Here the second part of chapter 12.
This will probably the last chapter for this year. In case I am able to write another chapter within this year, I will also upload it. However, if I cannot finish one, the next chapter will probably be out in February 2018.
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"Good morning Fei Lien. We haven't seen each other for some time. How are you?", Mao Yazhen said.
The tone of his voice belong in the category of being extremely annoying and "I want to punch you in the face, so shut up". Lien needed a lot of self-control to not punch him.
"Good morning as well Mister Mao. I am fine. Thank you very much for asking. I hope your fine as well", she greeted back with the sweetest smile she could make.
"Yes, I am fine. Although the death of our crown prince saddens me a lot. It really hurts to know that such a great person is now gone. It must be quite hard for you as well. I mean, you were supposed to marry him."
His lips formed into a smug smile. Now Lien wanted to punch him even more, but she had to stay calm.
"You're right, it is quite hard to accept the truth. However, for the sake of the empire, I cannot allow myself to be drown in sadness and self-pity. I am sure prince Hakuyuu wouldn't want this either. He was a man that always looked ahead no matter what, and so will I do now."
Lien was fond of Hakuyuu, although they had barely interacted with each other until today. When she was eight years old she first met the former crown prince and his family. Her father had taken her with him to a gathering. She never had been a shy child, but all those stern looking adults frightened her a bit, so she tried to hide behind her father, who was not pleased with her behavior. Hakuren had seen her and had invited her to play with him and his siblings. As the daughter of an influential man she knew, who Hakuren was. At first she had been hesitant, if she should accept the offer of the second prince, but wouldn't it be rude to reject the offer of the second prince? Therewith she met Hakuyuu, Hakuei and Hakuryuu. She liked the royal siblings, all of them were very nice and Hakuryuu was a very cute child. Back then she had wished to have a younger sibling as well. This was the day Hakutoku first learned of Lien's existence. Of course, he had an eye on his children, especially Hakuyuu, who was the heir to the throne and had to behave appropriated, so he saw her playing with his children. Later his kids told him about the nice girl, who played with them and how much fun it had been.
Only two years later Hakutoku recognized her political skills. The year in which she turned ten was a hard year for her and her family. Her stepmother – her second oldest brother's biological mother – had died and her father had gotten sick. During this time a very important meeting was held and every noble family had sent a representative. This was mostly to not lose face and show off. "Look how smart my children are", "Look how smart I am", "Look how many important connections I have", "Look how well I get along with the royal family", "Look at me and how great I am". Like a bunch of small children. Lien's family had no one to represent them. Her father was sick, her mother was dead, her oldest brother was in another country for his studies and her other older brother had no understanding of politics, thus would embarrass the family. Of course, they could have sent her uncle or another important member, but somehow no one had thought of this and so she had went. It was lucky for her that seemingly no one in her family had cared much about this gathering after her mother's death.
At first the other nobles had looked down on her, but when she showed that she had a great political understanding, most of them were quite amazed. Although no one would admit that. They tried to put her down, because she brought shame upon their families. A little girl being better at politics than their oh so well educated sons? This was unacceptable! A disaster! Hakutoku, on the other hand, was simply amazed by her and since that day tried to help her in her career. Therewith she interacted more with Hakuyuu and Hakuren and in the end it led to her engagement with Hakuyuu.
When she heard about Hakuyuu's death she truly was sad about it – at least that was what she told herself, because when she was honest with herself she wasn't sure if the was sad about Hakuyuu's death or because of the engagement. Her father was busier with being sad about the broken engagement. Normally she wasn't a person, who let herself influence by others, but since the emperor had come to her father and proposed a marriage, this was all her father had talked to her about. She wanted him to recognize her and to be proud of her and she could have achieved this, when she married Hakuyuu. But suddenly her wish seemed to be unreachable again. Maybe it would be the best for her take a few days off and only focus on herself, but with her status she couldn't afford this. She had to be strong! People like Yazhen would probably use this against her, but fortunately there was almost no one, who knew about the engagement – as long as Yazhen had kept it to himself and this was quite questionable.
