Chương 1: Chapter 1 : Fuxi Palace Master, The Crown Prince
Fuxi Palace Master, Crown Prince Xie Jianyu arched his back in pain. If not for the piece of white cloth that his servants stuffed into his mouth, he might have cried out loud.
"Your Majesty, it will be over soon," Mingyu, his youngest and ironically also the most loyal maid said with a trembling voice. She wiped Xie Jianyu's sweaty and reddened face with a warm cloth again and again, hoping that it could make Xie Jianyu feel a little more comfortable.
"Your Majesty, this servant is so sorry," four of Xie Jianyu's palace servants mumbled as they used their weight to press down on Xie Jianyu's limbs to prevent him from moving about.
Tears fell from the end of Xie Jianyu's eyes as he struggled against the men who restrained his arms and legs.
It hurt.
It hurt too much.
Xie Jianyu would rather taste the sweet embrace of death than wallow in this unbearable pain.
"Your Majesty, I will begin now," Midwife Chen announced after she cleaned her hands and sterilized her knife.
The crown prince was disrobed and his bulging belly was exposed to the midwife.
"Mmmh... Mmmm..."
At the sight of the sharp blade, Xie Jianyu's survival instinct kicked in and he struggled even harder.
"Your Majesty, please be brave..."
Sweating profusely, the midwife steeled her heart and made the first, then the second, then the third cut in quick succession.
She performed her task with such agility and precision that Xie Jianyu didn't even get to let out a muffled scream.
By the time the baby arrived in the world with a shrill cry that broke the night, his mother had already passed out from both exhaustion and blood loss.
He did not even hear the congratulatory remark made by the midwife, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. It is a boy."
Midwife Chen then passed the baby to Mingyu and used the opportunity to quickly stitch the crown prince up.
"Your Majesty?" Mingyu's eyes were brimming with tears when she held the wrinkly, bloody infant in her arms. "Your Majesty? Please wake up. Take a look at him. He's so cute."
The midwife grabbed Mingyu's shoulders and shook her head.
"Let His Majesty rest for a little. It was his first time giving birth. He needs to rest a lot."
"Oh... I understand, Midwife Chen."
While the crown prince was out cold, Mingyu helped Midwife Chen clean the newborn prince.
When the young maid brushed past his tender forehead, it suddenly glowed brightly with the image of a fierce tiger with a golden coat.
Mingyu gasped loudly.
She was so shocked that she almost dropped the little prince.
"Mingyu!"
Midwife Chen took the baby from the maid and glowered at her.
"It is none of your business," she chastised the young woman. "All you need to do is serve your master well."
"I... Midwife Chen is right," Mingyu replied helplessly.
But...
She stole secret glances at the baby while she poured out the dirty bathwater.
That image on the baby's head...
It was the sigil of the Longjing Palace.
That meant that the father of the baby was...
Mingyu held her breath. She did not even dare to say that name out loud in her mind.
She did not want her master to read the knowledge that was written across her eyes.
When Mingyu and Midwife Chen returned to the birthing chamber with the little prince, Xie Jianyu had already regained consciousness.
He leaned against a stack of pillows on the birthing bed, his empty eyes directed at the wooden ceiling above his head.
When the two women entered the room, Xie Jianyu turned his head to look at them.
"Give him to me," he commanded as he extended his hands in the baby's direction.
Mingyu swallowed hard. She was suddenly a little afraid of handing the baby over to his mother.
"Your Majesty, you should rest a little. You have worked hard."
Xie Jianyu ignored Mingyu. He only had eyes for the child. The baby too only had eyes for his mother.
As soon as Xie Jianyu took the infant, the latter opened his mouth slightly and rubbed his little face on Xie Jianyu's chest.
"Your Majesty, you need to feed him," Midwife Chen reminded the crown prince.
"Ah, yes, of course."
Other than Midwife Chen, everyone quickly turned around to grant Xie Jianyu some privacy while he breastfed his baby for the first time.
The baby sucked and sucked, but there was not enough milk for him to drink. He soon started crying from hunger.
