The emperor was confused about Lord Aten's demand.
"Lord Aten, why do I need to give you an explanation for your sister's death?" he asked putting on airs of a ruler.
Lord Aten sniggered at him.
"Your Highness, the emperor, one of your subjects had taken in my sister as his wife, and then later abandoning her, which resulted in her death. If I do not get an explanation from you who have blessed their union, who should I go to?...Unless you want me to go to that estate myself, I wouldn't mind that option either," he finished saying, looking indifferent.
Emperor Chen was shocked, when did he bless any marriage with Lord Aten's sister. That would have surely been a grand event, however, he could not think of anyone who may have taken the Lady in.
Lord Aten watched him as his eyes went back in forth thinking the situation. Lord Aten knew the emperor did not know about his sister's marriage. After all, she had married in as the second wife, it was not worth any grand celebration, but as the Lady of the Moon Land, she was warranted that much. That is why Lord Aten was even more furious, for some plebeian to coerce his sister into marriage and as a concubine no less, that person had better start walking on all fours and quickly crawl to him to beg for mercy.
As the emperor and Lord Aten were lost in their thoughts, God Hoth was leisurely eating the snacks that were brought by the palace servants. Although he was aggrieved by the lady's death, he had only met her once, and whatever Lord Aten wanted to do to her 'murderers', he supported.
"Lord Aten, could you tell me who has married the Lady of the Moon Land? I'll have them come in front of us immediately because I was not aware of it, and I surely did not agree to it either," the emperor said, clearing his involvement in the affair.
"Is that so? Then your official had married such a figure, without telling you so?" Lord Aten asked.
"Yes."
"Not only did he marry her in secrecy, but even her death was dishonorable, and you were unaware of that as well?"
"Yes," the emperor answered, even he would not treat the Lady of the Moon Land, as such, for an official to have such guts, he would not hesitate to sacrifice their whole family for the empire.
"What would be the punishment of such a…deceiver? Deceiving the emperor is quite a crime," Lord Aten said slowly. He was silently reeling in the emperor into his scheme.
"Indeed. Not to worry, Lord Aten, they shall be dealt with accordingly," the emperor insured.
"That is great, then have your men bring Prime Minister Ashir over then," Lord Aten demanded, changing his nonchalant aura to an overbearing one. He was done negotiating, the emperor could not take his words back, what would happen next is what mattered.
"Prime Minister Ashir?" the emperor was shocked, he would have never thought that of the man he trusted the most would have been the one deceive him.
However, as the emperor thought about it, Prime Minister did have a second wife who died eighteen years ago and coupled with the fact that their daughter was mentally ill, nobody cared about what happened to them. Also, it wasn't until Crei had married that same daughter that he realized that she was not really sick, but instead neglected by her own family. Therefore, this was not the first time Prime Minister Ashir had deceived him, but he really couldn't punish the prime minister because he played a key role in balancing the powers of the court.
"Emperor Chen?" Lord Aten called, interrupting the emperor's thoughts.
"Ah- Yes, men, summon Prime Minister Ashir," the emperor ordered. He had already formed a plan in his head to hopefully calm Lord Aten down, and spare the prime minister.
Lord Aten was not stupid, he knew what the emperor was thinking, and little did he know that he had already met his beloved niece. Lord Aten won't allow anyone to use her like a chess piece, and his sister will get due justice.
-Ashir Estate-
"Husband, you have not visited my courtyard in weeks, is something the matter?" asked Madame Ashir seducingly.
"There have been many matters for me to take care of, you can't always expect me to come over, just focus on grooming Nala since she will soon be engaged to the crown prince the emperor will soon choose," answered Ra Ashir.
Madame Ashir pouted, the engagement of Nala and the crown prince was already a done deal, but her husband kept on bringing it up. What was he so worried about?
"Master, men from the palace have come with a summon from his majesty," said a servant upon reaching the room Ra and Madame Ashir were in. Servants would usually not be so bold, but the emperor ruled above all, it would be a crime to keep him waiting.
Prime Minister Ashir was startled and felt weird about the sudden summon, but he still went along with the guards. Meanwhile, Madame Ashir thought the summon was about their daughter and that the emperor was about to bestow the marriage, hence calling for her husband.
"When my daughter becomes the empress, even your so powerful husband will have to kneel to greet her," she murmured as she thought about that embarrassing encounter with Crei and Tria. She hated Tria as much as she hated Elaine, and she couldn't wait to see them kneel in front of her daughter in the future.