"It really is a tragedy that prince Hakuyuu and you aren't able to marry each other. The two of you would have been a magnificent couple. To have two so passionate and intelligent people rule over our country would truly have been a blessing for everyone. Thinking about what could have been makes it even sadder that the emperor seemingly really wants to give such an important position to prince Hakuren. From what I heard you think our second, pardon I mean, our first prince is suited for those responsibilities."
It was amazing how a single person could drive one so mad that murder sounded like a reasonable and justified response to that person's existence.
"Or haven't you given up on the position of empress?"
Of course Yazhen had to add something like this at the end. Everything else would have been untypical and maybe Fei Lien would have even started to worry about him.
"Emperor Hakutoku had asked me, if I think whether prince Hakuren is suited as emperor or not. And I told him that I think that after a little more time, prince Hakuren would be a good emperor. Honestly, I think it is extremely disrespectful towards prince Hakuren and emperor Hakutoku to say otherwise. Prince Hakuren may have a different personality than prince Hakuyuu, but this doesn't mean that he is less qualified as ruler."
"Mao Yazhen, you're an ambitious young man", the man, who had sat to Hakutoku's left, suddenly said, "It is true that the world of politics is filled with treason, maliciousness and trust is something one should not give away easily, but there is no reason to make yourself more enemies. Instead of search for enemies, you should search for allies. You should know by now that Miss Fei is not interested in working against you, just for the sake of power or influence. So, why don't you try to be kinder to her?"
"What do you know, old man!", Yazhen spite at Yu Sheng.
"I know a lot. For example I know that your family is slowly losing influence, you want to stop this and bring your family back to its former glory. This is quite praiseworthy. There are enough nobles that would only complain about this fact and order others to do the work. However, you take it in your own hands. So seeing how Miss Fei, who comes from a still very influential family, raising up so fast and this as a woman, must be quite painful. You do this job for power and she does it for recognition. Do you hate her, because she only wants to be recognized by the men around her, thereby gaining more and more power – power you want to possess – although she doesn't want it? Or do you simply hate the fact that a woman is the representative of a noble family? In case of the latter I have to pity you. In case of the first, be advised that nothing will change by antagonizing her. Don't you think it would be better to work together with her?"
Without waiting for a response Sheng left the room, thus Lien and Yazhen were now alone.
"I don't care what kind of problem you may have with me, but I wish, you would stop treating me the way you do", Lien said calmly.
She had listened to Sheng's words and to her his words sound true. Since she first met Yazhen, she had wondered why the other one hated her so much, but she never thought this could be simply because of her gender or because he might be envious of her achievements.
"Don't take his words serious, Lien. I look down on you, because you do not fit your position. There are enough people out there that are better than you, but with your arrogance you take the chance to make this country better away from those people – and from the citizen."
With these words Yazhen also left the room, shortly followed by Lien, who could not understand, how a person could be as annoying and outrageous as Yazhen – and why did he always use her first name without permission as if they were close with each other? He was such a disrespectful man!
Outside of the meeting room Mao Yazhen bumped into Hakuren and Jian, who appeared quite excited, which was surprising considering how gloomy they had been not so long ago. For a few seconds Yazhen and Hakuren just starred at each other as if they did know what to do in such a situation. Jian on the other hand just greeted the other man with a bright smile on his face.
"Good morning, Yazhen. How are you? Do you know where his majesty is?", Jian asked.
It was obvious that he did not care about Yazhen's well-being, but he was a well-mannered young man and there simply asked – ignoring the fact that he used the first name of the other man without permission. Yazhen probably wouldn't even answer honestly.
"Good morning, prince Hakuren. I am sorry for your loss", Yazhen said towards Hakuren and thereby ignoring Jian and his question completely.
As if he would pay attention to a lowly soldier, who even dared to speak to him in such a casual manner.
"Good morning, Mao. Don't worry about me, Jian and I have a plan to bring Hakuyuu back. By the way, where is my father? Shouldn't he be with you guys?", responded Hakuren.
He didn't like the other man and although he used Yazhen's last name, he did not respect him. It was a way to show the other one that he was not close to him.
