In that same garden where a beetle was brutally murdered before...

"Da jie, you're sending Weiwei back?" Long Sangyu came to find his sister, panting.

"You're here." There were no ripples in the King's expression.

Her attitude implied there was nothing wrong in the actions she did.

It was just that...

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" The prince planted his feet in front of his sister.

Right now, his face was fierce. The first time he stood up against the person he treated as a parent his whole life.

Long Xu Le glanced behind at him. She was walking barefooted and her inky black hair flowed down to her waist.

Wearing loose trousers, she performed a series of kicks and somersaults but it looked more like a choreographed dance, hiding the true nature of how deadly those moves were.

Her breathing was perfectly controlled and there was no wastage of force. The tranquil air was disturbed every time she moved bringing with it a light breeze that tapped the Prince's cheeks.

It took a while to slow down her momentum to finally face this brooding brother of hers.

His face was cold yet still handsome under the lights of the lamps hanging on the beams of the walls surrounding the garden.

"Why? Are you dissatisfied? Ben dian didn't know you valued that concubine." Her lips hooked up in a small arc.

Then she suddenly disappeared in front of him.

Long Sangyu felt a caress to his cheek but he couldn't see where she was. Next moment, it was a touch on his hand.

His arm, his wrist. A single finger poked his back. A gentle kick to the back of his knee.

All this time, he could only see after images of his sister. She was smiling in a tranquil manner. Not at all affected by the speed at which she "attacked" him.

There was a brush to his hair and the hairpin was taken away only to be shot at the grassy garden. It swayed because of the force exerted into it but it stood upright nonetheless.

A man-made wind picked up in the garden and he was at the center of it.

She only showed the gap between them. 

He was unmoving. Because he knew he couldn't chase her nor even touch the hem of her dress.

This was his sister who was always the heaven and he was the earth.

Sangyu's face was grim. He could never chase after her. That was why he was always manipulated by her. He adored her but also...

Prince Ping didn't want this life anymore.

"Da jie. Stop playing around."

"Playing around?" King Wan Li looked as though he was floating down beside her brother.

"Have I ever... played around?"

When he heard that, Sangyu's throat constricted. Never. He had never seen her play.

Ever since being exiled here, he knew his sister had no time to even be a child. It was him who had all the leisure in the world.

He balled his hands into fists in attempt to curb his surging feelings.

Did that mean she could fully take control of his life? He acquired two concubines as she wished so now she also had the right to take them away with a single thought?

He was even willing to marry a stranger just to obey her. But knowing that the remainder of his life would still be in her hands left an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

It seemed that Long Xu Le could read the thoughts playing in his head.

"Then, can ben dian's beloved brother stand up on his own now?" There was obvious mocking in her tone.

Ben dian's beloved brother. She called her like a ruler called their relatives. And not Sangyu like she always did.

The prince still didn't answer. He looked down at the ground, in conflict with himself.

His brows were furrowed in anger and frustration.

This was their first quarrel in all these years. Mainly because Long Sangyu never disagreed with her.

He always blindly followed her words. But he didn't want to anymore.

Zhang Yunlei was right. He was a prince of his own right. Ping Junwang couldn't grow his wings properly under his sister's shadow.

Slowly, he raised his head and met the King's gaze.

"Yes, I will." He first answered her question, bowed and pushed his fist in front of his chest in standard salute.

"Long Sangyu, I, request permission to live outside the wangfu."

It might have been an illusion that the wind suddenly picked up and twisted the hanging lamps here and there.

Then came Wangye's light voice. "Granted."

If one were to witness this scene, they would think that her Highness didn't even hesitate. It gave off the feeling of apathy...

Later that night, a falcon took off from a small town outside of Suliang.

---

In the middle of a lavishly decorated hall sat a delicate looking lady.

She had fair skin and deep luscious hair. Red lips and dark beady eyes.

However these beautiful features were drowned out by the sharpness of her cheeks and chin. It was like the whole person was menacing crow.

But she still smiled sweetly upon reading a message.

