CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"Our condolences for your loss."

"Our gratitude for your visit."

Those were the words uttered whenever guests arrived in the Xia Mansion. It was only the first day of the funeral and a lot of people had already arrived. Nightfall had come and there were still plenty of guests. Most of the guests were outside the mourning hall. They were served with tea and bread as they converse about the tragedies that had recently befallen. The most prominent topic is, of course, the death of the only child of the Xias.

Several guests were lamenting about how the couple must have felt after losing their only child. While others were concerned about the future of the Xia family and their businesses. Others were thinking of possible alternative heirs for the Xias.

These are what they talked about which made Miyojin feel bothered. While disguised as a guard stationed near the mourning hall, he was able to hear these talks. He wondered if he would also hear these types of conversations if the palace ever held a similar "funeral" for him. But then again, he was not the only heir. He was only the first line from the many spares of the heir.

The prince then noticed a familiar figure from far away. He left his post to go after the person. This person, who is a maid, went into one of the storage rooms. He went in after making sure no one noticed him. The maid was there bringing out a tea set from one of the storage shelves. Miyojin approached the maid.

"I noticed some guests talking about possible alternative heirs for the Xias," Miyojin whispered.

The maid turned to Miyojin. Although her human mask changed her appearance drastically, Miyojin can see the calculating eyes of Xia Yu. He too was wearing a human skin mask which gave him the chance to be around the mourning hall without anyone recognizing him.

"Who?" Xia Yu asked.

"They are from the Tangs, the Gos, and the Lins." He answered.

"It's not them. Those families are just saying things for a good conversation. They are not known for putting those words into action. We need to keep observing the other guests."

"I see."

Once their conversation was done, Xia Yu stood up carrying the tea set tray. She went out of the storage room first. Miyojin was waiting for Xia Yu to leave before he did when a maid came rushing by.

"Oh! It's a good thing you already got another tea set out. Can you please get more?" The maid asked, oblivious that she was talking to Xia Yu.

"Oh, okay. You can take this. Do we have more guests coming?" Xia Yu asked.

"Yes. But not just any guest, people from the Imperial Palace have arrived!"

Miyojin, who was listening behind the storage door, covered his mouth to make his gasp inaudible.

People from the Imperial Palace? Could it be members of the Imperial family?

"Oh? Really? Who came as their head?"

"The Fourth Prince!"

By the time Miyojin reached the mourning hall, he could already tell that the Fourth Prince had already passed by. The guests' conversations have shifted from the case of the Xias to the situation in the Imperial Palace.

"Do you have news regarding His Majesty's conditions?"

"Will the Third Prince be executed?"

"I'm not sure. I heard he is still insisting that he is innocent."

"Luckily, the Fourth Prince is capable. Do you think he will become the next Crown Prince?"

"We never know. After what happened to the First Prince, we can't tell what's certain now."

Miyojin kept listening to different conversations hoping he could hear where the Fourth Prince went. After a long while, he eventually heard from one of the maids that the Fourth Prince was speaking with the Xia couple in one of the private rooms. Although he didn't know which private room it was, he still went searching for it.

He honestly doesn't know what he will do once he sees Prince Zemin. Maybe he wanted assurance of what was happening in the Imperial Palace. Is their father alright? How is his mother? Is Lijuan doing fine? Miyojin felt that seeing Prince Zemin would bring the answers to his questions.

The prince searched fervently for the room where the Fourth Prince was. He eventually found the room, however it was already empty. According to the maid who had served the room, the guests and the Xia couple had already left. He continued his search hoping the Fourth Prince hadn't left yet.

Fortunately, Miyojin was able to spot Prince Zemin. To his surprise, the prince was alone in one of the yards of the Xia Mansion. He was staring at a distance probably deep in thought.

Miyojin drew closer but remained hidden from Zemin. While he was closing in, an imperial guard appeared from one of the entrances and went to Zemin. Because Miyojin was close enough, he was able to hear what they were talking about.

"Your Highness, the entourage is now ready to depart back to the palace."

"That's good. Let us go then."

Prince Zemin is already leaving. Miyojin was thinking of ways to get information from the prince without revealing himself. However, before the Fourth Prince walked away, the guard stopped him for a bit.

"One more thing, Your Highness." The guard began.

"What is it?" the prince asked.

"The emperor had coughed up a lot of blood today. The servants said that he coughed up twice as much as he coughed up yesterday."

Miyojin bit his lip upon hearing the news. His father's condition is already in a terrible state. He hoped this would be over soon so he could go to his father.

"What did the Imperial doctor say?" Prince Zemin asked the guard.

"He said if his condition doesn't get any better, in two weeks, His Majesty will..."

The guard may have trailed off leaving his sentence unfinished. However, Miyojin knew well what he meant. His heart sank and he felt his legs go weak.

"Then... that's good."

WHAT???

Miyojin's eyes went wide. His body became stiff and his heart pounded fast.