"You have a plan to bring prince Hakuyuu back from the dead?", Yazhen asked in disbelieve.
His opinion of the former second prince got worse. How could someone even think that such a dreamer could be a suitable ruler? That guy even believed in something like "coming back from the dead"! Hakuren must have lost his sense of reality!
"Yes, as you probably know, we got a guest, who has a son, who died and came back from the dead. So when the other one was able to do so, then why shouldn't Hakuyuu? This was the reason, why we even invited the other king over. It's kind of embarrassing that we forgot it so fast."
Hakuren was extremely cheerful and Yazhen wasn't sure how to react. He couldn't believe what he heard. Maybe this was some kind of coping method of the prince? Not even a small child would believe something so stupid.
Yazhen like most of the other nobles knew that Hakutoku had sent a letter to an unknown country and asked for help – the critic for this action was high. No one had believed the story Jian had found. They had laughed about the solider, but their laughter stuck in their throats, when Hakutoku decided to give this story a chance.
"Prince Hakuren, I know it is hard to accept the death of a family member, but please let us stay realistic here. There is no way for someone to come back to life after they died. You should know this better than anyone. How many soldiers have died on the battlefield until today? And how many have come back from death? Many have died and none came back."
Yazhen's voice had gotten louder. It was beyond him how someone could be so naïve, so stupid so… so much like Hakuren. How was it possible that emperor Hakutoku had a son like Hakuyuu and one like Hakuren? Hakuei also was a very realistic person, while Hakurin was more a dreamer, but she also was still a small child. He had also believed in many stupid things, when he had been a child – even their emperor had probably believed in them, when he had been young. There was nothing wrong with that, but one had to grow up one day and this day had already passed for Hakuren.
"I know you think I am stupid, but let me tell you: I am not! I may believe a lot of things without questioning it, but I am able to distinguish between a wishful thinking and a real possibility. My father had believed in the story of people coming back from the dead as well, or else he would haven't risked to write an unknown king. So why is it wrong to believe in it for a little bit longer? One shouldn't give up without having tried everything! By the way, you do not have to believe in it, just tell me where my father is, everything else is nothing of your concern", Hakuren spoke in a firm voice, but with an angry undertone – it took him quite some self-control to not leash out to Yazhen.
He was well aware what some of the nobles thought about him and he knew that Yazhen was one of those, who looked down on him, which was quite something considering who Hakuren was.
While Hakuren and Yazhen talked with each other, Lien also left the room. Of course she had heard the small conversation between the two male, but decided that she should not interfere with them. However, Hakuren was done with his part in the conversation and shifted his attention from Yazhen to Lien.
"Lien, good morning", he greeted her cheerfully, which confused her a bit.
Although she had heard that he thought he found a way to bring his brother back from the dead, this thought was so surreal for her she couldn't keep it in mind.
"Do you know where my father is? I really need to talk to him."
"I am sorry, your highness, I don't know, but I guess, he went into his bureau. Well, he could also be on his way to our guest, the black king. Since he hadn't even greeted our guest until now", she said – it was nothing unusual for him to call her by her first name, since he considered her a friend of his, while she spoke more formally with him.
Behind Hakuren Jian waved at Lien with a smile. He felt it was not right to also greet her, because this would seem a bit out of place – the time for greetings was already over, he should have done so as soon as Hakuren had greeted her. Lien waved back at him with her sweetest smile – this time it was an honest smile. She and Jian got a long very well and he was one of the few people in the palace that accepted her the way she was and had no problem with neither her position nor her gender. Sometimes they eat launch together and talked about many different things – everything except politics and war. Jian had even taught her how to use a sword. Although she lacked the strength for wielding one. With a bit more strength training things might improve. Jian believed in her!
"Alright, then I will go to my father's bureau and Jian, you will go to our guest's room. If father is on his way to the black king, we need to talk to him before he meets the other king or else this could turn out a bit awkward."
Hakuren had already forgotten about Lien and Yazhen and order Jian around.
