Chapter 40

Let’s Play

"Mother, you shouldn't be out of bed yet," Tao quickly rush over to his mother and support her to a chair.

"I am fine. I've been in bed all day, my body has become so stiff it's uncomfortable," Xueyi reassured her son. "Rather than worrying about me, are you sure it's alright for you to have taken so many days off of work?"

Tao handed her a cup of warm water, "This is the ninety eighth times you've asked. It is alright, Yixing was very understanding when I told him you weren't well so he gave me days off to take care of you."

Xueyi nodded and sips on her water. Last couple of days she has been suffering from many nights of nightmares. She would wake up in the middle of the night shaking in fear and unable to go back to sleep. Eventually she fell ill and collapse during work. Upon receiving the news on his way home from the palace, Tao had rushed to her work place and carried her home. The next morning, he went to inform Yixing and had stayed home ever since to take care of her.

"Zitao, I feel better today. I would like to go visit Master Wong." Seeing how suspicious he thinks of her health, she stood up and move around the room to prove to him that she was better, "Look, I am alright now. Also, don't you think that Master Wong's cottage is a great place to rest and relax?"

Tao thought about it and couldn't help but agree with his mother. Master Wong's place is away from the city and the air in the forest is much clearer. It is definitely a good place for her to visit. He has also not visited his master's place for a few days now, perhaps his mother was just helping to give him an excuse to do so. Tao smile to himself and gave up. Even when she's not feeling well, she still worries and thinks for him.

"Alright, we can go. However, if I feel that you won't make it there then we're heading back right away."

On the way there, Xueyi inquires about Meiyin. Tao told her that he hasn't had a chance to meet with Meiyin and reassured her that when Meiyin feels better, he'll ask her to come visit their house. Xueyi nags at Tao again to make sure he knows that Meiyin is a good child and that he should treasure their friendship. Tao continues to listen to her nagging the rest of the way, glad that she has more energy today to nag at him.

Once they've arrived at Master Wong's cottage, Tao was asked to collect water from the river to make tea. While he was away, Master Wong asks Xueyi if she was alright and if something had happened.

Xueyi shakes her head, "I'm alright… it's just that I've been suffering from nightmares of the pasts. I don't know why I've been feeling so on edge lately… as if something big is about to happen." She looks to Master Wong with worries in her eyes, "Do you think that maybe we've been found? Should Zitao and I move again?"

"Madame Huang, I reassure you that the capital city is the safest place for you and Tao. The most dangerous place is often the safest place to hide. They'll not think to search for you right inside the capital city."

"It has been so many years, yet they still won't give up!" she cries, "Just when will Tao and I be able to live a peaceful life?" she wipes at the tears rolling down her cheeks, "I've given up on the thoughts of going back to that place a long time ago. I've given up my title, the man I loved, the friends I had, and my family has diminished beyond the point of saving! All I wanted now is a peaceful and happy life for my son… is that too much to ask for? Just how much more does that woman wants to take from me?"

Master Wong pats her shoulder gently to comfort her, "You must calm yourself. Tao might be back soon and we wouldn't want him to see you in such distress or accidentally overhear anything."

Xueyi nodded and use her sleeves to wipe her tears. She takes in several deep breaths to calm herself. "I'm sorry for always troubling you like this all these years. If you hadn't saved us that day, we wouldn't have lived till now."

"That moment of righteousness helped me found my lifelong disciple. There is no need to keep thanking me. You need to take better care of yourself and not let Tao be worry about you," he paused, "As for what you're worrying about, I'll look into it and will let you know if we need to move."

Xueyi looks down at her hands in sadness, "I truly hope that we will not need to move since Tao has finally made good friends and adapt to life here. It will sadden him greatly. Also, Meiyin has just lost her father… will she be alright if she also has to part with her master?"

