CHAPTER 8
The arrow punctured a few centimeters away from the target, waiting to be hit since forever. It was a normal evening at the training base. Wei An Ge and Sun Ai Er headed to the base after the court training just to play around. Nothing serious, they thought.
"Go, Crown Princess!" Sun Ai Er supported, clapping both of her hands. Out of excitement, she hopped a few times upon seeing the arrows passing through the air.
Wei An Ge pulled her left cheeks upwards, smirking in curiosity. "Sun Ai Er, I didn't even hit the target. Stop making fun of me, would you?"
"It's a very good improvement! A few years back then, you couldn't even hold the bow" Sun Ai Er motivate.
"I'm fifteen now, I'm not as weak as I was years back then!" She pats the bow on her chest, proud. "Imagine me at sixteen, I'll be unbeatable!"
Wei An Ge reached fifteen now. She couldn't be more excited to reach the age of sixteen.
---
"General Rong Zhe, we haven't confirmed the crown princess as a Jade Ring" The old physician, Li Zhi Jian complaint to his Wei Zhuang spies, Wang Kuan, and Sun Lai Zhe.
Li Zhi Jian took a solid year to recover from the previous injury. Had to blame his old age and slow metabolism. However, out of respect, none of the spies sounded him as a weight.
"We need to be fast. The Queen is in rage" General Wang Kuan recommended, exchanging looks with the others, concerned.
It had been on their notice that they kept getting messages from the Queen such as reminders and warnings. The Queen of Wei Zhuang has always had a bad temper and acting impulsively.
"I have a plan," Minister Sun Lai Zhe announced, excited. "We should regain our power. We will be unbeatable."
"How?" Li Zhi Jian asked in shock. He was also quite excited to regain his power.
In the Royal Palace of Hei An Guang, the power of Wei Zhuang people will be limited to nonexistent as a safety measurement. Hence, fewer spies were sent to Hei An Guang.
"We can. His Majesty has a garden full of poisonous plants." Sun Lai Zhe exposed.
"Isn't the poisonous garden a rumor?" Wang Kuan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Plus, it's illegal to have any poisonous plants in the castle. Even the King can be punished."
"That's why they label it as a rumor. It's the truth" Li Zhi Jian solved.
"My grandson, Li Zhang Ke once came home being poisoned with one type of plant called Hogweed." He continued, "Since that night, he start to sleepwalk"
"Hogweed is the one we need to regain our power!" Sun Lai Zhe instructed, "Li Zhang Ke was born in Wei Zhuang so he might have regained some power because of the Hogweed. We need to ask him to bring us some."
"Li Zhang Ke is still in my training base" General Wang Kuan announced as his eyes hit on the others knowing that he created another problem.
"Why is he's there?"
"He is training to be a royal bodyguard" Wang Kuan explained, "He should be done with his training this month. He's an excellent warrior, actually."
"He's perfect" Li Zhi Jian labeled, smiling.
--
"Xin Er, where did you find Wolfie?" Gan Xie Le asked, patting Wolfie, sleeping on her lap.
It's been a day since Gan Xin arrived at Wei Zhuang together with Wolfie. Finally, his clothes are new and clean. His long black hair is properly combed with even tiny threads of braids resembling Wei Zhuang's hairstyle.
"She found me first, actually. She bit me and then I poison her," Gan Xin explained, straight to the point as he tied his long hair. "Mother, how have you been these years?"
He focused on her beautiful mother, holding her hands. The mother blushed in care.
"Mother was fine, I was sleeping here in your room. Waiting for you to come back" she placed her head on his tall shoulder sighing and staring blankly on the floor
"It's okay, I'm not leaving anymore" he promised, closing his eyes. He was enjoying the moment of a world of him and his parents. Carefree in harmony.
"Young man, let's go" The Emperor himself came himself to invite Gan Xin to the campsite of the affected.
The Emperor was displaying a simple outfit that allowed him to move more comfortably. There were no anonymous headpieces or long sleeves clothing.
Gan Xin nodded in reply. He gave his farewell to his mother and together with the Emperor, they marched to the campsite.
Gan Xin was having butterflies to do the procedure to the people of Wei Zhuang. He will have to puncture them with the poisonous spike of nightshade. Goosebumps were all over him and he's been super sensitive to the environment.
