LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

As the sky brightened, Chenglei woke up without knowing when he fell asleep. His hands were still holding his wife and she still seemed warm and his lips curved up, immediately. Is it really her warmth though?

"Xing," he called, his voice had no doubts. He believed whatever happened last night didn"t happen. He believed his wife wouldn"t actually leave him alone.

"Xing..., " her motionless state gave him a slight panic as his voice trembled a little.

Wake up, please!

"My love," his voice turned to a whisper as he touched her cheek.

She was pale... Deathly pale and stiff.

"So you did leave me," he fell over her and wept, bitterly. His tears trickled on her forehead and down through her scalp and face.

He felt like he cried only for a second but when he got up, he saw the sun out of the horizon and up in the sky.

Chenglei wiped her, kissed her on the forehead and stood up. He felt his entire body was weak and each step he took felt like he was carrying a ton on his back, yet he pushed himself forward.

He cleaned himself up, wore mourning robes and noticed that there was actually breakfast ready for them on the table. Like usual the maids didn"t disturb them and left thr breakfast on the table and left. There were two bowls, two sets of chopsticks and breakfast enough for two, like always.

But today is not another day, is it?

He looked at Xing lying motionless and took a deep breath but he couldn"t control the tears streaming through his face.

He felt someone entering their room, possibly Lianlian and wiped his face in his sleeves and looked at his son bringing in a bunch of doc.u.ments. He knew his son came here to check up on his parents who haven"t left their courtyard yet or the bunch of guests in their Manor asked for them.

Lianlian was asked by everyone to bring his parents here as they had plans for a game. He never liked to step in his parent"s room. Even though it is inside their Manor, their courtyard always felt like it is a separate place where no one else is allowed.

Stepping in, the first thing he noticed was his father"s reddened eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He saw the breakfast untouched and he knew something was up. His parents are early risers and would eat on time. And only after that he noticed, his father wearing mourning robes. He didn"t notice it first because, his father preferred white and pale colours and it didn"t seem odd at first look.

No! Why is he wearing mourning clothes? And mother, where is she...? Oh, no!
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"Mother?" he shouted as he dropped the doc.u.ments he had in his hand on the floor and ran inside the bed Chambers. There his mother was lying and he could say she is not breathing anymore.

He hugged his mother and wept for sometime and came out to check on his father Who"d be the one most devastated but was surprised to see his father eating breakfast.

He seemed calm and aloof as he ate. Only Chenglei knew that he had promised Xing that he"d eat at least ten mouthfuls of food each meal time and take his medicines properly every day. So he counted how much he ate. He ate ten mouthfuls just like he promised his wife.

"Inform everyone. And I"ll take care of the rest," Chenglei stood up and Lianlian was frozen in his spot for sometime as his father actually doing everything himself.

"Mother"s gone! And why is Father this composed? "

As promised, Chenglei made every arrangement himself and buried Xing himself. Even before she asked him to prepare their burial ground, a year earlier right after his brother"s death, he had dug a cave in the cliff where the pavilion was built. That cave is going to be their tomb. He has designed the cave to look like their room and their coffin is to be placed where the bed was. Their final resting place will look like the place both if them loved a lot, their room, where they can be however they wanted.

Dressed in red silk with phoenix embroidery, with phoenix headdress adorning her hair and her face neatly made up, she was buried. Chenglei was the one who chose the jewellery she should wear since she had already advised him. He was the one who drew the flower on her forehead, for the last time. He lost count how many times he did it but this was going to be the last time. She had already shared most of her jewellery with her daughters, daughter-in-laws and her granddaughters and a very few that were close to her heart was with her.

Chenglei knew there would be opposition for her to be buried with her sword. Only Emperors and great heroes are allowed to be buried with their sword. But Chenglei didn"t care if it is allowed or not and she was the first woman in their kingdom to be buried with her sword.

She looked really peaceful with her hands over her chest, holding the sword and her lips were slightly curled up as she died peacefully.

She lived like an Empress and buried as one with nine-tailed phoenix embroidery and headdress a symbolism of dowager, although she wasn"t one by t.i.tle but was respected as one. She was a warrior and buried like one with her sword.

Ah Sheng"s cries shattered the hearts of everyone.

"Why are you taking my great grandma away?she is napping and will wake up soon.... Don"t take her away... Great grandpa... Why aren"t you stopping them? No... She is my great grandma... Don"t..."

He created a ruckus and didn"t even cared for his grandfather"s glare.

" My great grandma... " he sobbed and hiccupped.

Chenglei held him close to his heart and patted his back. How is he going to explain death to a little boy who isn"t even three yet? Luckily, the boy slept because he got tired of crying.

Everyone paid their respect; her children, her friends and family who all stayed in their Manor couldn"t help but think that she didn"t want to bother them to come hurriedly to her funeral and so she died when they all were there. There was no important event going on in the Kingdom and the next big event is the martial arts tournament a couple of months later and she really planned when she wanted to die.

