As much as one wished to think so, humans were not born equal. The moment a baby took their first breath, many things had already been decided for them. Their wealth, their talents, their genetic illnesses and the worst offender-
Their beauty.
The nature of beauty is one of the most subjective themes in this world. A perfection that no one knew how to strive for and no one knew how to change. Yet, it was one of the fundamental values that made a human human.
Thus, unless that ever changed, humans were not equal.
The Wang mansion was silent in the night. It would normally feel calming to Wang Jing, but today, he could not stop his heart from beating harshly, and the silence seemed extremely eerie to him. His mother led the way—every step she took, she swayed her hips seductively. Wang Jing doubted she herself realized what she was doing.
Their footfalls resounded in the hallway.
"We are here. Walk in, dear." She guided him towards the unguarded door. "Make it fast. Maybe I can enter right after."
"Mom..." Wang Jing squinted his eyes. He then shook his head and knocked against the wall. There was no response, but he still entered.
The room was incredibly spacious, probably even bigger than his grandfathers room. Each furniture was elegantly crafted and made out of the finest wood. The only light-source came from the middle, where a big bed stood, covered with white curtains hiding what was inside.
Wang Jing promptly knelt down. "Eldest Cousin, I have arrived." Sweat covered his back and he did not dare lift his head.
The thoughts in his head started to revolve:
If beauty was so subjective, maybe the only thing one could do was get rid of it in its entirety. As what one may find aesthetically pleasing, the other may find vulgar, was there even a point in discussing it then? And if there was no point in discussing, was there a point in its existence?
Truthfully, Wang Jing knew the answer already.
Because he knew, with all his heart, there existed beauty that could not be debated—a universal beauty. A beauty so dazzling that it deferred realms and everything that pleased would turn into nothing more than ash in front of it. A beauty that overwhelmed all subjective opinions:
His Eldest Cousin, Mei Xue—the most beautiful woman in all heaven.
He buried his head deeper into the ground.
"I hear you have been busy," a voice as sweet as candy, but intermixed with a slight bitterness exited the bed and crawled its way into Wang Jings ear, catching him into a trance.
It was a thud that returned him to his senses, and he saw that his mother—who had secretly spied through the unclosed door—had fallen to the ground with a grand smile, her eyes full of hearts.
Wang Jing shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it.
The woman, Mei Xue, stood up, casting the shadow of her silhouette on the curtains. She lightly growled like a cat and stretched her back, arched like a hillslope, emphasizing her butt—a perfect roundness. Her slender legs contrasted the lovely curves of her hips and her ample breasts swaying like a pendulum. She gently breathed, her shoulders bobbing up and down. Her shadow alone was as beautiful as a painting; refined, yet raw–
"Oh shit!" Wang Jing quickly looked away for fear that he would fall into a stupor again.
He clicked his tongue and lamented his unluckiness. In this mansion, his Eldest Cousin was the number one person he would wish to avoid at all costs. He wasn't like the weirdo Li Yangyi who could love his sister and feel no moral repercussions by doing so. However, every time his eyes fell on his Eldest Cousin, he would be drawn to her by instinct. Only when she left, would he return to his senses and feel the sickening belch of his stomach.
All these years, he had searched for another girl, even taking the shame of being called a casanova, but it was futile. There was no one that looked as good as his Eldest Cousin.
"You understand, right? That this is an important time for our family. After all, we have a highly-influential person visiting us; It would be unwise to offend him."
"Yes, yes." Wang Jing nodded vehemently.
She was the darling of this family—no, maybe the whole city, if not the empire. No one would ever go against her. Rumor has it, when she was born the world turned still to appreciate her beauty. Her first words were, 'I do not like my name, it does not befit my beauty. Instead, refer to me as Mei Xue from now on.' That was why she had a different surname from the rest of the family-though he didn't know if that was true.
"So what exactly happened, for you to meet the other two families?"
Wang Jing quickly explained, "It was only coincidence. Ah yes, there was this store. No, I wouldn't call it a store, more of a scam. But the owner is really strong. We had met each other there." Wang Jing tried organizing his thoughts, but he couldn't concentrate. "I met the Li siblings and Zhang Zong? What else... ah, yes, Li Yangyi demanded money, but Zhang Yong did not allow it. Then, there was also the store design which looked weird..."
"Calm down. Simply answer me this: is that place worth a visit?"
Wang Jing breathed in. He closed his eyes and answered sincerely, "Yes."
The woman said nothing. A spell of silence reigned over the two of them.
"So about, uh..." He wanted to ask about the meeting today.
His cousin accurately guessed his intentions. "He's currently sleeping in a guest room. Do not disturb him."
"How did it go?"
"I plan on marrying him."
"Really?" Wang Jings eyes opened wide.
"Yes, we should be announcing our engagement soon. I believe he is a man worthy my attention," she casually said and lifted her hands up against the light. "The second prince, that is."
"That is great," Wang Jing shouted happily, "Congratulations, Eldest Cousin."
The shadow behind the curtain faced him. "Thank you. You may go now," She shooed him away—a welcome gesture for Wang Jing. After he left, she silently muttered, "Hmm, should I make that enigmatic store the first date-spot with my new fiance?"
...
"Is what you say true?"
In the dark of the night, whereas everyone was already sleeping, the pale moonlight lit up a large room in the middle of a big mansion. There, a man dressed in exquisite clothing sat at a desk while a woman stood in front of him, delivering the news.
"Yes. It has been confirmed that menbers of the three families met up today at a small store. Each of them stayed for more than three hours. We suspect they may have been discussing things in secrecy. Whether they know of our plans has not yet been confirmed."
"I see." The man leaned into the chair. He stared out the window, looking at the many guards diligently watching over the gates. Afterward, he stared at his finger—a beautiful silver ring framing it. "So they have finally begun to move. How annoying."
"Sir, what is it that we should do?"
The man played with the ring. "Increase the security. Find more patrolmen and take the ones outside the city too. Arrest as many as you can." He cupped his hands together and leaned forward. With a serious tone, he said, "We shall be moving towards the end-phase."
"But sir," the woman interjected, "The citizens will not be happy with this. Also, the three families—"
"It's fine. This isn't the capital. We are in the City of Extended Delight—the heart of commerce." He waved her off. "It does not matter what political power they hold. They will soon understand, in a city run by money, the people with the most influence are not them. As for the citizens unrest—well, who cares?"
The lady's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."
"Why do we not ask one of these 'merchants' to check out the store? They are always eager to please after all." He rested on the table. "I hope you understand. There's no going back now. So, though this may sound obvious, failure is not an option." He lifted his head and stared at her with chilly eyes—she felt a cold sweat running down her back.
The lady bowed down. "Yes, Sir!" She then promptly turned to leave.
"Oh, one last thing, " he stopped her, causing her to tremble slighty, "it's not 'Sir'," he paused, "Call me City Lord."
The woman swallowed her saliva. "Yes... City Lord." And without waiting for him to say anything more, she disappeared through the door.
The City Lord sighed. He slowly stood up, seemingly tired. Still, he made his way towards the window and stared out. He lifted his hand, against the sky. The ring gleamed, reflecting the pale moonlight and refracting a hazy arc of light on the ground, until swiftly disappearing.
"I remember, was it not that Mei Xue lives in this city? Ah, well. It matters not." His voice sunk. "Not even she will be able to stop me anymore."