"It is perfectly normal, Your Majesty," Midwife Chen said. "Male omegas don't usually have much milk to give. We shall get wet nurses to feed the little prince."
"..."
Xie Jianyu covered himself and then caressed the tender cheek of the newborn.
"Don't cry, my baby," he coaxed. "Don't cry..."
The crown prince's soft tone quickly placated the baby. It also made Mingyu and the servants look up in awe.
In their long years of service, they had never experienced Xie Jianyu with this mellow temper. He never looked at anyone with so much love and treated anyone with such indulgence.
Mingyu thought to herself that the little prince was very lucky to have Xie Jianyu as a mother.
Whether he was lucky to have the Longjing Palace Master as a father or not was debatable.
The peaceful atmosphere was disturbed by the shrill voices of the guards outside of the palace.
Mingyu rose to her feet furiously.
"Who is shouting around so late at night? His Majesty is resting!!!"
A guard ran all the way from the entrance gate to Xie Jianyu's private residence. Once he arrived in front of the birthing chamber, he fell on his knees and bumped his head against the ground.
"Your... Your Majesty! The palace has been surrounded by the Longjing and Wuyang Palace's army!"
Mingyu pressed a hand against her lower face and gasped. Her eyes were filled with terror.
An ambush? An ambush at this time?
Xie Jianyu was the very picture of composure. He pressed a tender kiss against his baby's forehead and handed him to Midwife Chen.
"Prepare my armor," he said, his voice stern and commanding. "I am going out to confront them."
--------------
Author's note :
Hello, dear readers! Welcome to my newest novel, "Dance Of The Dragons".
Instead of providing a glossary full of character introductions, this time I decide to introduce them one by one as they appear in the story.
Crown Prince Xie Jianyu, 22 years old, omega.
Also known as the Fuxi Palace Master, one of the nine palace masters.
Our shou/bottom/uke ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
COMPLETED - PENDING EXTRAS
Please support my new book - The Billionaire's White Moonlight
Chương 2: Chapter 2 : Longjing Palace Master, The Supreme General
"Your Majesty, no!!!"
Mingyu threw herself at Xie Jianyu's feet when the latter rose from his birthing bed.
"Let me go," Xie Jianyu said with an unhurried voice. "Otherwise, they will go inside and ransack this palace."
Mingyu broke into sobs.
"Your Majesty, you just gave birth," she said, as if Xie Jianyu needed a reminder. "Your body is very weak at the moment. Please don't go... please don't go, alright? Let's just escape through the secret tunnel..."
Xie Jianyu peeled Mingyu's fingers off his feet one by one and then pulled the young maid to her feet with one swift movement.
Mingyu widened her eyes in shock when Xie Jianyu squeezed her upper arms.
"Take the baby," he said while pinning Mingyu with a sharp gaze. "Go with Midwife Chen. Take the baby far, far away from here. Go to the human realm if you must."
"No," Mingyu shook her head and cried even louder. "No, Your Majesty, you must come with us! You must!!!"
"I can't!"
Xie Jianyu's face was distorted into a mask of anger.
"Do you presume to go against my order?!"
Mingyu, Midwife Chen, and all servants inside the birthing chamber quickly fell to their knees.
"We do not dare."
Xie Jingyu took a deep breath and tightened the sash around his body.
"Do as I say," he said.
No one dared to say another word to oppose the crown prince. Everyone was struggling with their inner turmoil. The only one who dared to make a sound was the little prince.
Xie Jianyu's heart was torn to shreds when he heard his little son cry his heart out.
"Take him away," he ordered, trying his best not to divulge the magnitude of his heartbreak to his subordinates.
Outside of the Fuxi Palace, the soldiers from Longjing and Wuyang Palace already surrounded the entire area. They were led by Grand Chancellor Liu Yichen and Supreme General Zhang Fengxi. The many flaming torches bathed the surroundings in a golden light, their burning flames reflected the lust for vengeance in both palace masters' hearts.
"Why is he taking so long to come out?" Wuyang Palace Master, Grand Chancellor Liu Yichen asked.
"No worries, Uncle Liu," Zhang Fengxi calmly said. "He will come out sooner or later."
