Chapter 9: The Princess Man
PRINCESS YANG LIU KNOWN AS PRINCE KUAN HUI
ROSE FLOWER PALACE
"Prince Kuan Hui of the Bai clan arrives!" the eunuch announced as the princess paraded into the courtyard, her attendants closely behind. She walked with her head raised, arms crossed on her back which depicted masculinity.
"Princess!" The Grand Dowager Empress beamed at the sight of her.
"Greetings and blessings to her Royal Highness, the Grand Dowager Empress." She clasped her her hands together at chest level and lowered her head.
"Don't stand on ceremony," Grand Dowager Empress excused her. "My granddaughter is growing into a beautiful woman, isn't she?" Grand Dowager looked at her ladies-in-waiting who cackled in agreement.
The princess blushed shyly before saying, "Her Royal Highness flatters me too much."
"Now that my son has passed on, may his soul rest in peace, why don't we ask the emperor to bestow you the title 'royal princess'? It's not a secret anymore that you are a princess."
The princess fidgeted. "But... not everyone knows that."
"What is bothering the princess so much? Is this about the great General Feng?" her grandmother teased.
"Her Royal Highness does not have to be so direct." She avoided the Grand Dowager's stare and eyed the pond, her face flushing.
"Your mother burdened your life by lying about who you really are." Dowager Empress Wang, the mother of the princess, had born and raised her as a prince to not lose face that she, the empress at the time had only bore princesses.
It was because of the selfishness of her mother that her life was nothing but a charade, but there was no use crying over spilt milk, was there? Now that her Royal Father had passed on, it would be easier to reveal her real identity without the officials or royal scholars asking for a death penalty decree to be issued to her mother. Lying to the emperor meant death and her mother had deceived her father, the previous emperor, when he was alive. Her father died thinking she was a prince, an unworthy prince for that matter because unlike her elder brother, she was no good in archery or martial arts or any other physical activities. She never went to war like him and so she was unworthy.
No matter how much easier for the truth to come out now that her Royal Father was gone, Princess Yang Liu was still not ready.
It was obvious that General Feng would not see her in the same way if she revealed the hatch in the hat. She could not bear the thought of having to live with unrequited love. It was better for them to stay close friends with him being under the impression that she was a man.
Undeserving Dowager Empress Wang, she was the reason why her life was nothing but a lie.
"Princess has no mother but Grand Consort Shu," she corrected.
"Grand Consort Shu is the mother of the emperor, not yours," her grandmother said sounding sympathetic. "Sooner or later you will have to make amends with your real mother."
"Mother stole Elder Brother through forced adoption," she accused. "Since mother stole Grand Consort Shu's son, I will bring joy to Consort Shu's heart by being the filial child in place of Elder Brother. Life has been unfair with her, grandmother."
Her grandmother sighed and threw some pellets into the water for the fish.
"I have come so that grandmother will join me in embroidery," the princess changed the subject. "One day I would like to make something for the General," she said dreamily.
Princess Yang Liu was still a royal princess. Like her sisters, she would be wed off to a noble clan or to another nation as a way to maintain peace. She knew that things were better off if she stayed a prince, and that way, she could live to protect General Feng with no constraints, loving him from afar. There was no harm growing a flower and not being able to touch or smell it, as long as she was at a good enough distance to watch over it.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Sunset_Vermont Vocabulary
Grand dowager empress- grandmother of the Emperor
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I did not plan to introduce new characters in this chapter but hey the sooner the better. If anything is confusing, don't worry it will be explained later. Thank you for reading and don't forget to share your amazing thoughts with me and vote ;)
Chapter 10: Lady Queens
LADY WEI LI LIAN
PRINCESS LE-ANNE
LADY QUEENS' MANOR
"Your leg is too stiff." The princess reprimanded the girl who stood in front of her learning her twists. The girl knowingly extended her hand and squeezed her eyes shut, expectant of the pain that would follow. Le-anne stretched out her arm, her slim wooden rod pointing towards the sky and with all her might, she hit the girl hard.
"Aaaah..." the girl writhed in agony, stopping her tears from falling.