At the thought of having to leave his second disciple behind pains him, however, she still has family here that she cannot leave behind to follow him and live a life of wandering. He already knew that when he first accepted Meiyin as a disciple, that there'll be a day they'll have to part. It hadn't seemed like a big deal back then, but now that her father is gone and her sister is not by her side, the thought of leaving her leaves such a bad feeling inside him. Master Wong let out a sigh, "We cannot worry about so much. Yours and Tao's safety is our priority. Meiyin is a strong and brave child, she'll be just fine."

Xueyin nodded. She was about to say something but Master Wong held up a hand to stop her. He picked up Tao's presence and quickly told her to be quiet. Tao made it back to the cottage a minute later and upon seeing his mother's redden eyes, he rushes over to her.

"Mother, what's wrong? Why were you crying?" he asks.

She smiles at him to reassure him, "It's nothing. Dust went into my eyes and I kept rubbing so it became like this."

Tao look to Master Wong questioningly and he nodded in confirmation. Tao let out a relief sigh, "Let's get you home now so you can rest."

"Zitao, don't be rude. You haven't even served tea to your master!" Xueyi reprimanded her son.

"Perhaps when I am on my death bed will my dear disciple care about me," Master Wong joked.

Tao gave his master an annoyed look, "Sifu, don't joke about such thing."

Wong Jianjun laughs at his disciple.

---

Junmyeon, Kyungsoo and Jongdae came by to visit Yifan again today. The crown prince of China has healed well enough to be out of bed. He was staring out one of the windows when the three Japanese enters.

"Seems you like the sceneries of Japan," Junmyeon commented.

Yifan turns around to meet them, "It is relaxing for my turmoil mind." He makes his way over to them, "I guess you aren't here just to see how much I've come to like Japan?"

Junmyeon smiles, "We've come to discuss a deal that might be beneficial for everyone."

Yifan raised an interested eyebrow. He has been conflicted and anxious the last few days. The more he thinks about his situation, the angrier he became. He doesn't even want to confirm whether or not it's his royal father that's after his life. All evidence pointed there, so he knows he needs to stop deluding himself. The only thing that's keeping him sane is his promise to his little sister. He doesn't know what he'll do from now on, all he wants right now is to bring back a present to Liufei as he had promised. He had expressed that he wishes to return to China, but he knew the Japanese wouldn't give him the help he needs without getting something in return. Looks like today they've thought it through and have decided on how they can benefit from him.

"What will be the price for saving my life and helping me return to China unnoticed?" Yifan asks.

Jongdae send Kyungsoo a questioning look, wondering what kind of deal Junmyeon had came up with. Kyungsoo's shrugs indicated that Junmyeon hadn't discussed it through with him yet. Jongdae once again feels annoyed with the advisor.

Junmyeon look towards Kyungsoo and received a nod as permission to take charge. He then turns back to Yifan, "First, let me introduce you to our Crown Prince of Japan, Kyungsoo."

Yifan stare wide eyes at Kyungsoo, very surprised that this shorter boy in front of him is the crown prince of Japan. "Ambassador Takahashi is the Crown Prince of Japan?"

Junmyeon smiles and nodded. "What I'm about to say must stay only between the four of us. If a fifth person learns of it, we'll all be in danger. So, can you promise to keep a secret, Crown Prince of China?"

"Please call me Yifan. If this will help me accomplish what I want, then I give you my words."

Satisfied, Junmyeon began laying out his plan. "Since you're unsure of your steps for the future. We would like you to help us by pretending to be our Crown Prince's stepbrother, the Japanese King's illegitimate child." The other three in the room was shocked, but Junmyeon went on, "Since the illegitimate Prince's mother was half Chinese, it isn't weird for him to look more Chinese than he does Japanese. Through my research, I've learned that she was the woman that our dear King has only ever loved… though sadly he did not have the chance to bring that love to light. We want to use this love the King had for that woman and allow Yifan to get close to him and gain all of the King's trust while getting information for us."

"I do not think that's necessary," Kyungsoo says. He seems calm but only Junmyeon can see through how disturbed he is at the thought of someone pretending to be Minseok.

"I also don't think it's going to work. It isn't easy to prove the identity of the illegitimate Prince. The King will not just blindly believe what we say," Jongdae says.