"Keep feeding His Majesty his... special menu."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After that was said, Prince Zemin and the imperial guard left the yard. Miyojin slumped down leaning on the wall as their words repeated in his mind. Is Zemin the reason why his father is in a terrible state? Is there something wrong with that special meal of his? Is he perhaps...? He needs to tell Xia Yu about this!

The prince stood up and ran inside the mansion. He ran into the main inner house where Xia Yu's room is. When he entered the room's reception space, Xia Yu, along with her parents, and General Cheng were already inside. She already had her human skin mask peeled off. They looked at him when he burst into the room.

"What is it?" Xia Yu asked as her husband tried to catch his breath.

"It's... it's Prince Zemin."

"We know." Xia Yu said.

"What???"

It was General Cheng who answered the shocked prince.

"The spies I had installed in the palace sent a report that they saw the Fourth Prince's guards meet with one of the leaders of the east coast port. They looked like they had a business deal at first. But then, the guards killed the leader and his retainers. They even carried the bodies away, probably to hide them."

That was indeed a big clue. But before Miyojin could fully process what the general said, his father-in-law spoke.

"Furthermore, the prince spoke with us privately. He said that he laments about what happened to our only child and if we like, we can treat him as our son as a means to soothe our pain for our loss. He seems to be aiming for our support."

"That's not all." Xia Yu began to add. "The person that benefited most in this situation is him. By assassinating the Crown Prince along with the Second Prince and then framing the Third Prince for it, he was able to get rid of the main obstacles towards the throne. It will be a lot easier for him to become the next Crown Prince since the prince after him is still a child."

"But still, he can't ensure that he will be the Crown Prince. That decision still falls under His Majesty's will." The general said.

"No... he won't give Father the chance to make that decision."

It all became clear to Miyojin what the Fourth Prince was planning.

"What do you mean?" His mother-in-law asked.

"I heard them, Zemin and his guard." Miyojin began narrating what he had heard earlier.

After relaying the information he had, Xia Yu eyed him and said.

"Then, this means that we need to move fast."

After that, they began to plan their next steps for the remainder of the night.

Miyojin was lying on the bed deep in thought. His thoughts were on the things that happened recently. It has been a few days since they discovered Zemin's plot. Since that day, they have garnered more and more information and shreds of evidence against the Fourth Prince. They spent the last few days planning on how they will proceed next.

Although there is no concrete plan that has been shared with him yet, Xia Yu makes sure that he is ready for anything. That is why she became even more unyielding with their training. Even though he understood the necessity of it and was making great improvement, he still felt beat at the end of the day. He felt like his arms and legs were numb. Lucky for him, Xia Yu has the softest bed he has ever laid on. It was such a great comfort that he was very much looking forward to it at the end of the day.

As he thought that, Xia Yu entered the bedroom. Her hair was still slightly damp and she smelled fresh. Even if they were back in the Great Yong Empire, they still slept in the same room and on the same bed. Miyojin didn't have any complaints about this, especially since Xia Yu's bed was so soft. However, he did feel nervous not because he is constantly around Xia Yu but because of how he has grown accustomed to sleeping beside her.

"Here." She said as she handed him a round container.

"What is this?" He asked as he figured out how to open it.

"It's a salve for muscle pain relief."

"Oh!"

Miyojin was able to open the container however he only stared at it.

"Oh? Ah... let me help you with that." Xia Yu said in realization.

She sat on her bed and took one of the prince's arms. She raised the sleeves of his nightwear, took a generous amount of the salve, and began applying it on his arm. The sensation of the salve being applied to him felt so good. Not only did the salve have a cool feeling but the way Xia Yu was applying it made it feel heavenly. Her gentle massage on her arms felt good even though his heart was racing.

Not wanting to think about how intimate this felt, Miyojin began to ask a question he had meant to raise for a while now.

"So... Xia Yu, I noticed that you are an excellent martial arts instructor. It seems teaching me is a breeze for you. Have you perhaps trained someone before me?"

Xia Yu made eye contact with Miyojin for a bit before continuing with the application of the salve as she gave her answer.

"I have trained a lot of people before, mostly my female friends, my maids, and female guards."

"Have you ever trained another man beside me?"

"Yes." Xia Yu answered without any hesitation.

Miyojin felt a bit disappointed. He was hoping that he was her first male martial arts student. However, that was not the case.

"How many men have you trained before?" the prince kept asking.

Xia Yu paused for a bit including her current task at hand and then she said.

"Just one other man."

Oh?

This made Miyojin very curious.

"Really? What kind of student is he?" He asked, wondering how this student fared under the instructions of his wife.

Xia Yu once again paused. This time she was already finished applying the salve. A smile crept on her face before she made her deadpanned answer.

"A fool."

What???

What does she mean? Was the student hard to teach? Did she perhaps regret teaching this man? Miyojin felt his disappointment lessen. To him, it was good that he was at least not a bad student in the eyes of Xia Yu. Not wanting to pry anymore, Miyojin dropped the conversation. They both settled on the bed, sleeping by each other's side like usual.