Papa, The Heartbreaker
The thick dark canvas which reeked of melancholy and emptiness engulfed the lotus pavilion as I strolled by. It wasn't long until the clouds slowly dispersed as the pale moon peeked into the gentle wave of waters reflecting its beauty. The soft light of the moon surged calmly onto the bed of flowers as the faint breeze carried the pervasive aroma of the lotus. The white flowers blossomed sporadically onto the layered leaves; some flowered gracefully like elegant dancers while some looked like bashful women.
Suddenly the soft warm glow of fireflies sliced through the darkness illuminating the sky with its sugary light. The lotus pavilion was punctuated with glimmers of light like thousand floating stars adding a drop of warmth to the heart. Despite the cold night that brings a sense of eeriness to a person's heart, without this brimming darkness how would one enjoy the enthralling view of the glowing fireflies?
The view was mesmerizing as my feet paused at the sight.
"Your Highness?" The Chief Eunuch who was a few feet away turned around wondering why I stopped walking.
I lightly shook my head and resumed my feet, "Its nothing."
It's nothing new, but whenever I saw the lotus pavilion at night, it took my breath away. It made me realize how wonderful nature was. No wonder the Emperor spent most of his time here. It would calm one's mind with the silent whispers of nature and together with the sound of my zither, it's an indescribable feeling one would experience.
Walking past the lotus pavilion we arrived at Lianhua palace (Lotus in Chinese is Lianhua. The name of the Emperor's palace). The Chief Eunuch guided me to His Majesty's study room as he announced my arrival at the closed doors,
"Your Majesty, General Su is present at your request."
"Come in." His deep voice replied. Sliding the door open, the Chief Eunuch moved aside as I walked in.
The Emperor didn't bother to lift his head as he continued to write. The candle lights illuminated his god-like appearance which made him look a million times sexier than he already was.
I gulped unconsciously feeling a surge of heat rushing into my head.
"You can leave Shang." His voice snapped me from my trance as I saw the Chief Eunuch closing the doors and leaving.
There was a long silence until His Majesty's voice beamed, still focusing on the writing, "I was expecting you this afternoon. But it seemed you were too busy with your performance tonight, that you forgot to report me on the task I had given you. I have decided to forgive you for the matter. But this shall not repeat again. Now you may speak."
"Pardon, Your Majesty?" I couldn't understand what he was getting at.
He frowned as he looked up, his eyes stern as they locked with mine. No one dared to look into the Emperor's eyes. But for me, as his so-called brother didn't have such restrictions. And of course, this was due to the Empress Mother who once said, "Brothers are your flesh and blood. They are your own kind. Even as an Emperor, never treat them like your subjects, unless they try to harm you."
If I weren't taken into the royal family, I wouldn't have the privilege to enjoy such a sight. Even with the brother relationship, we had a lot of complications between each other, to begin with, because I was a brother only in name. Though he's the only one who treated me like an outsider. He didn't call me First Brother or brother Ying, so I couldn't call him Imperial Brother or brother Xiang. We addressed each other in the most formal way possible, be it in public or in private.
As the First Imperial Prince, I had the right to influence the Emperor but I never did that. He wouldn't treat me like how he treated his subjects either unless something like what happened in my last birth occurred. Or maybe I died such a humiliating death because Mother Empress wasn't there to hold my back.
He would only show his authority and made sure I knew my place. But I knew he was restricted because of Empress Mother. If it wasn't for her, he could eliminate all his brothers. More specifically me. And if it wasn't for Imperial Father, I wouldn't be able to get promoted to a General, who was now strong enough to cause havoc to his Emperor. But I dare not do that.
I sometimes wonder, what exactly do I call our relationship?
Still having no reply from me, he was angered.
"How careless of you, General Su. Even after I summoned you here. Had my orders fallen on deaf ears?" His frown deepened as his eyes pierced my body. His voice sounded dark and threatening.
I immediately kowtowed as my calm voice resounded in the room, my forehead hitting the hard floor, "Your humble General has committed a grave mistake! This incompetent General deserves punishment, Your Majesty!"
I didn't even know the reason I was asking punishment in the first place. What did I forget this time? I did find it strange when he called me in the middle of the night. And here I thought he called me out for something personal.
"Indeed, you will receive a punishment worthy of disregarding this Emperor's orders! I have given you and Minister Jin, one and a half weeks to conduct a search on the sear. Minister Jin had failed to find any information. What have you been doing General? I had been expecting your report this afternoon!" He spoke with his cold tone, his voice full of displeasure.
Sear?
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As in...
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The Spider sear?
That's right, I had to report on the sear early this afternoon. It's not like I forgot. I thought I had already reported him on the matter. Now that I think about it, I never slept while the sun was high up in the sky. Then how did I end up in bed, when I should be doing my duties?
I sighed internally.
It couldn't be helped.
"This General wouldn't dare to ignore Your Majesty's orders! He was too immersed in surprising His Majesty that he forgot about the sear. Forgive this General for his forgetfulness, Your Majesty!" I lied through my teeth with my straight face, one leg kneeling on the floor,
"Reporting to Your Majesty, my men too had failed on the task. They peered through every country but found none about the Spider sear. My men are still continuing on the search until they discover some useful information."