The entire West knew of her departure and they all stood outside their Manor weeping for her. She helped thousands here and of course they will miss her.

Feifei, who got worried his father would join their mother out of grief, stayed together with his father day and night. Ah Xuan and little Xinxin came only after a week and they paid respect to her in the tomb.

Three months of mourning was announced in the Kingdom for the death of Xing and Chenglei talked to Ah Xuan and reduced it to one month. She didn"t like the idea of barring others from having good times because of the death of someone else.

After a month, Lianlian forcibly brought Chenglei back to the Capital city. He didn"t agree but he skillfully used Ah Sheng for help and Chenglie had to oblige in the end.

Days pa.s.sed and Chenglei just get by each day somehow. His daughter-in-laws tried their best to take care of him. They made him his favourites, brewed him tea and tried to keep him company.

But for Chenglei, everything seemed bland. Maybe it was because he was aging... No, he was fine till she was with him. The day she left him, everything turned bland.

He saw the tea his younger daughter-in-law brewed. It looked pretty. Even his wife bragged that both her daughter-in-laws can brew tea just like her.

He drank it. It was hot. It was watery. But does it taste like how she brews? For him everything tasted the same. Like water. Soup or buns or rice... Everything tasted like hot water.

"You"ve gotten better, little Shuang," he praised her and seeing her smile with content and pride, he was quite happy too. He really has the best family and the ones who joined his family are lovely too.

Yeah, my wife made sure everyone gets along well...!

He should get consoled by others in his family, but in his heart, there was a big hole... A hole so big no amount of people can fill it. But only one person can and she is no more.

"Father, you should see this," Lianlian walked inside his father"s room that day. He was slightly saddened seeing his father folding his mother"s clothes and arranging it by the sides of the bed where she usually sleeps. It seemed like his mother had left a bunch of her fragrance pouches for him and he would keep it in his chest pocket all the time. His father has started smelling like his mother.

"Feifei was given this book by the previous Emperor to publish it anonymously and that fool forgot about it because this book sank in the hundred other books he has. And Father! I read this book and it.... Will you read it?" Lianlian sat beside his father and watched him read.

Lianlian saw his father smiling like he used to before...Like, When his mother was still alive.

"Could this book be really about mother? But the description is clearly of father and another woman with golden hair and black eyes - The divine ruler. But mother"s twin was the divine ruler. So why did the TongTian Emperor wrote about his wife and father? Most of the incidents in the book has happened but why are the people involved, different? And G.o.ds really interfered with humans? Why is everything confusing?"

Chenglei read the book whose protagonists were him and his wife. Chenglei was the Emperor in the book and Xing was his Empress and the divine ruler. Everything she did while she was in the inner palace was explained with details along with how both of them were in love with each other. The story continued after the death of Old Rong and s.h.i.+hong about bringing back the Ouyang Navy, stopping the spread of drugs and so and so forth until every help Xing did for the nation.

Even Chenglei was surprised by everything she did and every plans she made for the success of their Kingdom.

"So my wife tried to hide her achievements but my brother wanted to let everyone know about her deeds at least as a fiction" he smiled.

"Didn"t know that crybaby could think this much and I didn"t know he is this competent in writing," Chenglei spoke in a low tone.

"Father, was mother the divine ruler?" he asked and Chenglei just looked at him deeply.

"Yes, she was. And the previous Emperor is my brother. Ah Xuan knows it and you should know it to protect our family in case someone tries to harm us," Chenglei decided to tell him the truth. Sometimes hiding the truth may backfire. And good or bad, it is better to know the truth.

" So mother was married to your brother? "he asked and there was a trace of disgust in between his brows making Chenglei glare at his son and Lianlian immediately composed himself.

"A lot happened back then and you need not know it all. Your mother... She always was my wife and she lived with my brother as a guest for a year. That"s it. And just because we hail from the Lu bloodline, doesn"t mean that we have claims to the throne. Remeber that. And this information is not privy to anyone and must be kept a secret, " Chenglei spoke in a warning tone and after nodding in acknowledgement, Lianlian left.

"Of course father doesn"t like anyone who talks bad about mother,even me. And I am sure mother loved only father. Whatever! The parents" deeds are theirs and there is no need for us to worry about it"

Months pa.s.sed by and Chenglei got by somehow. He loved waiting for the death anniversary of his wife. That"s the day he will leave too.

And soon it came.

Seeing his father enthusiastically preparing for his mother"s death anniversary, Lianlian felt like something was weird.

Suddenly, he remembered what he heard when he was so little... The day his little sisters were born... His father said something...

"I"ll die on the same day you died, Xing. I"ll grieve for a year. Will that make you happy?"

Lianlian remembered every word he heard that day.

Is that what Father is planning still? Is that why he is this happy?

His heart clenched.