FicWad

Chapter 1

A thin man sat on a horse as he stares out at the expansive plains below him; it was almost bare, but with a couple of sprightly trees dotted across the land that looked almost if it would stretch on for all eternity.

The land's serenity was almost surreal, given that it wasn't more than 10 years ago when this place was where many great battles took place.

Xiwu, the kingdom located in the southwest, frequently invaded its neighbours, and it was here that Xiwu troops met with the allied troops; primarily made up of Donghai, Pan and Xiang armies.

SQUAWK SQUAWK!

The thin man stirred and almost ducked, but stopped and sighed in relief when he saw a pair of crows sitting calmly on the tree behind him. There used to be a lot more of them around; the numerous battles and countless war dead made sure they had more than enough food.

He turned his sight to the plains again.

The land is now peaceful, if only on the surface. It has only been ten years, but the political landscape had changed beyond recognition.

Xiwu for the past several years had not renewed its invasions; the strong and reliable Donghai had sank into internal strife; Pan had abandoned its longtime friendship with Xiang, and tied up an alliance with its arch enemy Xiwu; Xiang was on the verge of collapse.

The invader was no longer an invader, and the now former allies had turned inward.

SQUAWK SQUAWK!!!!

The crows took off, and the thin man's eyes followed them for a while before returning his gaze to the plains. A small movement in the horizon alerted him and he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.

The small movement slowly emerged and it soon became clear to the man what it was he was seeing. He sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the horse reins. The horse neighed as it spurn around.

"The Xiwu entourage's here! We've got to alert the general to welcome the bride!"

A messenger saluted the lieutenant and hastily rode off to the Pan capital of Luoyang. General Fan Weiqi was inspecting the fortress walls when he saw the messenger. He immediately knew what news was at hand and shouted for his already-assembled army to march out.

**

The city came to life with drums and fireworks and a party of dancers followed the army out to greet the entourage. The entourage soon arrived with a carriage made of gold and decked richly with red curtains. The Pan army shouted in unison to hail the bridal entourage, for it carried the Princess of the Morning Jade Yue Fei'er, eldest daughter of the King of Xiwu and consort-to-be of the King of Pan.

The Pan army led the carriage to the palace while the Xiwu escort guards were invited to rest at the guesthouse. The Premier of Pan, Gao Si, came to the gates of the palace with a number of civil officials and palace maids. The officials bowed as the palace maids drew aside the curtains and helped the bride out of the carriage.

The maids held the Princess' hands as the party proceeded into the King's court. The King received his bride in his yellow robes of splendor and they bowed before Heaven in the royal wedding ceremony. The grand banquet followed and the Xiwu envoys were honoured with gold and silk. Finally, the King led his new consort to his private chambers to consummate the marriage.

Meanwhile, a beautiful young lady was gossiping with the palace maids in the servants' quarters. She was dressed plainly like the other maids, but she was Yue Jiayan, the Xiwu Princess of the Northern Clouds, disguised as the Consort's personal attendant. Being really smart, she quickly picked up the important details of the internal politics of the Pan King's Palace...

A white shadow suddenly walked past, startling the chattering maids. One of the maids was so startled that she yelped and fell.

"Oi...! What the... wearing all white at such a day and walking so fast at such a time... like a floating ghost!" The maid scolded angrily in a bid to hide her embarrassment at having fallen.

Having heard the maid, the black shadow stopped and turned to look at the maid.

It wasn't a ghost, but a tall man with sharp, handsome features, wearing long white robes with a sword attached to the belt on his left waist. His robes were made of good material, and he didn't seem like someone who should be at the servants' quarters.

"Oh..! It's Lord Zhou! I... I'm sorry! I didn't know!" The maid apologised profusely upon recognising the man. "Uhh... what is Lord Zhou doing here at the servants' quarters? Is there anything we can do to help?" The maid offered quickly with a bright smile, either hoping the man would forget about her rudeness or take a shine to her... or both. But her smile quickly fades when she saw how dark Zhou He's face was.

"Newbie, this is Lord Zhou He, chief attendant of Donghai's Prince Ying." The second maid quickly introduced the undercover princess to the man in a hushed whisper.

"My apologies for frightening you ladies." Zhou He tucked his hands into his sleeves and nodded his head at the maids. "I should be going."

Without another word, Zhou He left as quickly as he appeared.

"Huh. Weird one. He didn't even explain why he's here." The second maid scratched her head.

"Can't be a tryst, right?!" The first maid's eyes glowered.

"What are you talking about?" The second maid was confused.

"Sometimes I see him with that Lanxi!"

The second maid shook her head. She smiled in embarrassment at Jiayan. "Ah, hope you don't take this seriously, newbie. She's just a bit... you know." She sighed.

"He looked upset. Should I check up on him or on Prince Ying?" The first maid wondered aloud.

"Oh... just in case you haven't heard, Prince Ying of Donghai is a guest at our palace. He and his entourage have been here for three years now, and who knows how long they are going to keep staying. Anyway, since Donghai is in an unstable condition right now, nobody knows what's going to happen to this royal guest. So you might want to exercise caution around them." The second maid kindly told Jiayan.

