The second love interest (1)

Since the morning, the whole palace has been on alert. The Imperial family was restless with excitement.  The officials and the rest of the upper class were indignant and came to the throne room with complaints every day, thereby causing additional inconvenience to the Emperor and Empress. The reason for all this commotion, which reared up almost the entire country, suddenly became the beloved imperial son, Prince Yang Jinglong. This guy managed to bring an unknown girl to the castle without the knowledge of his parents. And not even some noble lady, but a street beggar and an orphan.

Yang Jinglong did not want to listen to anything that his parents, saddened by this news, told him about. All their attempts to dissuade their son from an impulsive stupid mistake were insignificant against the background of his stubborn confidence. He announced to them that the girl who had recently come to the palace with him would soon become his lawful wife, and even the goddess herself, descending from heaven, would not be able to dissuade him from his decision.

The current Emperor, upon hearing this statement, immediately fainted and even earned himself a small bruise. His already weak health faced a serious blow this time. The Empress, who coped well at first, after talking about marriage, turned gray and changed beyond recognition. Her once young face has lost all its roundness and ruddiness. Old wrinkles had settled on her low forehead.

The prince, who did not react to the condition of his parents, locked himself in his palace at that time, not letting any living soul in there anymore. Like a wild beast that had been starving for many days, he had fenced off his only prey from the rest of the world and now he was not going to part with it even at the cost of his own life.

In such a situation, the Empress gave an urgent order. The young general Qing Zixiao was summoned to the castle. This man was the only acquaintance of the prince who survived the bloody war. In an instant, he became the last saving straw of a desperate Empress.

Qing Zixiao arrived as soon as he received the letter from the palace. This letter did not outline the exact reason for his imminent summons, but from the contents of it, the general understood that the case that fell on his shoulders was a national problem.

Thinking that the imperial family was in serious danger, he could not have imagined that upon arrival at the palace he would find out that the problem that required his urgent summons was the secret mistress of the second prince.

«This is an ordinary woman» – he thought to himself. All these words of men about how much they love a girl, that they are ready to get her the moon from the sky and make her an empress have always been just romantic fairy tales. The general was almost sure that as soon as the Crown Prince got bored with this beggar, he would immediately get rid of her and would not even remember her name.

Qing Zixiao felt very uncomfortable about the whole situation. Especially being invited to the palace on such a sensitive issue. He was not even a resident of this country and was sent here from the Northern Bay, for a small but still support of the Southern Nan in the war against demons.

In fact, he didn't even get along well with the Crown Prince. They barely knew each other. At the time when the prince was fighting on the front line, he was away from military operations and dealt with issues of a rather strategic nature.

Despite the fact that Qing Zixiao participated in such a victorious war, he was never able to become famous or do something more or less significant. He never wanted to become a hero, but he became a general only by chance and thanks to his parents.

At the same time, he had no right to refuse the imperial family's request. As a result, a rather troublesome burden fell on his shoulders.

He decided to do everything in his power to persuade the prince – which, in his opinion, is almost impossible at the moment – and then, after failure, throw up his hands and leave the palace as soon as possible.

With these thoughts, he walked through the main hall and entered the backyard. The table has already been set there in honor of his arrival. The Empress, her first son and youngest daughter were waiting for him at the table. It seemed to the General that someone from the descendants of the Empress was missing. According to his information, the emperor's wife had four offspring, the eldest son Yang Yusheng, the youngest Yang Jinglong, the eldest daughter Yang Yulan and the youngest Yang Shifei.

He decided to clarify this matter with the servant as he walked to the table. The latter quietly and courteously explained to him that the Empress's eldest daughter had long gone mad and was now living in a remote palace with a small number of servants. She is not allowed to take part in family gatherings for reasons of decency. Upon hearing the servant's reply, General Qing nodded slightly and immediately forgot about this question. In any case, this case doesn't really concern him.

– Your Highness.

Qing Zixiao bowed to the Empress, then to the prince and princess, after which he was politely invited to the table.

– Hello, General Qing. Thank you for coming so quickly. Please sit down. I'm afraid the Emperor won't be able to honor us with his presence today. He is very busy with state affairs – the Empress decided to tactfully keep silent about his state of health – but I want to talk to you about something.

– Yes, Your Majesty – the general nodded understandingly, after which the Empress continued.

– The servant should have briefed you by now. You see, the Crown Prince, a war hero and a favorite of the country, managed to pick up one ragamuffin during the parade and has not been seen since. He won't let anyone say a word to her and intends to marry her. This is even despite the fact that he already has an official bride, who will also arrive at the palace soon to perform the wedding ceremony. I hope you understand that this case does not require any excuses. The officials are already tearing, the ambassadors from North Bay are blocking our air. In case of failure, the imperial family may lose face and its authority. Therefore, the prince must urgently cancel this marriage.

