While Xing was being trapped in a dream, Fei Lian who had sensed she was in danger as she was protected by his spell, took a good look at her and realised who was the one messing with her."Mazu!", he gritted his teeth and he visited the beautiful Palace underneath the deep blue sea where the G.o.d of water resides. The entire place had a nice hue of blue and the coral reefs and the various colourful sea animals swimming around made the place look more pleasing and serene.
Fei Lian was welcomed by the maids there but he was too angry to even notice anything and pa.s.sed the long halls and walked towards the private room of the G.o.ddess who was now interestingly watching in her water mirror the happenings inside the carriage.
Give in to your instincts, son of heaven! Take back what you owe! Your True Love! She cheered.
The Emperor saw Xing holding her breath and his heart fell and he got near her and gently patted her cheeks, "Mingxia! Mingxia!", he cried but she seemed to be not responding.
He loosened her waistband to enable her to breath freely and her outer robes slipped revealing her inner garments but the Emperor in his worry didn"t notice that.
Xing who was in a place filled with darkness, felt the burning and suffocating sensation in her chest and wondered where she might be. Last she remembered was her getting stabbed in the heart and so am I dead?
No! I refuse to die!
Xing decided and she tried to find a way out. And as she tried to get out of there, she could hear a snipping sound and felt the darkness around her disappear.
Was I under a spell? Am I not dead? She thought.
Meanwhile,
The Emperor looking at Xing still not responding to his calls, for some reason felt like she would respond if he calls her the same way his brother calls her.
"Xing..?", his voice shook the first time he called her by that name. He felt guilty for calling her by that name since he knew she forbade anyone from addressing her by this name. Only his brother and Lord Ming were the exceptions.
Xing who had been out of the hold the water G.o.ddess had on her as the darkness receded and she gasped for air as she came to consciousness and the first thing she heard was the familiar voice calling her name.
"Xing", the Emperor called again but this time he had some unknown courage and he didn"t feel guilty at all. He noticed her outer robes slipping revealing her enchanting collarbone and slender shoulders and covered it and knelt in front of her and called her again,
"Xing, wake up" he spoke in a gentle tone and only when she started breathing properly, did he feel relieved.
Xing who was still in a dream like state heard that usual voice calling her name and she felt the presence of the source of the voice near her and she hugged him around the neck...
My Prince! I was scared! Scared that I was dead! I"m glad I"m not... I"m glad you are here!
She wanted to speak but all she could do was cry. Her entire body was trembling out of her overwhelming emotions and she only hugged him closer without even opening her eyes.
She really thought she died!
This sudden development made the Emperor completely perplexed and he froze not knowing what to do. But her sobs only got worse and without thinking twice he hugged her and patted her back.
"Xing, tell me what happened", he spoke in her ears. Her soft cheeks rubbed his ears and he felt weird.
Is this right?
He wondered but he didn"t feel like he should let her go.
Xing who was still confused by the dream she lived through, was surprised that Chenglei is asking her what happened...
Wasn"t he with me? Didn"t he see me dying too? Why is he asking that?
-----
"Release her from your dream spell right this instant!", Fei Lian slammed open the door of Mazu"s room and the image he saw made him frown.
Is that child really hugging another man? But, Does this mean she broke out of the dream spell by herself ? Good then!
"What are you doing to that child?", he asked angrily and a gust of wind made the mirror shatter to pieces.
"Oh, Fei Lian! See how her heart is so fickle?", Mazu snorted, "So much for true love!"
Seeing Fei Lian standing there with a scowl with no words to spare, she continued...
"That mortal broke through my dream spell easily... She is too powerful for a mortal...", Mazu tried to pat Fei Lian"s shoulders and he moved aside not wanting to be touched by her which made Mazu snort...