He didn't say anything but his eyes lowered in deep thought.
Two weeks ago, Lianhua palace was under a sudden attack. Twenty-five assassins seemed to be an underestimating number when going against fifty or so palace guards plus the Emperor's shadow guards. But no, they skillfully managed to kill thirty-one palace guards including three of His Majesty's shadow guards who I had personally trained. Most of the palace guards were shot with poisonous needles on their necks which caused them instant death. If not for that, it won't be an easy task to enter the Imperial Palace through the front gates. Yes, they had the guts to invade the Imperial Palace through the front gates, as if they had guaranteed the death of the Emperor.
I wonder if it was a coincidence that it was the same day I returned to the palace after six long months. Even though I had planned to return a lot later, I came back unannounced. If I hadn't come back that day I wouldn't ensure His Majesty's safety, for we later found out that there had been more assassins lurking outside the palace grounds, most probably planning for a second attack. With my uncalled arrival, they had no choice but to retreat.
Fourteen assassins were taken down by me and the shadow guards. Three committed suicide, while the others managed to escape, blending into the crowds of people in the streets.
It's difficult to comprehend, who was behind it. Those assassins were beyond ordinary killers, be it their martial arts or their keen senses. They weren't afraid to commit suicide if they had a low possibility to win during the fight with no escape routes.
They were trained assassins.
Elite assassins would be perfect to describe them. But I was pretty sure they were ex-soldiers judging by the way they wielded a sword or tactfully man-handled the guards.
Hiring them would mean spending tones of gold just for five assassins. There were a few who were capable of affording to do this but then again it was too obvious.
Wouldn't I be the first suspect when taking all the circumstances into account?
But I don't need to hire anyone, I already have enough manpower. And going as far as to give up life so easily by slitting their own throats, I would never let my men go through such brutality.
More importantly, their fighting techniques, even though it wasn't noticeable during the fight, it was completely alien to what I've seen and learned my entire life as a martial art expert of Xu Lin.
Unless they were secret techniques used by the elite force of the military in another country.
Therefore, I'm sure they weren't citizens of Xu Lin. I suspect they belonged to some sort of unique group hidden perfectly among our people just like my men who were disguised and planted in our enemy countries.
But if that's true, they had tried using an underhanded method to defeat our Emperor without fighting on the battlefield! What a disgrace for those royals!
I gritted my teeth in fury.
There were no clues we could get our hands on, except for the Spider sear on their left upper arm. It was more like a branding of a slave. If we could find the origin of the sear we could figure out the mastermind behind the attack. We made sure there would be a body search on the people who left and entered into the capital city. It's strange... Why wasn't anyone found yet? Perhaps they were still in the capital? That's impossible. At least one of them should enter or leave the capital to deliver messages. I thought about this the last time too but...
A sudden possibility crossed my mind as I sighed.
I guess I understand what had gone wrong... Perhaps its too late to realize this now.
"Care to share your thoughts with me, General Su." His Majesty's stern eyes directed at me as he leaned on the chair lightly tilting his head to aside.
I snapped out of my thoughts, once again looking up at him. I said nothing as I stared into those dark orbs.
To think this incident had made me the most suspected candidate. His Majesty had become more vary of my actions lately. Why do I feel that from the very beginning their intentions had always been this? I frowned at the thought.
"This General is worried about Your Majesty's health. It's already past midnight, wouldn't it be better to retire to sleep, Your Majesty?" And again I had to lie with a genuine face though it wasn't entirely a lie. I really did worry when he pulled all-nighters. Since the attack, he hadn't been sleeping well. To sum it up, when the most suspected person was right by your side, who wouldn't overcome with worry and anxiety even for an Emperor?
"Your Majesty please do not worry about the safety of this palace. There won't be a repetition of what happened two weeks ago. Rest assured, this humble General will protect Your Majesty and this palace with his life." I declared firmly.
He wasn't affected by my dedication in the slightest way. His eyes were boring into my body as he spoke in his calm and deep voice, "Hm. You may leave."
"Rest well, Your Majesty." I gave him a bow and turned to leave but my feet paused when I heard him whisper almost inaudible with a mocking tone. I knew he wanted me to hear it.
"What a perfect example of a wolf in sheep's clothing."
The words were like a knife piercing through my heart. My heart hammered in my chest, as my breath hitched. My hands balled into fists before leaving the study room in an unexplainable mood.
Walking into my room I covered my face with my hands leaning onto the door, letting out a long sigh.
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A dry laugh escaped my lips, "Haha..."
But soon my lips formed a straight line unable to pretend anymore. My hands dropped as I felt a burning sensation from my eyes. Unfortunately, I was never the type to cry.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to reduce the sting in my chest. But it was useless...
Spotting my Baby on the bed peacefully sleeping on her back and her pink legs stiffly pointing up, a smile formed on my lips as I moved closer to the petite figure. Gently laying on the bed so that she wouldn't wake up, I brought the sleeping Baby into my bosom as I softly murmured to her, "I don't know Baby. Your Papa (Emperor) is in trouble and your Daddy is worried about him. But Papa thinks Daddy is a liar. Will, he ever see me for who I am?"