" Eh..."
" What?"
Asked Xiang QingLing seeing that Tian Shan was looking back and scratching his head.
However, instead of responding to her Tian Shan just turned back and muttered to himself, " No, no, I must have seen it wrong."
" What?" Seeing this Xiang QingLing grew curious as well and glanced at the carriage that was moving farther away on the road.
" Oh, nothing. I just thought that I saw Wei Mo driving that carriage." Tian Shan shook his head knowing very well it was not possible.
" How could it be, you must have mistaken." Xiang QingLing didn't pay much attention, thinking that Tian Shan had seen it wrong, and overtook Tian Shan on her horse in a flash after giving a holler, " Hurry up, the entrance should be closing soon!"
" Yes, that must be the case." Tian Shan nodded and increased his speed to catch up to the rest.
******
" What?! The Jiang Residence was burnt down to ashes?!"
" Yes, Your Majesty."
" When did it happen, and why was it that no one informed about it?!" The authoritative voice boomed with fury.
The voice of the person on the side trembled as he responded fearfully, " Replying to His Majesty, this happened last night, and we wanted to report this incident immediately, however, Your Majesty was performing his 'stately' duties at that moment and warned us not to disturb him no matter what happens."
As for this 'stately duty' one could understand just from his intonation....it was nightly business...cough, cough...
The Chief Eunuch felt like bleeding and dying on the spot due to his awkwardness.
He also couldn't help feeling wronged for his pitiful self when he thought about how he himself couldn't carry out the deed yet he had to swoop around and keep a tab on such activities going in the other people's bed chamber.
And as if that was not enough then he was even getting scolded now for not performing his duty well.
However, no matter how awkward Chief Zhang was it was all dominated by his fear.
As expected the Emperor was extremely enraged and immediately growled taking the chief Eunuch's response as a retort.
" Now do I even have to teach you what is important what is unimportant, what to report, and what not to report?! Go and get a hundred boards as your punishment!"
Chief Eunuch Zhang who was kneeling on the ground collapsed immediately after hearing the Emperor, yet he didn't dare to voice out any rebuttal or beg for forgiveness.
Who was this person?!...
This was the Emperor. So, even if the Emperor asked him to die he had to accept it without any complaints and even thank the Emperor in return and praise him for magnanimity for granting him an easy death.
Chief Eunuch Zhang thanked the Emperor and picked himself up from the ground heading to get his punishment when he suddenly heard the Emperor shouting for him from the back.
" Wait! What about Nangong Ruyi and her daughters?"
That was why the Emperor was enraged the Emperor had his eyes on Nangong Ruyi since they were in their youth.
Nangong Ruyi was an outstanding beauty with heroic charisma and he was smitten the moment he laid his eyes upon her back then.
However, at that time his position as crown prince wasn't stable and he needed to find allies to make sure to succeed on the throne.
How could a person who couldn't even keep his position and protect the things that rightfully belonged to him have the luxury of falling in love?
The outcome was that he sacrificed his love and beauty for power and position.
He married his current Empress who was someone who could help him stabilize his position in court rather than going for Nangong Ruyi who came from an unknown origin and had no background.
He had thought that once he had his throne he could get the beauty back and hold her tight in his possession.
Nevertheless, in the end, everything turned out to be his wishful thinking.
Shortly after he got married, Nangong Ruyi married the young and handsome Jiang Zemin happily and lived garnering heaps of envy as a loving couple and even had a daughter soon after.
Xiao Jinngou was boiling from rage when watched all this. A woman he desired yet he couldn't have, how could his mere subject of his have it?!
Obviously, at that time he had already considered himself the monarch of the Burning Phoenix nation.
He was seething with rage but he couldn't take action because the time wasn't ripe he was waiting, waiting to have everything under his control, waiting to destroy the Jiang Residence and its influence and finally have the beauty.
But now...
" Responding to--"
" Answer me directly, I don't want your nonsense!" The Emperor interrupted with a growl, his tone extremely impatience.
Chief Eunuch Zhang couldn't stop trembling as he responded quickly as he was instructed, " They...they are dead. We found their bodies, however, they were almost unrecognizable."
" Scram!"