"Oh! Don"t be like that!", she regained her elegance pretending she doesn"t care about his att.i.tude, " You know I am within my rights to mess with her. I am just worried for you. ...", she spoke coquettishly, "I think it is best if you stay away from her. What if she does something against the heavens realising her power? Won"t she be punished by the Heavenly Emperor then? And everyone a.s.sociated with her might be considered enemies too", her voice was like smooth silk that would calm anyone down but Fei Lian wasn"t convinced,
" If she does something against the heavens, I will go down with her, trying to save her. So if you really are worried for me, don"t try to disturb her!", he said with great determination and Mazu could not see a single bit of love for her in those ice cold eyes staring at her that made her shudder.
True, Fei Lian cannot intrude in her trial or the decisions of her heart but he can protect her life with his everything as he had already decided!
-----
Meanwhile in the carriage....
Xing snapped out of her daze as she wondered the place she was in and her senses kicked back in.. She no longer smelled the mossy dampness but the scent of incense...
She was in the embrace of someone and the hands that were holding her weren"t of the perfect warmth she is accustomed to and the scent of the man wasn"t the one she liked and
it took her entire two minutes before she realised the excruciatingly painful moment she went through moments ago was just a dream and she is now embracing the Emperor.
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The moment she realised that, she pushed him away and stood up only to realise her robes were open and she immediately fixed her clothes, showing her back to the Emperor.
Just what happened here? Why are my robes open and why was I hugging the Emperor? Wasn"t I hugging Chenglei? In a cave? It felt real... How could this have happened..?
Xing was confused.
DID I CHEAT? Did I hug another man thinking it is Chenglei? Is this considered cheating?
Xing"s brain went overload and her head was spinning with all her thoughts.
If I saw Chenglei hugging another woman and he said that he hugged her accidentally thinking it was me, how would I feel? Will I accept it?
NO!!!
In fact, I would feel more angry that he couldn"t even recognise me, won"t I? I cheated! I cheated! What a piece of trash am I? I should bury myself in a deep hole so that others won"t be exposed to a trash like me!
What should I do next?
Xing with her extraordinarily active brain went to the wrong conclusion and got stressed enough to make the temperature inside the carriage go down to almost freezing.
The Emperor stood up calmly and he realised there is every possibility that he"d be killed immediately and he took a deep breath accepting his fate. The air gets colder each time she gets really mad, he knew! But he didn"t feel regret.
Xing who was extremely confused and loathing herself turned to look at the Emperor after fixing her clothes.
"What happened?", she enquired the Emperor with her entire face flushed red and her eyes were like burning coal.
"You were not breathing and so I loosened...", he pointed her waistband, "And later it was you who...", he made the hugging gesture.
Xing was extremely embarra.s.sed. What he did was a typical first-aid for those who had lost consciousness.
Wow! So, I"m a molester? Since when could I lose myself like this? But wasn"t all because I heard that person near me call my name...
MY NAME ONLY CHENGLEI IS ALLOWED TO USE?
" Did you call me "Xing"? ", she confronted him.
"Yes", he answered fearing the consequences.
Since when is the Emperor"s voice identical to Chenglei"s voice? And how could I have confused both of them?
Xing wondered and was embarra.s.sed to her bones and felt like she is the biggest sinner in the world.
"What else did you do?", she asked. But she really didn"t want to know.
What if I did more than just hug? Won"t I have to kill myself then?
"Nothing!", the Emperor raised his hands in a surrendering pose. He will never tell her the way he felt when he was hugging her.
Xing stood there looking at the floor and biting her lips wondering how she could have let herself be this careless and she felt angry at herself for crossing a line.
What will Chenglei do if I tell him? Will he throw me away?
"Leave", she waved at the Emperor. She wasn"t even thinking about him.
The Emperor saw her angry look and he felt irritated that she is angry at him when in reality she was angry at herself.
It was just a hug! He thought. Isn"t she over - reacting?
He should have kept his thoughts to himself and left the carriage but he wasn"t willing to.
Why am I held in a different standard?
"You know what? You are such a hypocrite...! I"ve seen you hugging Rijun and Lord Ming and you never flared up at them. You even ate from the same chopsticks as Lord Ming! He fed you... Right in front of me! How am I any different than them? Why am I the one who gets blamed"
He shouted at her and he realised the temperature was going down further...
Uh-oh! Should I have kept my mouth shut and left?