After sending off her brother who seemed not so happy to leave the cozy city after hearing about the "struggles" faced by the Emperor in the outside world, Xing started to do what she always did... Reading the memorials.Xing had arranged for Rijun"s protection from Lin Mubai who hadn"t heard anything from Chenglie or any of s.h.i.+hong"s people in the past weeks after she left them. Also there were the Imperial guards and also the Huang private bodyguards to take care of him. Rijun had more protection than the Emperor.
When she mentioned that, he whined, "But Mingxia! You were with him! If I"m going with you, I won"t ask for protection either.."
Xing didn"t know what to say to that brother of hers who trusted her to that extent.
"You are cruel to send me alone, spoony Xia", he knocked her head.
Xing rubbed her head and pouted. This brother of hers never misses his chance to hit her.
In their absence since he was the one who was taking care of all the work, he had ruined his health. Thankfully he got better soon with proper rest.
Xing was hesitant to let her brother go but he is the only appropriate person for that job. No one she knew could negotiate like him apart from Haru and also only he has the status to be treated as a State Guest in another Emperor"s Coronation.So she sent him and she knew her father was slightly displeased at her for sending his son away from him.
"Why can"t you two be in my eyesight all the time?", he asked holding his tears and hugging them both.
"Come on father! He is your son who is going out on a job. You are not sending your daughter to another country to marry!" Xing wanted to say that to her father but refrained herself.
She didn"t want to get hit again! Unfortunately her brother thinks of himself as a manly man...
There were some opposition from the court for being too courteous with their neighbour when they weren"t that respectful towards them but they were only a minority who were handled by others who were focused on the benefits this visit might bring.
That day, Xing was in the Imperial Study reading reports from the East. Most of them were only simple things with some misunderstandings among the n.o.bles about the tribal settlements but there were already some officials who were appointed specifically appointed by that purpose were sent to explain everything to them. Also most of the tribals were settling in Xing"s lands so it was going smoothly.
"Should we need new Law of the land for the East?", the Emperor asked Xing who was standing beside him searching for the reports regarding the Official Kong who is the one s.h.i.+hong said to be involved with the trafficking case. He was glad that she is wiling to be alone with him these days and they could talk normally.
Xing just shook her head, "No need since everything seems to go well..."
As Xing was explaining why it was unnecessary for new laws, she could see Mo Chen rubbing in her legs too closely as she almost lost her balance and fell on the Emperor. If she had fallen, she might have ended up on his lap which she absolutely didn"t want to happen. Luckily she had a good balance and got back on her feet without falling.
Xing noticed Mo Chen acting weird these days trying to always making her fall down especially when she was near the Emperor. The other day Mo Chen just stood in front of her door and didn"t let the Emperor get out of her room. She had to order him to move aside so that the Emperor could leave.
If she wasn"t sure Mo Chen was really an animal, she"d have thought that Mo Chen is trying to make her and the Emperor get closer. But he is a big cat and since when cats care this much for their owners, right? But then again....
Xing felt her head split in headache thinking of that possibility. She really has no resting place!
Xing called Mo Chen and asked him why he is acting this way in guyu language. The Emperor also found Mo Chen"s behaviour weird but he was surprised to see Xing confronting him. Then again, it is her!
Mo Chen said after a lot of persuasion that how a G.o.d told him that she"d leave this palace soon forever with another man if she is not made to fall in love with his master and so he followed his advice to make her fall in love with the Emperor.
Xing sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Mo Chen and hugged his neck, "Mo Chen! No matter what you do, I will leave this place!", she whispered. She then held his jaws and looked into his marble green eyes, "Soon you will have a permanent resident of this place whom your master approves... You should be treating her better than you are treating me, okay?", she patted his head.
Mo Chen whined and purred and placed his head in her lap and lied on the floor rubbing his head in her lap and she patted it to comfort him.
She could not help but wonder how come an animal is behaving like a little child and felt angry towards that G.o.d who manipulated this poor animal to further his agenda.
Seriously, this trial thing totally sucks!
The Emperor understood what Mo Chen might have said from Xing"s reply and could not help but sigh.
Well! There goes everything back to where it was before! She won"t be willing to be alone with me again and we won"t be able to work together anymore! Oh brother! Why don"t you take your wife out of here? It is too annoying to have such an awesome a.s.set like her with me but other factors are affecting her efficiency! And why does she start to care about all these now? It"s like she suddenly became a woman.
Xing"s thoughts were simple. Since the G.o.ds are trying too hard to change their minds to make them fall for each other, the only way to avoid it is by staying away from the Emperor. She knows her mind cannot be changed but the Emperor"s mind seems to be confused often and so to avoid him heartbreak, she will reduce her chances of being alone with him.
Bai Li is useless in this regard because he is only there to protect her physical body not help her with anything else as he drew the line. And apparently no one should be interfering with these trials or else it would be breaking the rules of the trials resulting in forfeiting which she would not want.
So in the next few days until her brother returned, Xing stayed in her courtyard and sometimes she would go to her father"s office, made him tea and would chat with him. She really loved her father more, the more time she spent with him.
Chenglie was right when he said that AoTian is the best father one could get.
She would listen to her father"s childhood stories that were filled with mischief and adventures. Surely she takes after her father in that regard. Stubbornness too.
No wonder mother sometimes would have nothing to say and would have tears in her eyes when she acted so mischievous! She must have gotten reminded of father!
Her father also told her stories of how he met her mother and how they would sneak out without getting caught by Lord Zhong Yingjie.
Xing would go to her father"s office to hear his stories because she felt like her mind needed cleansing hearing all those weird stories about psychopaths and abusers. Usually the Oldman would always lift her mood by telling her his stories that were always funny and inspirational. She really missed such stories.
"Daddy! I"m really glad that you are my father. I should have been really lucky... You are my lovely father! ", she said half asleep lying on AoTian"s lap that day and her words choked AoTian. He had no words to say to her that day out of happiness and wondered why she is acting this weird suddenly.
Only when she told him s.h.i.+hong"s story and how his father treated him, did AoTian realised how cruel the previous emperor was and how thankful he has to be for his second brother who had saved his entire family and more importantly his precious daughter that day she was born.
How could a father be that cruel to his child born from his blood? He wondered. No wonder his children killed each other and there was no one willing to be by his side in his deathbed.
He was glad that he get to have his two children get really well among themselves. For a father, what is there to be more joyous and celebratory than his children getting along?
But he didn"t know that Rijun"s important decision would make his children at odds at each other and they would find a crack in their perfect sibling relations.h.i.+p.