I am sad to leave you but I"ll never be sad for you. I wish you have a good life away from all the troubles after I leave. You don"t even have to remember me as long as you have a good life"

Xing closed the journal and placed it safely inside her pocket and leaned in the chair and went to deep thoughts and didn"t know when she fell asleep.

Xing was always alert even though when she was asleep and only when Shengli is around she"d go to deep sleep. Also now she was sleeping in an uncomfortable position sitting on a chair in an unfamiliar place. There is no way she"d sleep well.

A little time after she fell asleep she felt a shadow above her eye and a rhythmic hot breath on her face. This person was standing too close to her, observing her and she could feel their distance closing as if they want to....

Kiss her...? Are they really trying to do that..?

Xing opened her eyes to see.....