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In the study, Nao looked at the smile on his brother's face as he watched Lihua leave.  His heart relaxed knowing that Takeshi no longer felt any feelings towards Akira.  However he saw how Akira kept looking at Takeshi through out the whole celebration.  Her eyes would stay on them for long periods of time and although she tried to ignore them, Nao saw how she kept going back to the couple across from her.  He had not punished her for leaving the Back Palace yet, but seeing her actions today, really made him lose face.  Tonight, he would punish her severely.  

"You have fallen in love with the girl."  Nao stated.  

"I have."  Takeshi said as he turned back to his brother after the door closed.  

"Have you told her of Akira?" 

"She knows."  Takeshi told him.  "There is nothing to hide from her." 

Nao nods.  "She treats you well?" 

"Yes.  She does." 

"When she's with you, you turn into a different man."  Nao tells him.  

"She makes me want to become a better person."  

Nao smiled.  "I am happy for you brother. My heart can finally rest easy knowing that there is someone beside you who will take care of you, even if it is for a short time, I want you to know how it feels like to let someone take care of you."  Nao said bittersweetly. "Now on with business shall we?"

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The maid showed her out and into the flower garden.  They walked in silence until they reached a small pond with a gazebo.  Lihua took a seat in the gazebo and waited for Takeshi.  From the corner of her eyes, she saw a lady in lavender walk towards the gazebo with a large entourage of maids and eunuchs.  

Lihua immediately saw that it was Akira and smiled wickedly as she unleashed her qi into the snake. The snake hissed as it slithered out from her hand and down to the floor.  It wrapped it's body around the table's leg and waited.  

Akira left her entourage at the entrance of the gazebo.  As she came closer, Lihua stood and bowed slightly to her.  

"Leave us."  Akira orders the maid that showed her into the garden.  The maid looks at Lady Akria then at Lihua then back to Lady Akira before curtsying and leaving the gazebo.  

"Rise."  Akira said.   "Take off your veil." 

"I must apologize, however I cannot take it off.  Takeshi has ordered me to keep it on and the only person who can see my face is only him."  Lihua tells Akira.  "He is a possessive man and gets jealous easily." 

Akira fists tighten as she snared at her.  

"How did you save him?"  She asks.  "Where did you find him?" 

"I cannot tell you this.  Takeshi has ordered me not to say anything." 

"Why is that?"  Akira shrieked. 

"You must ask him for answers that I do not know.  I only follow his words." Lihua said calmly.  

"Has Takeshi told you about me?" She asked proudly.  

"I do not know who you are.  For I do not know your name."  Lihua said.  

Akira's face burned red in embarrassment.  There is no one under the skies who doesn't know her.  But the slip of a girl said that she didn't know her!  Fine, she'll tell her who she is and make her regret not knowing.  

"How discourteous of me."  Akira said.  "My name is Lady Akira.  I am the concubine of King Nao.  King Nao, King Takeshi and I grew up together.  As a young child, Takeshi and I played together and he took great care of me."  

"It is very nice to meet a friend of Takeshi."  Lihua said.  

"Yes, well... for a time we were more than friends.  Did he tell you he courted me?"  Akira said as she opened the fan in her hand and waved it back and forth to cool herself down.  "He always treated me well, showering me with gifts as we spent the day together talking constantly."  

"Ah, I remember now, you're that Akira." Lihua said.  "He did mention you in passing, but he doesn't talk about you at all.  He mostly talks to me about his family." 

Akira stared at Lihua hatefully as she completely ignored Akira's remarks.  

"I must congratulate you on your engagement with Take.  He seems to be happy." Akira said. "As his friend, I worry about his happiness, since he once asked the King for permission to marry me." 

"Lady Akira must rest your heart at peace.  I have taken Takeshi's happiness very seriously...inside and outside of the bedroom."  Lihua said brazenly.  "I must confess from one woman to another, Takeshi can't take his hands off of me.  He worries when I'm not next to him, especially when he wake up in the morning and I'm not there next to him.  He searches for me until he finds me and well...we can leave the rest up to imagination." 

"You...you."  Lihua started to say.  "You slept with Takeshi!"  

"Who can say no to such a strong, handsome, and charismatic man?"  Lihua smiled wickedly behind her veil.  She could see Akira's face turn more sour by the minute.  "And let me tell you, from one woman to another, my, my, MY does he take care of me in the bedroom.  I mean, his prowess in bed keeps me up all night with pleasure and the next day my whole body is sore from all the workout that we do." 

When Akira didn't speak Lihua continued to stab her with her verbal daggers and dig the daggers deep into her heart.  

"I mean, there are things that aren't proper to say, but there is no one to talk to about it with.  But since you and Takeshi are such great friends, I thought you wouldn't mind, being that you are the woman of the King, so you should know what goes on between a man and a woman."  Lihua said.  "I mean, they are brothers so they should carry the same passionate, hot blood in the bedroom."  

Akira's mouth drew tight as more sourness filled her heart.  The King never slept over night in her courtyard.  After each sexual activity, he would leave her in bed alone afterwards.  She never knew how it feels to sleep with someone next to them nor wake up to someone the next day.  The King only took what he wanted and never gave her release.  She has heard stories of the pleasures that women could feel through sexual intercourse, but she has never felt it with King Nao, only with her hands would she feel the pleasure that she gave herself.  

But to hear Lihua brag about it and her relationship with Takeshi, made her hate the girl even more.  She was even more determined not to let them marry.  

"How can a lady speak so shamelessly in public?"  Akira said to reprimand her as her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment and anger.  

"I never claimed to be a lady."  Lihua tells her innocently. Lihua stared at the speechless first love of Takeshi and hated the fact that he could have feelings for such a horrible person.  So she went in for the kill.  "Nor does he treat me like one."