As I stood before the grand entrance of the palace , I felt rush of awe wash over me .. It is because I haven't been to the palace for almost an year and last time I came to palace , the emperor was someone else and this time it's someone else ..

It's towering roofs sweeping upwards like the wings of a mythical bird ready to take flight .. The golden tiles gleamed in the sunlight , casting a glow that seemed to beckon me closer ...

The eunuch guided me to the palace garden ..

I was enchanted by the tranquil beauty surrounding me .. Winding paths lead to serene ponds where koi glided gracefully beneath the surface , their scales shimmering like jewels ..

There was the emperor and the empress waiting for me ..

Sitting under the shed .. With a table decorated with all palace delicacies ..

Greetings Emperor ..

Greetings Empress ..

{ I bowed down a little and greeted them .. I don't know why these days , as my mother's death anniversary and my birthday is approaching , my dad is bent on to make me wear all girly , fairy like clothes .. }

Rise !! [ the emperor and empress said ]

Then he signaled everyone to leave and then stood up in excitement ..

Heyyy Xiao Qian !! How are you these days ??

I heard what happened to the prince who came here as an envoy .. You are his wife right ?? Also what happened when you all went for your journey from the eastern border ?? Why did you fell out with your husband ??

{ He spoke so many questions all together that it made my head spin .. }

He talked about Han Shou , and my memories with him flashed before my eyes .

I stood silent , zooned out ..

Then suddenly someone kept their hand at my shoulder ..

I was startled and looked back .. The empress ..

[ Sit down ] She said with a loving gummy smile ..

I think she understood that I didn't wanna talk about this so she looked at her husband with narrow eyes as if she was telling him to not talk about this with me ..

Xiao Qian right ?? { she asked looking towards me }

I nodded ..

I heard you are a great poet too ..

I immediately shook my head and gave her a fakest smile of my entire life and said that it's nothing but exaggeration done by people ..

She laughs ..

Okaayy .. Then please tell me what do you think while looking at the gigantic walls of the palace ?? .. ..

Mmmm ... hmmm ...

Festivals filled with laughter ,

Whispers of the secret shared beneath the moonlight ,

And the weight of decisions that shaped destinies ..

They hold stories of the emperor and the empress's secret glances , Their love entwined with duty ..

The affection between guards and servants , quiet and unspoken ..

---------- -------- ------------ ----------- ----- ------------ --------

After I finished I saw the empress smiling ..

Very good .. Your beauty and your poetry both captivate the soul , each word and each glance leaving an indelible mark on the heart ..

Here have some wine .. { she says as she poured some wine for me }

You may call me Feiyue .. – she says to me .. I looked into her eyes as if I was directly staring into her soul and it said that she doesn't have too many friends but Xuejing { emperor , her husband } is definitely her best friend ..

Good name .. – I said as I smile back to her ..

Aaayyaa stop smiling you both .. Even my cheek muscles started aching by seeing you both like this ..

{ Xuejing says as he stomps the scroll in his hand on the table .. }

Also Chu Xiao Qian !! Do you have anything to report ??

{ He says in a demanding tone .. }

WHO ARE YOU SCREAMING AT ?? Huh !!

{ I banged my palm on the table stood up and kept my hands at my waist with wide eyes .. It was as if I were the boss here .. it's not real but still whenever I do this , he always pretends to be afraid of me and acts like a little brother .. }

He flinched at my respond , his expressions were so funny .. Red ears , wide eyes { that are trying to tell me to respect him } pale face of embarrassment ..

His wife chuckled ..

You both are so much like real siblings ..

My eyes rolled at her response and I gave her a tsk ...

Who would be siblings with him .. ??

Of course it's you { he says with a exciting smile and places his hand over my shoulder but I shrug it off .. }

He gives a fake smile and then says that – She is more close to me than any other sibling of mine ..

After saying that he flicks my forehead and then I chase him to pull his hairs .. But still I managed to notice the empress's reaction ..

Her face rests gently on her palm , elbow propped on the table as her gaze lingers loving her man .. She's utterly captivated , lost in the quite adoration .. Even the soft glow of light makes a heart reflection in her eyes ..

Okayyyyy !! now you !! { I said as I pointed towards Xuejing } sit down !! I need to tell you something , something very serious .... ..

As they both straightened , their backs rigid with a new , unspoken tension , silence settled .. The air seemed to chill , creeping into our bones , each of us feeling the subtle drop in temperature ..

I leaned forward , placing my hands softly on the table , letting the quiet stretch for a moment longer .. When I spoke , my voice was barely more than a whisper , but it sliced through the silence like a blade ..

" There are people , " I said slowly , letting each word sink in , " Who want you both dead " ..

They both erupted in laughter , a jarring , almost hysterical sound that shattered the tension in the garden .. One of them shook their head , smirking as if I'd just told the punch-line of a joke too absurd to be true ..

" You've got to stop messing around ... " one of them said , wiping a tear from their eye .. " This is serious stuff .. You can't joke like that .. "

But I didn't flinch .. My expression stayed unchanging , my eyes fixed on theirs as they laughed their butt off .. Slowly , their laughter faded , the reality of my words beginning to creep in , one heartbeat at a time ..

In the Wei dynasty , near the border between both dynasties .. There is someone from the Xia Dynasty who has planned to assassinate both of you .. The people included are , The imperial tutor , Duke Lu , The noble consort Yulan ..

