Li Imperial Study
"The son you're so proud of is a failure as an emperor, a son, a brother, and a father. He failed in all of them" I replied.
" How dare you?" the empress shouted.
" Calm down both of you! Yue, do you have proof of what you're implying? These are serious accusations!" Ying Jie said seriously.
" I have proof! I have a letter which proves my allegations" I replied.
" A letter?" Princess Li Mei suddenly ask
"Yes! A letter, written by Wei himself!" I said while everyone except my brother looked at me shocked.
" What does the letter say?" asked Ying Jie questionably.
"Before I answer, I have a question I'd like to ask the stupid emperor," I said as calmly as possible.
" Don't talk like that to my son! He's the emperor of the Li Kingdom and as such, he deserves the respect due to his title" said the empress dowager.
" I can't respect a man who doesn't value the life of a child! I can't respect a man who runs away from his problems instead of solving them! I can't respect a selfish man! I can't respect a man who makes a child cry! I can't respect a man whose child had pleaded the love of his father for five long years! I'm sorry, but I'm unable to respect such a despicable man. You love your son very much which we can all witness here, but had your son given the same kind of love to his own son and flesh, your grandson would have been here with us today and you wouldn't have been crying. I'm sorry if I offended you, empress, but it's the truth" I said yelling.
" My brother went through a lot. How can you say that?" Princess Li Mei asked angrily.
" What I said wasn't wrong, Princess? Why are you so angry?
No matter the circumstances, a father has no right to turn his back away from his son" I said to the princess.
" What if he's suffering? What if he's suffering so much that the pain is unbearable, even to his surroundings? Can you slightly imagine the pain of losing someone important/special in your life?" the princess asked me questionably.
"You're right, Princess! How can I know what it feels like to lose someone important in your life? I never went through such pain! I'm heartless and don't care about others' feelings one bit. Why did you employ me if I'm so mean and heartless? Why have you chosen me, Princess? Anyhow, read the letter to the assembly, Jie!" I said to my brother by looking away from the princess.
" Listen carefully!" Ying Jie said attentively.
"By the time you'll be reading this letter, I'll be out of your lives. First, I'm sorry for bringing trouble to your peaceful lives. I'm sorry! I didn't intend to cause trouble to you all. I'll be out of your lives so that everyone can be happy. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't get the love of my father, which I haven't seen for five years. I'm sorry as I know every time you see me, you feel pain and longings from mom. I'll remove this pain from your life forever and I hope you'll be happy, dad. I ask for your forgiveness and I promise you to never show my face around you ever again. With that, I hope it'll ease your pain a little.
I love you all!
Goodbye forever!
Li Wei"
At the end of the letter, the princess and the empress dowager were crying which didn't surprise me much. What surprised me was when I noticed the emperor crying as well. I never thought he would cry. I didn't know why exactly he was crying. Was he crying because he had remorse for what he had put his son through for the past five years of his life, or was he crying because his son was missing?
"You all very well heard the contents of the letter. What have you told him to make him think that he wasn't loved?" I asked the imperial family angrily.
" Calm down, Yue! It's time to confess! Tell us everything you know! Don't forget any detail! Any information could help us search for him" Ying Jie said to the imperial family.
"We don't need your help. This is a family matter. Please, leave!" Empress Dowager responded.
"As you wish! We're leaving! We can't do more as we have already done. Jie, let's go! You're late! You need to get to work asap" I said to Ying Jie.
" Go right ahead! I need to get to the bathroom. I'll join you in a while!" Ying Jie replied.
"Okay! I'll wait for you outside!" I said by walking away.
"I need to clarify something before I leave. I didn't appreciate what you said to Yue earlier, Princess Li Mei. The feeling of longing for someone all your life, Yue knows that feeling more than anyone. Yue trusted you, Princess Li Mei, but instead of giving her your trust in return, you hurt her deeply with your actions. I was against her working in the field of Childcare, but I conceded in the end because she likes working with children. She likes Prince Li Wei very much. She's always talking about him. The reason why she never thought about quitting her job was only because of Prince Li Wei. When she learned the truth about your family, she was heartbroken. She didn't know how to act natural around you, so she took three days off from work. You hurt her very deeply today. Yue won't say anything to you because she can clearly see your pain and regrets. We could have helped you with the case, but as you don't need our help, I'll leave you alone. Goodbye!" Ying Jie said by walking away angrily.
On the road
" What took you so long?" I asked Ying Jie questionably.
"I was running around. What are you going to do now?" Ying Jie asked me in return.
"I don't know, brother! I don't have the strength to think about anything. I wonder how Wei must have felt when he decided to leave. What kind of expressions was he wearing?" I said sadly.
"Stop it, sister! You're hurting yourself!" Ying Jie said worriedly.
"What else do you want me to do? What expression do you want me to wear? I should have been there for him instead of taking three days off from work" I said sadly.
