Chapter 44

The Play – Start!

"Second Young Miss"

"Second Young Miss" Xiaolan keeps calling as she waves her hand in front of Meiyin's face. After several attempts and still not being able to wake Meiyin from her space out state, Xiaolan let out a sigh. "I guess if you won't eat these snack Madame Lin made, I'll just have to eat it all by myself."

As she slowly brings a mung bean cake towards , Meiyin's hand immediately reaches out and takes it from Xiaolan's hand then feed the cake to her own mouth. Xiaolan roll her eyes and shakes her head before handing another snack to Meiyin. "Why are you spacing out again?"

Meiyin hold up her sister's letter and tilt her head to stare at it in a different angle, "I don't know why I can't quite put my finger on it. Although we're exchanging letters just fine but something just doesn’t feel right."

"There you go worrying about the Eldest Young Miss again. She's been telling you that she's doing well, right? Once this whole Crown Prince thing passes over, you'll be able to see her in person again."

"When in the heavens will that be?!" Meiyin drop the letter back on her desk and fall back against the chair then let out a frustrated sigh. She glances towards Xiaolan and question, "Why are you bothering me at this time of day? Aren't you supposed to be helping Madame Lin check the supplies for the shelter?"

"I've already completed that task. I'm here to let you know that General Zhang is here to see you."

"My uncle is here?! Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Meiyin stood up fast and immediately glance towards the window, ready to jump out of it.

Xiaolan shakes her head, "There's no use running, he's waiting for you in the main quarter. He also has his soldiers guard both the front and back door. This is the result of you sneaking away every time he comes by."

Meiyin glared at Xiaolan. Then an idea pop in her head and her expression change. She looks adoringly at Xiaolan with a sweet smile.

Xiaolan smile sweetly in return with a stern answer, "No"

"Please? Just once?" Meiyin pleaded.

"Second Young Miss, I will not let you borrow my clothes to disguise and sneak you out. Just go talk with your uncle. Why do you avoid him anyways?"

"Because the amazing General that is my uncle has become someone who nags so much!"

Meiyin still resign to her fate in the end and met with Ziyuan.

"Greetings uncle"

"Meiyin, I am happy to finally meet you. Must I resort to blocking off your escape routes each time I come by in order to get a glimpse of you?"

Meiyin glance away guiltily, "I'm not sure what you meant uncle."

Ziyuan shakes his head. "I know you've never liked being lectured, but now that your father… I just want to do what's best for both you and your sister."

"I understand," Meiyin mumbled.

"You're betrothed to the Third Prince and that means you'll have to join your sister in living in the imperial palace eventually. I hope you can start honing your etiquettes so that you can fit in."

Meiyin sigh internally. She really wants to tell her uncle that the betrothal is fake so he would stop nagging at her, but since her sister has repeatedly told her not to let anyone else know, she has to bite her tonged.

He goes on and on. He suggested for her to just move into the palace now instead of waiting until after the wedding. He recommends that she learn more etiquette from her aunt. He suggests for her to do a lot of things, but Meyin did none of it. This is also why she avoids meeting him again after that first couple of visits.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Of course, uncle."

He shakes his head at her again and let out a sigh. He knows his niece's personality, but he hopes he can at least prepare her for the big future he has plan for their clan. "Are you still writing to your sister? How is she doing in the palace?"

Meiyin nodded, "she said she has been doing well. Aside from the stricter security, she said there's not been any other changes."

"I see. Next time you write to her, help me let her know that I hope she can request for a temporary leave from the palace to attend our clan's meeting to select the next clan's head. If she's unable to since palace's rules can be quite strict, I hope you can attend to support me."

She smiles at her uncle, "We'll be there to support you uncle. It's without a doubt you'll be the next chosen clan's head." She then immediately takes her chance before he continues to nag. "Oh no, look at the time. I'm sorry uncle, but I actually have an appointment that I must get to right now. Thank you for visiting me. I'll see you next time!" with that she quickly rushes out the door before he can get a word in.

