Yuying doesn't know how long she's been in the carriage for when it suddenly comes to a stop.
She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that time was going by.
"Second Prince Zhao," Yuying hears the driver speak, "We've arrived at the Imperial Palace."
Just then, the door of the grand carriage opens. Yuying sees the face of the commander of the Imperial Army again.
She nods at him before moving to step out of the carriage.
Yuying was not prepared for the sight before her. She's caught so off-guard that she nearly stumbles down from the carriage.
Thankfully, she manages to grip the sides of the carriage so that she wouldn't make a fool of herself more than she already has.
The Imperial Palace was even more majestic and grand than she'd imagined. It looks like it'd been delicately carved out of a gigantic slab of marble, with intricate gold and jade lotus, dragon, and phoenix patterns decked on the tiles and the pillars. There are also two great stone lion statues adorning the sides of the palace, jade balls wedged in between their carefully crafted teeth.
"Second Prince Zhao has arrived!" the commander of the Imperial Army announces.
It is at this moment does Yuying looks down and realizes that there were people waiting for her arrival as well. Though there weren't as many people as there were when she'd been sent off from Qilin Academy, there was still a considerable number of palace maids, eunuchs, lords, and soldiers.
There's a pretty long flight of stairs from the ground to the palace. Yuying marvels at the realization that all of these people had climbed down this very flight of stairs just to welcome her upon her arrival.
As Yuying steps onto the ground and acknowledges all of the endearing people who'd come down just to greet her, she glances up. The Imperial Palace looks even more majestic and grand under the shine of the sun.
It feels so surreal. Yuying has never seen an actual palace, let alone such a grand and majestic one. She has only such palaces in the Chinese dramas that she has watched and the Chinese manhuas that she has read.
Yuying remembers first falling in love with ancient Chinese history and eastern fantasy when she was in primary school. She'd chanced upon a book, The Three Kingdoms, at the school library during one of her class' library sessions.
Even though she'd intended to simply skim through the book before putting it back and moving on to another, Yuying ended up being so hooked on the story that she stood there beside the shelf for the entire library session. She didn't even hear the teacher call out to her when it was time for her class to leave.
Needless to say, Yuying ended up borrowing the book and taking it home with her. Even though she finished the book the very same day, she spent the rest of the week after school and the weekends re-reading the book over and over again, drawing out the characters, and even picturing herself in the universe.
From there on, Yuying would borrow and read tons and tons of books about ancient Chinese history and stories. She would read anything, from fictional stories to non-fictional accounts, so long as it was set in ancient China, or was within the eastern fantasy genre.
Yuying became so immersed in these stories that she would literally zone out and daydream during classes in secondary school and junior college. It was from there that she started writing fanfics, the first one being a Three Kingdoms fanfic, in which the story was given a modern twist rather than being set within the same ancient Chinese timeline.
It was also from there on that Yuying would start doodling on her Math or Chemistry homework, picturing herself in an ancient Chinese universe. It was rather ironic, really. Yuying would always give her fanfics that are based on ancient China a modern twist while picturing herself in the original setting of the stories that she would write fanfics about.
It was almost like a swap.
Unlike what most girls would've done, Yuying didn't imagine herself as a palace maid, a noble lady, or even the Empress. Instead, she imagined herself as Liu Bei, as Zhuge Liang, and even as Cao Cao.
Rather than a princess, Yuying pictured herself as a prince.
Even so, Yuying had a very specific depiction of the ideal prince that she wanted to be. She pictured herself as a prince with long, dark hair that she likes to keep in a half-ponytail, and sharp, hawk-like eyes that are intense and attentive.
She pictured herself as a prince who is intelligent and talented at martial arts and cultivation, so much so that he'd begged his father, the Emperor, to let him attend the best academy in the nation for martial arts and cultivation despite his royal status, and that he eventually manages to convince his father to allow him to do so.
She pictured herself as a prince who is obedient and responsible, yet also defiant and rebellious at the same time. As much as he's a prince who acknowledges his duties and appreciates everything and everyone around him, he secretly yearns to break out of the world of royalty to become a rogue master cultivator, to run away and start a simple life with a forbidden love...
/Wait a minute.../
"Second Prince Zhao, are you alright?"
Yuying immediately snaps out of her thoughts at this voice. She looks up to see the commander of the Imperial Army staring at her.
"You've been standing in front of the stairs for a good five minutes now."
Yuying's eyes widen slightly at this. She hadn't even realized that she'd spaced out for so long.
When she turns back, she sees the rest of the Imperial Army, along with the palace staff who'd come down to greet her staring back at her. Yuying admonishes herself internally for making a fool out of herself once again.
"I-I'm alright," she reassures the commander of the Imperial Army and everyone else before she turns back around. Yuying looks up at the long flight of stairs in front of her and mentally prepares herself for the ascend.
