So many things unknown, there's no time to be flustered

A day has passed and Jin was starting to put his plans into actions as soon as possible, and while on it, he also acquired a bunch of handy information about his sister's relationship with the Emperor and why the Empress is quite close to his beloved sister somehow.

It seems that the Empress and the Emperor are blood related; siblings to be exact. They were brought upon together by there parents to keep their Royal bloodline pure, yet some say that they don't like the idea of having incest with one another even though it's their family's tradition in the past generations, it had always been like that so as much as both of them hated the idea, they still agreed to it in the end for the sake of their family's reputation.

Yet those were just a bunch of rumors the servants heard from other consorts and concubines, but to him it can still be considered as a handy information as long as he got some proof.

That's why right now, Jin was sitting on the opposite side of the table where the Empress currently sits, holding a teacup in her hand as he and the Empress are having a peaceful tea together in the garden at the side of his sister's Manor.

"Isn't this quite a lovely garden Mai? The flowers are ones that I haven't seen before around the palace perimeter, are this from your hometown?" the Empress asked, eyeing the different colored flowers blooming all around them with amazement, a soft gentle smile on her face.

"Yes, it also has a unique scent that keeps me feeling peaceful Lady Khang" Jin answer honestly, glancing around the garden as a small smile also found its was into his normally always neutral and playful features.

Earlier this morning, he decided to water the flowers even though that wasn't his job and he was surprised to see the servants praising him about how much he took care of the flowers everyday till now that it became a beautiful garden. It must mean that his beloved sister is the one that made this garden. Now that he think about it, he also saw the same kinds of flower around this garden inside his sister's room back at their home, his sister loved gardening so it's no surprise to him if in fact his sister was the one who planted the flowers here and tended it everyday since the day his beloved sister was brought upon the palace to be a Noble Consort.

"How are things going with you and my Brother?" the Empress suddenly asked out of nowhere, making him gaze at her curiously. Jin thoughtfully wondered if the Empress did not approve of it, but if that may be the case wouldn't the empress treat his sister none too kindly? That's one of the things he need to find out, but what kind of answer should he say? This will be hard for him.

"I don't know how to explain it, but he's not really causing any trouble for me" Jin answered quietly, watching the Empress hum, tapping her fingers on her tea cup before her eyes narrowed, making him swallow.

"If he do something you dislike, tell me and I'll beat him up" The Empress stated firmly, winking at him before she moved her sight back to the flowers, her expression getting serious once again.

"Protect your pride and dignity as a woman, do not throw yourself on such a man like him who makes big promises that won't happen" the Empress mumbled, watching the flowers sway along the gentle breeze, a few petals getting carried away by the wind as Jin stared at the Empress, a brewing curiosity eating his insides. He wanted to ask a lot of things so bad, but he can't be hasty. He needs to focus on the task at hand, but knowing some extra information wont hurt, especially if it's about his Rival and the Royal family.

They say curiosity kills and Jin believed that saying, but maybe this time, letting his curiosity overwhelm him might be worth it, as long as he stayed on down low.

'Looks like my stay here will be a little longer' Jin thought grimly, but the sides of his mouth curved up in a small smile, knowing that his stay here would be more worth it than what he intended. He slowly looked up, smiling sweetly at the Empress's way, watching the Empress look at him curiously.

"I'll keep what you said in mind Lady Khang" The Empress smiled along with him as they continued to have their peaceful tea in the beautiful garden his beloved sister created.

Afternoon came and he was sitting on the front porch of his sister's Manor, awaiting the Emperor who promised to spend time with him, not like he had a choice to say no anyways. He was currently dressed in a long purple dress that came towards his ankles, slit at the right side that just reached his knees making it easier to walk around. It was a plain dress, but the colors are in different shades of purple, the back part was a bit open, tied in a crisscross pattern that he had to cover with a bright pink scarf wrapped around his shoulders, making his attire seem a little proper and elegant. He was also relieved that his sister's gowns and dresses doesn't have low necklines that would show her cleavage and also making it easier for him to fake the large pair of breasts his sister have. One of the things he love about his sister is that she doesn't like showing a lot of skin, a true proper lady. The only thing that he's having a hard time now was putting make up on his face. He and her beloved sister do look very similar but his sister always make sure her face is presentable to the eyes, even though his sister's natural looks is very presentable to the sight of others, but he guess it's a woman's thing to put makeup so he asked one of the servants to do it for him earlier and the servant happily obliged without questions while complementing his healthy pale complexion.

After a few minutes of waiting, the Emperor finally arrived; not that he was happy to see him. Xian as always, came towards him with a toothy smile like an idiot. He was dressed in a very proper and formal way, like a Royalty and as an Emperor of course. Xian stopped infront of him, gently grabbing his hand and kissing the back of his palm, making Jin shudder in disgust inwardly. It might take time for him to get used to it.

"Did I make you wait?" Xian asked, sitting closely beside Jin, invading his comfort zone much to his dismay.

"Not at all" was all Jin said, shaking his head. Xian's smile widen, forcefully lacing their fingers together and Jin's smile almost faltered before he gain control again in mere seconds, reeling his temper back.

He must stay calm at all cost, to execute this plan successfully, sacrifices must be made, and one of those sacrifices is Jin's pride as a man. Jin slowly looked at their laced fingers, watching the way it fit perfectly together.

'Now that's just weird' Jin thought as he continued to glue his eyes on their hand when he noticed something small glinting on Xian's finger, he frowned.

"What's that on your finger?" Jin asked quietly, watching the way Xian's whole body went stiff, the wide toothy smile on Xian's face was slowly replaced by a small frown. Jin also frowned at the way the Emperor hurriedly unlaced their fingers. It made him sigh in relief but his curiosity once again skyrocketed when Xian stood up, looking around the place even though there's only the two of them their.

'He's acting anxious' he thought as he continued to watch Xian scan their surroundings before looking back at him, their eyes meeting together for a brief moment and Jin felt ashamed to think that Xian's eyes are actually mesmerising, a deep chocolate brown, almost black that's covered with thick long lashes. He felt like he couldn't take his eyes off of it when he noticed Xian's face getting closer, his lips parting.

Jin's eyes widen, clenching his fist in preparation when he went still as he felt Xian's lips colliding gently onto his forehead before pulling away and bidding him a goodbye with a wave of his hand. It took Jin a full minute to get out of his stupor and his cheeks instantly tainted pink. He watch the Emperor walk till his shadow cannot be seen anymore from afar. Jin placed his fingers on his forehead, touching the place Xian kissed before he started wiping his forehead roughly, completely filling disgusted with himself for thinking about an image of Xian kissing him. He slapped his face a few times to get the thought out of his head before going back inside the manor, thinking deeply and completely oblivious of the watchful eyes staring at him not so far away before it left as silent as the peaceful night without a trace of being there.

• • •(Somewhere in the Royal Palace)• • •

"I see, a man has dressed himself as one of the consorts?" a deep seductive voice rang, it was a hush whisper yet something was behind its quiet and gentle tone.

"Yes your highness" a woman bowed low, watching the person stand up from its throne, its flowing long gown following its every step before it stopped infront of her.

"Well well well, a snake has entered my paradise, I might as well pay it a nice visit~" it laughed, its haunting laughter echoing around, the sound so spine chilling down to the bone.