After escaping from her residence, Meiyin strolled the street leisurely. Since she rushed out, she didn't bother to bring along Xiaolan, but she knows that some of Yixing's guards are following her several steps behind. She has gotten better at ignoring them now. She breathes in the fresh air and the lively atmosphere, happy to have escaped from the busy and stuffy environment that has become of her home.

A few streets down and she spotted Liu Lanyi. She rushes over and tabs on Lanyi's shoulder, "Lanyi! Long time no see."

Lanyi turns around and smile upon seeing Meiyin's face. "Meiyin, it has been a while." She then notices the guards that stands not too far from them. "It must have been busy for you," she said then turn to select and purchase a face veil from the stall she was standing by and places it on Meiyin, "It's best you put one on before negative things are reported back to the palace."

Meiyin rolls her eyes, "I could care less about them, but I'll wear it since you bought it for me."

Lanyi smiles and continues to help Meiyin put on the face veil. Her movements were so gentle and graceful that Meiyin couldn't help but wonder. "How are you good at martial arts and still so graceful at the same time?" Meiyin asks.

Lanyi laughs at Meiyin's compliment, "It's because I've received an abundance of etiquette lessons since young."

"Ah, me too but I still turn out this way," Meiyin scratch her head guiltily and laughs.

The two of them chatted and enjoyed a nice lunch together at a small restaurant nearby. They opted for a table near the door so they can enjoy the hustle bustle of the street. As they were finishing up, a familiar face passes by in the street. Lanyi notices Meiyin staring into the crowd, eyes seemingly following someone. "Is it someone you know?"

Meiyin shakes her head, "Not quite. Just… hmm… a good stranger I happen to cross once before."

"Do you need to catch up with that person?"

Meiyin lets out a guilty laugh, "I was a bit drunk when I met him so it might be quite awkward to say hi now."

---

This is the third day that Minseok and Jun has been roaming the capital city by order of Junmyeon. Three days ago, they received an encrypted message from Junmyeon, tasking them with the investigation of the background of a Chinese woman. They weren't given much details aside from the fact that the information will be useful for an upcoming battle. Minseok was glad that things are finally moving. He has been bored just idling by in China with nothing to do. If all goes well, he hopes to return to Japan soon.

"It has been three days, yet we've not found a single piece of information…" Jun whispers, knowing that Minseok can hear him even though they are among the noisy street. "How are we going to dig up information on some random dead Chinese maid that moved to Japan when she was little?"

"If the task was easy, it wouldn't have been assigned to us" Minseok reply in a low voice as well. "Just focus on your job. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we return."

Jun took a quick glance at Minseok then looks away guiltily. He knows Minseok is eager to return to Japan, but Junmyeon has given Jun a secret order that once they completed the current task, they are to remain station in China for another period of time. Jun is told to give out this order only after the current task is done so that Minseok can focus on completing it as soon as possible.

"Have you spoken to Madame Huang?" Minseok asks.

"Who?"

Minseok sigh, "The lady that lives a few houses down from where we moved in. She seems to have lived in the area for a while and knows many people from her various jobs. She might know something."

"I'm sorry, I have not. I will check with her tomorrow to see if she knows anything about that Shujiao."

Shujiao. Minseok doesn't know why each time he heard of the name, he feels something stir deep inside him. It's as if he has known someone by that name, but that couldn't have been possible, because he hadn't grown up knowing anyone by such a name. He switches his focus back on the road. They were heading towards a possible lead to the information they're looking for. If it turns out false again, Minseok will be very pissed off.

---

It has been days? Weeks? Or perhaps months since Tao watches Yixing exhausted himself. When the poor prince has time to breath, he let his depression about his lost love ones eats him up.

"No offense but… you look like sh*t, Your Highness." Tao said when he couldn't watch anymore.

Yixing laughs but didn't bother to look away from the report he has been reading, "That bad huh?"

"You could really use a good rest. You look quite worn out."

"I'll take a nice bath later and be good as new. Did you see where Dahai place this morning's court meeting notes?" Yixing said as he looks through the stack of reports on his desk. Not hearing Tao reply, he looks up only to see that Tao has on his not-so-impressed face. He wants to say something else to defend himself but the way Tao looks at him will just makes it sound like an excuse.

