While sipping on tea, the crown prince fans himself as Ying Yue stuffs her face with snacks and tea.
"Slow down woman. No one's going to take those snacks from you."
"I don't know. I'm just feeling really hungry this morning. You calling me out so early also made it impossible to have time to eat anything."
"Oh, so it's my fault now?"
"Who else? Or you can make both our lives easier and send me home."
"Now....why would I do that?"
Ying Yue stops eating and glares at the crown prince who was still fanning himself. She was shocked by how ignorant he was. Of all people to attract it had to be another crown prince. Only difference was that this one knew how to fight.
"Crown prince."
"What is it my dear concubine?"
"Ugh, to start off with, don't call me that. I am not your concubine and I don't remember agreeing to anything in the first place."
"How cold, you don't have to reject me so openly."
"Enough of your acting. I want to know why you're hiding your abilities."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
The crown prince was hiding behind his fan and was now only revealing his light brown eyes.
"Can you not stare at me like that. It's disgusting."
"Ha Ha!"
The crown prince broke into a laughter after being called disgusting. Unlike anything he's heard before it was enough to bring him to tears. Ying Yue could only stare in amazement at how the crown prince was finding something she said that was vulgar so amusing.
"If you're done laughing why don't you tell me why you're hiding your abilities?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm no fool. I know you're hiding your abilities. Why is that?"
Ying Yue sips on tea as she waits for a reply from the crown prince who was no longer smiling.
"Hm... I expected as much from you. To answer your question, it's simply due to me just not wanting unnecessary attention from certain people."
"What people?"
"Oops! That's something I can't tell you. You can ask me anything else though."
Ying Yue couldn't help but find the crown prince's actions fishy. For someone of his status, being in the spotlight was natural. Who could he possibly be hiding from when he's a prince of the so-called great kingdom of Xinjing. Not to mention, Bai Chun is the enemy of the dragon kingdom and he's supposed to be a formidable opponent. It made no sense to serve someone who was weaker than him.
"At least I know one thing for sure."
"And what is that, Ying Yue?."
"In terms of your strength, you're definitely stronger than Bai Chun."
"Hmmmm....believe what you want."
Ying Yue followed her gut feeling. The crown prince was definitely a much bigger issue than Bai Chun. If Ying Yue could barely keep up with Bai Chun, how was she going to stand a chance against the crown prince if he was to go all out. Not to mention she was now pregnant and fighting isn't something she should be doing in the first place. If what Su Ru told Ying Yue was true, then it would explain his strengthen if he really does carry the blood of a goddess in him.
"Sigh....forget it. Moving on, why do you want to kill off the dragon clan and wipe out the kingdom? I still hate you for even mentioning that."
"My oh my. You don't have to glare at me so strongly Ying Yue. I haven't even done anything yet."
"The fact that I know you're planning to harm people I love makes me hate you even more."
"Don't say that, you're hurting my feelings."
"I wonder if you even have any to begin with. Now, why don't you tell me about my sword."
Ying Yue removes her sword from her waist and plops it right onto the table in front of them. The crown picks up the sword and brushes his hand along the designs on the scabbard. Breaking into a smile, the crown prince places the sword back onto the table.
"Ying Yue, remove the sword from its scabbard, I need to show you something."
Although hesitant to do it, Ying Yue knew the crown prince was her best bet at learning more about her sword. Quickly grabbing her sword, Ying Yue pulls the sword out of its scabbard; revealing its beautiful white shade,
"Can you touch it for me?"
"What? I already am."
"No, I mean touch the blade."
Ying Yue places a finger onto the flat surface of the sword. As Ying Yue kept her finger on the sword, the crown prince places his finger also on the sword. Rather than his finger passing through, Ying Yue was shocked that someone else was able to touch the sword.
"What? How is that possible?"
"It is indeed the real thing."
The crown prince removes his finger away from the sword and goes back to fanning himself. Ying Yue; unsure to what she had just witnessed, shoves the sword back in its scabbard and ties it back to her waist.
"That sword is called the divine heaven's will because it killed the goddess who was the first queen of Xinjing, who's also my ancestor."
"What do you mean killed?"
"Ah....let's see, it's been more than a thousand years now I believe. Her name was Eu-meh. As described in the scrolls left behind by my ancestors, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her beauty was often described as something out of this world. Do you know the story of our first king?"
"Somewhat..."
"Heh, you've done some work I see. She is referred to as the goddess of light in ancient times. She watched over the Xinjing kingdom and soon before she realized it, she had fallen in love with the human king. To win his affections, she gave up her status and powers as a goddess and descended from heaven to be with him. It was love at first sight for the king. The king promised to never wed another woman for as long as he had her. With that promise the goddess agreed, and soon they were married and became blessed with two daughters. They were happy for ten years, but the nobles of Xinjing pressured the king to take another wife, because he still needed a son. The king knew his queen nearly died during childbirth for the sake of his second daughter. Unable to bring himself to force her to go through that again the king did something he promised her he wouldn't."
"Let me guess, he married another woman."
"Wow, are all woman physic or something?"
"No... not at all. That poor goddess, she must've felt so betrayed."
"Well, the king kept it a secret of course. He had married the prime minister's oldest daughter in secret. The king soon spent more and more time out of the palace and so the queen grew suspicious and followed him one day as he lied to her about tending to official business. When the queen witnessed the king being happy with his other wife. The queen's heart shattered instantly. Filled with rage she stormed inside the prime minister's residence and confronted the king. The king was filled with guilt and apologized profusely for breaking his promise to her. Although the king had another family, he still loved his queen deeply."
"What a bunch of lies. A man who loves a woman wouldn't betray her in the first place."
"That's true, I agree with you on that."
"I'm sure it didn't end there. What happened to the queen?"
"Well, after confronting the king he finally came clean and told her everything. Even with the truth out, the damage had already been done. Filled with sadness the queen looks into the king's eyes one last time before bidding him farewell. Do you want to know what she said?"
"We made a promise and today I find out that you've broken it. You broke not just my trust but my heart. I have nothing left to bind me to this world, my king. I believe this is where we part. Please take care of our daughters."
"Did you know it was a sin for humans and gods to be together? The first queen broke heaven's rule when she descended into the human world. It's taboo itself to even love just one human. To make matters worse, she had children with a human."
"So, her only escape was to die?"
"A goddess and human life is different. Gods don't reincarnate after death. Their soul is returned to the heavens where they will be reborn as a god again, but without any of their past life memories. After the queen found out about the betrayal, she called upon the heavens to let her return to the heavens. After chanting the spell over and over ten times, a pure white sword could be seen dropping from the heavens. The queen created a barrier as to not let anyone interfere. She wanted her king to witness her death as a punishment for betraying her. With her arms wide open and a smile on her face the queen whispered."
"I'm going home."
"With those parting words, the white sword pierced right through the queen. A ray of light that looked like a pathway to the heavens could be seen. Once the queen took her last breath the barrier finally broke. The king could only run to hold onto the limp body of his queen as it slowly disappeared."
"...."
"Speechless, now are we? Once the queens body disappeared, nothing but the sword remained. The king was never the same after losing his queen. He divorced the prime minister's daughter and never took another wife. His eldest daughter married and soon ruled over Xinjing with her husband."
"What does that story have to do with my sword?"
"Were you not listening? I'm saying that sword is a object from the heaven's and not just anyone can touch it. You're a human and a mix and for some reason you can wield it. Don't you find it odd at all?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at, but just to let you know I didn't steal this sword."
"I'm aware of that. That sword was in the royal family's possession for centuries until it disappeared about a little over five hundred years ago. Of all people to have it, it was you. So, the real question is, who are you?"