"Wang ye...wang ye...I beg you...please do not break of the engagement! Please..."
For a long time, the girl's bitter pleading echoed around the magnificent Jin Luan Dian. Her pitiful appearance, however, did not arouse any sympathy from the crowd; the palace maids continued to serve their respective masters whilst the masters simultaneously turned towards the man the girl was begging.
"Chen Wang...this..." the man sitting upon the throne, Yu Qian Di, glanced at the crowd below, feeling slightly awkward as Chen Wang stood silently in the middle of the grand chamber.
The girl's watery eyes instantly lit up and looked pleadingly at the man standing beside her, wishing over and over again he would change his mind. But all she received was his unwavering reply.
"I have already made up my mind, I beg the Emperor to fulfill my request!"
"No...no..."the young girl shook her head, unable to accept Chen Wang's continuous refusal of their engagement. Tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes and her agitation caused her tender lips to slightly tremble but Chen Wang's cold and resentful expression made her unable to express her heart's conflict out loud so she could only repeatedly murmur to herself.
As for the audience within the hall, well, they could only hold their breath.
The girl's face was now as pale as snow and her pleading eyes swept over the whole before she suddenly bit her lip and knelt down in front of him.
"Wang Ye...Meng'Er begs of you, please do not break off the engagement...please..." fragmented requests stumbled out of her mouth. Disregarding the crowd's cold stares, she began to repeatedly press her forehead against the floor.
The girl's sobs and the sound of her forehead meeting the ground resonated through the entire audience hall leaving all those inside to look at her with disdain.
The multiple looks upon him and the sounds coming from the girl next to him caused the originally calm Chen Wang to frown and stare at the girl with disgust. His face only darkened further when he saw how weak and cowardly she appeared at that moment.
"Ben Wang will never marry a weak woman like you, you will never become Wang Fei!"
And with that, he turned away.
When the girl heard the finality in his reply, her shoulders fell and her legs suddenly gave way beneath her, causing her to fall upon the ground. Hopelessness flashed across her eyes and she bit down hard on her lips until blood began to trickle.
Even though Yun Qian Meng was the precious mistress of the Yun family, it would be almost impossible for her to wed again after being rejected.
The audience's disdainful looks only agitated her further, causing her to suddenly burst out laughing as if she lost her mind.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Tears trickled down her face as she continued laughing.
She slowly raised her delicately elegant face and looked at Chen Wang with infatuation, carefully tracing his stern and handsome profile...his straight stature...
"How could I continue living if Wang Ye does not want me anymore?" Yun Qian Meng murmured these few words and clumsily stood up, her eyes not leaving Chen Wang for a single moment.
Her pitiful appearance was enough to make anyone's heart break but not once did it arouse a single ounce of sympathy from Chen Wang.
Yun Qian Meng's eyes slowly rested upon the hall's red Long Pan column and a tiny bit of determination blazed forth from the depths of her eyes.
"Hurry! Stop her!"
Yu Qian Di saw through Yun Qian Meng and called out. The audience's hearts leapt to their throats but none of them could react to the situation.
Bam!
The sound of the collision resonated like a clear bell through the solemn yet glorious Jin Luan Dian.
Wang Ye – A title given by the Emperor to those who he believes are worthy (i.e. gained a significant amount of land for the country, helped dethrone the previous Emperor etc) or a title which is passed down by the previous Wang to the inheritor (male) of the family. Chen Wang gets the 'Wang' title because he is the Emperor's brother.
Jin Luan Dian – The Hall of Gold Chimes (the Emperor's audience hall)
Yu Qian Di – The Emperor's title, Chen Wang's brother
Wang Fei – The Wang's official wife
Long Pan – A coiling dragon