"You want me to be your personal guard but I can't guard you from what you are doing to yourself. If you don't take a break now, I'd like to resign from my position."

Yixing immediately drops the reports he was holding. "You can't be serious. You're using your job to threaten me?"

Seeing that Tao was about to pull out the crest that Yixing gave him, Yixing gave up. He stood up to step away from his desk. "Alright, your threat works. Happy now?"

Tao smiles and nodded. Yixing shakes his head at him but return his smile. "Shall I inform Dahai to prep your bath and your bed?" Tao asks.

"Tao, the sun has just reached its peak not long ago and you're telling me to go to bed?" Yixing stretches. "I could use a breather instead; won't you accompany me outside?"

Tao nodded hesitantly and the two of them headed out of the imperial palace. They stroll around on busy streets. Yixing wasn't particularly relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere like he was supposed to. His mind continues to busy itself with his responsibilities, his royal father's health, and the possible whereabouts of his eldest brother. At times like this, he wishes he could speak to his laoshi. At the thought of Weimin, Yixing's mood gets even more dampen.

Tao was strolling behind Yixing and shakes his head as he observes him. This was not turning out how he was hoping it to. Tao looks around to find a good restaurant nearby that he can drag Yixing to and force some food down his friend's throat. However, the moment Tao takes his eyes off Yixing, an unexpecting thing happened.

Someone bumps into Yixing. The man quickly apologizes and rush away. As Yixing dust himself off, he noticed his wallet and his crest was missing. He quickly chases after the thief that pretended to bump into him earlier. Tao saw Yixing rushes off from the corner of his eyes and turn to follow.

"Tao, he stole my crest. We must get it back!"

Tao nodded and speed up after the thief. The two of them chases after the thief but it was a bit hard to catch him since he seems to be very familiar with these busy streets. Tao's speed was faster so he rushes ahead and continues the pursuit. Yixing on the other hand, slows down half way through as his visions became blurry. Yixing tries to shake the blurriness away to continue after them but he got so dizzy he stumble a little and bump into someone.

The person he bumps into let out a surprised yelp. Yixing quickly steady himself and apologize to the young miss. His eyes darting towards the direction Tao and the thief disappear in. He apologizes to the young miss again and tries to rush after Tao, but the young miss he bump into quickly reaches out and grab onto his wrist.

Surprised, Yixing looks down at his wrist then up at the young miss. Before he could say anything, she spoke up first. "Young Mister, you don't look too well. It's best you take a rest and leave the chasing to your guard."

"Thank you for your kind concern, Young Miss. It's better I…" he tries to gently yank his hand away but she insists on holding onto it. He opens his mouth to request for her to let go but another bout of dizziness shuts him up. He knows he's not in the condition to move about so he decides to listen and gave the young miss a light nod.

Lanyi smiles, happy that he agrees to let her help. She motions for her maid to assist her in leading Yixing over to the side of the street as there were no nearby restaurant or teashop. She helps him settle down on the porch of a clothing store, then sends her maid to go buy some drink and food.

Lanyi was on her way home after her lunch with Meiyin. She hadn't expected to witness a thief chase. Lanyi would have helped but the guard chasing after the thief looks to be more capable than her, so she just moves out of his way like the other people on the street. She did notice the young mister that follows after the guard didn't seems well since his steps were faltering. She hadn't expected for him to stumble and bump into her though. She thought it's better for him if he rests here and wait for his guard to return than collapsing in the middle of the street. "My maid will be back with food and water soon, try to hang on."

Since he wasn't forcing his body to overexert itself anymore, Yixing starts to feel a little better. From where he's sitting, he looks up into the eyes of the veiled-faced young miss that just helped him. "Thank you so much for your help. May I know your name so I can repay you?"

She shakes her head, "It's really nothing. There's no need for you to repay me."

He wants to insist but her maid came back at that moment and cut him off. He takes a drink of the water they handed him and thank them both. He also takes the food Lanyi handed him but he didn't feel like eating.

"You should at least take a bite or two so your body can have some energy," Lanyi said as she noticed his reluctance to eat.