They were riding a horse each to go to the deep forest. The Queen was already there to treat the affected.
"Emperor, why does the Queen look so cold on the outside but actually care a lot for Wei Zhuang?" Gan Xin dared ask as they enter the forest, curious. His eyes were wasted on the Emperor, giggling at his inquiries.
"Who told you she's cold?"
"She choked me and father years ago" he started holding his neck, rethinking the painful memories. "She was furious,"
His eyes enlarged accompanied by nervous laughter.
The Emperor chuckled himself. His raised cheeks revealed the wrinkle St the corner of his squinted eyes and forehead. Gan Xin joined him, awkward.
"ARGH!" A loud screaming reached their ears, loud enough that the king marched forward himself, leaving Gan Xin behind.
As soon as they arrived, he was stunned by the view of the people transferring their power to the affected.
The method had been popular for the past few weeks. The people of Wei Zhuang had always been caring to each other and they couldn't bear watching any of them in such unbearable pain. Hence, they began to pass their powers to the affected and some even cost their life.
Feng An Xin, the Queen had tried stopping the people from using the method but none of them listened. It came to the point where the number of people who died from the sudden loss of power rate is higher than the one that was dying from the foxglove poison.
"Gan Xin, do it now!" The emperor instructed, anxious about the screaming.
The two didn't enter the tent. Instead, they were outside of it.
Gan Xin jumped off his horse. After a deep breath-taking, he closed his eyes as brown dust magically circled the campsite and fell to the ground in slow motion.
The spiky nightshade plant grew on the ground, from the dust. It was puncturing the feet and the body of the people in it.
The emperor smiled gloriously at Gan Xin, proud of the young man's ability. However, without any notice, the nightshade grew on his feet, puncturing it as well.
"Ouch!" He shouted in pain and fell to the ground together with thousands of people at the campsite.
"EMPEROR!"
---
Wei An Ge was sitting in her room, holding a long paintbrush. Her face was pasted on her left palm, covered in a glove.
"Crown Princess, what are you painting ?" Jung Nu asked, entering the room with a bowl of desserts, glutinous rice balls with chocolate filling and brown sugar syrup. Her favorite.
"Cascading plant" Wei An Ge replied, adding details to the beautiful leaves, curling on the paper.
Jing Nu took a peek at the illustration, amazed with it. "Wow, I never knew you can paint?"
"It's my first time," she smiled, putting the brush down on the table. With her right index finger, she called Jing Nu as she gets closer to her ear. "This is the pattern on my hand"
Jing Nu's eyes enlarged, she started kneeling in fear. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and her throat felt as if it was twisted.
"Crown Princess, Jing Nu is guilty!" She shouted, bowing to the ground. Her eyebrows were knitted together in anxiety.
"Eyy" Wei An Ge tried lifting Jing Nu but she refused to rise.
Wei An Ge bit her bottom left lip, anxious about Jing Nu's action. If people especially the palace servants witnessed the scene, Jing Nu and herself might get into punishment.
"It's fine, you're the closest to me" with a convincing and friendly tone of voice, she pleaded.
"Let's burn the drawing before others could see it" Jing Nu stood up reaching for the drawing, determined.
She knew if other people realized what the drawing defines, more people could be in dragged into serious punishments. There were justifications why certain things happened and sometimes, it was better when the reason was unknown.
"Jing Nu, it's my first drawing" Wei An Ge folded the drawing messy and anxious. She was still intending to preserve the drawing
"Crown Princess!" Jing Nu shouted, furrowing her eyebrow, unsatisfied. She chased the crown princess, trying to reach for the drawing.
"Li Zhang Ke greets the Crown Princess" A tall man with a skinny figure appeared at the entrance door, bowing. He was a year older but the age gap wasn't obvious.
He was displaying bronze armor as his head was tight, clean. At first glance, he does look like an army, trained hard with such strict discipline.
"Li Zhang Ke?" Wei An Ge questioned, walking to him still with the drawing in her palm followed by Jing Nu trying to steal it. "What can I do for you, Li Zhang Ke?"