"I understand your concerns. However, this will help speed things up for us since the King doesn't trust the Crown Prince enough for him to get close and get the information that we currently can't get our hands on," Junmyeon explains. "Identity problem can be solved with some blood test tricks and a few words of confirmation from the Queen. We can also have Yifan share information that only the illegitimate Prince should have known."

Jongdae tries to wrap his head around the idea and ask sarcastically, "And how exactly do we get information that should only have been known by a dead woman and a missing illegitimate Prince?"

Junmyeon look towards Kyungsoo and smile. Kyungsoo send him a death glare since he understood what Junmyeon wants from him. After a minute, Kyungsoo let out a sigh and gave in. "My mother have met that woman and her illegitimate child when I was younger. I'm sure we can ask her for some information that we can make use of."

Jongdae scowl but kept his mouth shut. He knows that Kyungsoo always let Junmyeon does whatever he wants, but he had thought that Kyungsoo's limit was Minseok's past. Now, it looks like Junmyeon is even able to breach the limit that no one has been able to touch without death as the consequence.

Yifan finally speak up after breaking out from his shock, "You want me, The Crown Prince of China, to become a prince of Japan?!" He looks at Kyungsoo then turn back to Junmeyon. "How will all of this work? I'm older than your Crown Prince. Plus, I want to return to China and your plan sounds like it'll require for me to stay here for awhile."

"The illegitimate prince is older than the Crown Prince, so your age fits perfectly. I understand your wish to return to your homeland, however, if you think about it a bit more, right now is not the best time for you to return. Your pursuers are still out there searching for you. The news of your disappearance might have already reached the imperial palace. In a few days or weeks, they'll officially announce your death. Returning now will only forces them to go after your life even faster than before. Don't you know that it's a very bad idea to dangle food in front of a tiger and then suddenly take it away?" Junmyeon pause to let it sinks in. Then he continues, "On the other hand, if you play along and let them think that you're truly dead and that you'll not be in their way, their defenses will eventually weaken. That is the perfect time when you can return and thoroughly investigate from the shadows and take back what is rightfully yours. So, in the mean time while you have to wait, why not use your free time to play with us? With your help our Crown Prince will gain the power he wants and use it to help you achieve what you want. In the end it's beneficial for both sides, isn't it?"

Yifan thought it through carefully before nodding in agreement to what Junmyeon said. Jongdae looks away, unable to deny that what Junmyeon had in mind is indeed brilliant. Their battle with the King has been stagnant for awhile. Bringing in a surprised element will help them gain an advantage.

Junmyeon speaks up again, "As for the legitimacy to the Japanese throne, we will not have to worry since Yifan is not the actual illegitimate prince and he also has his own throne to sit on."

"That isn't what I'm worrying about," Kyungsoo said but doesn't explain or say anything else. He just gives Junmyeon the usual look of approval to let him do whatever as long as they reach their goal.

Junmyeon was about to call an end to the discussion and finalize the deal but was interrupted by Yifan. "Hold on, it hasn't yet sound like a fair deal to me. It seems I'll be taking a lot more risks helping you than you will in helping me. Also, the end result seems more beneficial to you than it is to me."

"We saved your life and will help you get back to your kingdom. How is that not yet a fair deal?" Jongdae asks.

Kyungsoo smiles and look directly into Yifan's eyes, "Then what would you like to suggest, Crown Prince of China?"

Yifan stare back directly into Kyungsoo's eyes, "Since we're going to be playing, why not play it bigger? Why stop at just gaining information for you and returning to China for me? You want the throne in your hands and I want to take back what's mine. How about a throne for a throne? I'll help you ascend safely to the throne of Japan and in return, I want you to help me take back my throne in China. Once I become the Emperor of China, I'll sign a new treaty with Japan and gift thirty percent of China's land to Japan."

"You certainly did not seem to be the generous type," Kyungsoo said, still staring amusedly into Yifan's eyes.