**

In the corner of a grand room, sat a pretty maid, carefully selected by the king's highly favored consort, Lady Yi. The maid's journey to become the consort's private musician was filled with much obstacle as her competitors were also highly talented with the zither. Although Lady Yi had a reputation for being particular and moody, everyone knew that she was also generous with her gifts as long as she was pleased. The maid beautifully played the zither, providing background music for Lady Yi, who sat in the center of the room while gracefully working on her embroidery. She stopped short as she was displeased with her work. For how could she work? The king regularly and faithfully visited her, but ever since his marriage to Princess Fei'er, she had not seen him. Her two most trusted maids, who stood guard by her, sensed her displeasure and dared not to speak up to comfort her. Sometimes, silence is golden.

Lady Yi sighed, "Lanxi, Lanyi."

"Yes Your Ladyship," they obediently and simultaneously answered.

The lady glided her fingers across the embroidery, "How many days has it been since his last visit?" She knew how long it had been, but she wanted confirmation.

Lanxi politely responded, "Your Ladyship, it has been one week."

"This Princess Fei'er, how is she?" wondered Lady Yi. Who was this woman who was able to keep the king away from her? Not even the queen had that power over him.

As Lanxi and Lanyi guarded her day and night, they too had not had a chance to interact with Princess Fei'er. Lanyi reluctanly answered, "We hear from the gossiping maids that this Princess Fei'er is a beautiful and young maiden. But she keeps to herself, so it is hard for us to learn much about her. The maids that have served them during the wedding ceremony could tell that the king was quite smitten by her."

"Is that so?" Lady Yi glowered as she imagined how to deal with this challenge.

And then, a loud announcement could be heard as footsteps were approaching her room, "His Majesty has arrived."

Lady Yi immediately put on her most charming smile as she rushed out and curtsied, "Long live Your Majesty."

The king nodded, "Good," helping Lady Yi up, "Consort Yi, how have you been?"

Seeing his good mood, she pouted and playfully turned around, "Your Majesty, how could you neglect me like this? Do you know that I think about you and miss you day and night? It's been so lonely and frightfully boring without you around."

The king laughed, obviously pleased that his absence could cause so much distress, "But I'm here now, aren't I?"

"You're here today, but what about next time? I've never been without you for more than three days since I've set foot into the palace," she turned around to face him and carefully caressed his face and slid her hand in a seductive manner down to his chest.

The surrounding maids cast their eyes down. Aware that they were not alone, the king waved his arm to dismiss them.

Once alone, the king chuckled, "Well, in that case, I really have to make it up to you, don't I?" as he led her to her bedroom.

She flirtatiously asked him, "Aren't you tired after all of those restless nights with your new consort?" moving away from him to entice him. Although she flattered him to please him, she was also fully aware that a man always wants what he cannot get. If she carefully played hard to get, he would be much more enticed and would likely return for more. She continued in a singsong voice, "And even if you're not tired, I am from having to wait for you in this room day and night."

The king wrapped his arm around her, "Then what is it you seek, my love?"

She playfully pounded his chest, "You can't bully me with your strength," as she giggled, "but promise me that you will visit me more often?"

"How can I visit you more often? I don't even see some of the other ladies more than once a month."

Lady Yi knew this was true, but her position in his heart might have been compromised with the arrival of the princess. She needed to secure her position. As the king led her to the bed, he failed to see the dark glimpse behind Lady Yi's scheming pair of eyes.

**

As Lady Yi and the King retire for the night, Lanxi and Lanyi went to stand guard outside the room. As time creeps past, Lanxi turned to Lanyi.

"I'm going to the loo."

"Ok. Be careful."

Lanxi nodded and walked toward the loo, but once she turned around the corner, she changed direction and quickened her pace, until she reached the imperial garden. Quietly, she snuck into a well-hidden small spacing between two rocks. She smiled upon seeing the person who was waiting for her.

"Well well. Aren't you on time, Lord Zhou He."

The rocks' shadows was casted over Zhou He and even though she could not see his expression, but she imagined he must be...

She brushed the image out of her mind and stepped closer. He did not move.

"How is His Majesty's mood?" Zhou He asked.

"Cutting right to the chase? You sure aren't a romantic person." Lanxi crossed her arms.

Zhou He paused for a moment before he replied, "... I imagine you must be on guard duty so I should not hold you back too long."

"You have a way with words, but that does not make a woman happy." Lanxi frowned, but sighed in resignation. "Fine fine... who asked me to like a heartless cad like you, right?"

"Boyan is just..." Zhou He started but Lanxi raised her hand.

"His Majesty's mood is obviously very good. How could he not be? He has got what he wanted, and the Xiwu princess is young and beautiful, no? He's happy enough to spend days with her consecutively and he's all smiles today as well."

"I see."

Lanxi waited for a moment but there was only silence. Irritated, she cursed Zhou He in her heart. "That's it? Then I'm going."

She turned to leave but was surprised when a hand grabbed at her arm.

"Wait. Lanxi, I..." Zhou He's voice was hesitative. She waited expectantly.

The grip loosened and the hand slipped off.

"Goodnight, Lanxi."

Taken aback at the sudden change of Zhou He's behaviour, she turned around and slapped him across the face with the back of her hand before storming off.

Tears welled in her eyes but she would not cry. No. Not over him. He's not worth it.

Yet she knows she will go to him again the next time he calls for her.