When they had sat in Hakuren's room and pitied themselves over their loss, Jian suddenly remembered why the black king was even here. After that, they immediately got excited and went to search for Hakutoku. At first they had went to Gyokuen's bedroom, but there they only found the empress. So they went to look into every meeting room, because Hakuren remembered vaguely that some nobles wanted a meeting to discuss, who would be the next emperor. Given the fact that the palace was a giant place and had a lot of meeting rooms, it took them a while, until they reach the last one. However, when they arrived only Yazhen and Lien were still there.
"Um, excuse me, your highness, can I somehow help the two of you?", Lien asked.
Like Mao Yazhen she did not believed in people coming back from the dead, but Hakuren was also right. They had invited the black king, because his son had come back from the dead, and one should try everything before giving up. They hadn't tried everything yet.
"Sure. You can look for my father in his bureau, then Jian and I look, if he is with our guest. It might be better, when I try to stop him. If my father tells Jian to leave, Jian has to follow the order, but I guess, I will have more leeway here. And when he is in his office, you can tell him that he should wait there until I talked to him. I am sure he will listen to you."
After hearing that Lien was on their side, Hakuren and Jian got even more excited. Even if Hakutoku would doubt them, they had Fei Lien, who was a very level-headed person. If someone like this also supported their ideas, then the chances that others gave it a try were higher, right? Yazhen, on the other hand, couldn't believe what he just had witnessed. Although he did not like Lien, he always had thought she was a realistic person, but in the end she was nothing more than a mere woman. He shook his head in disbelieve. It was probably better to leave now, when he wanted to maintain his sanity.
"Your highness, I will take my leave for now. I wish you the best of luck with your plan on getting prince Hakuyuu back from the dead", he said and bowed.
He had forgotten to do so, when he met Hakuren and Jian, which could be considered an offence, but no one of the three had paid any attention to unimportant stuff like that.
"Thanks. Please tell my father, in case you happen to run into him, that I am searching for him", Hakuren bid goodbye.
"I will."
And with that Mao Yazhen left the small group in the opposite direction than Hakuren and his friends were about to go.
The other three also were ready to set out, but Lien suddenly asked: "What if I meet the emperor? How can I tell you where he is?"
"Um, well, when he isn't with our guest, he must be in his office, so I guess you can only wait. And if he isn't in his bureau he is with our guest. So, you have to just go to the guest rooms."
"It could also be that he is with my father or that he talks with the black king in a different place or that he went back to the empress", Lien replied skeptical.
There were many options where the emperor could be. For a split second she even thought of the possibility that he may take a stroll through the garden, but this didn't seem to fit is stern personality and how he took his duties as emperor seriously. Something like taking a stroll was only done, when all the important work was done or when the empress more or less ordered him to do so.
"He also could be in the city or at Hakuyuu's side or with Hakurin or went to the bathroom. Theoretically, he could be everywhere. We have to start somewhere. Just wait at his office, even if he isn't there. In case he also is not with our guest, then we will get back to you. If we find him, I will send Jian to get you. And when he isn't either with our guest or at his office, we have to check out all the meeting rooms again and asked around. Someone must have seen him. My father is a person, who is hard to overlook", Hakuren answered after thinking about Lien's words for a minute.
They were many options, but they had to start their search somewhere. If they only thought about where his father could be without actually searching for him, they would never find him. In the worst case, his father would send the black king away without Hakuren being able to talk to his father – which was highly unlikely. It would be quite rude to send a guest away as soon as they had arrived. So, even when Hakutoku told the other man that the reason for his visit was now gone, the emperor would offer him to stay a bit longer and take a look around. Also Hakuren probably would met his father at dinner time at the latest. However for Hakuren it was important to find his father now!
"Now, let's get going or else we will never find my father. We can think about where he might be after we have confirmed that he isn't in his office or the guest's room."
Since neither Jian nor Lien complained – Hakuren would have ignored it anyway – the three set out to find the emperor. For this they had to split up, because Lien had to go straight ahead to get to Hakutoku's bureau, while Jian and Hakuren had to go right.
"See you later, Lien", Jian bid her goodbye with another smile and then hurry up to Hakuren, who almost run down the hallways.
"See you later", she responded, although she was sure Jian hadn't heard her anymore.