※ Chapter 28 ※

Meihua's POV »☆●

Rosy leads me to D.O's frontal command tent, guarded by Kai and Chaen. The tent blends in with the mercenary armor, its hue a casual green-grey. No doubt it's built of a fine mesh, with seams as tight as a drum.

Noticing me, Kai and Chaen moves aside, allowing me in. The musty odor that the tent emanates communicates its experience, as if it's trying to instill a sense of its expertise. Stepping in, I see D.O., Uncle and Se sitting in a circle by the command table. They all glance towards me, acknowledging my appearance.

"Lord D.O, Uncle Mark, your regency," I bow to them before taking a seat.

"It was a rough day, huh? I'll bring tea for everyone," Rosy smiles and leaves the tent with a bow.

As she walks out of the tent, D.O. looks at me, "Finally, you're here. We need to discuss some matters, Gongzhu."

I raise an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

"My mercenaries will fight for you till dying breath, but they won't stand a chance against Prince Karry with the equipment I can provide. Our leather armor works against drunken bandits, but might as well be a paper against Wangluan soldiers," he narrows his eyes.

"Also, the former soldier armors need repair, badly," Se adds.

Uncle sighs, "Sehun wants to provide all that from royal treasury. But under the circumstances we're in, we can't spend that much from the royal treasury until he's officially crowned. If words go out, Dylan will take advantage of it to ruin his image. That may risk his claim to the throne."

So, we need coins, and lots of it. Off course, I won't spend Se's money for my cause recklessly. I'm already living off of his money. It suddenly strikes me how stupid I am. I should've thought ahead but I've always been so used to getting whatever I want that I forgot I'm not a princess anymore, I have none of the things needed to lead a war. Now I can't possibly give up after coming this far, but where can I get this much coin? I rack my brain over, trying to think of any way to retrieve this much coin but I can't come up with anything.

Uncle clears his throat, drawing our attention, "Ever heard of the legend of Hankow?"

"You're talking about our glided city? Queen Seulgi's estate?" I ask.

Uncle nods, "That's the one."

"I've heard tales of fabled gardens and gold mines, a city rich beyond all imaginations," D.O. exclaims.

"But if my memory serves me right, it's a hidden city? Oh wait.." Se turns to me, "Angel, your father told you the location?"

I shake my head, "The idea of Hankow was to protect our money so its confidentiality has been well-maintained even within our estate. It's in risk of getting conquered immediately if its location ever got out. So he never told me either."

"I heard King Wang has been searching for this but eventually he gave up too," D.O. adds.

"That's because the Hankow estate isn't in Hankow anymore. Good thing, I know where it is and I can take you there," Uncle reveals, leaving all of us speechless.

Se frowns, "Wait, how's it you learned the location of the most hidden city in the world? From King Wu?"

Uncle closes his eyes and shakes his head, "From Queen Seulgi."

I frown, opening my mouth to say something but Uncle cuts me off before I can speak, "Let me explain. During the turbulent situation in the Five Kingdoms, the safety of Wuluan's coin became a real concern. Being the smallest realm among the five, yet the richest one, Wuluan was the most vulnerable to attack. So Yichang decided to secure all the money in one city among with a special force to protect it."

He leans on the chair, "I was part of the special force. But later on, I moved back to Nanjing to accompany Yichang. After King

Wang's attack, I escaped with the remaining Wuluan soldiers and came here. Then I took few of the trusted soldiers to Hankow to ask for Queen Seulgi's favour."

●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●

Few Months ago in Hankow Throne room:

After hearing about the whole situation from Mark, Queen Seulgi sighs, looking more helpless and clueless than ever.

"I wish I could help you, Marshall. But I can't even help myself," she mutters, glancing down at her hands, feeling uneasy and ashamed.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?" Mark raises an eyebrow, sensing the fear and worry in her scent.

Seulgi rises from the throne, approaching Mark, "My guards have detected assassins in my borders multiple times in the last few days. I fear King Wang has discovered my city and an attack is on the way. If I keep your soldiers, I'll only risk the lives of more soldiers along with all our wealth. I couldn't keep the city hidden; I failed my husband..."

