บท 26: Trembling Buttercup — IV

It was a fork road where the army's march came to a stop and the soldiers methodically parted to make way for the doctors' entourage amidst them.

Li Xinyuan looked at Liu Mingyun's face as the Crown Prince smiled down at him. He then turned to look at Hu Lijing who shrugged at him.

Then, slowly letting out a breath, Li Xinyuan attempted to calm down his quickening heartbeat and blinked at the hand offered to him, silently studying the lines on the Crown Prince's palm.

Liu Mingyun jumped down from his stead, his one hand held onto the rein while the other was offered for Li Xinyuan to take as he waited for the young surgeon to come to a decision.

After what felt like an eternity, Li Xinyuan's hand — softer, less calloused and somewhat colder — joined his. Fingers slightly intertwined to hold onto as the surgeon shuffled out of the carriage, the hem of his robes silver grey robes dragging on the ground as he did so.

Hu Lijing exited the carriage from the other side and waited for the scene to unfold. He was more than ready to see a nice "goodbye" scene.

"This is as far as this lowly one can accompany you, Your Highness," Li Xinyuan smiled gently, glancing at his hand trapped within Liu Mingyun's grasp. "Now—" he turned to look at the fork road. "—my world awaits me."

Liu Mingyun looked at the side of his face, with a reassuring squeeze, he nodded, keeping his expression schooled despite what little of the unwillingness he had acknowledged, welling in his heart.

"Specter of Blood Moon speaks as though we will never meet again."

Li Xinyuan turned to look at him, returning the squeeze, he pulled his hand back. "It may as well be so, Your Highness." He replied, lying through his teeth.

Like hell they will not be meeting again! They were destined to be married! Married! And it was a necessity to change the novel's genre.

The floating panel suddenly appeared in front of his eyes as the number displayed on it skyrocketed exponentially.

[Current Points: 3068]

"You wound me, Xinyuan," leaning forward, so that they were much closer. Close enough for Liu Mingyun to whisper. "I choose to believe that we will be seeing each other soon." He then pulled back and bent down, tenderly holding Li Xinyuan's hand as he brought it to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss on his knuckles.

Li Xinyuan felt his scalp go numb at the slight touch of their flesh. While trying to keep his calm, the surgeon pulled his hand back, ears warm and fist hidden inside his wide sleeve.

Nodding a little mechanically, he breathed out. "Fate must have something in store then, Your Highness."

Liu Mingyun smiled imperceptibly. "This Prince is glad to know that Specter of Blood Moon shares his opinion. Though, personally, This Prince is a little saddened that Doctor Li cannot join us at the banquet that is going to be held in celebration of our victory."

At the reminder, the soldiers behind them quietly cheered amongst themselves.

Li Xinyuan's beautiful golden eyes narrowed as he smiled, shaking his head slowly. With a slight chuckle, he replied, bowing his farewell.

"This one begs for Your Highness' understanding. This lowly one has left the Hospital for far too long. In the absence of both the Divine Phoenix and this lowly one, who is to say how the place is fairing."

Liu Mingyun looked at his head, crimson eyes squinting as he waved his hand. "Please rise, Specter of Blood Moon. Of course, This Prince understands the weight of responsibilities. This Prince will not force you to accompany him to the Imperial Capital." He nodded, folding his hands behind his back as he took a step away from Li Xinyuan, luscious silver locks swaying with the wind. "However, Doctor Li must remember, when the Heavenly Dragon summons both of you, you must come, no matter how busy you are."

"Of course, Your Highness. As the Son of Heaven's subjects, we are obligated to answer to His Majesty's summons." Li Xinyuan nodded, watching the Crown Prince walk away as he stood in front of the fork road.

When the marching soldiers disappeared, Liu Mingyun was gone with them. Only when Li Xinyuan could no longer see even a single soldier did he turn around.

Face calm as a placid pool of frozen lake, he got into the carriage and commanded in a low, but full of authority, voice.

"Move forward."

…

"Your Majesty," a man hummed, a beautiful zither lay on his lap as he strummed the chords to produce a beautiful melody. "Don't you think you are being too harsh on His Highness the Crown Prince?" He asked, long lashes fluttering as he looked up at the man sitting on the bed.

His Majesty the Emperor of DàHuǒ, the Heavenly Dragon, looked at him, silky raven tresses with elegant white strands interspersed throughout, cascaded down his back as the handsome man looked at his consort with a frown on his face.

"Imperial Noble Consort Liang," he murmured, voice uncharacteristically soft as he gazed at the man's face. "Zhen understand that you care for the Crown Prince. But you have to have to be understanding of Zhen's intentions as well."

The man raised his eyes, a smile tugged at his handsome face as he tucked away the zither and slowly stood up, crimson red hair flowing down his back as he walked to the emperor and sat on the floor in front of him.

"Of course, this Consort understands, Your Majesty," he sighed, hands folded on his lap as he leaned on the bed frame. "But this Consort has raised him since His Imperial Highness was nothing but an infant. How can this Consort bear to see him suffer the way he did?"

The Emperor looked at his Consort, eyes soft as he bit back a sigh and slowly reached out to stroke his cheek. Before his fingers could touch him, the latter moved away.

"Ah," The Emperor let out a quiet sound, hand freezing mid-air. "Is Consort Liang upset with Zhen?" He asked, pulling his hand back.

Imperial Noble Consort Liang, Liang XingHui pursed his lips into a thin line as he mumbled. "How can that be, Your Majesty? This Consort cannot be upset with the Son of Heaven, can he?"

The Dragon Emperor, named Liu Huangjun, stared at his red hair and replied in a faint voice. "Imperial Noble Consort Liang can be as upset as he wants, this Emperor does deserve it, after all."

Liang XingHui looked up at him, ruby-like scarlet eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Mn?"

The Emperor smiled down at him, his handsome features turned gentle as he pulled Liang XingHui up to sit beside him. "Zhen put the Crown Prince through all the hardships, yes. Zhen showed 'favouritism' to the Fourth Prince, yes. But look at the result now, My Consort—" he tapped a finger on Liang XingHui's thigh "—who emerged victorious and stronger? The Crown Prince."

"... Yes, Your Majesty." Reluctantly, Liang XingHui nodded, turning his face away. Just because the Emperor had a point didn't mean he was forgiven.

"Zhen have said this countless times, My consort." The Emperor smiled helplessly. "Hard times make strong people but times of peace only create weak people. What Zhen did was simply to put the Crown Prince's capabilities to the test. Please, do not be upset with Us for that."

Liang XingHui silently pursed his lips. "This Consort has never won against Your Majesty."

"How can that be, Consort Liang?" The Emperor chuckled at him, hugging his shoulders. "Consort Liang always manages to convince Zhen to do what he wants, no?"

Liang XingHui cleared his throat. "This Consort doesn't understand what Your Majesty is saying."

A deep chuckle. "Of course, you do not, My Consort." A soft kiss landed on Liang XingHui's chin.

The Imperial Noble Consort gasped, eyes widening ever so slightly. "Your Majesty, not in the broad daylight!" He covered the Emperor's lips with his palm.

"See?" the Emperor smiled against his hand.