The day came when Jiahao and Xuefeng were going to leave for the war. Xuiying and Jingyi went to see them off. The others were too busy to see them off.
"Brother, will you be back quickly?" Jingyi, the 9th prince cried.
Jiahao smiled at his little brother. Jingyi has relied so much on him and now he's leaving his little brother.
"Have you been practicing your sword?" Jiahao asked to which Jingyi quickly nodded with tears in his eyes.
"Then practice more so I could spar with you when I come back," Jiahao said as he mounted his horse.
"Take care brother, I'd like a fair fight over the throne when you come back," Xuiying said.
Jiahao laughed out loud at Xuiying's words.
"Alright, I'll be sure to come back and take the throne. Beware, brother," Jiahao laughed. "Take care of Jingyi for me."
Xuiying nodded as they watched Jiahao galloped his horse to the front lines.
"Have you seen Xuefeng?" Xuiying asked his eunuch.
"No, your highness. I haven't seen him. They said he already marched off with his cavalry first," the Eunuch quickly answered.
The prince sighed as he watched his brother's cavalry start marching off.
"He still hasn't changed, has he?" he sighed as he walked away with Jingyi.
Although he knows that his brother and Xuefeng are the best swordsmen in the empire, he knew that going to war against the Hans was a suicide mission. He glanced at their little brother who was holding his hand as they walked, soon it will be Jingyi's time to go to war.
He stopped for a minute to look at the sky.
'If only you were still here, Yue,' he sighed.
---
The Wen Family who took in the Moon Princess was in a mess. The old General was tied to his bed with an unknown illness. Although the Emperor had sent the Imperial Physician, it was still hard to decipher what illness he has.
One day, the old Emperor came to visit the family. Seeing that the Emperor himself has visited him, the old General forced himself to bow. However, the Emperor forbid him.
"We are both old and dying, my old friend," the Emperor said as he sipped from his tea.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is sad that I can no longer see my daughter when she comes back," the General said as he sat on his bed.
"That is why I am here to offer a marriage proposal to you," the Emperor said as he gently put down his cup. "I doubt that Yue would come back and so I offer the seat of the future Empress to your family. I see that you have 3 more daughters while I have sons of my own."
After hearing this, the General quickly stood up out of surprise.
"But... But Your Majesty, this is such a high honor. My daughters certainly don't deserve the seat of the future Empress. I haven't taught them well enough as I have taught Yue," the old General said.
The Emperor looked at his old friend who was frail enough that when he stands he might break.
"Then we will teach them the ways of the palace. I couldn't bear losing your family as an ally. You and your clan have always stood behind our back without any second thoughts," the Emperor said.
The old General remained silent for a while, trying to study the situation carefully.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. But I hope you can give me enough time to think about your offer," he said.
The Emperor looked at him first before bursting into laughter.
"You do have the guts to ask me that, you should be glad we fought the same battles when we were younger. Fine, I will give you 10 days and no more than that," the Emperor said as he stood up. "I hope you can provide someone who will never ambition a prince's love, after all, you know very well that the only one that the princes have admired is Yue."
"But this Empire will soon need an Empress beside the Emperor who will stand as the mother of the Empire," the old Emperor continued.
"But... Your Majesty, it isn't time for you to think about such things yet," the General said as he sat back down on his bed.
"I am old and frail, my old friend. A lot of people have been eyeing my seat these past few months now. And I could only trust 2 of my sons and yet Jiahao left for the war," the Emperor said. "I will take my leave now, I pray you to decide well on this matter, my old friend."
After bidding goodbye, the General watched as the Emperor leave his room.
He took his time to think about this matter. But however he thinks of the situation, his second daughter, Fang, was the only one that was of age to marry since his 2 children are still under-aged of 4 years.
"If only you were here, my precious Yue," he sighed as he laid back on his bed.