Chapter 32

Princess Yang Liu
The Palace

Yang Liu scanned the military section of the library. She then twirled around, her green hanfu cascading around her. Now that she was officially a princess, the Fabrics Department knew her. She bothered them to make a lot of dresses for her as she didn't wish to repeat any hanfu within one moon. She was a princess and she wished to look immaculate at all times, especially when she was meeting Chang An.

Her eyes set on finding the grey uniformed man that her heart loved. He made her happy, her world was sunshine because of him.

Taking a step back, she bumped onto a hard body. She happily sashayed around but when her eyes landed on Luo Meng, the smile froze.

"Not again. You are resorting to stalking me?" she huffed.

"I told you if we do it, I will let you go," he whispered. Luo Meng lingered close to her. If anyone watched them from afar they would think they were planning a huge conspiracy.

"No means no, or must I scream this?"

Luo Meng looked around in the huge still-quiet imperial library. In the few rows were scholars and officials walking around, reading, studying and researching. If anyone spoke, it was hushed mumbling at most.

He stared at her sincerely. "This will be the last time. I promise."

"We swore with our friendship, no more playing with needles. Are you that sorrowful you wish to go back on our word? You just got punished at the Punishment Bureau, I thought that would help."

Luo Meng sighed. "I don't know why. It's like needles are the only thing that can settle me." He pushed off the bangs falling on his forehead. "Yang Liu. You and I understand each other. What would you do if you couldn't be with General Feng? Wouldn't you beg me this way?"

Luo Meng was right, she would. What could keep her living without Chang An. Growing up, he had always been there. What would life be like without him? What would she look up to? What would she look forward to?

Luo Meng didn't look like himself. Shadows obscured his eyes and there were droopy bags weighing down his eyelids. His separation with the palace maid brought him down.

"His Majesty considers you as a friend. Tell him how you feel, I don't think granting you a palace maid as a gift could be a problem. Besides, you have never asked for anything before this."

Yang Liu continued her wandering around, straying to wherever her feet took her. She loved the smell of bamboo scrolls and paper, as it reminded her of the many good times she spent there watching General Feng with his many books; keen to come up with creative war strategies and be immersed with military knowledge that would please His Majesty.

Her elder brother was a discovered prodigy since the day he touched his first book. It was one of the things the fallen dragon liked to boast about the crown prince, then. If you gave Shen Hong a book and twenty-four strokes on the clock(one day), you would be shocked by how much he could recite in it. His memory was sharp and his attention to detail non-challengeable. This made those who worked with him, have respect and honor, yet they were also intimidated.

"I don't think you know His Majesty as well as I do." Luo Meng toiled after her.

Yang Liu purposely strayed away from the military section with the intention to not run into Feng Chang An while with Luo Meng. The two men did not do well when in the same room, like dogs with unrestrained leashes.

"The emperor is my elder brother."

"Doesn't count, I know him better, still. If I push this matter, he will kill her. I think he knows we separated so that is why he pardoned her. His Majesty knows everything that's happening but chooses to be ignorant. I think he has realised how he does not manage well with conflicts and confrontations because it ends with a head rolling on the ground." Luo Meng groaned and knocked his head against a book shelf. "I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking too much, but I can never know with him."

To hear Luo Meng rant about his life problems was a pleasure. Who would have thought? Luo Meng in love.

Yang Liu changed aisles and was surprised by who she saw.

"Li Lian?" It was bemusing to see a seated Li Lian with multiple books surrounding her.

"Sshhh!" An anonymous person angrily hushed them. People were easily annoyed by noise in the library.

She spoke softly this time. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you hate books." It was one of the few things remembered from the little, Yang Liu knew about this woman as they got to know each other due to their dance sessions.

Li Lian yawned. She did look bored. "I am no longer a maid. This lady must invest in reading books too."

Yang Liu was envious of Li Lian. Her clothes consisted of well chosen material, perfect fit and style. She had a talent for sewing. Her blue hanfu stood out more than Yang Liu's that was made by experts.