"The King summoned you, Crown Princess" he bowed lower. "To the court"
"Jing Nu!" She started shaking, reaching for her court outfit. "Thanks, Li Zhang Ke. You may go now"
With a panicked tone of voice, she expressed her gratitude but the man was still there.
"I'm supposed to escort you there, Crown Princess" he bowed lower.
She stopped her movements, walking closer towards him.
"I mean out of my room, Li Zhang Ke" she pushed him out of the entrance door, by the chest, closing it. "How do they train generals these days?"
"Wei An Ge greets The King of Hei An Guang," she appeared in the court, accompanied by Li Zhang Ke as promised.
"It's an honor to see Your Majesty head to head" Li Zhang Ke greeted, bowing. His tone was sincere.
The King fell into a giggle, excited to introduce the young talent to the Crown Princess.
"I see you've met our new general, Li Zhang Ke" the King smiled, pointing his palm to Li Zhang Ke, bowing. "He will be your guard, Crown Princess"
Wei An Ge's eyes enlarged in shock, she turned to him scanning from the top to the bottom.
"Am I that weak?" She thought to herself. "Well, I couldn't even hit the target. A fair trait"
She zoned out.
"Li Zhang Ke is a grandson of Li Zhi Jian" Minister Sun Lai Zhe interrupted, bowing. "He will also replace General Rong Zhe to train you"
The Crown Princess was speechless, she can only bow before the King and accept his offer with a smile on her face.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Good luck, General Li Zhang Ke" she turned and bowed to her new teacher.
The King laughed.
After the court, Li Zhang Ke accompanied the Crown Princess back to the Chang Ge manor. They were riding a horse each.
"So is it fun being sixteen, General?" Wei An Ge broke the silence, walking the horse.
"Isn't sixteen a bad number to be in, Crown Princess?"
"I don't think so. You become the youngest general at sixteen right?" She explained. "That's a good one already"
She defended, smiling.
"Suit yourself, Crown Princess" he laughed.
---
"Zhang Ke, my good grandson!" Li Zhi Jian welcomed the grandson with a warm smile and a pat on the back. "Welcome back"
"Thank you, grandfather. Where is Hua Rong?" He broke the laugh, scanning the area for his little sister.
Li Zhang Ke and Hua Rong had a very good sibling relationship. Even though he was sent to the military, she often sent him medications and messages just to check on his well-being.
"She's at the garden with her friends, go and see her" Li Zhi Jian pushed him to the garden, excited.
Li Hua Rong and Sun Ai Er were practicing their arrow shooting as Wang Xuan practiced with her sword game in the beautiful garden of the manor.
"Hua Rong" Li Zhang Ke called, smiling.
"Brother, when did you return?" Hua Rong focused on the target, smiling with overflowing confidence. "Look at me,"
Her arrow flew past the air, hitting right at the center of the target. Li Zhang Ke nodded, proud, arriving at her talent.
"Miss Sun and Miss Wang, nice to meet you all" he bowed with a smile.
"Zhang Ke, do you know how many times our Wang Xuan has missed you?" Sun Ai Er teased.
Both Li Zhang Ke and Wang Xuan's faces were painted with hot pink color, blushing. The two had a feeling for each other since they were little as they always spent their time together, training. Now Wang Xuan is one of the best female warriors.
Li Hua Rong started laughing, hugging her brother's right arm.
"Where did you go just now?" She asked.
"I was accompanying the Crown Princess back." He looked down at Hua Rong's sparkly eyes that turned dark and disappointed as he finished his sentence.
"What were you doing with her?"
"His Majesty announced me as the Crown Princess's personal guard"
Hua Rong took a breath as she closed her eyes, trying to ease her anger. She walked towards the table, sitting. The awkwardness was intense. Wang Xuan went to his ear
"Hua Rong hates the Crown Princess, you know?"
"Why, ?"
"Well, your grandfather was tortured by His Majesty for treating the Crown Princess two years back." Wang Xuan explained. "Li Zhi Jian nearly died"
Li Zhang Ke was shocked, enlarging his eyes. He held Wang Xuan's wrist in response.
"SERIOUSLY?" He asked, desperate.
Wang Xuan nodded. She tried not to overreact towards the touch or even show it.