Yee Len choked on his tea while the other bodyguard missed the log. His ax hit the ground instead. They were shocked. No one had ever brazenly gone up to their lord shouting nonsense.
Mua Kong gently sat the teacup next to him, turned his head to face Hli Ja with a warm smile. "Mm... I think I should teach you how to swim first."
The sudden sentence startled Hli Ja. What Mua kong said came out of nowhere, but it also made sense too. No one had ever taught her how to swim. She had her fair share of bad luck with water, but that also was followed by good fortune. In the end, she could only mutter, "It's good to see you again."
He gazed at her with a gentle expression and replied, "It's very good to see you again... too."
She frowned. "Did you know earlier? Why didn't you say anything?" He knew her at their first encounter at the canal. Was he just playing with her?
He chuckled. "Then it wouldn't be fun."
She furrowed her brows for a brief moment and then relaxed her face. After a moment of struggle with what to do, she let out a big sigh and went to sit next to him.
She lazily turned her head over to look at him. It was then she noticed that the man chopping woods had frozen in his place, giving them an idiotic smile. She looked at Yee Len who was behind Mua Kong. Yee Len had the same idiotic smile on his face too.
Hli Ja's pupils dilated. With a lost expression, she tried to figure out the two other men. Seeing her, Mua Kong followed the direction she was staring at.
"Ah... they are my traveling companions. Sitting next to me is Yee Len, and the one chopping woods over there is Chue Yi." When they traveled for investigation purposes, they usually introduced each other as traveling companions.
Hli Ja came back to her senses. "Hmm.... how long are you guys in town for?"
"For two weeks." As soon as Mua Kong finished, Yee Len and Chue Yi's jaw dropped. Didn't their lord say they were leaving this afternoon? It had only been several hours, and he already had a change of heart? Who was this woman? Their lord had never talked so much to a woman before. When he had come back from the assassination attempt six years ago, he was constantly working on secret missions and was barely at home other than to report to the king.
Mua Kong had refused to take marriages proposed by his father and had refused to talk to all the potential future women. He always used the excuse of work, and secret missions to get out of marriage talks. But with this woman, he was a different man.
Grandma shouted through the window. "Why don't you boys take a bath while Hli Ja prepares the dinner? It might be a little crowded with you three in the room."
Hli Ja stood up. "Grandma, you..." She was about to confirm their stay, but it looked like she did not need to.
"I've prepared the extra room for them. Come prepare the food you have brought home. I'm going to organize the herbal medicines for tomorrow," Grandma explained.
"Ok."
*
The lights on the stage died and the narrator's voice soon followed, "Four years had gone by, Mua Kong traveled back and forth from the Kingdom Palace to the city Hli Ja lived in. Their love bloomed over the years. Finally, in the fourth year, grandma became too old and passed away. It was then Mua Kong brought Hli Ja to his place. She was the only woman he wanted to be his wife and no one else."
"The king was furious. The son he wanted to rule the kingdom brought in a woman of unknown origins. He thought he was doing his son a favor by deciding on all those people who could support his son, whether it was through wealth or power. He had a strong wife who was able to help him take the throne. He wanted the same for his son. The king had wanted his son to marry the Law Prime Minister's daughter, Pa Chee. They had the position and power to help Mua Kong conquer the continent."
"After years of investigations, Mua Kong found out it was the Southern Kingdom that sent assassins to kill him. The Southern Kingdom had a diviner who predicted that unless Mua Kong was killed off, their Southern Kingdom would fall in the future. At this point, the war was about to break out between these two kingdoms."
"As far as the Northern Kingdom, their king, and queen were betrayed and killed by the king's brother. It took 10 years for the former prince to overthrow his uncle and rightfully take the throne back. The country was rebuilding itself and was not much of a threat."
Inside the king's hall, the king slammed his hand on his armrest. He huffed and shouted so loudly that his voice echoed throughout the hall like thunder. "Marry the Prime Minister's daughter, Pa Chee!"
Prince Mua Kong, who was kneeling in front of his father, replied sternly without a hint of hesitation, "No." He didn't need to explain to his father about his decision. He owed no one an explanation.
The king stuttered in shock, "You... you... This is an order from me, king of this country! You need people with knowledge and power. That unknown woman you picked off from the road… she can't do anything for you." The king had placed so much hope into this son of his that the hope had blinded him. He thought his decisions and choices for his son were the best that would aid his son to conquer the continent.
"No matter what you say, my answer will still be the same," Mua Kong said. His tone got sterner than stone. Emitting an aura colder than ice, he continued, "If anyone ever hurts her, I will forsake the entire kingdom."
Mua Kong's threat startled the king, but he quickly gained his composure back. His eyes sharpened at the son kneeling before him, and in an icy tone he asked, "Are you threatening me?"
"Give the throne to my older brother, Mua Mong."
The rejection of his second son sent a sharp pain through the king's heart. The fate of the country depended on Mua Kong. His first son was sickly and was not suited for combat and long trips. The king did not know how long he could be alive. He needed a successor. After a while, he replied, "I will only accept her only after you have conquered the entire continent!"
"I hope my King remembers his words." With that Mua Kong got up, turned around, and left without sparing, a glance at his father.