However, there is also one difficulty. The second Prince plays a far from minor role in the hearts of the people of the people. We can't just forbid him to get married. This will shake people's faith in the imperial family. The Prince must renounce this marriage himself. You do understand the responsibility that lies with you, and what exactly do you have to do, General Qing?

– I understand Your Highness

– Be convincing, General Qing. I'm not against my son. Let this child even make her a concubine. I will turn a blind eye to this, because he is my beloved son. But you know, she will never become the empress of this country.

At the words "beloved son," Yang Yusheng, who had been silently listening to the conversation between the two people, choked on his food and covered his mouth with his sleeve so as not to betray the emotions on his face.  The Empress did not pay any attention to his antics.

– Tell the prince so. And don't worry about the rewards. I will repay you generously for your efforts.

– Thank you, Your Highness. I will do everything in my power.

«And I'm also almost sure that I won't be able to cope.» Qing Zixiao nervously rubbed his palm, realizing that his quiet days had come to an end and now it would be a long time before he could escape from the palace and go home.

After breakfast, the general took his leave and immediately went in search of the prince. His palace was located not far from the throne room and was no smaller in size than the imperial residence.

There were no servants in this palace at all. The prince liked to be alone and did not even let his own family into his chambers. After almost half an hour of unsuccessfully trying to reach the prince, Qing Zixiao looked at the door in front of him and smiled hopelessly.

«My knocking is no more useful than washing a carriage on a rainy day.»

The general decided to think about it, in search of an alternative way to get an audience with the prince.

«There's only one way to get into a house where you're not welcome» the general chuckled to himself.

Qing Zixiao looked around and found a small window with a balcony located to the side of the main entrance. Next to this window, a majestic old tree was conveniently located, which seemed to have stood there since the construction of the building itself.

«Perfect.»

Qing Zixiao climbed up the trunk and climbed onto one of the branches, swaying slightly, walked closer to the wall. Squatting down and grabbing a branch under him, he jumped onto the roof. After that, he jumped down and successfully landed on a small balcony.

– That's it.

The general broke the handle on the window – for which he promised himself to apologize to the prince later – and got into one of the rooms of the castle. Deciding to carefully close the window behind him, leaving no traces of forced entry in place, he suddenly heard someone's frightened voice behind him.

– Who are you and what are you doing here?

This voice belonged to a very sweet girl of about twenty, in pink robes, with flowers woven into sloppy braids. She was holding a pearl comb in her hand, as if it could serve as a useful weapon against a 100 kilogram tall general.

The man froze in place, touched by the scene unfolding in front of him. After that, he felt awkward and hurried to apologize to the beautiful woman standing in front of him.

– I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.

– I asked a question – she protested.

Oh, I'm a friend of the second Prince. General Qing. I came here to discuss a matter with him. Don't worry, you can trust me. See? I am unarmed – Qing Zixiao raised his empty hands in front of him.

– Are you probably the stranger who captured his heart?

The girl did not pay any attention to his words and continued to turn her hurdy-gurdy.

– Then why didn't you go in through the main entrance?

– I tried, honestly, but you see, no one bothered to open the front door for me - the general shrugged his shoulders – I stayed there for almost several hours and got pretty tired during that time.

– Really? I probably didn't hear it. I was busy cooking and completely forgot everything.

The girl suddenly became apprehensive and turned a saddened look at the guest.

– What's your name?

– I'm Mei Baijie

– You even have a beautiful name.

The general smiled significantly, which made the girl slightly embarrassed.

– General Qing, I'm afraid this is not the best time to visit. His Majesty is in a very bad mood before lunch. He shouldn't be bothered yet.

For some reason, Qing Zixiao was surprised by her words.

«She gets along so well with him.» In his time, General Qing often heard stories about the unstable and detached character of the young prince. He really wasn't easy to deal with.

«He probably dotes on her if he lets her be with him.»

– I will open the door for you in the evening and inform His Highness about your visit.

– I will be very grateful

While the general was talking to this girl, he couldn't stop thinking about her beauty. And also that his first judgments about her might have been a terrible lie

– Then I'll be back in the evening

«I'll come right after lunch, but in the meantime I'll walk around the palace for a couple of hours.»

With these thoughts, he finally left the residence of the second prince.

«I wish time would fly by and I would meet this beautiful creature again» he sighed, walking in an unknown direction, sometimes distracted by the wonderful views of the palace gardens and pavilions.

The longer he walked, the fewer servants he encountered. It was only after a while that he realized that he had wandered into a place where complete silence reigned.

– Where am I? – He was surprised when he entered the modestly decorated green garden. A small pond, standing right in the middle of this garden, was sown with many white lotuses, and some wooden sticks were scattered on the grass.

The general decided to take a closer look and, taking one of them in his hands, realized that these sticks were actually... Arrows?

«Why are they lying in the garden?» – he wondered when a long arrow suddenly flew a couple of centimeters from his head.