"What about Her Highness?" Li Lian had her eyes directly on Yang Liu, making Luo Meng a ghost. It was awkward. They never addressed the other around her since forever.

"Me? I am looking for General Feng. We are a couple now and when people are in love they naturally spend a lot of time together, to bond."

Li Lian frowned at her answer. "Spend... time to bond... If people are in love they must spend a lot of time together?"

The princess laughed. Wasn't that an obvious thing? "Of course."

Li Lian furrowed her eyebrows, acutely analysing something in her mind.

Yang Liu bid her farewell, anyhow. "Lady Wei, I am proud of you for starting this new hobby. Be strong!"

She didn't like Li Lian at the beginning. Yang Liu had many reasons why she shouldn't but after a while it was hard to keep that up.

Li Lian was simple. You couldn't say she was the funniest, the comforting person, the cheering friend. She was just someone with a little of everything but preferred to live her life simply, minding her business. Li Lian was always calm and relaxed, Yang Liu was interested in knowing whether there were times she did get stressed about things.

Li Lian nodded and opened another book to concentrate. Yang Liu noticed many of the books had titles relating to Furia. Intriguing that Li'er was curious about the nation of wings. What she had in mind that Li Lian would read about, were books on strong women and swordswomen. In the society of Nevoria, women were naturally not uplited as much as men and on many occasions Li Lian seemed passionate about opposing this norm.

"Why must men have many wives and not the same concerning women and husbands? Why are sons valued more than daughters? Why can't a woman be a physician but only be allowed to qualify to be an assistant? Why are there few women generals in the military?" These questions Li Lian had posed passionately and it had Yang Liu questioning her culture too.

Yang Liu wanted to challenge her elder brother with this but rarely was he available for people.

"You don't like her, do you?" Luo Meng was close behind when they left Li Lian.

"Should I not like her?"

"I don't trust that woman," he said.

"Yang Liu!" The calm upbeat voice of her most favorite general called her.

She turned and almost squealed, excited to see him. Finally! She skipped to General Feng and wrapped her hands around his arm. "I was looking for you, Chang An."

He was not listening. Rather, a face off with Luo Meng took his attention from her already.

Luo Meng was not in the mood to exchange unnecessary words with Chang An. Therefore, he nodded to the general and left.

"What happened? For a while you had stopped to hang around with him, but now you seem to be spending more and more time together as before," General Feng accused.

"We are friends that promised not to do it anymore."

"I'd rather you stayed from the other."

Yang Liu understood where General Feng's worry came from. Yang Liu and Luo Meng had a liking to inflicting pain on themselves when depressed about issues in their life. In the past they had taken upon themselves to play with needles, piercing each other as service when one was sad. What they did was the same as what was done on a person during acupuncture except this was not for medicinal reasons and neither of them had the skills for it, adding on that they abused it for the wrong reasons.

The other time Yang Liu mistakenly pierced Luo Meng in the wrong meridian and had him unconscious. Grand Dowager, her grandmother who loved her so much, was deliriously angry. Luo Meng, though just a slave brought in by her grandmother, was treasured by the Grand Dowager that their grandmother-granddaughter relationship strained for a while. After that incident, General Feng recommended she stay away from Luo Meng. Who knew what would happen next time when they entertained such things?

Yang Liu's maid once suggested they try needles with someone who was skilled with acupuncture but it wasn't the same. There was no excitement in doing it with someone that wasn't her friend Luo Meng and there wasn't the thrill that they were amateurs playing with something they are not good at.

"Hao, hao. Don't be upset now. I will stay away from him." She hugged him. So many years she dreamt of this time in her life, where she could love Chang An openly, be herself, express her heart.

"Yang Liu..." He pushed her off him.

"Hmm?" She was caught off guard with his denial of affection. Well, recently he was distant. He spent more time avoiding her than 'with' her. It wasn't like the days they worked together to hide Li Lian within her palace. Around the days she practise dance and became officiated, they talked about getting married and he didn't mind visiting the Cold Palace to see her mother.

However, not anymore. Nowadays she questioned whether she was a plague to him. Where they still a couple?

"We need to talk. I must tell you something." He told her.

S.V