" Don't punish yourself like that! You couldn't know this would happen. Let's go home! I'll cook you something which will cheer you up!" Ying Jie said worriedly.
" Go to work and don't worry about me!" I said sadly.
"I'm not leaving you in that state and leaving. It's out of the question!" Ying Jie said, concerned.
"What about your job?" I questioned him.
" My sister comes first as she's the most important person in my life. She's more important to me than my work" Ying Jie replied.
" You say that now, but when you'll find your special girl, the woman of your dreams, she'll become your special someone and your number one priority," I said to Ying Jie seriously.
"You'll always be my number one most important person in the whole wide world. We'll always be together and should never be separated. We'll go through thick and tights together as a team" Ying Jie replied.
"You're right! The special bond we share should never be broken" I said trying to smile.
Li Imperial Palace
" What have I done? What have I done?" the emperor said crying and sobbing.
" Stop crying, Jun! Everything will be okay!" the empress dowager hugged her son tightly, comforting him.
" Nothing will be okay, mom! I put a wedge between us. I pushed my son far away from me. I never held him in five years, nor have I seen him grow. He was suffering and grieving in his heart and I wasn't there to comfort him. All this time, all I could think of was me. I've been so selfish! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Wei! Please, forgive me, my son! Come back! Come back to me!" the emperor said, crying continuously.
"You finally realize your mistakes, Jun! I'm glad!" Princess Li Mei said.
"I'm sorry sister for the way I've treated you for the last five years. I've been a terrible brother" the emperor said hugging his sister.
"I'm your sister and I can take everything that's coming from you. From now on, we have to stay united for Wei" the princess said hugging him back.
"What are we going to do? How are we going to find Wei?" the emperor asked questionably.
"There's only one way for us, which is to contact the police. I know you're against the idea, but------------------" the princess said unfinished.
"Let's do it! Let's contact the police and find Wei!" the emperor replied confidently.
The emperor's response surprised both the empress dowager and the princess, but it mostly surprised the princess as the emperor was against the idea from the start. She was happy to notice her brother's change of heart.
"Thank you, brother! Now, the next step is to find a reputable police station. Do any of you know any reputable police stations around here?" the princess asked questionably.
"If you allow me to your majesty, I might be able to help you," Concubine Ah Lam said coming in our direction.
"Go right ahead!" the emperor gave its consent.
"If I may be blunt to say, there was a reputable police officer right in front of you, but you drove him away. In any case, the MPS Police Station is a reputable police station around here. No case was ever left unsolved by them. They have great police officers skilled and trained for any kind of work" Concubine Ah Lam said informatively.
"MPS Police Station? I'll reward you greatly for your help" the emperor said gratefully to the concubine.
" I don't need any kind of reward, your majesty. I just need his highness to return home safe and sound. I'll excuse myself!" said Concubine Ah Lam walking away.
"We know which police station to contact. I'll contact them!" said Princess Li Mei grabbing her cellphone.
"Wait a minute, sister!" the emperor said suddenly.
"Why?" the princess asked surprisingly.
" If it's not too much trouble, I would like to contact them myself" the emperor replied.
" It's all yours!" said the princess.
MPS Police Station
"Hello! Commissioner Mu Beiyang here! How may I help you?" Commissioner Mu Beiyang said, answering the phone call.
"I'm the emperor of the Li Kingdom, Li Jun. I have a request to ask of you, Commissioner Beiyang" the emperor said from the other side of the line.
" I understand! I'll send you our best officer, tomorrow morning," Commissioner Mu Beiyang said affirmatively.
"Thanks a bunch, Commissioner Beiyang!" the emperor said thankfully.
"It was nothing, your majesty! We'll do our very best and will deploy all our strength to find Prince Li Wei" the commissioner said hanging up.
The next day
" I'm going to work. See you tonight!" Ying Jie said waving goodbye.
" Don't forget your lunch box!" I said.
" Thanks!" he replied
MPS Police Station
"Gentlemen, we have a great case in our hands. The young prince of the Li Kingdom disappeared two days ago. One of our officers has to go to the Li Kingdom to collect information that might help for the case" the commissioner said affirmatively.
" We all have a case we're working on at the moment. We're all extremely busy. Who's going to take on this case?" Police Detective Lui Xiang asked questionably.
" Officer Ying Jie will take on this case," said the commissioner...
"Me?" Ying Jie asked questionably.
"Get ready to go! Emperor Li Jun must be waiting for you" the commissioner said.
"Waiting for me? I doubt it!" Ying Jie said sadly.
Li Imperial Palace
"Why isn't the police here yet? What's taking him so long?" Emperor Li Jun asked questionably.
"Don't be so impatient, your majesty! Sorry for my tardiness!" Ying Jie said greeting the emperor.
" It's you?" the emperor shouted surprisingly.