LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

Xiao Mei by her side wondered what her Lady who never cared for her appearance was doing. She always worried for her Lady. She is already twenty one years old which every man in their kingdom would consider too old to marry as most women will be married away when they are sixteen.

Her lady has beauty, wealth and charm that no man could refuse. But alas! She has no man by her side. She has seen her Lady sometimes staring blankly with sorrow in her eyes and sometimes she"ll have tears in her eyes and a dry smile. Sometimes she"ll be closing her mouth and will laugh by herself reminiscing about something and sometimes she"ll get all red in her face and ears thinking about something.

Xiao Mei is a smart person and she knew her Lady has someone in her heart and she didn"t know who it was or what happened to that person. Her Lady treated her pretty well at all times but she got defensive when she asked about it once. So she stopped asking her about that mysterious person in her Lady"s heart.

They have met a lot of men in their travels; some handsome, some clever, some rich and n.o.ble and some who had two or more of the aforementioned characteristics. But no one could move her Lady"s heart even though there were no shortage of men who approached her.

Xiao Mei saw her Lady"s eyes twinkling with expectations as she eyed the Prince-like figure approaching them in a white horse. He had silver hair and was wearing white clothes which was dirtied by the sands in the desert.

Seriously! Which smart one would wear white for travelling?

Xiao Mei sn.i.g.g.e.red in her heart but when the man got near and observing how stylish he looked getting off from the horse, she was mesmerised by his handsome gentlemanly appearance. He looked around like everyone owed him a large amount of money but still.... He was a fine-looking specimen for a mortal and better looking than any men they"ve met till now.

No wonder he caught Milady"s eyes! He definitely would look better with my Lady!

Xiao Mei approved of this man and decided to help her Lady get this man to marry her. Its fine if he is poor... My Lady is rich and he"d be a good husband listening to my Lady and doting on her, while staying beside her!

Xing composed her erratically beating heart and took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew there is a large possibility that he won"t remember her but unknown to her she started to hope for a miracle. The heart is always greedy!
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"Lady Hur!", the familiar voice that haven"t changed or forgotten by her heart even a bit entered Xing"s ears and Xing felt like a feather grazed her heart and her eyes became a bit misty as her emotions got swayed hearing his voice. His voice didn"t have that gentleness that was meant only for her but it was sharp and it commanded respect for the one who uttered it.

So he still doesn"t remember me!

Xing was saddened but she took a deep breath and turned to look at the source of that voice and also the bearer of her heart...

"Yes!", she uttered as she turned while removing her veil and looked at the travel weary man who still looked charming and the downwind brought his scent and it was rather... Strong.

Guess he travelled without rest!

Xing could see the man freeze for a moment looking at her with his eyes now looked dark in the setting sun that swirled with various emotions before widening with surprise and his chiselled jawline clenched and he gulped to swallow his surprise before he uttered,

"You are..."

This... Woman in male attires in front of him has pale skin like porcelain, jet black hair and the sun in front of her made her eyes s.h.i.+ne like molten gold. If he wasn"t sure she was not a male, he"d have thought that he was in the presence of Tians.h.i.+ Emperor.

"I"m Táng JiaXing, Lord Li", Xing smiled sweetly for a second and she pursed her lips immediately lest he thinks she is trying to seduce him.

She needs to seduce him without him realising he is being seduced. Smiling coquettishly or doing the tripping trap won"t work on a high level specimen like her Prince. She should make a lasting impression on him he won"t be able to forget.

Chenglei was surprised. This is the first time a woman looked straight in his eyes, addressed him properly and not express any other intentions towards him even when she knows who he is. Interesting!

And d.a.m.n! This woman is awfully beautiful and inspires one to look at her all the time!

"Miss Táng.. Then we...", he almost forgot why he was here and stuttered.

"Lord Li! Please follow Xiao Mei to my tent and wash up. We can discuss other things during dinner", Xing gave a slight nod at Xiao Mei and walked away from them without expecting his answer.

Xiao Mei happily obliged to help out her Lady and lead the handsome man to her Lady"s tent while Chenglei had an indescribable feeling in his heart as if his heart fluttered like the wings of a b.u.t.terfly.

Why? He wondered. He could have refused her... He already asked Lin Mubai to pitch a tent just a little farther from their tent.

He was brought to a small tent that seemed to be used only for bathing purposes that was filled with tasteful furnis.h.i.+ngs that one would find in any n.o.ble family"s bathhouse and was surprised since he was told this woman travelled around without staying in a place for long.

