Days after the kiss, I have been ashamed to see the king. I don't know if I should be ashamed or not but I was seriously avoiding meeting the king. I knew people were speculating about what happened that night.
"Young general, you are being summoned to the main hall." A maid said.
I quickly dressed up and headed to the main hall. I expected to see the soldiers in the hall, but to my surprise, I met only the king there.
"Greetings to you, your majesty" I said.
"Juan'er, have you been avoiding me?" He asked
"I am not avoiding you. I have just been busy trying to find the bandits" I said.
Wanting to avoid his eyes, I turned towards the door and found the soldiers spying. I quickly closed the door and turned away.
"Your Majesty, what happened shouldn't repeat itself. The soldiers are already speculating" I said worried.
The king got up and came to stand in front of me
" So you are afraid it will reach the duke? Do you love him?" He said looking into my eyes.
I stayed quiet for a moment trying to search his eyes. Our lips were so close but I didn't care. I just wanted to see that he cared for me.
"Genji, are you falling in love with the emperor?"
No! No! He was the emperor. Besides, he didn't love me. He issued a decree to marry me off to the duke. Perhaps, its because I had stayed too long in their world. I was starting to think I was Li Juan.
I moved away with a heavy heart.
"Your Majesty, waters flow downwards. They don't flow backwards. When you let go of a kite, it will wonder away and never return" I said sitting down.
I watched him as he squatted in front of me.
"Juan'er, no matter how high the kite flies. No matter how far it wonders, it will still return home" He said.
"If you want me to return home, you know what to do, Hui'er" I said hoping he would change his mind.
But instead he got up and turned away. I guess I have my answer. I stood up and started to head towards the door when he held my hand.
"Juan'er...."
"Your Majesty, please let go." I said.
"We have to go to the market. Follow me" he said dragging my hand.
Throughout the whole trip I remained silent and waited for him by a shop. Suddenly he jumped out of nowhere holding candy. I wasn't showing any sign of bulging.
"Juan'er, let us forget about this matter now. When we return to the capital, let fate decide" he said holding my hand.
"Oh well, who dares to be angry with the king? I will just let this matter die down for now. I will just make him love me" I thought.
We held our hands and walked through the market buying things and laughing. It felt like we were a real couple. At this moment, I felt he was sincerely happy and didn't hide any emotion. We went into a restaurant and ate. He told me everything about Xuzhou and about the officials and their dealings.
"If that is the case, why don't you just issue a decree and have them locked up" I asked
"Its not as simple as it looks Juan'er. We have no evidence. I came here to check it personally" he said
"Do you think some of the officials have made dealings with the bandits?" I asked.
" There is no way the bandits can gain easy access to Xuzhou if they are not involved. The city is the forefront of Han. If we lose it now, Chu State will be able to attack us easy" he said.
" So you mean Chu State might be involved? This is bad." I said.
Suddenly, a carriage came out of no where on a high speed. The king immediately jumped in and saved the girl who was in front of the carriage.
I rushed to his side and found out, it was no other than lady Liu.
"Christ, it seems this girl is working very hard!!!" I thought sighing.