In the Palace of Tranquility,
"What does he think of himself? He has poked me several times. Shoumen, I'm telling you! I may do something terrible to him." Anchhi continued to scream while rolling her eyes and twitching her lips. Court Lady Xu and Shoumen, on the other hand, were busy drying her drenched garments.
They didn't bother Anchhi because she was yelling angrily, so they kept their mouths shut and ears open. They were well aware that the guy Anchhi was referring to was the First Prince, Shuo Jin, and they purposefully kept this information from her since Anchhi would strangle herself to death if she realized she was having an issue with him.
~~~~~
Shuo Jin entered his chamber and as he did so, his sight was drawn to a flying arrow aimed at him, which he successfully avoided and which was caught in the gilded brass door. He noticed a folded piece of paper in the shape of an arrow there. Shuo Jin took the paper and unfolded it, finding a message on it. "Meet me in the woods."
From the calm and serene expression of Shuo Jin, it seemed as if he knew who had sent this message. Then, without wasting a single minute, Shuo Jin made his way to the woods on his black horse before dressing himself in a black swordsman attire.
~~~~~
In the woods,
"I hope I am not late to greet you." Shuo Jin greeted a man with a bow, who was facing his back to Shuo Jin.
"Did anyone see you coming?" The voice approached.
"What if they saw me? Can they do any harm to me? I guarantee that they can't even pluck out my single hair." Shuo Jin gave a malicious smile, mocking those people living in the palace.
Hearing him, that man chuckled and spoke, "From raising you to bringing you here today, we have come so far and I believe the day isn't far when I will be seeing you ruling this land."
"Yes, Grandmaster! If you have already foreseen the future then I believe we will be successful on executing our plan." Shuo Jin bent on one of his knees and made a fist on his chest.
The man turned around and placed his hands on Shuo Jin's shoulders, making him stand. "What I would like to remind you is never ever indulge your emotions in that family. Before doing that, you should remember how they had treated you and your mother, how they accused you for their own benefits and at the age of eleven, how you were imprisoned in the dark dungeons far away from the palace."
Till today, Shuo Jin's mind and heart could clearly feel the suffering, pain, misery, he had gone through in his ten years span of imprisonment.
During that time, In the dark mysterious place with no one beside him, he had completely turned into a beast.
After Shuo Jin was released from the prison, the aimless, helpless boy had nowhere to go and someone had offered a helping hand to him who was the man standing right in front of Shuo Jin. To our surprise, this man was none other than the Prime Minister, Xie Cheng of the Great Gua Empire.
"I have never forgotten and I will never forget the deeds you have bestowed upon me. My intentions are very clear and I believe I won't get off my track. Even if I get, then I have your back in this saga of life and death. You will never let me fall!" Shuo Jin declared rigidly.
His eyes could express the enmity he held against the royal family. "I am here for my late mother and my only mission is to slaughter the whole royal family. I swear, I won't spare a single person in the palace." Shuo Jin took a vow in front of his grandmaster. His mind, soul and heart filled with the detest for his own family.
Now, living among the royal family, Shuo Jin shall hunt every one of them!
~~~~~
The crescent moon was shining brightly in the dark starry sky. Meanwhile, In the Crown Prince residence, the chamber was exquisite and elegant, decorated with red flowers and ribbons. Against the wall lied a large bed with royal red curtains.
A woman can be seen in a red royal ruqun with silver and gold embroidery adorned with gold dragon and phoenix. She was residing in the royal bed with her head covered by a red veil that was falling down to her shoulder. That woman was the Crown Princess Consort Bao Zhu, the Princess of Zhang Kingdom and future Empress of the Gua Empire.
While the Crown Prince, Hui Jing was only about to enter his chamber, he saw the bright appealing sight but it didn't excite his heart. As he infiltrated, Hui Jing closed the brass laden door and sauntered near Bao Zhu.
Even before he could touch her, he shifted his gaze and directly walked towards the dressing table and started unfolding his dress while staring at his own reflection on the mirror.
From behind, Bao Zhu slowly caressed his chest which as a result made him uncomfortable.
"What are you upto? Don't do this, Crown Princess!" Hui Jing gratingly spoke.
"Did you forget that today is our wedding anniversary?" Bao Zhu spoke in a honeyed voice, resting her head on Hui Jing's shoulder.
"Ohh... about that...I am very tired right now so I won't be able to accompany you. I want to have an early sleep." Hui Jing stated as he freed himself from Bao Zhu's grip.
Hui Jing took his step towards the bed that's when Bao Zhu bellowed in exasperation, "You want her to be here, right? Is she that important to you that you even forgot our wedding anniversary? Speak to me.. I am asking you something."
Hui Jing halted at his place and shot her a sideways glance. Bao Zhu grabbed his arm and turned him around. "What's in her that is not on me? What's in her that you love her so much?" she shouted.
"I have always tried my best to please you. I even dressed up like her, just for you. I have yearned you for so long. You haven't touched me for even one time. Why don't you appreciate my efforts?" Bao Zhu desperately held his face as she howled in agony.
"You can never be like her even if you own the whole world. You are not even an inch of her, so stop imitating her, Crown Princess." Hui Jing growled while he forcibly removed her both hands from his face. He was about to lead his way outside of the chamber while from behind, Bao Zhu again shouted, "Why go nuts over a wench that isn't even upto...."
Hui Jing immediately turned around to face Bao Zhu, "Crown Princess! Here, I would like to correct your words. Who is the wench here, I know! What you have done five years ago, I know! I also know that you were behind Fei Jia's disappearance. So, As the Crown Princess Consort of Gua empire, maintain your decorum and behave like one." He thundered in anger. After that, he left the chamber.
For a moment, Bao Zhu was too stunned to say or react anything. She chuckled and then pursed her lips, while clenching her fist. "It all started with you, Fei Jia! So, it will end with you, this time also."