"Oh my!" Princess Yin Xiulan closes her fan. "You really managed to gain everyone's support?"
The princess, the prince, and the emperor are having their exclusive meeting in their new meeting place. They are currently discussing what happened in the Pavilion of Literary Glory during the scheduled conference with the high-ranking eunuchs of the two most powerful clans in the imperial palace.
"Not everyone." Prince Yin Wenyan responded. "I don't think that the head eunuch of the Xue clan agrees with me but I couldn't care less about that old man. He's only one, and the eunuchs that are with me are more likely a hundred."
"It's good that we seized the power from her. But is she really going to give up just like that? She can be annoying sometimes." Emperor Yin Renshu said. "I mean, knowing her, she always has a lot of cards underneath her sleeves."
"If she tries to get her political authority back, she has to get it from me." The prince replies casually as if he's not really bothered by it. He smirks and added, "By now, she must be very upset in her hall. However, that's not all. I'm not done yet."
Emperor Yin Renshu and Princess Yin Xiulan look at each other with confused looks on their faces.
Okay, the grand empress dowager is one of their suspects as to whom the missing empress took orders to do things such as harm Eunuch Xu, and the one who pushed her to practice dark arts. Also, she refused to give the emperor the authority that he must possess, and even concealed the presence of the first prince. But from the looks of it, it seems there's something else that Prince Yin Wenyan hates about their grandmother. He despises her to the core.
Emperor Yin Renshu looks at his brother, and coincidentally, the other looks back at him too. One with a heart filled with hatred and resentment. One with hesitation in his mind.
"Say..." Emperor Yin Renshu speaks as he lowers his gaze.
The other two look at him, waiting for the next words that would come out of his mouth. He looks unusually serious and at the same time looking hesitant.
"Aren't you two tired of these political matters?"
"What do you mean?" The prince asks.
His majesty replies in a vague way, "I know he is unreasonable but I have a bad feeling about how things are going."
"Renshu..." The princess' wears a mix of disbelief and confusion on her face. "Are you saying we should not take what's supposed to be yours, as the emperor? Do you know that emperors are not to be manipulated by others? The authority over your men... that's what you need to be an effective ruler! What made you think that things aren't going our way? The political power we are talking about? It's supposed to be yours, not to the empress dowager."
"Xiulan is right." Prince Yin Wenyan commented. "I understand that we are making a big change here but I believe you'll get used to it. Just like Xiulan said, we are only getting what's supposed to be yours, as the emperor. She can't control us forever."
"And by then, we should let the public know about the first prince's identity too!" The princess said in a hopeful manner.
The prince smiles, "Let's make it our least priority."
Now that she mentioned it if the prince already has his identity known to the public, perhaps, by then, he can finally introduce himself properly to Xu Zhengming. The thought of it gives him a driving force to keep this going.
He wonders, how would he react by then? Will he be happy that he finally met his mysterious friend? Or will he be upset for keeping it from him? He badly wants to know.
"That's good too." Emperor Yin Renshu said. "I also want Wenyan to have his own identity known to the public but..."
"But?" The prince throws him a meaningful look. "But what?"
He thinks, is it that his brother doesn't truly want him to be known to others? But it's not really Emperor Yin Renshu's point.
The emperor scratches his cheek with his forefinger. "Have you ever thought of living a normal life peacefully? Or maybe go back to Wan Moli Hua Palace with shizun and others?"
Prince Yin Wenyan sighs as he silently thought, "So this is what he's talking about."
His highness speaks in his usual calm tone, "Renshu, you know we can't go back. This is where we belong."
"Who decided that?" The emperor stubbornly sticks to his free-spirited ideals.
The prince tries to explain to him, "Renshu, we're born with royal blood. Our parents are the late emperor and the late empress." Being reminded of their parents, especially their mother, he can't help but feel bitterness in his heart again. Even though they didn't get to have memories with their deceased mother, never felt her motherly love, and didn't have a chance to love her at least, whether she did something grave or not, he still thinks that she must not be treated that way. No one deserves to be treated that way.
