LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS 197 The Crescent Moon Symbol

Next morning, Xing and the Emperor were training in the small area they had prepared for training purposes inside her courtyard. In the past few days it has become a habit of the Emperor to train in her courtyard in the morning and then cleanup and get ready for court from there and that had created various murmurs in the inner palace that the Empress is keeping the Emperor by herself.

Xing actually felt her mind relieved after she had started using the sword. Practicing sword has always been like meditation for her as

Xing never cared how the Emperor spent his nights as she knew he'd be asked to flip a plaquette containing the name of all concubines and he'll be spending the night with the Concubine whose plaquette he chose. Xing had asked the head Eunuch to remove her plaquette from the lot so to give others a chance to get to know the Emperor. What she didn't know is that the Emperor is not spending the night with any of his Concubines.

As the Emperor was changing an Eunuch came and announced him the news of the passing away of Lord Zhong. The Emperor waved his hand and sent away everyone attending him.

It really happened! And that too this soon! This surely is a loss for the entire kingdom!

Xing was standing inside her bedchambers separated from where the Emperor was by beautifully carved wooden screen and heard everything the Eunuch said and she dropped the milk cup she was holding in her hands to the floor and it fell on the floor with a thunk and rolled away.

This can't have happened, Xing felt her heart clench, he clearly had time... At least a week! How could this have happened this early?

Just like that I've lost another one who I loved dearly!

Xing felt her eyes were burning trying to hold her tears and she pushed the breakfast served on the table in front of her to the floor with a noisy clatter and stood bent with her hands supporting on the table. Her tears fell on the table as she could not hold it.

The Emperor knew she would be devastated and came it her side and he wanted to give her a hug seeing her lonely back and he got startled when she threw everything to the ground.

Geez! Did she pick this habit of throwing things from her father? AoTian always threw things at the floor!

The Emperor turned his hug to a shoulder pat when she turned wiping her tears from her face,

"Kouki! I won't attend the funeral as per the Oldman's wish. Tell them I'm sick or something. And ask brother to stay with father. He'd be the most devastated one as the Oldman was like his father as he was raised by him. And can you send me the memorials regarding the East in the past three months and also the detailed reports about the Envoys we sent to the Earth Kingdom till now?"

The Emperor looked at Xing who has now completely stopped crying and wondered if she is really fine, "Mingxia, are you really fine? Why are you suddenly asking about that Envoys killed by the Earth Kingdom soldiers? Shouldn't you be resting? ", he was worried.

"No time to rest, Kouki! War is imminent on us and we cannot be like sitting ducks waiting to be conquered by a bunch of tribes. We need to get alliances with our neighbours, now! Now with the Oldman gone and the announcement of his mourning, do you think those tribes will be following war ethics and not attack us? They will be coming for us within two weeks if my guess is right",

She pushed the surprised Emperor out, " Now go do what you have to do. That Oldman must have sent a letter for you to announce the next Head of his family. He wouldn't have gone and died without putting his house in order first "

"Wait, isn't it a no brainer that Zhong Huojin is the next head of the Zhong family?", the Emperor stopped and asked her with surprise. Why should there be a letter?

"Zhong Huojin is sure a great warrior like his father, no doubt! But...", Xing shrugged, "You should read the letter first"

Xing had talked about it with the Oldman before and his family would know about it too. So General Zhong didn't tell the Emperor about it?

" Change your clothes first... Aren't you in mourning? And don't forget to send me the reports! ", she told the perplexed Emperor who still could not believe how Seiren could become the next Lord of the Zhong family.

As per the traditions, the entire inner palace were in the mourning attire for three days until the funeral and a month of mourning for the entire kingdom was announced.

Lin Mubai visited her that day and told her that their plan went well and Shengli had successfully entered Shihong's gang. They just made some murders look like 'The Lone Wolf ' killings and Shihong left the two villages and his plan of vengeance against the Huang family and went to find Shengli and found him.

Xing advised Lin Mubai to not to tail him and try to contact him in the future and told him to inform his other subordinates too. Lin Mubai nodded as he understood why she said that and took his leave.

Xing checked with her brother that her father was okay and then proceeded to read the memorials.

She found an odd pattern in these memorials where some weird happenings were recorded. Someone who was actually involved in domestic violence was stopped by some 'ghost' it said. The appearances of this 'ghost' was concentrated in certain Southeastern border villages. Xing had a indescribable feeling towards these incidents and asked Bai Li who can read maps to mark those villages where such happenings were concentrated and she found that those dots made a beautiful waning crescent shape of the moon. Xing remembered something that happened before and her lips curved up to a smile.

"Why are you grinning looking at the map?", Bai Li asked her and Xing just shook her head but she could not shake that grin off her face and her heart danced with happiness.

My Prince!

It happened when she went with her uncle to the South and in some letters there were waning crescents marked on the right upper corner of the pages and waxing crescents on others. When asked Shengli after she returned, he said these cheesy meanings for that which she never expected from him. When she met him at the age of six, he was so haughty even though he tried to contain his aloofness, it still spilled out and proved his noble bearing. But she knew how much of a shameless person he is only after she met him later and spent more time with him as adults.

'The crescents symbolises the crescents below your neck you are hiding under your clothes not letting me see, you cruel woman!....Even though I bet there are full moons inside those layer of clothes... ", he raised his eyebrows and grabbed her collars, " Xing! Why aren't you letting me see those beautiful moons? They seem bigger now... Let me.. Let meee ... ', he acted like a spoiled hooligan, trying to undress her for an entire hour until Xu mama interrupted them. He sulked for a while before he hugged her close and spoke in a real gentle tone and his voice was so pleasant as the gentle breeze that was blowing outside her room.

'The waxing crescent' he said, ' is to show how happy I am to know you are safe and happy, even if there is this distance between us'

'The waning crescent ', he added, 'tells how much my heart longs for you because of the distance between us and how much I wish for that distance not to exist'

Xing blushed hearing those words... Words like these.. She was used to spill them like the petals of cherry blossoms in spring casually to a lot of women. Only now did she realise why most women liked those cheesy lines and fall for them.

It is really nice to hear a handsome man say those things to you!

Xing gently traced her fingers through that waning crescent he had drawn for her in the map.

Oh, My Prince! Even though I practically drove you off, you still found time to send me a letter in such grand manner? Oh, how much I miss you too! I really cannot contain my feelings for you... A year... Isn't that a long time? Please be safe! I'll definitely finish what I'll have to do as soon as possible!

Chapter end

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