'Mistress Kei is the one to blame, for this is the only teaching method I know.' Le-anne smirked.
"Relax your hands when you twirl around." The princess said to another before she stretched her hand and repeated the previous punishment.
"These frivolous ladies are lacking," Le-anne shook her head with hopelessness and wiggled her finger, which signaled the musicians to stop playing the instruments.
Confidently, she walked to the front, dropped her rod and clicked her fingers twice before the music started again. Breathing in and out, she relaxed her mind and let the music take over. Her hands extended towards the sky as if in submission, the broad sleeves of her robes waving flamboyantly. Like a wind goddess, she swung her hands forth and effortlessly the rest of her body followed. Her feet fleetingly brushed the ground, still maintaining the lightness of a feather.
The crowd gasped in reverence.
"Her ladyship makes it look so easy..."
"She is beautiful..."
"Magnificent..."
Her body bent swiftly, swaying about like the wind was leading her. She was lost in the moment like she was free―free from her burdens, worries and responsibilities.
Left, right, left, her feet arched and tip tapped the ground. Increasing her pace made her seem like a graceful flapping bird flying abroad.
"A blooming lotus flower..." a familiar voice spoke and at these words, Le-anne spun around and suddenly came to a halt. The crowd was not slow in moaning out their disappointment, either.
"That's it!" The princess smiled and looked at Mistress Han who had been observing from the far end. Mistress Han was the mistress who was in charge of the manor's welfare. Le-anne was quite fond of the woman's pastel white skin that made her pink lips stand out.
"The Dancing Lotus Flower?" Mistress Han questioned with a puzzled look.
"Yes!" Princess Le-anne reached for the mistress' hands, "Mistress Han is a true poet."
"Her Ladyship praises me too much." Mistress Han simpered while batting her long eyelashes. Ideas were already buzzing in the princess' head. It's like Mistress Han had just removed whatever that was clogging her mind. Although they had trained so hard for the past few days, she had felt like they were going in circles but now they were gaining direction. They would call the dance 'Dancing Lotus Flower'.
"Her Ladyship is also a gifted young woman," Mistress Han complimented her. "When Lord Wei sent word that he would help me prepare for the Imperial Summer Festival dance, it never crossed my mind that he would send his precious daughter," she continued as she enclasped the princess' hand.
Princess Le-anne shrugged her shoulders and grinned. Her insides on the other side were doing the opposite. Although Mistress Han was ten summers older than her, they had easily bonded. Lying and being fake to a stranger was easy but doing it to someone who kept winning her heart was a challenge. For the first time after losing Nameless, there was someone she could call a friend but a wall of lies and deception stood between them. No matter how much they held hands with true friendship affection, a hedge still stood between them.
Mistress Han pulled her close and whispered, "But Lady Wei should stop beating my girls, most of them just became of age and are truly delicate."
The princess gave her an evil laugh and playfully pushed her away.
And Mistress Han's response? She moaned in defeat like a damsel in distress.
"May the ladies please take their positions," the princess spoke up, her tone sounding more authoritative as she picked her rod. "As I have told you before, I dance and you watch, then you dance and I watch," she smirked while approaching them again and they grumbled.
"Dance is an art and art is not copied. If I dance and you copy me, we will be the laughing stock of the Imperial City." She gave her lecture as she casually walked up and down. "When I danced, the Lady Queens were supposed to watch closely and now they must make that dance their own. Breathing in and out at the right moments is—"
The hairs on her back rose in apprehension and alarm bells rang in her head.
Intruder.
Someone had just jumped from the tree onto the back of the manor. Her body stiffened but still her face was expressionless.
"I wish to take a break," the girls breathed a sigh of relief at her proclamation, "Mistress Han shall take over from here." She walked away from the practising ladies and neared the back of the manor. Ai tried to follow her but she shook her head. She did not want to risk her life.
Without thinking twice, she took a sharp turn and saw a built man having his back towards her.
S.V
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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Sunset_Vermont
I received a large number of collections yesterday. Thank you all for adding my story to your library, I hope you will keep reading this book till the end.
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