Volume 1 Chapter 13 (1/2)
On December 20th the palace elcomed with the chill of winter, additionally this date was the E was concerned with organizing the palace into shape for this grand occasion which was part of Xi Rei’s tradition Naturally, the festivity was to be arranged by hi post hoisted a colorful flag, vibrant lanterns decorated the eaves of the palace, lively fine silk banners adorned mantles and silk screens were renewed In addition to these stunning arrangehout the halls, their fiery flaevity and youth
A hundred of the iht tributes to Her Highness,trinkets or priceless treasures The worldly presents had been gathered and delivered to the Ehout the year, the queen remained faceless, only on her birthday would she venture out to her subjects dressed in the grandest of ceren crown she would sit on her throne and await company in the Eion dedicated to women only
Routinely on the day of the Eh court officials would be led by His Royal Highness to pay her e for the Prince to arrive and collect the ishers However, that very Prince they aiting on was gloriously throwing a fit of rage within the Prince’s chae
“ Tian
“You are talking about my mother? “
The Prince was suddenly forced to wear a set of extravagant robes after taking a bath Feng Ming was completely stumped by nehich hit him out of the blue
“I actually have a mother, the Empress?” he uttered in disbelief
“What is so strange? Everyone has parents, although Xi Rei’s King has been in a coma for countless years, the Empress has always maintain her duties within the inner palace The Empress enjoys her peace and rarelyMing stared at the Regent King fir his dissatisfaction and he paced back and forth bickering at thethis up witha hundred officials to accompany me to make a forrily, “My God! She will sense so and nervously grabbed the ht throughyou now This will test you for the past two months of study you’ve undertaken and to verify what you have learnt You’ve covered palace etiquette so to have you bring out the basic framework of the Prince is not impossible To conceal your true identity to the people, you need to be able to satisfy the Empress If you can’t even convince a woman who spends most of her time hidden aithin the inner palace, in the future when you travel to represent the country on envoys of diplomacy, you’ll indefinitely be exposed as an i was like a broken record, he repeated the strange words he just heard
“In the future I will travel…”
“You are the Crowned Prince, naturally there are many places that you will need to visit to establish ties with other countries,” Rong wang stationed the youngerto assist the Prince to straighten the delicate garment which the boy had scrunched under his hold out of his near nervous breakdown
“Don’t be scared, the Empress is a docile individual Particularly, she and An He did not often share the best relationshi+p Just relax and she will not see through your act Besides, I will be there with you”
With the King’s words, Feng Ming felt the weight on his heart lighten, however it stroked his suspicious
“How come the Prince and the Empress don’t oftenhesitated before answering, “The custoet accusto as a result the Empress was not particularly proud of hih Feng Ming was clear that Rong Tian was talking about the ‘Original Prince’, he still found it offensive and gave the olderRong chuckled, amused by the boy’s reaction, so he corrected hi one where as on the other hand you are the coe hands shuffled down to stroke at the shorter hed in response to the ered in the Prince’s cha the hundred officials and servants that had assee courtyard near the inner palace
When the two ied from the Prince’s halls a flood of relief washed over the servants The pair finallytowards the courtyard to address their entourage before leading thereet the Empress
As they reached the boundary walls of the inner palace, voices of celebration rang through the air as did the sound of string and wind instruments
The festivities could not strip away the fact that at this veryto step foot into the ultimate exam, to authenticate his identity, his heart could not help but beat hard against his rib cage, panic was running through his brain
He suddenly halted before the entrance of the courtyard where his subjects aiting, his hand shook as it tugged at Rong Tian’s sleeves, corip
Rong wang witnessed the color drain frolazed over the boy’s face He was starting to secretly feel guilty and irresponsible for not giving Feng Ming a few days notice However, given this situation it was a perfect opportunity to toughen the Prince, so he could stand on his own
Without any better alternative, King Rong roughly reached for the hands attached to hied the Ming, as well as when the King suddenly bowed and announced as loud as he could bellow out:
“His Highness has arrived!”
Rong Tian i back to stand well behind Feng Ming, leaving the stunned fish standing all alone at the grand entrance to the open court
Suddenly, the court doors sla early and eagerly for the Prince’s leadershi+p They were aligned neatly and all thetheir Crowned Prince, “Your Majesty!”
Feng Ming gritted his teeth,under his breathe All he really wanted to do right noas to turn around grab the
However, he knew this was an inappropriate ti he had to stick out his chest and take charge with his oo hands It was time to show his prowess, the blood and sweat he invested in learning practically everything needed to be showcased today This included speaking in a dignified calrained into his mind
“All ministers and officials may rise, please accompany me to pay the Empress our respects”
The past twoTian appeared to be fruitful for now, the words that left Feng Ming’s lips were stern and authoritative, as expected of a leader
His subjects answered in unison, “Yes, Your Highness”
Feng Ming raised his head, prompt out his chest and advanced towards the Ee brown eyes flickered around with the sight that surrounded hined, beautiful and tranquil, a spacious boulevard lead to a grand hall that sat within the middle of the Empress’s palace walls
The E for her visitors
Considering the solemn and serious atmosphere and the crowd of respected Xi Rei’s officials that followed hi couldn’t help to feel like a fool
h, pretending to be the Prince of this ancient country?
Even daring to even prance around in front of his ‘ratulate her on her birthday? </e into a daze which was clear as day on the youngihness, please proceed to the ive your ishes to the E Ming, his shock was short lived as he re hilare before straightening the heavy gold crown that rested on his head, and he proudly advance without a regret
Unafraid he nified to the end of the boulevard, and entered thewas graced with the sight of a young married woman dressed in exquisite attire situated in the middle of the room This woh she wasn’t as outrageously attractive as Feng Ming had initially expected her to be, the worace and nobility
“An He wishes the best to ’s teachings, after he heartily htly to show his respects to his ree of refine the chance of any ood now
This is the E!
If she discovers me to be an imposter, I promise you it will not be any fun! </e Tian would provoke hiht in lare at the said King as meant to be behind him
As he couldn’t see thebowed his head doards and tilted it slightly to the side, only discover the troublesoht
In fact, the Prince found himself alone He was the only one who had entered the hall and knelt down before the E him inside had situated outside into their neat files, all were down on their knees outside of the Erossed with deter had stopped the procession just outside the hall’s entrance he had shot through and continued to march on solo, completely unaware of his fault
A sudden cold sweat broke
ain! </eritted teeth
Breaking the aard silence, a soft voice heralded above his head
“My child, youstood up and raised his head hoping to get a proper gli the sa iuilt well up inside He dared not to speak, his heart was thu restlessly and his mind was just as overactive, he was uneasy and frankly scared of the Empress and whether she would pick up on any clues of his coy act
It seeet aith it
Unfortunately, Feng Ming was tongue tied fron of his origins he decided it was best to stand aard and keep his lips sealed in front of his mother
Luckily, the Empress appeared to not have much attachment with this son, so when she started to break the silence, the topic of her talk was quite broad
“How haswas secretly aiven the palace custom These people would have rarely seen each other Nonetheless, they were mother and child, as there no excitement in her eyes?
He nodded and replied dutifully
“An He is in good health” Rong Tian’s voice boomed down his memory lane about ‘etiquette’ and he quickly added, “Thank you, your Highness for your concern”
“Have you been studying?” It felt like a routine question, that wanted a routine answer and her voice was detached and cold
“My studies have been good”