Feeling heavy with her words, Seulgi turns around, looking away and trying to hold back her tears, while Mark strokes his chin, racking his brain over the issue. Suddenly, a brilliant idea occurs to Mark. His eyes twinkle, a mischievous grin plays across his face.

"Queen Seulgi, may I dare to offer a solution that benefits both of us?" he asks, drawing Seulgi's attention. She eagerly waits for him to continue.

"My son is the King-regent of Mingluan. There's a large abandoned place in the west corner of our realm, due to some manmade ridiculous rumours of supernatural creatures existing there, that place is vacant and open for reconstruction," Mark says but what he doesn't tell is that those are certainly not man-made ridiculous rumours.

"Are you offering me to establish my city on Mingluan?" Seulgi asks.

Mark nods, "Making the arrangements won't be hard as we have the authority in Mingluan currently. Think about it, King Wang will never guess you're there. I'll ensure your safety and protect your people."

Seulgi smiles slightly, but looking a little confused, "That's wonderful, but what's the catch?"

"Comparing to the risk I'm eager to take, I ask very little in return. Now that my dear friend isn't amongst us anymore, the governance regulations of Wuluan is out of question. So I want you to give me the complete authority of your wealth," Mark states clearly. Seulgi's jaw drops to the floor hearing his words, leaving her speechless. The air feels heavy with the silence hanging between the two of them.

Mark shrugs, "Your Majesty, I think it's only fair. When it was in Wuluan, Yichang had the complete authority. Now it'll be in my realm, I shall have the complete authority."

"I guess that makes sense, but to give up on the responsibility that my husband bestowed upon me with so much faith.." Seulgi narrows her eyes in denial.

Mark shakes his head, "You wouldn't give up on your responsibility. You'll still rule the city and secure the wealth just like Yichang asked you to. You just have to help me with your wealth whenever I require it, for court matters, or for personal matters. And you wouldn't question it. Do you accept, Queen Seulgi?"

Seulgi turns slightly, pursing her lips, contemplating if it's wise to ally in those terms.

Mark cautiously takes a step closer, softening his voice, "Your Majesty, I shall have you know that Yichang would want you to do the same. His trust in me is no secret and you know I've never betrayed him. You can trust me," Mark sighs frustratedly, "Hells, King Wang may already be on the way. So many innocent lives are in risk. Who knows how long until he discovers the soldiers I escaped with-"

"I accept," Seulgi responds before he can finish.

Mark smiles, "You won't regret it. I promise."

●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●☆●

"The city is named Utopia now. It's one day away from Beijing and a force of five hundred is protecting the city," Uncle finishes, leaving all of us out of words.

Se stands up, pushing his hands on the table, "You formed an entire alliance on my name, and I'm hearing about this now?"

Uncle reaches closer to him, "Son, I can explain-"

"Explain what? That my dad brought an entire city in my realm, that he's been using someone else's money in my name and he never bothered to tell me?" Se growls. I notice a twinkle of golden in his eyes as his jaw tightens.

Oh no..

He might shift in front of D.O...

I quickly stand up and mutter in his ears, "Se, control yourself, D.O. is here."

Se glances at D.O. who's observing skeptically. He tries to tame down. Breathing deeply, he plops back down to chair, running a hand through his hair. I turn to D.O., "You may leave now. This matter is personal."

He frowns, "But-"

"We'll let you know our next move," I tell him before he can complain.

With gritted teeth, D.O. nods and walks out of the tent against his will. Kai and Chaen follows after him, leaving the three of us alone.

Uncle clears his throat, "The reason I didn't tell you this, is because I knew you're not gonna accept it. I love that you're wise and nice but my son, you're still naive. You know the vampire and rogue attacks were going out of hands, how badly we needed the money. If we spend money from Mingluan treasury for personal reasons, you'll be colored. This was my only option."

I nod in agreement, "Se, that's my father's money and I'm saying Uncle made the right decision."

"I did?" Uncle gasps.

I shrug, "What's the point of wealth if it doesn't help in time of need? You protected the pack with the money that'd otherwise go in waste. Now you're mentioning of it again when we need it badly. I'd say this is a smart strategy."

