LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

Xing froze for a moment not knowing what to do next. This is too much, she thought, too much for me to see a woman losing her child. She fisted her hand to compose herself, "I"m here", she walked towards Yukiko and the Water Emperor shouted, "Get back, Yukiko! She tried to poison you! This vile woman must be executed! "

"Ayane, give that jar to Yukiko", Xing was calm as she knew Yukiko would surely recognise it, at the same time signalling the Emperor to calm down. "It is the venom from the red viper. Check it to be sure"

"Don"t touch it", the water Emperor walked towards her but was surprised by what Yukiko said next.

"Why..? How...? I was searching for it for long.",she grabbed the jar with both her hands and there were tears streaming through her face as she knelt down holding her stomach.

"I was searching for it... I was going to ask you for it.... ", she sobbed when the maids held her and Xing could smell the strong scent of blood from her.

Oh, No! It is happening...

Xing knew this should not happen this early. The baby was fine in the afternoon and the Poison from her clothes wouldn"t have progressed this fast to kill the baby by now. There must be another Poison or drug that did it.

Usually these kind of drugs are rare in their kingdom and most of the rare medicinal products are get from the Fire kingdom that is pretty famous for their medicines.

So is someone plotting against the Water Empire with the help of fire kingdom? This is too much of a speculation!

Xing let that thoughts go and noted one of the two maids Yukiko had brought who looked suspicious with erratic heartbeats and she had perspiration on her forehead in that breezy night.

"You", Xing got to her, "Tell me what you give her and why?"

The maid just refused to speak ever though she was scared and just knelt on front of her without answering.

A little too unusual behaviour for a maid! Xing thought.

"I know you gave something to the Empress. What did you give her?", Xing lifted her chin with her hands but there was only arrogance in that maid"s eyes, "I don"t know what you are talking about!", she just looked at the ground and had no intention of answering.

"You are lying!", Xing raised her hand to hit her when Yukiko stopped her, "Who gave you the right to accuse my maid and to hit her!", her eyes were still filled with tears and her face was pale with the pain and she shouted at Xing who felt a sharp pain in her heart.

What?

Xing was sure it was the maid who had poisoned her but why is Yukiko defending her? She was confused. Am I over-stepping my boundaries?

" Mingxia, let go... ", the Emperor could not bear everyone attacking her and he didnt want to fight with a woman. Everyone"s gone crazy! He thought. He noticed the Water Emperor who was fiesty till then in deep thoughts, frozen, not even moving a muscle staring at the Empress kneeling in the ground with blood pooling around her.

" I"m sure she is the one who poisoned you. And who knows... it might affect you too.. Let me... "

"It doesn"t matter! That won"t be the case because she is the maid arranged by the Empress Dowager for me... Accusing Xiao Bao here is accusing the Dowager herself! How could you accuse my mother-in-law just like that? You"ll need to be punished for that... For thinking on behalf of me... For taking my side... For trying to help me find the most expensive antidote there is... Yes! You must be called names and be judged...! My husband who is the son of Heavens agrees... Don"t you, Your Majesty? Or will you actually investigate this maid?", she gave a sarcastic chuckle while her entire face was drenched in tears. She looked like she had lost her mind.

Xing who had seen her as a kind and soft-spoken girl couldn"t bear to see her like that. Is she saying the dowager is trying to kill her child? And the Emperor does not believe her? What is going on?

"Yukiko, let"s go in",the Water Emperor tried to get her but she waved her hands, "Please don"t bother, your Majesty! I have Xiao Bao here to look after me. She"s been doing this from the day I entered the palace. I know she"ll do a much better job than you. Please don"t waste your precious efforts on me",she tried to stand up but she could not and her maids got her in time before she fell.

"I knew she"d snap one day", Ryuga mumbled clicking his tongue while others were too perplexed to do anything. They are witnessing a fight between a couple and they didn"t know what to do.

"Speak!", the Water Emperor pointed his sword at the maid"s neck and she fell on the ground kneeling, "Your Majesty! This slave does not know anything. All I know is the Emperor of Wind Kingdom asked me to pa.s.s that jar to her highness but I gave it to you as I found it odd! Nothing else..."

Xing was disgusted by this maid who could spout lies as easy as breathing. Ayane had already called for a physician and he was standing there because Yukiko didn"t let anyone touch her and the Water Emperor was trying to console her. She was on the ground in the dirt and was sobbing mumbling something and she looked so pitiful.

She didn"t look like the elegant lady she saw hours ago but like a person who had lost their sanity.

Xing who had been almost calm till now because she had to maintain her image of the Empress, lost her patience.

She grabbed the maid by her hair and made her look her in the eyes. The maid got scared looking at the eyes of Xing that as filled with malice.

"Who has the guts to kill the Empress" child? Who gave you the Poison?", she asked gritting her teeth enuncuating each word.

"Answer me!", she shouted making the maid shudder.

"No one... I did nothing... I"m taking care of the Empress for years. How would I.."

"Who asked you?", Xing kicked her knee making the maid fall and she balanced with her hands and was on all fours in front of Xing.

"I... I"m just a maid... I...."

Before she could speak, the Water Emperor stabbed that maid in her heart and she fell on the ground dead with a thud.

"What did you do?", Xing screamed at the Water Emperor, "She"d have confessed!"

"Afraid of her answer, your majesty?", Ryuga asked in a mocking tone.

But the Water Emperor didn"t answer the both of them, dropped the bloodied sword in the ground and forcefully picked Yukiko on the ground and walked towards their tent.

Yukiko was creating a fuzz scratching and screaming...

"Let go.."

"Mingxia, help me..."

" Let go... I hate you!"

"You killed our child.."

"Let me go, I don"t want to live in the palace... Divorce me..."

"Mingxia...!"

"I don"t want to be the Empress..."

"Take another woman, leave me..."

Her screams were heard from a distance and Xing didn"t know how to react.

She is with her husband so she should be fine right? Why is she calling me? Wouldn"t that be awkward for me to be there?

Xing looked at Ayane who was as confused as her and was standing there when Xing realised that something wrong with their surroundings. The place inside the forest they are staying right now didn"t contain much guards and only the foot of the mountain where the Guest Manor is had guards and also at the perimeter there were guards arranged by Yi Kwan.

Others felt it too as Yi Kwan stood in front of Ayane and Xing picked the sword left by the water Emperor and Ryuga unsheathed his sword along with Kouki.

The place they were was well-lit but the surroundings were dark with thick trees making it unable to see anything.

Xing could feel a group of at least fifty men approaching them through the woods and she knew they were at a disadvantage being in an bright illuminated place enabling them to attack easily. If they had arrows and they were hiding in the trees and attack them, they won"t even know what hit them..

That cannot happen! Not to mention, the Emperors of the three kingdom are at present in the same place! Does the attackers know of this?

Ryuga had the same thoughts as Xing and started to douse the torches fixed with poles and Yi Kwan followed suit. But there were a lot of torches!

The Emperor was standing beside Xing in attack posture and Xing took a deep breath and waved her hand when a strong cold wind pa.s.sed dousing all the torches at once making everyone surprised.

But now everything was dark except the tent the Water Emperor and Empress were in making them blind. But before they could adjust to the darkness they saw a bunch of small b.a.l.l.s lighting up and they flew towards them.

Flame Arrows!