EMPRESS LIU

~TWENTY-EIGHT~

The imperial capital of Dachen was all decorated with colours on the occasion of the full moon ceremony of the first princess. The first wife of emperor Shenlongjun gave birth to her first daughter after two sons. And the newborn baby girl is the first ever princess of the empire. Naturally everyone was very happy.

The little girl was the apple of the empress's eyes. The vision of prosperity of the kingdom in making.

The father of the newborn girl was checking every preparation in the palace. For once the emperor of the kingdom was walking around carefree, with a smile on his face.

Fourth prince Hong Daqing came to help his eldest brother with the preparation of the baby's full moon ceremony. He was checking out the offerings to the ancestors when he felt a presence that shouldn't be there. He looked at his brother checking if he felt it too and found the emperor also looking at him. The Xiang Wang's shadow guard soon came to inform him about who might the presence be.

"Your majesty. I will take care of it. If it is a threat I'll remove it immediately. You focus on the preparations." Saying this the fourth prince left with Xuan Lang in tow.

They both came to the inner court and soon reached the garden to find a shadow gaurd in black sitting on a low tree bending over the pond. The shadow guard's body was lean and she looked relaxed. With the extra two presence she didn't turn around. Just adjusted the posture a little so that a little bit of her side profile is visible. Her ponytail was adorned with a silver hair ring and two sharp and cunning eyes looked like the person was smiling.

"A-Jie."

The prince was not surprised. He looked hopefully at his sister.

"I found him." And this brought the Xiang Wang nearly to tears. He has waited for a year. Not knowing if he could ever find him. Sometimes even giving up hope. But today is the day that he finally hears what he always wanted to hear.

"But he does not remember anything."

The Xiang Wang's world instantly froze. Good news are not good news and bad news are not bad news. In the fourth prince's heart the only face kept flashing.

After listening to the news Hong Daqing always wanted to hear but which came to him as a surprise itself, he left the place in a daze. Accompanied by his shadow guard Xuan Lang. Looking at the receding backs of the prince and his companion, Ying Lianying's turned into a scary mocking smirk.

"How ironic! In this timeline, you are the one calling me A-Jie. In the other one, Feihua is the one who's calling me A-Jie. Unfortunately I don't take any of you as my brothers!"

The smirk  on her face turned into a more deadly scary one and who knows what she was capable of doing. You wouldn't like what a woman with a goal can do. She can create and destroy.

At the court many subjects of the emperor came to give offerings as a blessing for the newborn princess. There were a lot of people who love the emperor. And they all were there to congratulate Shenlongjun.

Everything was in order. The emperor smiled at everyone and accepted the offerings with his first wife. When a sudden commotion attracted everyone's attention. Two royal guards pulled a disoriented looking young man into the court, followed by another young woman trying desperately to make the guards let go of the man.

"Please let go of my brother. He's unwell. Please. I beg you!"

The emperor looked dumbfounded at the young man practically dragged in to the court. The beautiful face was still the same. Except the expression on that too familiar face was rather unfocused and scared out of wits.

The young woman suddenly kneeled in front of the whole court. "Your majesty. Please forgive my brother. He's unwell. He didn't do anything intentionally. I am willing to take the punishment in his stead."

The young woman's words didn't as much as reach the emperor's ears as he was just froze in his place looking at a man he wanted to bow in front of him so bad.

"Liu Changsheng!"

Emperor Shenlongjun slowly observed the disoriented young man looking exactly like Liu Changsheng. Down to every detail they were same. He had no doubt in his heart that this was the dethroned Xiang Wangfei.

"Where did you find him?"

"Answering your majesty, he's my brother. I found him trying to get food from a young master outside the palace gates. Please forgive my brother." The young woman's face was coloured with fresh streaks of tears. But this did nothing to affect the emperor.

"Zhen asked where did you find the Xiang Wangfei, Liu Changsheng?" The authoritative voice of Shenlongjun reverberated throughout the whole courtroom sending shivers down everyone's spine.

"What Xiang Wangfei, your majesty?" Her face was clear. Devoid of any doubt. Confusion was the only expression the emperor could see in her eyes.

From a distance another prince was looking at all this with shock in his heart. Fourth Prince Hong Daqing. One question kept turning in his head, why did Ying Lianying have to bring Liu Changsheng into the court, in front of everyone. He saluted his older sister's acting skills at how she could fool everyone in this court into believing her. He didn't know about the emperor but he sure knew everyone else believes her. And the most surprising thing was Liu Changsheng. He didn't do anything to resist what was happening.

Ying Lianying said he does not remember. But how can he let something like this happen? What is happening?

The incident in the court unfolded into something no one expected and in the end the emperor took the brother and sister in under his wings, in the pretense of letting her work under his first wife as a maid. But in his heart he didn't want to believe the young woman who introduced herself as Xiao Hua and her brother as Xiao Long.

And the Xiang Wang couldn't help but go to find the said Xiao Long more that once only to be disappointed over and over again, by the young man's reluctance to even talk to anyone. Xiang Wang Hong Daqing was more than willing to do anything to get his Wangfei back. But he could see that this journey that started after Liu Changsheng AKA Xiao Long entered the royal court of Dachen is going to be full of pain and hardships.

And somehow Fourth Prince Hong Daqing was willing to walk that path.

Hellooooo pandas.... Here's a new chapter for you guys.... I know I've been MIA for far too long but as I said I'm never gonna abandon my babies! So here I am back with a new chapter....

I hope you don't mind the way the story is going... It's a bit confusing I know, but things have started to unfold I promise...

So stay tuned and see you in the next chapter!
All the love
C 💕

Also please don't forget to vote! ⭐⭐