He smiles and thank her but still didn't feed himself. Tao caught the thief and retrieved Yixing's money and crest. He turns around expecting to see Yixing right behind him but when he didn't see him, Tao panic a bit remembering the condition Yixing was in. He quickly rushes back the way he came from. He finally spotted Yixing and quickly rush over to stand between Yixing and Lanyi. Tao's mind was racing, wondering if all of this was a plot to lure him away from Yixing so that the assassins have the chance to attack the prince. Is the young miss standing in front of him right now the assassin? How was she planning to harm Yixing in a place like this? Tao doesn't even want to think of the possibility of him not making it back in time.

Yixing stand up and places a reassuring hand on Tao's shoulder, "It's alright Tao. It's not what you're thinking. This kind Young Miss has helped me."

"Now that your guard is back, I'll take my leave" Lanyi said and turn to leave.

"Young Miss, please wait!" Yixing wants to repay her but Lanyi didn't turn back and disappears into the crowd. He wants to go after her but his visions blur again. If Tao hadn't reach out to stable him, he probably would have stumble again.

Tao shakes his head upon noticing the uneaten food on Yixing's hand, "Let's go back."

He helps Yixing back to the palace. Dahai got worked up seeing the state his prince was in. The two of them successfully forced Yixing to eat. He had insisted that he felt better after eating and wants to return to work, but Tao was having none of it.

"The state you're in is a result of many days of stress and lack of proper food and sleep. You're basically killing yourself slowly. As your guard and as your friend I can't keep turning a blind eye to it." He takes out the crest that signify he's Yixing's personal guard and places it on the table, "You can either go take a good rest now or find a new personal guard. I don't think I have the heart to continue watching and then attending your funeral soon after."

Yixing rubs his face tiredly, "You two are making such a big deal out of nothing. Alright, I'll rest up since I don't have the spare time to be looking for another personal guard anytime soon."

Dahai helps Yixing to bed then return to the room Tao was waiting in. "Thank you, it's hard for servants like us to speak up most of the time. I'm glad you're his friend before you are his guard."

"You are also more than just a servant to him," Tao reminded Dahai, then asks "Can you do me a favor?"

"If it's within my capabilities."

"Can you help me check in on Luhan… um... I meant the Second Prince? I'm worried that he might be in a similar exhausted state as the Third Prince. Since I've not had a chance to meet with him, I cannot help him."

Dahai promised Tao that he'll check in with Changan and make sure that the second prince is doing well. Tao thank him then left the imperial palace.

Yixing wakes up several hours later to face a concerned Liufei and an unhappy Luhan. His siblings made sure he got in some more food and water before they start their torturous nagging session.

"I got it. I'm sorry. I promise to take better care of myself," Yixing said hoping to end the nagging.

"You say that but will you really?" Luhan asks. Yixing nodded but Luhan didn't seem to believe him. Luhan let out a tired sigh, "It's been hectic enough. You know I can't handle all of this alone. Jinhai, Geming and Nianzu are also busy with their tasks. I know it has been tough on you as well, but you can't let yourself collapse like this."

Liufei glares at Luhan, "You have no right to talk when you're the exact same. Have you seen the dark circles under your own eyes?"

Luhan looks away guiltily and Yixing snickers at him. Liufei takes the water cup from Yixing then motion for him to scoot further inside his bed. She then goes over to the table that Luhan was sitting at and drags him over to Yixing's bed. She points at the bed and tell Luhan to get on. Luhan and Yixing stare at her with questioningly wide eyes.

"I do not want to have to run back and forth between your palaces. This way I'll be able to keep an eye on you both. It might feel a bit cramp sharing a bed but it shouldn't be too bad. I think Xing ge's bed is big enough."

"I don’t think this is a good idea, Xiaofei. I still have work I need to get to at my place," Luhan tries but he knew his fate is signed once she has that determined look on her face.

Liufei shakes her head and pushes Luhan onto Yixing's bed. "Neither of you are working tonight. I'll have Changan bring your work here tomorrow."

"Feifei, I have guest rooms that Er ge can use…"

"No, he will sneak away as soon as I take my eyes off of him."

"You're not planning on watching us sleep, are you?" Yixing asks.

She puts her hand on her hips, "Do I have any other choice? I can't seem to just take neither of your words for it."

