The shadows

The princess woke up from her coma three days after Tai Jian was punished so Tai Jian was still kneeling." Princess,you are awake," a maid asked besides Tie Hongchen." Mmmh," the princess nodded as she tried to get herself up. She sat on the bed and stared at the maid." What happened? Where are we?" Tie Hongchen asked. She remembered that on her way she was ambushed and was injured which led to her falling in a coma but after that she did not remember anything else." Your highness we are in the palace of the thirteenth prince,Qin Tai Jian," the maid answered. After leaving the heaven battling state,Tie Hongchen was not allowed to take any guards or maids with her and the guards that escorted her had returned to the capital." Your highness, you were rescued by the thirteenth prince and then he carried you back to his palace," the maid said with a smile." Where is he?" Tie Hongchen asked." His highness is kneeling in the ancestral grounds right now," the maid diligently answered as she helped Tie Hongchen to dress up." Oh! How long have I been unconscious?"" For five days now," the maid answered." So long," Tie Hongchen murmured.' Even after trying so hard and doing everything that I can I still can't escape the misfortune of being a political tool. Haah,'Tie Hongchen said inwardly with a sigh. Although it was hard to accept the reality she had no choice but to face this cruel reality and forge ahead.' What is Tai Jian up to? He has been setting me up time and time again yet I don't even know what his plans are,' Tie Hongchen said inwardly. It was a conclusion she had come up with after much thinking. Everything that had happened so far seemed to be well planned and although she hated to admit it the person behind the scenes is definitely a master at calculations. Meanwhile in the ancestral grounds,a figure in white robes is seen kneeling on the ground. It was extremely cold in the ancestral ground and this was mainly because it was next to the royal mausoleum. Although Tai Jian pretended to be strong the truth still remained that he he had lost his martial arts." You have finally decided to show yourself," Tai Jian whose eyes were closed said all of a sudden but he did not open his eyes." You have done so much to lure me out so how can I not show myself? Thirteenth prince,you have indeed surprised me," a voice sounded out in the ancestral ground but Tai Jian could not locate the owner of the voice." You are not the one I was waiting for," Tai Jian coldly said." How do you know?" The voice asked." If you were the one I was waiting for then you would not have come to this place which means you are just a pawn in this game of chess," Tai Jian said." Hahaha. As expected of the war god of Qin. Master already expected this so he told me to send you a message. Tread carefully," the voice said. Tai Jian showed no reaction when he heard the message." Tell your master that I appreciate his concern. Send him this message. My heart as my sword both lies with Qin," Tai Jian said in a resolute tone." I will make sure to deliver your message word by word. I am just the first messenger but I can tell you freely that the second messenger won't be so polite," the voice said." I'll be waiting for the second person then. Hopefully he won't disappoint me or your master should just come by himself," Tai Jian said calmly as he opened his eyes and stared at a particular corner.' So even after trying so much I still couldn't get the one in the shadow to show himself. Let's hope that they won't disappoint me,' Tai Jian said inwardly as he closed his eyes once again. A few hours after closing his eyes, footsteps could be heard." You are awake?" Tai Jian asked with his eyes still closed. The one who arrived turned out to be Tie Hongchen." You knew that I would come?" Tie Hongchen asked warily." No. I heard your footsteps," Tai Jian answered." What are you planning?" Tie Hongchen finally asked what was on her mind." Same as you," Tai Jian answered as he opened his eyes." I don't understand, " the princess said." Don't play dumb with me. Why don't you move closer?" Tai Jian said. The princess moved closer to him. Tai Jian took this chance to hug the princess." Calm down. Look around you and you will see shadows everywhere," Tai Jian whispered. Tie Hongchen calmed down after hearing this and hugged Tai Jian back." What are you up to?" Tie Hongchen asked." Nothing much. I just have the same purpose as you," Tai Jian said." Hmmph. You expect me to believe you after setting me up," Tie Hongchen harrumphed coldly." Believe it or not,I don't care. You cannot face them alone. You need me and so do I, " Tai Jian said." You know about them?" Tie Hongchen asked." Of course. If I did not do this then I am afraid their plan would've been successful but by destroying their plan I have forced them to send out a messenger," Tai Jian said leaving Tie Hongchen shocked." Since you need me then you have to convince me," Tie Hongchen said after a while. Tai Jian did not answer and seemed to be in deep thought." The people that we are to face are very powerful and by uniting we will have a ten percent chance of succeeding. I won't say anything else but I can assure you that within five years I will have the strength to go toe to toe with them," Tai Jian said." You don't have your martial arts so how can you be so proud?" Tie Hongchen coldly snapped." Crippling myself was part of the plan. My foundation in martial arts is very stable that it can't be shaken by anything. At our level we can't be crippled unless they our bones are crushed. Besides,our weapons are not ordinary weapons so even without martial arts our weapons will be our strongest companions," Tai Jian said with a smile on his face. Tie Hongchen was startled when she heard this." I agree but we are not really husband and wife after all I don't have any feelings for you," Tie Hongchen said coldly. Tai Jian did not answer. Even he didn't know his feelings for the princess but he had to agree that she was very beautiful but he couldn't master the courage to proclaim that he loved her." Let's get out of here," Tai Jian said as he stood up. The princess did not object even though she knew that Tai Jian was using her." With your intelligence why don't you just vie for the throne?" Tie Hongchen asked causing Tai Jian to halt." The throne is just a chain. I want to be unfettered so how can I allow a mere throne to tie me down? Let them fight for it," Tai Jian said after a while." You very well know that even if you don't involve yourself in the war of the princes they will always see you as an opponent," Tie Hongchen said. Tai Jian knew that she was right about that but he always had a soft spot for his family so no matter what happens he didn't want to fight with his brothers. Tie Hongchen sighed when she saw Tai Jian's conflicted expression and the resolve that he had. She supported him back to their palace.