"I.." Uncle opens his mouth to say something, then nods smilingly, "Thanks for understanding, Meihua."

"D.O. is gone already?" a voice blooms from behind and we turn around to see Rosy with a tray of four cups of tea in her hands. She smiles brightly, "I guess this tea was destined to be mine. May I sit?"

"Please, come in," I smile, gesturing at the chair across me where D.O. was sitting. Rosy approaches, serving everyone tea as we go back to our discussion.

"Fair enough," Se leans back to his chair, "So we can manage the coins. But what about soldiers? Between the vampire attacks and social seasons, I didn't have time to train the army. King Wang can attack anytime and the army is totally unprepared."

Uncle takes the cup from the table, taking a sip, "There's a large camp area, east to Utopia. We can combine our forces and train them there."

Se nods in agreement and they start to discuss about Utopia, when to go, whom to take, what to do and so on, but all I can think of is how I'm not mentioned anywhere in the journey that's supposed to be my own.

I sip on my tea silently, squirming in my chair a few times. I don't know how to bring it up. It's not shocking that they're planning to exclude me because, with my posters everywhere, it's not safe for me to go anywhere. But no matter what, this is my mission. And I promised I'll fight my own battles.

Sensing my uneasiness, Rosy puts a hand on my shoulder, "Gongzhu? Is something wrong with the tea?"

I shake my head, "No, it's just.."

Uncle and Se looks at me with questioning eyes. It's too late to talk myself out of it. I take a deep breath and blurt out, "I wanna confront Queen Seulgi myself."

Se opens his mouth to protest but before he can say something, I cut him off, "I know, it's risky and all, but I'll be cautious, besides.." I smile at Se with what I hope to be a pleading stare, "I know you're gonna be busy with the pack problems and social seasons so I was hoping if I can lead the army.."

"No," he declares, loud and clear. I sigh. I knew he's gonna say that but I still wasn't prepared for it. Hurt laces me as I feel my eyes getting heavy.

"Angel, don't look at me like that," he sighs, muttering softly. His eyes bore inside me as he finally agrees, which surprises the hell outta me.

When he speaks next, his voice is deep and commanding, "Fine, you can go to Utopia but only to raise the proposal to Queen Seulgi. You must be back here the very next day."

"But the army will train at Utopia. If I come back, how can I lead-" I start to protest but he holds his hand up telling me he's not finished.

"I said you can go to Utopia, I didn't say you can lead the army," he growls. I know that tone, it doesn't matter if I wanna say more. For him, the discussion is over.

But it's not.

"Well, you can't train the army, you won't allow me, then who would?" I question furiously.

"Luhan can do that job just fine," he shrugs.

"Luhan is your spymaster. You need him and I'm gonna fight in final battle so why can't I practice with-" suddenly, his expression gets so livid that I break off mid-sentence, not because I'm scared of him but because I noticed him struggling to control his wolf.

"Prince Karry is still searching for you; we don't even know if he has appointed moles amongst those people. Hells, there could be some greedy motherfucker like D.O. whose carrying the same WANTED poster and you want me to serve you on a silver platter to them!" he snarls, turning away from me, his hands ball up as his knuckles turn white.

"Calm down gege," Rosy interrupts, running a hand on his back softly then glances at me, "Gongzhu, I think we should discuss this some other time. Tomorrow is the hunt event of the social seasons. We can't move anywhere now anyways. You understand, right?"

I nod, glancing at Se who's struggling to breath, "I'm sorry, Se," I whisper before turning around to leave the tent.

Before leaving, I turn to him once again, "Learn to control your anger, Se. Even a small weakness can cost you alot."

With one last look, I walk out, reminiscing how his weakness almost cost him his life the day I first saw him. Hiding behind the shadow of a tree, I saw them fight. I saw how arrogant that leech was and how he fuelled Sets anger. Se hasn't changed yet, he loses control every time he gets angry and honestly, it worries me. How's he gonna survive as a King, constantly surrounded by people if he's in risk of shifting every time he gets angry?

To Be Continued »☆●