LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

They had a very secure protection as there was a possibility of s.h.i.+hong"s gang attacking and Xing joined the Emperor"s carriage to gather news of the warfield, the first day.

Upon entering the carriage of the Emperor, Xing realised the difference in their status. Her carriage had all the basic furnis.h.i.+ngs to be comfortable but the Emperor"s... Well it"s like his room was being carried by twelve horses. He had a bed - a big one, a couch and a table and other decorative ornaments too.

Well, what can you say! He is the Emperor!

Xing got in the carriage and Bai Li followed her and Lin Mubai were there too. Lin Mubai told her how Lord Chu is taking credits for the food supplies she sent to the battlefield and Xing just waved it off. It would be odd if that Lord Chu didn"t do that!

Lin Mubai also asked her advise about some merchants who want all their money back as they "don"t want to stay in a burning house". Lin Mubai said that they are staying closer to here and are trying to force his hand to pay everything in full immediately.

The situation in the kingdom was that everyone had come to terms that the war will be lost and the tribes will drive them out.

There are news that some villages in the south, have left their villages and started to migrate towards other kingdoms to claim refuge.

How unpatriotic for them to leave the moment there is some trouble in the kingdom and just within weeks of war..?

For the poor villagers it might be their struggle for life but For the rich merchants to leave means after the war is over there won"t be people to pay taxes. There should be some compensation, right?

"Give them only half of their money and get their signature that they won"t claim it again if they really want to leave. If they want to leave a burning house, they cannot leave with every wealth they have, if they want to save their life, right?", Xing said after considering it for a moment.

If they think the situation is that dire, let them flee like rats! The war will be over at most within a week and where will they keep their face after that? If they won"t pay their taxes anymore, the Bright Moon Treasury will pay it for them.

The Emperor looked at Xing who was calm and she looked clear headed in face of such crisis. And she really doesn"t mind her name not to be known for doing good a thing among the people even though she is helping them a lot.

After Lin Mubai left, the Emperor told her how he had made talks with the Water Emperor for some trade sanctions and their kingdom"s rights to access the Nancheng Pa.s.s. Since it is a private property, the Emperor promised the Water Emperor for help in setting a direct conversation with the owner.

"It is fine... Haru will take care of it for now. The biggest problem would be the security. Right now the grey wolves guard the borders and the Imperial guards too. I don"t want to own a private military though! May be in the future, I will give the NanCheng Pa.s.s back to the government", Xing spoke casually but decisively making the Emperor wide eyed with shock.

Is she actually willing to lose her own property for the sake of people? At first glance what she proposed with those merchants who wanted to flee seemed like greed for wealth but after consideration, he knew it was for the sake of the kingdom too... How selfless she basically is! The Emperor could not help but admire her. After she met with those other people from the other kingdoms, she looked more clear headed, like she used to be when he met her.

Even though the carriage was moderately large, three people seemed to be cramming up the place and Bai Li took the form of a little white fox and curled up in the bed to have a nap.

Xing who was reading the memorials from the war zone leaned on the head board of the bed but before she knew it went to sleep. She hadn"t rest properly for a couple of days and the carriage ride made her more tired.

The Emperor who was reading memorials realised she had become silent and saw her nodding off leaning on the bed. Her bangs were covering half her face and falling over her nose and was swaying to and fro with her breathing.

She looked funny! If Rijun was here, he"d try to poke her hair into her nose and make her sneeze!

The Emperor with a smile, got near her and tried to fix her bangs but for some odd reason he felt a pull and he squatted beside her and had a good look at her face. The more he looked at her, the more she felt serene and alluring.

She is really too pretty, isn"t she? Divine!

Her skin that looked so soft and gleaming with no blemishes, Her eyebrows like that of a willow, the lashes that were long and curled, that small raised nose, that small pouty lips that were glossy pink and....

*Clack*

The carriage swayed stepping on a stone and he fell on his b.u.t.t and saw her waking up with a gasp. Her eyes were red with the loss of sleep and she fixed her hair that was covering half her face and looked at him.

He felt guilty! Guilty looking at those eyes, for the momentary thoughts he had... What those thoughts were leading to... He didn"t want to find out but they were wrong.... She is my brother"s wife... What was I thinking?

Xing never sleeps deeply and doesn"t sleep just anywhere if Chenglie is not present. The best rests she had are only when he was around. But now, she was too tired to realise it and she had slept but she felt something odd and the carriage shook right when she opened her eyes and she saw the Emperor on the floor looking extremely guilty.

What was he doing?

Well! This is bad... Ridiculously bad!

Xing left the carriage not knowing what else to do. She cannot confront him for looking at her and she could not blame him entirely either. The pull of fate is really strong and the bond between them cannot be severed entirely. It would be terrible for him to hold on to one end of the thread unable to break free from it.

Xing was surprised to know Ying Ryuga had feelings for her and she cannot let that happen with the Emperor too. He is family! This should be nipped in the bud.

The Emperor noticed that she is avoiding to be present with him for long or alone in the coming days and he knew that she has become wary of him and the truth is that she cannot be blamed. He is the one at fault.

The relations.h.i.+p between them is more fragile than a thin sheet of ice on a pond that cannot even bear a little stress but holds a lot of valuable things on it. She is his brother"s wife by heart who has to be his wife in name to protect a lot... How odd!

But If it is disturbed in anyway, everything valuable to the both of them will crumble to nothingness.

And She would cut all ties with him before he gets a chance to even figure out what feelings he has for her. He thought he had it all figured out but why has it gone to square one now?

Whatever! I am not willing to lose her friends.h.i.+p because of this momentary lapses of judgement! She is family!

What both of them didn"t know is that it was the G.o.d of Water who is meddling with the Emperor"s mind, trying to get Xing slip up and do something she"ll regret. Mazu could manipulate him because of the cut bond between the Emperor and Xing that can be easily fixed back as it was the bond that"s originally meant to be.

She is the one who is giving Xing nightmares making her unable to sleep as it would affect her judgement.

Bai Li had figured out someone, a powerful ent.i.ty is meddling with the both of them but could not figure out who it was and he helped Xing to get sleep from time to time so she won"t lose her mind. She is a fragile human, after all! Humans need sleep!

And none of them knew it was all the working of the G.o.d of fate and the G.o.d of Marriage combined as it was part of the Trial of Love she has to win. Chenglie with s.h.i.+hong working against her making s.h.i.+hong believe that he hated her is part of his trial too. Those two G.o.ds who were playing G.o.ds and humans alike, sat comfortably in their elevated abodes to see the drama transcribing around the one who is rumoured to be a lot of things!