Among the princes,Long Haoyue was the most talented and good-looking one making him the emperor's favourite. At the age of nine,he was exceptionally skilled in archery,chess, literature and music.
Inside the walls of Jade Serenity hall ,the atmosphere was filled with tension,cheers , anticipation and competition. This usually happened whenever Emperor Long and Long Haoyue met up for a game of chess. Eunuchs stood beside them spectating the game which seemed to have been activated to a more competitive mood. Both the Emperor and Long Haoyue meticulously moved their chess pieces ,each of them trying to predict their opponent's move with the aim of winning.
"Father, you've lost,"Long Haoyue smirked.
"You little brat!You never let me win,"Emperor Long's hoarse laughter filled the air.
"Do you want to go for another round?"Long Haoyue looked at his father with a challenging look on his face.
"Sure. I will use the black pieces this round."
"Fine."
They cleared the chess board and set it up for the second round but before they could start,Long Mingzhu walked in interrupting them. Long Mingzhu was carrying a zither on his back and had his usual benign smile on his face to complement his scholarly nature. He was thirteen years and was as tall as a sixteen year old making it impossible to tell his real age.
"Greetings Father,"Long Mingzhu bowed deeply.
"You're here,"Emperor Long uttered bluntly expressing how bored he was.
"Third brother,you're also here,"Long Mingzhu smiled slightly averting his gaze towards Long Haoyue who nodded silently in response.
"Mingzhu,what brings you here?"
"Father I have been practicing a new piece and I would like to play it for you ."
"What is it called?"
"Requiem for the Forsaken Chrysanthemum."
"Didn't you play that last week?"Emperor Long questioned sounding annoyed.
"That was Symphony of the Forgotten Blossom."
"Aren't they the same? Play another one,"Emperor Long spoke in frustration.
Long Haoyue was sympathizing inwardly with his brother who was having a hard time pleasing their excessively fastidious father.
"Then I'll play Whispers of the Ashen Feather."
Without waiting for a response from Emperor Long,Long Mingzhu immediately took a seat and lay his zither on the table and shortly after,he began playing the piece. Long Mingzhu felt extremely humiliated when he looked up in the middle of his playing and saw Emperor Long leaning on the chair's backrest, sleeping soundly. Though he felt disappointed by his father's actions,he still remained poised and continued playing.
*****
"His Majesty made us believe that he has always doted on Long Haoyue because he pities him for losing his mother at a young age. But come to think of it,His Majesty hasn't appointed the Crown Prince. Consort An was from a noble background so His Majesty might consider him as the heir to the throne. I have to do something."
Empress Xiang's mind was suddenly flooded with villainous thoughts. After her son narrated about how he had been mistreated at Jade Serenity Hall, Empress Xiang was determined to get rid of the obstacle to her son's success and ascension to the throne.
*****
Princess Yuhua's eighth birthday was just around the corner and as usual the emperor would throw her a birthday banquet at the palace. Everyone was looking forward to the day. The maids prepared everything from decorations to food beforehand to make sure everything ran smoothly on that special day.
Since Princess Yuhua was still young,her birthday banquet was organized in the afternoon. Jade Serenity Hall was decorated and guests clad in silk made their way to the hall. Her celebration was just like a grown-up's with ministers from court attending and the noble men and ladies from the capital.
It felt like ages after sitting in Jade Serenity Hall for an hour. The birthday girl hadn't shown up yet and Long Haoyue grew impatient.
"Yue'er what's wrong you seem uncomfortable,"Long Mingzhu asked worriedly after noticing how restless Long Haoyue looked.
"I'm just a little exhausted."
"Why don't we go out and get some fresh air ?"Long Mingzhu suggested and Long Haoyue agreed immediately. The two then walked out of the hall together.
*****
The eight year old to be angel was dolled up in a pink flowery dress and her hair was tangled up by a number of hairpins complementing her God given beauty. She walked up the stairway leading towards Jade Serenity Hall . She held her long dress and walked upstairs elegantly. Just a few stairs behind her,Long Feng Huang and two maidservants walked upstairs too.
Long Haoyue was on his way downstairs with Long Mingzhu behind him when he suddenly bumped into Princess Yuhua. Princess Yuhua took his hand and used to it to push herself and she ended up rolling down the stairway. The maidservants screamed for help while Long Haoyue stood there frozen staring at his hands blankly. From the look of things,it was evident that he had pushed Princess Yuhua downstairs. People rushed outside after they heard the commotion each demanding to find out what had happened.
*****
Empress Xiang had long bribed the young princess into framing Long Haoyue. Based on the evidence , Long Haoyue was accused of fratricide.Princess Yuhua fell into a coma and with everyone demanding justice for her, Emperor Long was obligated to make a judgement.
"Your Majesty how will you punish His Highness?"The Grand Eunuch asked.
"Yue'er rarely interacts with others and if he wanted to kill someone he would have killed Hai first. I'm sure it was done by someone in the Imperial Harem but since the evidence points towards Yue'er I guess I have no choice but to punish him,"Emperor Long sighed in frustration and hung his head low massaging his temples.
When the next court meeting was held , Emperor Long let the ministers decide how to deal with Long Haoyue who had been now named a murderer. According to the law,Long Haoyue was supposed to be exiled to a farway land to reflect on his actions and that's what happened to Long Haoyue. He lost his glory and was kicked out of the palace like a stray dog.