After taking a deep breath as subtly as she can, Yuying takes the first step.
And so, Yuying proceeds to make her ascend up the long flight of stairs with the Imperial Army and the palace staff following behind her.
She's barely halfway there when she feels her legs start to ache. Yuying chides herself for not using the stairs more often due to the convenience of lifts in the modern world.
/C'mon, Yuying./
/You're a Prince now./
/Get your act together./
...
Yuying struggles but manages to hide her obvious panting when she finally makes it to the top of the stairs. She's well aware from the many Chinese dramas and manhuas that she has consumed that princes are expected to always be strong and capable, to never show their weakness or emotions.
When she looks up, Yuying finds herself looking at an extravagant and powerful-looking couple dressed in golden robes with intricate and delicate patterns. They appear to be in their mid or late fifties.
Yuying doesn't even have to think twice to know who they are.
"Father and Mother," she greets as she bows her head respectfully.
"You may rise," the Emperor nods as he gestures for his son to stand back up.
When Yuying gets up, the Empress immediately surges forward to capture Yuying in her embrace.
"Oh, my dear Ming'er," she coos, "It's been a while since I last saw you."
Not really knowing what to do, Yuying slowly raises her hands and hugs the Empress back. "I missed you, Mother." she says.
Just then, the Empress releases her grip on Yuying and places her hands on either side of her shoulders. She stares at Yuying like she's studying her features intently.
Yuying can't help but feel slightly uncomfortable. She's reminded of how Chen Jun had stared at her intently earlier.
She wonders if the Empress is able to see through her and tell that she's not her son.
After looking at Yuying for a moment, the Empress finally says something.
"You never say that," she murmurs quietly in a rather somber voice. However, the Empress soon brightens up again. She smiles at Yuying before hugging her once again.
"I missed you, too," she says softly.
The Emperor, who'd been standing at the side, smiles slightly at the sight before him. He slowly makes his way over and places a hand on Yuying's back.
"Welcome back, Big Brother."
Yuying hears a voice sound from behind the Emperor and the Empress.
Before Yuying can even comprehend who'd said this, someone dashed towards her and pounced onto her, knocking her down like a bowling pin. It happened so quickly that Yuying didn't even have any time to react.
Yuying blinks, staring at the sky for a moment. She realizes that the sky seems slightly darker than it'd been when she left Qilin Academy, so it must be around mid-afternoon now. She'd been so absorbed in her thoughts about the Choosing that she hadn't realized this earlier.
/Oh, right... the Choosing./
/About that.../
/...I still have no idea what that is./
Just then, Yuying hears a child giggling. She glances down and sees a little boy who looked around seven and eight grinning up at her cheekily as he wraps his arms around her leg firmly.
"I got you, Big Brother!" the little boy exclaims excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. "I was so fast that you didn't even see me coming! I'm practically a cannonball! I got you I got you I got you!!!"
/Big Brother?/
/Oh./
/This little boy must be one of his brothers./
/How many brothers does this Ming'er have, anyway?/
/I wonder if he has any sisters.../
"That's enough, Mingwu," another voice sounds.
Just then, a young man appears above Yuying. He looks like he's around Ming'er's age, perhaps just a year or two younger.
The little boy pouts, but immediately releases his hold on Yuying and gets off. The young man then looks down at Yuying and offers her a hand.
"Welcome back, Big Brother," he grins.
Yuying realizes that he's the one who'd said this earlier too.
"Thanks, Little Brother," she shoots a grin back at the young man as naturally as she can and accepts his hand. As soon as she's up from the ground, the young man slings his arm around her.
"In case you're wondering where Mingyi and Mingsi are," he drawls, "They're in their rooms. Mingyi's fallen sick again, same old, same old. And you know, Mingsi, always brooding and moody, doing God knows what," the young man wrinkles his nose, "Actually, he might not even be in his room. After all, we never know what he's up to..."
/They must be Ming'er's brothers, Mingyi and Mingsi.../
/That little boy, Mingwu, is one of his brothers too.../
/And this young man is Ming'er's brother too.../
/By inference, his name must be.../
"Mingsan," Yuying smiles at her younger brother. She gives herself a pat on the back when she sees the young man when she says his name. "Enough about them. Tell me about what you've been up to."
Mingsan grins. "Oh, Big Brother," he exclaims, "There's so much that I want to talk to you about..."
"Mingsan," the Emperor interrupts before he can finish his sentence, "Take Ming'er to get dressed for the Choosing. We'll have lunch right after that. Mingyi won't be joining us since he's sick."
Mingsan immediately bows, acknowledging the Emperor's request. "Yes, Father," he says before giving Yuying a pat on her shoulder.
He grins again. Yuying can't help but notice that he looks like a shark or wolf or something when he does so.
"What are you waiting for, Big Brother?"
"Let's go."