The Emperor threw the brush in his hand and went hysterical after hearing this, losing all nobility and aura of a monarch of a nation.
However, Chief Eunuch Zhang didn't go forward to stop him and fled quickly acting as if he had gained an amnesty.
******
" Yue'er, you are finally returned home."
A teardrop escaped and rolled down the woman's cheeks as they landed on the surface of the fair and dainty hand of the girl lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
" Mom...."
The girl mumbled in her sleep.
" Yes, I am here."
Nangong Ruyi had never been a weak woman who cried easily, however, at this moment she couldn't stop her tears from falling as gazed at her daughter with a heart full of emotions.
Her daughter was back.
Nangong Ruyi's fingertips reach out and softly caressed the place near Jiang Ying Yue's eye left eye where used to be a beautiful teardrop mole but had now surprisingly disappeared.
It took Nangong Ruyi a while to recompose herself before she stood up with determination.
She still had to find her daughters' father and her husband.
Glancing once at her daughter who still had her eyes close, Namgong Ruyi slightly bent down and touched her clean forehead with her two fingertips gently before removing it and turning to leave the room after saying, " Yue'er wait for mother, mother has to go look for your father....Darling work hard and grow stronger, mother promises to bring back your father soon....."
The forehead which was fair and spotless before now bore a small red mark as if it was painted with vermilion.
Five days later,
" Oh....You are finally willing to wake up!" There was a delightful gasp from a young girl in the room.
After regaining consciousness it was the first thing, Jiang Ying Yue heard.
" How long was I asleep?"
Jiang Ying Yue didn't look surprised seeing Tian Lan sitting beside her, during these past few days she hadn't been completely unconscious, she heard them talk a few times and felt them moving around her room whenever she regain a bit of her consciousness.
It was just that her body felt too heavy and she couldn't respond to them no matter how many times she tried.
" Nearly a half month." Tian Lan replied pouring some water for Jiang Ying Yue to drink, " Here, drink some water."
She bent down intending to help her to sit when suddenly the door opened and a person ran inside like a gust of wind, followed by several people who didn't look much different either.
" Big Sister!..."
" Master!..."
" Grandmaster!...."
" Eldest miss!...."
" Roar... "
"....."
What's wrong with these people?....
" Shush...don't make a noise, she just woke up." Tian Lan saw that these people were making a ruckus and chided them immediately before turning to help Jiang Ying Yue drink water.
As for the people who got chided they understood their mistake and shut up quickly, staring quietly and fervently at Jiang Ying Yue who was drinking water.
Jiang Ying Yue who was drinking water felt their gazes but she was helpless.
What could she do about them?!
These people just cared about her and we're worried.
So, she just let them be. After they had enough of seeing her and confirmed that she was fine they would leave on their own.
" My mother...." Jiang Ying Yue's throat didn't feel that good after sleeping for that long and her voice was a bit hoarse.
" She left five days ago." Tian Lan responded and handed her a letter, " And she left this for you before leaving."
Jiang Ying Mei who stood by Jiang Ying Yue's had a sad and forlorn look. She was just a young girl who hasn't even hit her teens. She was still a child, so it was understandable why she looked so sad.
First, it was their father who was gone, now their mother was also gone. The little one couldn't help but be sad.
Jiang Ying Yue lowered her eyes, concealing all her emotions, and nodded her head as her hand reach out to grab the envelope.
Holding the letter in her hand her expression was unreadable as people saw her turning to Jiang Ying Yue who was suppressing her sobs.
" Come here." Jiang Ying Yue beckoned the little girl to sit on the bedside.
The little girl followed her instruction and took a seat beside her on her bed with her still lowered when she was suddenly enveloped in a warm hug.
Under everyone's emotional gazes the two sisters hugged each other, providing each other with warmth and support.
Jiang Ying Yue gently held the girl who was going breathless from crying and patting her back to comfort her.
She wasn't good at taking care of others. She wasn't good at comforting. She was also not very good at being a good sister.
However, Jiang Ying Yue promised that she would learn it all. With time and practice, she'd learn this all and become the best sister in the world.
In their parents' absence, she would do her best to pamper her and protect her little sister.