34 Mr. Hero (1/2)
*10 years ago*
It wasn't strange that the Prince had affection for a particular lady since the two of them grew up together in the palace when the nanny of Qin Fuhua brought her daughter with her. With the King's approval of allowing her daughter, Meimei, to come to play with the Prince, the two grew close quickly.
Qin Fuhua had arrived at the city of Liaoping, the bustling city known for its festival and beautiful lanterns. Qin Fuhua had made time to try to see her whenever he had the time to visit her. It appeared as if he was looking for someone as he strolled down the busy street filled with various shops. He had leaned down to stare at the various bracelets made out of green jade.
”Looking for something important?” A voice called out to Qin Fuhua. He turned his head to see the face of a beautiful girl, who gently smiled as she used the sleeves to cover her face shyly.
”What is the dear Prince doing here in a little city of Liaoping?”
Qin Fuhua was relaxed, looking around to hide the existence of his true intentions of coming to the city.
”I happened to pass by the gates and wanted to visit the town since it has been a while.”
The girl had her maid with her, slowly and carefully turning to her. ”You can go give the baozi to the homeless. I will come by later.”
The maid lowered her head, ”I will be taking my leave now.”
The lady was very obedient and reserved, calmly waiting for Qin Fuhua to say something to her.
”Would your Highness like it if I, Meimei, invite you to have tea together?”
Qin Fuhua lit a small smile to his face, nodding his head. ”It would be my pleasure to be accompanied by a great friend like you.”
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*Five years ago*
”Meimei, you seem distressed. What is it?” Qin Fuhua questioned.
”My father... wants me to marry an older man who had promised a great future for me...” Meimei uttered.
”We promised that you would wait!”
”Being a lady in the palace is filled with stress!” Meimei cut Qin Fuhua off. ”Being watched twenty-four hours.... having to uphold a name and reputation of being the Prince's wife....” Meimei lowered her head but boldly glanced up at Qin Fuhua, ”I can not live that life.”
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[Literal flashbacks that Qin Fuhua could remember]
During the gathering for Meimei's wedding, Qin Fuhua had made a promise to see her.
”Your Highness, please meet my husband, Jianhong.” Meimei shyly smiled, covering her face with happiness as an older man walked in proudly, wrapping his arms around her shoulder.
”It's nice to meet you, Your Highness! Haha. It is an honor to be able to meet the Prince of Qin in person!!”
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It was a cloudy, cold morning. A burst of freezing air howled in the sky, causing people to shiver. Rows of soldiers were lined up to watch the execution of the rumored lady that Qin Fuhua had been in love with.
Tears rolled down the woman's cheeks. Her last request was to wear a beautiful red gown before dying in front of her beloved childhood friend. Sitting in front of Meimei was Qin Fuhua, who stared down at her from his golden chair.
”Meimei... why did you betray me?” Qin Fuhua's eyes never wavered in front of Meimei as he questioned himself in his head.
”I was the one who poisoned your general.” Meimei's tear had rolled down from her face but had a blank expression on her face, ready to face the consequence. ”If you want to kill someone, kill me. Not my husband. I was the one who protected him.”
”Your Highness, this was true. Evidence shows that the tampering of the general's drink during the stay in Liaoping was from lady Mei.” the soldier commented, interlacing his hands together. ”Please execute the culprit and avenge for the general!”
One of the higher generals had stayed in Liaoping. Jianhong and his wife, lady Mei was captured because they were accused of poisoning the general because of a dispute between money possession. The general was cured back to health in time, but Jianhong was accused of attempted murder and was captured to stay in jail.
With no choice, lady Mei confessed her crimes to let her husband out of jail for being falsely accused.
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He turned his eyes away for a second, promising himself to never fall in love with another woman again. Qin Fuhua turned his head back to stare at Meimei, his expression growing as cold as the howling wind. Heartbroken, torn, and dead deep in the core of Qin Fuhua's heart, he raised his right arm, signaling the two guards to hold her.
”Kill her.”
Meimei's eyes looked up at Qin Fuhua, struggling to give him one last glance before she was killed but the eyes of the cold Prince were not the same as he did five years ago. The Prince's wrath had made him see no sympathy for betraying his people.
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[Current]
**”When the red phoenix is witnessed, the sun radiates its beautiful color but the moon cries to the Phoneix to remind him to come back home.”
**Author's note: Red phoenix is symbolized as noble and majestic. It is important to be cautious of other people because of their wealth and fame. Be aware of your surroundings and people. **
Soldiers crowded up in a group with Jianhong walking in front of them, pacing back and forth. Qin Fuhua was watching from afar on top of the rooftop tiles, staring at the south courtyard. Piles of dark ashes could be seen with half of the room exposed to the exterior.
Qin Fuhua could barely listen to what they were saying, concentrating on the lips of Jianhong who grumbled to be able to read what he was saying.
”Did anyone find lady Suyin in the fire?!” (read from the lips of Jianhong)
Fire? Did something happen to Han Suyin? Qin Fuhua felt his heart sink for a second. He wanted to go down there and find her but he had to control himself. Did Jianhong do something to her? He held his scabbard so hard, it shook. His eyes were filled with disgust and hatred for the crazy man.
He needed to change his plan now.
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Han Suyin and Shao Feng had to help carry Junli back to his home. Shao Feng had been to Junli's place once in the past a couple of months ago, but he had remembered where it was at. It was obvious why Junli's name sounded so familiar to Shao Feng.
Before speaking any further, Junli could barely speak, guiding them to the back of his home. There was a ladder left at the edge of the wall(since this was the way that Junli had left earlier).
”You go first, lady Suyin. I'll help hold sir Junli” Shao Feng stated. Suyin was worried that Shao Feng would not be able to hold Junli.
”Don't worry. I promise I can carry him. I've done massive work around the house worse than this.” Shao Feng flashed a smile to Suyin so that she wouldn't worry. She nodded her head and headed up the bamboo ladder first, trying to stay low at the roof tiles so she wouldn't be detected.
”Okay. Can you carry yourself for a little bit?” Suyin questioned Junli. He could only nod, breathing heavily.
”Sir Junli, I will help push you up, okay?” Shao Feng clenched his teeth to help hold Junli, who tried his best to pull himself up over the ladder. After a couple of good minutes, Suyin was able to help Junli and Shao Feng was able to climb up the bamboo ladder.
Putting the ladder beside a large, pink blossom tree, the three of them headed to Junli's bedroom.
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Junli breathed heavily on the bed with sweatdrops falling at the side of his temples. She wiped off his sweat with a clean towel near the bowl of warm water that was placed at the side of his bed table (assuming that the maid placed it there recently and found that Junli had disappeared again). Suyin watched carefully while Junli slept, wondering if she should go find the female servant of his for help.
”....Sir Feng Junli is the uncle of Jianhong.” Shao Feng mentioned. Suyin darted her eyes straight up at Shao Feng.
”That makes them blood-related!” her mouth opened in shock. How could someone soft and gentle be related to someone who is a crazy, fickle old man?!
”Have you heard about the rumor about the Prince of Qin who executed the lady of Jianhong....?” Shao Feng tilted his head to Suyin who could only act as if she couldn't remember since she was nowhere near the Qin territory (since she was originally from the Long clan territory). She put her index on her hands to make it look as if she was thinking hard but shook her head.
”The Prince of Qin had executed his past lover because of Jianhong. The ruthless uncle's wife had poisoned the brother-in-law who was a high-rank general because of money issues.” Shao Feng scratched his head. ”I only heard it from the other servants here and there. They said it was the reason why he went mad.”