Chapter 9: Meeting The King

The morning was there before they knew it. Zhan Peng dressed in the mercenary robes that the Guard had presented them with, a splendidly tailored outer robe of the darkest brocade. Yang Tian’s robe was no inferior: he wore a suit of dark blue, looking just as magnificent. Compared to the farmhand he was before, he appeared to shine.
Zhan Peng washed his face with a basin of hot water as he contemplated what had happened the night before. As a prince with many consorts and a concubine he had never met, he had many women at his service, a different one in his bed every night, but he had heeded none of them any special attention like he did with Qian Yuxi.
He couldn’t forget the fragrance on her slim body, nor her petite waist as he held her that night, almost having her for himself. He had been so close.
What had happened to her for her to forget him? Had he never had that big an impression on her? He was sure she would have at least remembered his face when they spent a night of intimacy at the rapist’s den, but following that, she had indeed forgotten him. Was her anger and hatred for him so deep that she had erased him from her memory?
But if you hated someone really hard, you would keep them deep in your heart and wish them death, wouldn’t you?
Zhan Peng walked up and down the hall while anticipating what the monarch would have of them. When he was still a young prince in the kingdom of Longsu, he hated court sessions with the king, his father, and would often evade them or sneak out unnoticed. This time, as a civilian, it made him a lot more nervous.
Yang Tian, however, was looking cheerful.
One and a half hours had passed since the purported time that King Du Hui had set, but there was no sign of the king. He heard it was typical of the king to be late for sessions. The other thing was that Du Hui was close friends with Qian Yuxi, and they had grown up knowing each other. Maybe the king thought it was nothing more than an amicable meeting with his friend.
Yuxi, in a dark crimson red coat over a black robe, didn’t seem perturbed at all by the king’s lateness. All she appeared to be was a little bored, fidgeting with her plaits and pouting to herself. Zhan Peng felt a little tinge of jealousy upon noticing how she had taken efforts in dressing herself this morning. She had even brushed her cheeks with some rouge and her red cherry lips appeared inviting to him.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t that lucky. Half an hour later, the king eventually made his graceful attire, and a man he assumed to be Yuxi’s assistant and junior opened up the red carpet to welcome him.
Everyone fell to their knees. The king was fast at helping Yuxi to her feet, which enhanced his envy. In his mind, he figured, if Yuxi didn’t want him or Yang Tian, then the king could be the reason.
Being the Imperial Advisor’s daughter ultimately translated to that she was the daughter of a noble. In that case, she was eligible to become the king’s consort. The more he contemplated it, the more it bugged him.
Could that be the reason she was denying him?
He clenched his fists behind his back until it was his turn to get up. He listened to the king’s opening speech for a bit, then watched Qian Yuxi. It was like any of those court sessions of his father, but then it reached the introductions part and he let Yuxi acquaint him and Yang Tian to the king and it proceeded from there.
The king assigned them their duties and their official passes, which he told them would be necessary for travel across the region, since the best of the Imperial Guard highly secured each gate. Not for any instant would the gates be unguarded, and without the passes, the guards would deny them entry.
They stopped for a tea break, and the king and Yuxi headed to the flower garden for a private talk and to appreciate the wild scenery. Yang Tian sat with his sworn brother for a discussion.
The man was shy and Zhan Peng fathomed he wanted to speak about his feelings. Since they had arrived at the Guard’s office, Yang Tian was often serene. Zhan Peng broke the ice, knowing something troubled him.
“Is it about Miss Yuxi?”
Yang Tian just smiled. “She’s the only woman that I want to spend my entire life with.”
In his heart, he silently wished that his sworn brother wasn’t serious, because the same girl had him smitten. He longed to have her under him, moaning in pleasure like he did with his consort, Di Pao, the night before he left. Di Pao was a very provocative woman, a few years older than him, with a strong desire for sexual satisfaction. Similarly, she satisfied him, but there was no love between them.
His night with Yuxi wasn’t anything like what he had experienced with Di Pao, but he still wanted her again. He didn’t care if she didn’t moan loudly and sensually like Di Pao, as long as she was the girl below him. That night at the bath chamber, he had sight of her petite body and slim waist. He recalled how her smooth skin glimmered under the dim light, bringing forth the urges that he had bottled inside him for so long.
She appeared to have lost a great deal of weight since their second meeting months. If she hadn’t stopped him, he would have taken her that night and made her his.
He hadn’t expected her to have someone else in her heart. Otherwise, why would she have stopped him?
Then why had she kissed him back so ardently?
He would probably never understand women.
An hour passed, and Zhan Peng grew tired of waiting when the king and Yuxi hadn’t returned yet. The officers sat patiently, chatting among themselves, gossiping about Yuxi and her rumoured relationship with the king.
It just made him feel a lot worse. What if Yuxi was having a private affair with the king? He stole a glance at his sworn brother, who seemed unaffected by the gossipmongers' talk.
“I’ll be back soon. I forgot something,” he lied. Yang Tian didn’t suspect him, going back to dreaming about his goddess.
Using his martial arts, he sped down the pathway towards the flower garden, praying that he wouldn’t find them up to something. The rumours he heard in the past surfaced in his mind, threatening him with the outcomes he would meet with.
Noiselessly, he slinked behind the shrubs, observing his surroundings until he finally discovered Yuxi and the king sitting opposite each other at one of the covered shelters.
“Yuxi, are you confident about this? For the past one hour, you haven’t answered my question.”
She let out a sigh and turned to face the king.
“It’s about Lang Juan. I don’t know how long I can wait and if I can keep myself pure for him. Or if I’ll ever return alive to him. Please, keep this all a secret.”
“You know, I can give you the power to revoke the arrangement made between your families.”
“It’s fine. I just don’t know if anything will happen during the mission. I’ve travelled, but I have never gone on a mission like this.”
“Didn’t you say that Zhan Peng fellow’s martial arts were recommendable? He defeated you during sparring, didn’t he?”
“But still…”
“What are you hesitating about, Yuxi? Are you afraid of dying, or that Lang Juan isn’t what you want him to be?”
Zhan Peng watched the king sweep Yuxi into an embrace, relieved how the king wasn’t a threat. But it crossed his mind about the man named Lang Juan and how she had concerns about keeping herself pure for him.
If Lang Juan appeared, would she choose him and obey that arrangement that was set up on her by the elders?