"But Xiaofei, you're asking two grown men to sleep on the same bed together…" Luhan tries again.

His sister smiles sweetly at her brothers, "If you can do it when you were younger, I don't see why you'd have a problem doing so now for a couple of days."

"A couple of days?!" both Yixing and Luhan exclaimed, more in horror than in surprised.

She nodded. Luhan glares at Yixing, blaming him for being the cause of their misfortune for the next couple of days. Yixing smiles guiltily back at his brother.

---

Since Yixing and Luhan are being grounded by the Princess, Tao got to have a day off. Reassured that his friends are well care for, he decides to drop by the Zhang residence to visit Meiyin. She tries to show up for training sessions but it has been increasingly less and less. He knows her situation isn't ideal so he doesn't blame her. He wonders if he can train with her at the Zhang residence instead of their usual training ground.

Meiyin was dying as she looks through some financial reports. When the numbers seem to be swimming around, she plops her face on the report. She wonders how her sister is able to sit through these kinds of torture all the time. Madame Lin has been helping her take care of several other managing tasks, but there are a lot more she just can't get herself out of. Her head perks up the moment she heard Xiaolan announce Tao's visit. She rushes out of her room so fast that Xiaolan didn't even have the chance to remind her to veil her face. 

"Tao da ge!" She waves to him as she rushes through the garden's entrance. "You have the best timing!" She said happily once she reaches where he's standing. Tao gave Meiyin a puzzled look, not too sure what she meant. She smiles and wave it away, "It's nothing important. I'm just happy to see you."

Tao smiles back, "I am happy to see that you're doing well. My mother and Sifu misses you a lot."

"I miss them too. I'll be sure to schedule some time this week to visit them. Sorry I haven't shown up for training much. I'll have to bribe Sifu the next time I show up at his cottage or he'll make me do a hellish training," she grimaces at the thought and shudder at the memory of the last tough training she was put through. Then she smiles up at him, "How have you been? How's your job going?"

Tao always enjoy this energetic energy that Meiyin gives off. It cheers him up whenever he sees her. "I've been well. It's not easy dealing with stubborn royals but there have been no major issues with the job."

Meiyin is glad that Tao seems to enjoy his job as a royal guard. A lot of common mothers would be very happy and proud to have their sons as royal guards, but Meiyin doesn't know why Tao hides it from his mother. She has not asked him about it, but she felt it wasn't something she should pry into.

"Stubborn royals?" Meiyin thinks back to Liufei and nodded in agreement, "Must be a royal bloodline thing. How are they? Yixing have not visited in a long time and I've not heard from or about Liufei."

"Yixing has been… unhealthily hard working. I don't have much chance to run into the Princess so I can't quite tell you how she's doing. She'll be keeping a watch over her brothers for the next few days, if I run into her, I'll update you. But overall, they're not faring very well with their brother… gone."

Meiyin's cheerful mood deflated. She understands very well the pain of losing a love one and being separated from her sibling. She bites her lower lip in worry as she thought of poor Liufei. From what she has seen, Liufei was very close with her brothers. How she wishes she could give comfort to her friend.

Tao reaches out and give Meiyin's shoulder a gentle squeeze to comfort her. He knows she's good friend with the Princess, and thoughts of not being able to comfort her friend will soon lead to thoughts of not being able to be with her sister.

Jihao chooses this very moment to appear at the garden's entrance. "How dare you!" he shouted accusingly as he rushes towards them. He pushes Tao's hand off of Meiyin's shoulder and stand between them. Tao instinctively ready to strike the intruder but stop himself and takes a few steps back to distance himself when he realized who it was.

"Jihao? What are you doing here?" Meiyin asks in annoyance.

"If I hadn't show up, you and this bastard would have caused the death of us all!"

"What in the heavens are you talking about?"

Jihao turns to face her, "Have you no shame cousin?! Do you know what will happen to our entire clan if it's found out that you're cheating on the Third Royal Prince?!"

Meiyin's jaw drops. She just couldn't believe what just came out of her idiot cousin's mouth. "Wha… What?! You… you. Don't speak nonsense! We're not like that!"