Just as I said the noble consort Yulan , Feiyue's ears changed into every shade of red ever possible ..

{ Very good Jian Xuejing , You even have a consort ?? aayaa my grandma , sit down .. I ... { Before he could complete his sentence , she interrupted him .. - Am I your grandma ?? That's what I am in your eyes ?? A grandma who nags all day .. Huh ?? [ she says with a dramatic face .. ] }

Aaayaa , no you're not .. You are my lovey – dovey life , wife , my everything .. Also I don't have anyone besides you .. That Yulan is my father's consort .. { he says while massaging her shoulders .. }

Someone out there is planning to assassinate them and here they both are being in love , not caring about anything ..

But seeing these two .. I miss the days when Han Shou and I used to fly over the long stretched sky .. And I would say to him –

Fly wild bird ,

Fly as far as you can ,

If I catch up with you – I'll remind you why you were meant to mine ..

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Then I snapped back to the present ..

"Okay now listen you both drunkards here .. "

They plan to assassinate you both during the Water dragon festival of our dynasty , the time when you both would be out for the city tour ..

Near the border between both dynasties .. 3rd street , near the wishing tree .. That's where the trap is set .. They want to frame my family for this assassination stating that my family and the emperor of Wei Dynasty colluded with each other ..

This is the evidence ..

I held out my palm and then the bag which contained all the letters , tokens , bank notes , account books of inns , pharmacy account books ..

They listened to everything I said quite seriously .. Then they both gave me a blind nod ..

[ Then he said ]

I always suspected 2nd prince's identity .. If we look close enough his facial features strongly resembles Imperial tutor and the Noble consort Yulan ..

And the men I sent to investigate him , gave me the information that the 2nd prince is really not father's son but the imperial tutor's and Yulan's son .. Duke Lu is Yulan's brother so they all were angered that I got the throne , the 2nd prince didn't ..

They want to rebel ..

Hmmmm ... hmmm .. Interesting ...

So .. here's my plan .. [ I said as I signaled both of them to come closer so that I could speak into their ears but I could feel Yuefei getting ticklish as my breath dances on her ears ...

I started whispering .. ----- They will tamper with the cart you both will sit in ..

{ Then we will use horses .. !!! } Xuejing said but before I could do anything Yuefei hit him on his head .. [ That one was well deserving .. ] I said as I gave my thumbs up to her with a giant smile on my face ..

Okay now listen ..

I will disguise as one of your dancers that will dance near the wishing tree .. And then when they get will get ready to take action .. I will .... .....{ whispers } ... ....... .....

-------------- ---------------------- ----------------------------

Night .. At Xiao Qian's home ..

Me and dad just had our lunch together and by the way he talked , I think he knows a little bit about what happened in my life recently .. So he was saying that I should do what my heart says but still listen to my brain .. I can't be foolish .. I need to plan everything in advance ..

So I just listened to him and finished all my food ..

Today was a long day .. The only thing left now was to meet poison guy ..

I sat on the stool and kept my hands on the table supporting my face ..

I asked Xining to back to her room and sleep ..

I prepared myself .. I squeezed my own cheeks , preparing myself ..

I had so many questions for poison guy .. Like who's he ?? What was his purpose ?? What I saw in the mirror of origin , what was that ?? Why do I have blur memories of everything and some-things that I never went through but still feel the pain , the hatred .. Sometimes I even hate poison guy , I don't know why but I really hate him .. It's weird .. He told me that he will come at midnight ..

It's also been two days since old timer came to me and it feels really weird .. Also when I heard that my little wild bird is staying at the inn near the border of both dynasties ..

There he was .. Cultivating , not giving a fu*k about what's happening in this world ..

I love admiring him from afar .. It's just that I have regret of falling in love .. If I didn't fell in love it would have been much easier for me to let him go and save everyone .. But now that I committed the sin , I need to bear all the responsibilities ..

Of-course !!

Every sin bears the weight of it's own reckoning .

And my sin ? My sin is that I lost myself in love ..

Too lost to find the words my heart would speak ..

I'm still holding onto to everything that's dead and gone ,

Wishing you were here , not just a memory drawn ..

It was my fault for letting you get too close , Yet I can't bring myself to let you go ..

Baby we're cursed but ,

I'd let the world end for you , just to stand beside you ..

Just to hear you calling out my name ..

                  { The Sin of Love [my own poem ..] }

I'm in my room only but when I close my eyes he's here by my side ..

" Stop daydreaming at night !! "

A voice came out of nowhere , it looked as if a ghost entered the room .. But I knew who it was .. Poison Guy .. He was finally here ..

He appeared in front of me ..

Giving me a smile that said – how you're doing ??

As if he doesn't know what's going on ...

Huh !!

He folds he arms with an eyebrow raise and blew air towards his side cheek to blow away his little flicks ..

" Grumpy !! " He says and I gave him an eye roll ..

So .. Sit down for the talk and before you ask me any questions , let me tell you a story first ..

-------- ------------ ------------- --------- ---------- ---- ---------- -----

So here this chapter ends ..

She is finally going to knows about things that's been troubling her lately and how will she react after finding out that besides being from the demon clan what other identity does this poison man has .. ?? What's his name ??

What has he done to her ??

You'll find out in the next chapter .. Till then stay tuned ..

By By ...

Word Count - 2433