He emphasized his statement, "We are destined to be here."
The emperor, who does not know any of it, still hopes that they can still go back to their carefree life. He looks at his sister, saying, "Xiulan, don't you want to live like how we used to before?"
His sister looks back at him with sadness somehow showing on her face. She'd be lying if she says that she doesn't want to go home to where they grew up. And she'd commit dishonesty if she says that the thought of returning to the sect never crossed her mind.
She never cared about wealth, status, or power. In fact, she rarely wears jade hairpins or any golden accessories. Well, she does keep one. A hairpin made of brass and decorated with hetian jade which happens to be a gift from her confidant, Lieutenant General Liu.
To be honest, she also thinks that being the general of a battalion is too troublesome. It makes one worthy of praise and respect, yes, but her heart desires none of those. However, does it really matter if she likes it or not? It's her responsibility. Whether she likes it or not, she must serve the empire by leading men into the battlefield. And besides, being the so-called Princess General is the only thing that connects her and Lieutenant General Liu. For some unknown reasons for the princess, she finds it hard to separate herself from this subordinate of hers.
In a low voice, she speaks, "Renshu... the empire... our nation needs us. We can't just run away from our responsibilities, right? I also want to go back to shizun and others but I don't want to be selfish either."
"Of course, we won't force you to stay." Prince Yin Wenyan reached for his brother's shoulder. He gives him his signature gentle smile, giving him a sense of assurance and comfort. "It's okay. If your heart doesn't truly belong here, why would we hold you back? Don't you think so, Xiulan?"
The princess averted her eyes. Her long and slender fingers anxiously play with her fan. "Um... well, yes but..."
But she doesn't want the three of them to go in different ways. Ever since they're young, they're already side by side. The three of them were together when Taoist Xu Lin saw them in the streets. The three of them were together when their Lin-dage turned his back and left them, telling them that he'll be waiting in Wan Moli Hua Palace. The three of them climb the mountain altogether to find their way to the sect and later find out he's dead. They grew up together, found their way back to their real place. They were inseparable.
Although the princess and the emperor always argue, she really never wants him gone.
"Don't worry too much. I'm used to dealing with the emperor's duties for years. But if you really choose to leave, don't forget to visit us sometimes. Don't be so hard to yourself, find out where you truly want to go." Prince Yin Wenyan advised.
He wants the best for his siblings. That's an instinct he had ever since they're young. Of course, if Yin Renshu leaves, it would be an additional duty for him for he has to come to wars by then. However, he doesn't mind an extra duty or two. And besides, his sister seems she wants to stay and serve the empire as well so it would be too much of a burden.
He continues, "Don't get me wrong, you two. I also want to go back to the old times but I want to do this. I want to continue the legacy that our parents left for us."
The emperor nods, "Mn. I'll think about it."
"Renshu..." She calls out but said nothing after that.
Like her brother, she doesn't want to hold him back either.
Meanwhile, in the grand empress dowager's hall, the prince is right. She really is very upset about what happened at the conference. She's been yelling for a while now out of anger. The poor head eunuch of the Xue clan nervously sits on the opposite side of the old empress, facing her.
"Ungrateful! Didn't I give them enough political authority? I even let the first princess have such authority over the imperial soldiers! If I denied their identity and never welcomed them back in the imperial palace, by now they'll still live in the mountains with those rogue cultivators! If not because of me, they'll never experience a luxurious life!" The grand empress dowager rants.
"Your highness, please calm down first." The old eunuch managed to say those words.
"How can I calm down? I literally lost my political authority!" She exclaims.
"Don't be so upset over it. Let's think of a way on how to regain your authority." He said in a calm manner. "In fact, I already came up with a possible solution but only if your highness would permit."
The grand empress dowager indeed somehow calms down. Although her eyebrows are still knitting, she stops yelling. "Speak."
