Separate Lives (IV)

I am lost,

In a dark place that I had never even known,

Even in dreams,

And even in my waking moment.

***

THE YEAR 1904, a century away from the present time.

The Crown Prince ordered the court ladies of the destined Queen to be out for a while. He removed his headdress after a while and said, "I will be the one guarding her for now. You could come to the feast for a while, they will be launching the lanterns on the air in a minute"

Lei Jie bowed down his head to them as a sign of respect. Lei Jie went inside the chamber of the destined Queen while her mother and father was there, sitting down on the bench, with the hot steamed green tea had been served alongside with pastries and pickles on gold dishes, like the color of the fleece that could be seen on a gold bar. Lei Jie was surprised to see both of them chatting about their daughter.

Lei Jie bowed down his head much lower as he mumbled, "I'm sorry to intrude, but I am here to guard Ying Yue through the night."

Ying Yue's father, Fang Chen, suddenly stood up from his seat and sighed as he placed his hands clasped to his chest. The tears were welling up on his downturned shape of his eyes and black color of its pupils, his curved nose that crinkled a little, and his lips were pursed. His clothes were the same as Lei Jie's. It was Manchu robes, circulating with the colors jet black, crimson and even cerulean. His hair was tied down to his back, with the half of his hairline being bald.

The melanin on his skin was evident through the white light.

Fang Dai Yu, Ying Yue's mother and the head of the Fang Clan was rolling her eyes on the side. Even though Lei Jie sensed the arrogance in her mother, he still tried to please his mother-in-law, or else... he will be dead.

They are a family with hidden agendas on assassinations, and it was explained why Ying Yue had been moved out of the palace due to the secret mission that he needed to fulfill.

Fang Ying Yue was not the only honorable woman of the Royal Guards of the Qing Empire, she was the lead knight. And it was explained through the bloodline of her family.

Fang Chen approached Lei Jie in a scornful way and stood in front of the Crown Prince. Fang Dai Yu was observing them from that distance, and Lei Jie was still lowering down his head.

Who would have thought that a Prince can be afraid of a high-ranking family that was lower than the royal one, on which he belongs?

Lei Jie felt that his heart was beating louder than usual as he apologized, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I was surprised when I saw her on the back of the hall, running, with only white and satin robes on. I never thought that a danger will happen right before the ceremony happened."

Fang Chen slowly unclasped his hands from his chest and raised his hand, slapping Lei Jie's face. The Crown Prince was surprised by that blow, and he felt the stinging pain on his left cheek. Li Lei Jie never thought that he would be slapped by someone who was not even his parents. Emperor Li Jing and Emperor Zhang Lian didn't even lay a finger on him, and he was beyond grateful that his parents were not of their kind.

The slap was loud that it could make Ying Yue flinched at her bed.

"When did she ever have the time to see you, Lei Jie?" Fang Chen asked with that hoarse and deep voice, the tone of his voice was in baritone, making it sounded like he was in a rage with the Crown Prince. He acted like he was the Emperor of the Qing Empire, but truly, he was not.

"How could she lie to us that she was still there when all of a sudden, we will see her body here? Unconscious and frozen? How could you explain it to us, Lei Jie?" Fang Chen raised his voice that made his wife stood up from the bench and held onto his arms, trying to pretend to console him.

Fang Dai Yu and Fang Chen was just putting up an act earlier, but Lei Jie knew that he will be facing this kind of reprimand.

All he could say was, "I'm sorry."

Fang Chen sniggered in a bit and rashly removed Dai Yu's hands from his arms. He walked past ahead of him as the Crown Prince felt the tears that were suddenly rising on his lids. Fang Dai Yu was left alone with the Prince but she just muttered in a stern face, "You call yourself a Crown Prince... I don't think so..."

Fang Dai Yu turned her heel around while her wooden slippers made a loud noise on the wooden floors. She followed her husband out of the door after a while and slammed the door shut. Li Lei Jie was left alone there, in the gloomier darkness, the weal on his cheek was now appearing. Lei Jie lifted up his head after a moment of silence and felt the tears that fell down on his cheeks.

He turned to the farthest corner of the chamber, and saw that his destined Queen was sleeping peacefully. He swallowed as he puffed his cheeks and wiped the tears. He murmured, "You're still the Crown Prince. You can still kill them out of your order."

He suddenly felt a relief through his heart as he approached the destined Queen on her bed. Lei Jie stopped at the side and Ying Yue was breathing slower than usual. Lei Jie tilted up the corners of his mouth after a while and sat down on the stool that was underneath the bed. The gold curtains were still tied on either sides of the bed as the air was filled with silence once again.

She is so beautiful...