Just who"d travel around with this much luggage? Guess she is someone who values comfort at any cost. Someone with true cla.s.s! He was more intrigued by her.

He got in the tub and the sweet smell lingering in the tub that proved that this belonged to a woman and that made him have weird sensations and he fought hard not to do something inappropriate in another woman"s place.

Why does this scent feel so familiar? And...

What a woman! He thought. In his entire life, no woman has stirred up his heart this much! He wanted to know more about her.

---

Xing was looking around Chenglei"s tent with a lot of lamps illuminating the place. He had a small cozy tent that only had simple furnis.h.i.+ngs but she didn"t mind the extra time she gets to spend with him. She asked food to be sent to her place but he insisted in her on joining him and so she obliged rather happily.

The people from the village she just helped sent food for her and Xing observed the one serving food carefully splitting the bowls for the both of them separately and knew something is weird. The people in the sky Kingdom hated the people in the Wind Kingdom since war does make people hate each other.

As the woman finished serving, Xing stood up and asked Chenglei to change places with her and Chenglei even though was confused, obliged to her suggestion.

This woman has an inate capability to make him bend to her will! He cursed himself when he changed places but still be listened to her.

"Lady Hur! You cannot!", the woman said in a hurry and she reeked of guilt.

"Why?", Xing asked with her eyebrows raised and with a knowing smile in her lips. She knew they treat people from the wind country differently but no one could hurt her prince!

"I"m sorry", the woman bowed and apologised and took away the food in front of her and left.

"What"s this about? Poison? "

Chenglei observing the every expression of the woman in front of him, asked casually as he wondered if his food might be poisoned. But she must have a keen sense to realise that even before tasting the food.

Impressive!

"Not poison... Just laxatives!", her lips curved to a teasing smile as she looked right at his eyes and he could not help but smile back at her. He knew she was teasing him but she wasn"t crude in her remarks and he found it more attractive.

Chenglei noticed the little birthmark above her lips just then and he gulped by the position of that beautifully crafted birthmark in that exquisitely carved face of hers that exuded such beauty.

Xing on the other hand could not see the usual gentleness and smile he had for her but it wasn"t the coldness he had that other day. He also seemed to be intrigued by her which was good.

"Lady Hur....", he tapped the table with his fingers, "Who"d have known you"d be from our Kingdom! The name suits you perfectly though ", he looked at her. Even though his lips were not smiling, his eyes were filled with mirth and Xing could feel it.

" But sun?", he raised his brows, "Why do they think you are the sun when you clearly have a much more gentle light to you... Like a moon!", he spoke casually but Xing"s heart skipped a beat.

How come he calls me moon now? Maybe he still rememberes our past and pretending not to?

But the eyes looking at her didn"t have the expression she was expecting and she knew he still didn"t remember.

"It"s my eyes, Lord Li! My eyes resembles the sun according to them", she picked up a cup of wine and gulped it down as her throat felt dry.

Chenglei looked deep into her eyes and the more he looked at her the more she looked alluring and inside the tent filled with the light of lamps that warmed them from the cold night weather of the desert the two souls who were already connected by the strings of fate, tried to get back to where they were - one unconsciously and another deliberately.

They were disturbed by a maid who served them another set of dinner and both of them got out from their stupor and silently ate their dinner as both of them were famished. Chenglei occasionally asked her about her travels and she answered him concisely and Chenglei found her more and more attractive.. She is smart too!

After dinner Xing prepared tea and as she served him her tea she asked him about his reason for visit.

"Your name came up in the court when the Emperor wanted to send relief fund to these areas and so I was tasked to bring you to the capital!"

"Oh!", she said indifferently and her indifference actually surprised him.

Xing didn"t like the idea of getting back to the capital, felt happy nonetheless that he is inviting her back.

But... It is the Emperor? Could he still remember me? She wondered. But that doesn"t matter.

Xing knew she must return to the capital if she wants to make Chenglie fall for her as he lives there but she still had some things she needs to finish here. After that she"d definitely go back to the capital city. She missed everyone there and wanted to at least have a glance at them from a distance... Especially her father.

Also she knew that if she agrees to Chenglei immediately, he won"t have much opinion about her. She just have to make him constantly think about her. What other way is better than pretending you don"t care about the man, right? She knew that would hurt his ego. Being refused definitely will and would leave a lasting impression in his heart.