The old eunuch clears his throat as he fixed his posture. In a low voice, he said. "We need to make his highness and the first princess to go out of the palace."
"..." The grand empress dowager thinks for a while. "I think we can do that. What else? Just what are you planning?"
There aren't too many notable happenings that happened in the imperial palace. It's more like their usual everyday routine. The princess deals with the daily matters in the ministries she handles. All thanks to Lieutenant General Liu Chen, her duties seem to lighten and her boredom is somehow relieved.
As usual, Prince Yin Wenyan deals with the government and official palace matters. The only difference is that it becomes easier now that he needs not consult the grand empress dowager anymore. He knows this is too good to be true and that the grand empress dowager is coming back at him as soon as possible.
Since his brother works the palace duties on his behalf, Emperor Yin Renshu's only task is to hide from the public eye. If it's his usual day, he'd be bored to death. Good thing, it's not the usual days that he repeatedly spends. He's currently staying in Lotus Hall with his silly eunuch, Xu Zhengming.
Eunuch Xu writes the final character of his nth poem on a sheet of rice paper. He looks at his handwriting again and slightly smiles out of satisfaction. He puts his calligraphy brush down and noticed that the emperor is having deep thoughts. The silly eunuch grins as he calls the other, "Renshu."
"Hmm?" The emperor responded without looking back at Xu Zhengming.
Eunuch Xu asks, "Do you think my calligraphy looks good?"
"Mn." Emperor Yin Renshu replies in a lazy tone. He still nods even though he didn't look at it at all.
"Do you know what looks better than this?" The grin on Mingming's lips spreads even wider. "Me!"
"Hmmmmmm..." The emperor responded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"Tch." Not getting support, he somehow felt sour.
He wonders why this temperamental emperor is being grumpy again. Just a few days ago, he was all gentle and kind to this eunuch, and now he's back to being short-tempered.
Still annoyed, Eunuch Xu asks, "Aren't you busy? Why are you here?"
The emperor finally looks at him. "Am I not allowed to be here?" The sarcastic response makes Xu Zhengming roll his eyes.
"Have you seen your brain just now?" The emperor asks with a straight face.
Xu Zhengming knits his eyebrows. "Why the heck would I see it?"
"Oh, I forgot. You can't see it because you don't have one." The emperor said it casually like it's just a normal thing to say. He also added, "And don't make it a habit. Only women do that."
Or at least that's what he believes. Except for Eunuch Xu, he didn't see anyone roll their eyes like that except for his sister. Well, who dares to roll their eyes in front of the emperor except for his own sister and his silly eunuch?
Xu Zhengming can't believe this nonsense. Is he saying that this beau, a goddamn poet, is brainless?! Can't he just go back to his soft and fluffy self? "What's wrong with you?"
The emperor ignored him and decided to open another subject matter. "Out of topic but I want to ask you something..." He pauses and breathes in deeply without letting the other notice. He asks, "If I'd say I'll leave the imperial palace for good, will you come with me?"
Mingming is puzzled. "You'll leave the imperial palace?! But you're the emperor."
"I want to have a peaceful life. Away from politics." He answers then asks once more. "If I leave, will you come with me?"
Xu Zhengming thinks about it for a good while. He thinks, if the emperor leaves, he'll still work as a eunuch if he doesn't leave too, right? And what if his biggest secret, that he's not castrated, got revealed? There's no one who will cover up for him! Will he let them cut it then? Of course not! This silly eunuch still wants to see his beautiful descendants!
"Yes." He said, smiling like he's not worried about anything. Better leave the palace before he gets castrated!
"You will?" For some reason, the emperor felt an unexplainable overwhelming strange feeling inside his chest.
"Yes, I will." Xu Zhengming forces a smile.
Just thinking about what will the royal physician and Court Lady Han do to him makes him sweat. He screams internally, "Don't leave me here with these monsters, you temperamental emperor!"