Tao somehow felt a pang in his chest at Meiyin's denial. He chose to ignore it and speak up for Meiyin, "Young Master Zhang, it's not what you think. Please don't sully Xiaoyin's reputation like that."

Jihao whips around and give Tao and hard shove, but Tao's stand was sturdy and he did not budge at all, this made Jihao even more angry out of embarrassment. "Who do you think you are to talk to me?! I am the son of the great General Zhang. Do you think that any kind of dog can just walk onto the Zhang's property and act like they're equal to the owners? Xiaoyin? Do you have the right to refer to her that way? She's of noble blood. Betrothed to the Empire's Third Prince. Does someone like you even have the right to be within ten feet of her presence? Even if she fancies you a little, she was just having a bit of fun before her wedding. Know your place and return to whichever dog hole you came from!"

These kinds of insulting words, it's not the first time Tao has heard of them. He's used to hearing them since he was a child. It honestly is fine if it was just about him, but he couldn't help but felt anger rising up in him at the hidden indication of these words. How could Meiyin's own cousin insults her like this? Has he realized what society will think and rumor about her if they heard these words? Has he no care for her reputation as her family?

However, before Tao could even react, Meiyin pull Jihao around and slapped him hard. Both boys were stunned and stare at her. Meiyin glare angrily at Jihao, "Don't you ever dare to insult my Senior Brother again. He's more noble and honorable than you could ever hope to be. The one that has no shame and is embarrassing the Zhang clan is you and your dirty mouth."

"Zhang Meiyin! I am your elder! How dare you disrespect me like this when I am trying to help you?!"

"Respect is earned, cousin. If you want it so badly without making the proper efforts, then you can go buy it from people who are willing to sell it. You won't find it here so leave. I didn't ask for any of your useless help," she point towards the garden's exit, "Leave before my anger disregards my respect for uncle and cause me to beat you up,"

Jihao gritted his teeth and left angrily, mumbling things like how stupid she is and that she'll regret this. Meiyin let out an exhausted sigh as her eyes trail after Jihao, "How could someone great like my uncle have a son like him?"

Tao wants to comfort her and reaches out to place his hand on her shoulder, but then he hesitated and withdrew his hand when it's only inches away from her shoulder. He hides his hand guiltily behind him when she turns around.

"I'm so sorry about this Tao da ge. Please don't mind his words. He's just too spoiled and idiotic for his own good."

Tao offers a smile to reassure her.

---

The Japanese King taps his hand on the armrest of his throne impatiently. When he received news of his supposedly long-lost son being found, he couldn't help but felt a hope that has died a long time ago in his heart. He wants to meet him and determine for himself if this lost child is truly the son of his and Shujiao.

Hiroki's arrival was announced and the King permits his entry. Hiroki is the illegitimate son of one of the King's trusted generals, he was promoted to third rank not long ago and was placed in General Akagi Jongdae's troops as a spy for the King. Though that was the father's plan, but the King cannot trust the son's loyalty as much as he trusted the father's, especially when he's well aware of how annoyingly convincing that advisor of the Crown Prince is.

"Your Majesty, I have returned with the lost Prince" Hiroki said.

The King narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the young general. "General Hiroki, tell me in details how you've found him. Why was I not made aware that you were secretly looking?"

"Your Majesty, my father's loyalty has always been undeniable. He has witnessed the state you were in when you've lost those who were precious to you. He worried for your emotional wellbeing and made it our family's mission to secretly search high and low for any news of Lady Shujiao and the young Prince," Hiroki explained.

The King glance towards Hiroki's father for confirmation if Hiroki's words were true. Hiroki's father nodded and bow to him in respect. The King then signals for Hiroki to continue.

"We had no lead for a long time and when we were on the verge of giving up, our investigation led us to a small rural village near the border. We discretely investigated the village, due to it being near China's border, the village's Chinese population was almost half as many as the Japanese's population. It took us awhile to narrow down the amount of people. We checked each of their houses and finally came across the one that the prince was residing in. We were told Lady Shujiao has passed away. We couldn't confirm his identity at first, but after finding that he has a few possessions that could only belong to Lady Shujiao, on top of the testimonies from the villagers, we couldn't simply deny that he has ties to Lady Shujiao... and that he could be the missing Prince."