Yifan smiles, "You have keen eyes. A throne for a throne. The treaty and land come with the condition that you, the new King of Japan, marries my sister and makes her Queen of Japan."

Jongdae was shock at Yifan's proposal and was about to charge at him angrily, but Junmyeon stops him. Junmyeon is now as equally amused by Yifan as Kyungsoo is. He hadn't expected this from the crown prince of China. Japan is a smaller kingdom compare to China and Korea *. The people to land ratio has became a huge problem of Japan for several years, but under the current rule they do not have a large enough army to venture out and take lands for themselves. Yifan's proposal will help them solve this problem but what does he wants for his sister to accomplish as queen of Japan?

"Very well. I accept."

---

"Hide here. Do not come out no matter what. Promise me!" her mother said while forcing her inside a small secret room.

The girl nodded, not quite understanding what's going on. Her mother cup the girl's face in her hands and lean down to kiss her forehead. "I love you," her mother said with tears rolling down her cheeks. The girl wanted to ask what's wrong but was pushed inside the room and the mother closes the door quickly. The girl can hear the sound of the lock clicking in place, hiding the door to the secret room behind a wall.

She paced the room anxiously for a while until she starts hearing noises from outside the room. She cannot make out what the noises were but it got louder and louder for some time before it went completely silent. The girl wanted to go outside to see what's going on, but since she promised her mother, she decided to stay put inside the room. She entertained herself with the books inside the room and then eventually fell asleep. When she wakes up, several hours has already passed. Her stomach growls for food so she decided that it should be alright to go out for some food. Her mother can't expect her to stay inside forever and die of hunger. She can handle some nagging and grounded days inside. She turns the mechanism inside the room to unlock the door.

She steps outside and her eyes widen at the sight before her.

"AHHHHHH!!!" she screamed.

"Ruyi! Ruyi!" she heard someone calling her.

She turns towards the voice and her eyes snap open to face… "Yueyin!"

"Are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep," Yueyin asks, eyes full of concern as she uses her handkerchief to wipe away Ruyi's sweats on her forehead.

Ruyi's eyes darted around before focusing back onto Yueyin's face. She tries to calm her panic breathing before attempting to sit up. Yueyin lend her a helping hand and Xiaobai came over with a cup of warm water.

"Are you feeling better now? It seems you were suffering from nightmares so I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't. I had to run to get Lady Zhang…" Xiaobai says as she hands the cup to Ruyi.

"Thank you Xiaobai," she smiles gratefully at Xiaobai then turn to Yueyin, "Thank you, My Lady. Sorry I've disturbed your sleep."

Yueyin reach out and pull Ruyi's free hand into hers and pat it comfortingly. "Whatever it was you dreamt about, it's alright now."

Ruyi sends her a weak smile, "Yes, it was just a bad nightmare… I'm alright now…"

Seeing how Ruyi is still a bit shaken, Yueyin offers "Do you want to come sleep with me?"

Ruyi's and Xiaobai's eyes widen and both immediately says "My Lady, it is not appropriate to do so!"

Yueyin looks down at her own hands and smile sadly, "Is that so?... Meiyin used to sneak into my bed all the time whenever she couldn't sleep well…"

Ruyi hands the cup back to Xiaobai and places her hand on Yueyin's hand, "Let's write to the Second Young Miss in the morning. I'm sure she's also missing you a lot. For now, you need to go back to bed."

Yueyin smile and nodded, "Are you sure you don't want to sleep with me?"

Ruyi laughs lightly at Yueyin's teasing, "I think Xiaobai will be a more appropriate option."

Author's Notes:

Double Updates! Check the last chapter if you haven't already.

*totally made up. I do not know the actual sizes of the three countries. Also, it's a fictional setting so do not use the current map of the world to apply to this story… it'll not make any sense haha…

We've reached 40 Chapters (my original goal for this story…but now it’s way longer)! I want to express my sincere gratitude to my BoN's readers/subscribers/commenters/voters and I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas/Holidays break and I wish everyone a wonderful New Year.