"Come!" Her voice was laced with forced authority and arrogance.

A person entered and kowtowed in front of her.

"How is it coming along?"

The man kept his posture and carefully enunciated every word. "The person we sent is Feng Gezhi of the Yamen house. Your Majesty knows his background well and he has submitted fully to cooperate since that accident eight years ago."

The lady smiled and rose from her seat. "Alright. Reward him well if he does a good job."

"Understood, your Majesty." The subordinate didn't dare to lift his gaze.

"That pair of siblings are infighting. Now is the best time to strike. Ben gong waited too long for this moment."

Empress Yao sashayed to leave the hall. But then she remembered something. She turned around once again. The subordinate was still hugging the floor.

"And make sure to reward the Zhang family thoroughly."

Yao Ducheng smiled even more, her cheeks were starting to get sore.

That boy, Zhang Yunlei, did a good job.

Her Majesty went straight to her indoor garden, grabbed a small shovel and started tending the small pots and the hanging plants.

Soon, her hands were soiled with dirt and she even touched worms.

But she was still humming. She had raised these plants on her own and was used to the mud caking her fair skin.

In this warm and slightly moist indoor garden was where the Empress of the Great Long Dynasty spent her free time. Often, one would see her bustling about here.

It wasn't explicitly told that servants weren't allowed to enter. But through the years, the attendants and ordinary palace maids and eunuchs wouldn't dare.

They still wouldn't forget that time when a eunuch unknowingly entered the garden in search for a quicker path to his destination.

However, he was found dead the next morning on the other side of the garden in a position as though he was trying to crawl away from a haunted place.

The junior physicians in the palace weren't allowed to examine his corpse and it was buried directly. Nobody knew what abomination that garden had but no one was willing to confirm.

Even the Emperor didn't care about her Majesty's hobbies. Who were they to investigate?

---

The next morning, there was a stir in the peaceful wangfu.

His Highness, Ping Junwang, suddenly packed his things and opened his estate in the south of the First District of Suliang. This estate was gifted to him on his 15th birthday by Wangye but was never occupied until now.

Long Sangyu didn't take a lot of things as everything was already arranged in his own estate. It was maintained even without his presence.

This signaled that the venue for the wedding of the Prince would also change.

This was huge news in Suliang. Did his Highness decide to be independent from the King from now on?

Did they quarrel?

The ones who would think like this were the nobility of Suliang. How long had they longed for someone to oppose the tyrannical King?

Alas, maybe the time had come.

These marquis and counts all flocked to Junwang like pigeons finding their home. For a while the Prince Ping Estate was quite noisy.

Meanwhile, Wan Li Wangfu had become even more desolate.

Long Xu Le didn't bar anyone from following the Prince. Whoever wanted to serve in the new estate were listed as part of his entourage.

The ones who saw this opportunity naturally grabbed it. If they were to choose between the sunny prince and the somber King, it was no doubt they would go to Junwang.

Long Sangyu also learned of the unusual number of servants who registered to follow him but Chief Eunuch Cheng Gong, himself, turned a blind eye. So he didn't stop them.

There was not an ounce of sadness in the old eunuch's eyes as he bid farewell. A prince was destined to grow up and find his own path.

Chief Eunuch Cheng knew this fact better than anyone in the wangfu.

"Our dear Prince should also visit Wangye a lot. After all, she may not show it but this humble servant doesn't want her to feel lonely." Cheng Gong bowed to Junwang the day he left and earnestly said these words.

Long Sangyu paused before hoisting himself up on the horse. "Da jie is the strongest on her own. Hiya!"

He urged the horse to trot forward.

After him was Xiao Bao who looked at the palace where he grew up. Ah, it was difficult to leave but the Prince was resolute.

The young Xiao waved at a certain watchtower where he knew his father was. This would also be the first time he lived far away from him.

Lastly, he faced the direction where Zhongqing stood in the distance bowed three times as farewell.

---

Heehee some other forces are moving as well. We will see~

Happy Wednesday, mah dudes!