"So, you've brought him back for me to confirm?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The King chuckles bitterly, "How do you expect for me to identify him when I wasn't even present the day he was born?"

Hiroki wasn't sure how to answer so he shoots his father a quick glance then kept quiet and lower his head. The King glances back and forth between Hiroki and his father to see if they display any suspicious body language or glances towards each other. When he discovered none, he made a mental note to himself to investigate Hiroki's story further later. He then asks Hiroki about the living condition of the prince when they found him. Hiroki tell the story of the poor lost Prince with practiced ease since Junmyeon made him memorized it even in his sleep. Hiroki's part of the story did not fill in all the details to ensure no suspicions could be raised. Other parts are left for Yifan and the Queen to feed to the King when needed.

The King took mental note of every details so that he can compare Hiroki's words to other's testimonies later. He waves Hiroki to the side and gave his order to summon Yifan into the room, then wait anxiously on his throne.

Yifan walks into the room slowly, eyes glancing around the room before settling on the Japanese King. He neither bow nor open his mouth to greet the king. Hiroki started to sweat nervously, scare that the king might see through everything. Hiroki's father gives him a light pat on the back to remind him to stay calm.

"Y... Young Master, you need to bow and greet His Majesty," Hiroki said nervously.

Yifan sends a quick look towards Hiroki then back at the King. "Are you my father?" he directs his question towards the king in a cold tone.

His boldness was not welcomed but it does remind the King of his own younger self. He has been looking at Yifan carefully since he enters the room, but he didn't find much resemblance in the boy's appearance to neither himself nor Shujiao from his memories. The little rising hope in his chest is forcing him to reasoned with himself that there are many cases where the child doesn't resemble the parents in appearances.

"Whether His Majesty is your father or not, it's good manners and customary to give the King a proper greeting," Hiroki's father said.

Yifan snickers, "I had a mother that kept me fed, but I wasn't blessed with a father to teach me manners. I am not from this fancy palace, what would I know about its customs?"

Hiroki eyes widen in shock, not expecting for Yifan to change the script and act like this instead of a pitiful son like he was instructed to do.

The King tightens his fist. He can see the resentment from Yifan and it somehow makes him feel guilty. His lost child has every right to be mad at him for not being there in his life. He owes the child so much and wants nothing more than to take good care of him once he found him. How can he confirm if this young man is in fact his child? What if Shujiao's belongings were stolen by him? He let out a sigh, "Show me the items that belong to your mother."

Yifan acted hesitant as he handed the items over to Hiroki who presented them to the King. He carefully examined the hair pin and bracelet. They were definitely the ones he has gifted Shujiao. He picked up the last item and suddenly memories of the past flashes before him. This was the wooden hair brush that he personally carved for Shujiao. It was the last gift he gave her before she disappeared. He held onto the brush tightly and look up at Yifan. "How… how did your mother passed away?"

Yifan lower his head and closes his eyes tightly as if reliving painful memories, "Overworking herself and passed on from illness."

The King gently runs his other hand over the brush. He couldn’t believe that even though she had to overworked herself to raised their child, she still refused to sell his gifts to her. He looks up at Yifan again and wondered how hard the child's life must have been after his mother was gone.

"Your Majesty, I have an idea on how to verify the Prince's identity" Hiroki's father spoke up.

"Speak"

"Her Majesty, the Queen, was one of the last people to have met Lady Shujiao and the young Prince. Wouldn't she be able to tell if he is in fact the same person as the child she has met?"

The wheels in the King's head started turning, "Would she tells me the truth? She was the very person that kicked them out of the palace."

"We will have to take a risk and watch for her reaction. If she vouches for him then it's suspicious. If she adamantly denies him then we know she could be lying to prevent you from reuniting with the Prince."

The King nodded and send someone to go summon the Queen.

Author's Notes

I honestly don't know what to name the chapter XP

In ancient times, are wallets called wallets? Or is it called sachet? Pouch? It definitely doesn't look like wallets/purses now a days. Can I get suggestions on what to call it?

Thank you for your love and patients as always.