The grand chancellor was not a patient man. He was even more impatient as he grew older.
"Why are you so sure? Maybe he already escaped through a secret tunnel. The Fuxi Palace is known for its intricate design."
"Unlikely," Zhang Fengxi exhaled. He was too lazy to explain, but he already took a countermeasure against his companion's source of worry.
Fuxi Palace's interior map fell into his hands a few months ago. Zhang Fengxi made sure to place soldiers at every exit, just to make sure that no one could escape from the Fuxi Palace.
But that was not why he thought that Xie Jianyu would not escape through any secret tunnel. It was because Xie Jianyu was not a coward.
A stubborn fool he might be, but Xie Jianyu would rather die than dishonor the reputation of the Fuxi Palace.
Just as Zhang Fengxi predicted, the red-golden entrance gate of Fuxi Palace soon fell open, and the master of the palace stepped out with his palace's army in tow.
"He's out! He's out!!!"
The grand chancellor was so excited that he kept smacking the supreme general's armored shoulder with his iron fan.
Zhang Fengxi was too focused on Xie Jianyu to be irritated by Liu Yichen.
"Retreat, all of you," he said.
The soldiers from both palaces quickly retreated. They stood behind the supreme general and the grand chancellor, waiting for their next instructions.
Zhang Fengxi pointed the end of his spear in Xie Jianyu's direction.
"Fuxi Palace Master, today I shall settle the scores between us and avenge Wenyuan's death!"
Xie Jianyu chuckled.
He ignored Zhang Fengxi's address unceremoniously and shifted his gaze toward the old grand chancellor instead.
"Grand Chancellor Liu, are you so impatient to sit on the Dragon Throne? My father's body barely turned cold, and here you are, standing outside my palace to claim my head."
Grand Chancellor Liu gritted his teeth.
"Shut up!" he shouted. "Someone like you does not deserve to sit on the Dragon Throne! Because of you, my Wenyuan... My Wenyuan..."
The old man started crying pitifully. Alas, his heartwrenching sobs failed to make Xie Jianyu feel the least bit of guilt.
"Hahaha..."
Xie Jianyu broke into booming laughter.
Zhang Fengxi narrowed his eyes at the crown prince.
"Fuxi Palace Master, have you gone mad?" he asked.
Only then did Xie Jianyu bother to look at Zhang Fengxi.
"My mental state is none of Supreme General Zhang's business," he snapped.
"Well, then. Let's end this pleasant exchange of greetings," Zhang Fengxi said.
He was there to fight a bloodbath, not to talk.
Xie Jianyu unsheathed his sword, the heavenly blade that he named "Winter Frost". When it clashed with Zhang Fengxi's Three Realm Spear, it caused the ground beneath everyone's feet to shake from the impact.
Soldiers from both sides quickly fell into a fight, all the while evading the supreme general and the crown prince who were engaged in a heated duel.
Xie Jianyu's swordsmanship was hailed as one of the best across the nine layers of heaven. His every movement was elegant, his every thrust was deadly.
Zhang Fengxi was prepared for a bitter battle of life and death, but he soon discovered that Xie Jianyu was not his usual self.
With every move they exchanged, Xie Jianyu's complexion became worse and worse.
"What is wrong with you?" Zhang Fengxi hissed when he came close to Xie Jianyu in one of the attacks.
Xie Jianyu did not answer.
His face was devoid of blood, but his eyes shone full of determination.
Zhang Fengxi humphed.
Two palaces against one. Xie Jianyu did not have any chance to win. Maybe this was just his last attempt to act high and mighty. He knew that his life was about to end.
Zheng Fengxi spun his spear and at one critical moment, stabbed it through Xie Jianyu's stomach.
The crown prince vomited a mouthful of blood that stained Zhang Fengxi's chest armor.
In his dying moment, he extended a trembling hand at Zhang Fengxi's face and awkwardly caressed the supreme general's cheek.
"Feng... xi..."
And then, the crown prince fell dead in the supreme general's arms.
--------------
Author's note :
Yes, I know, the story starts out really dark.
But here is the silver lining! Now that we are at the bottommost valley of despair, there is no other way to continue the story than going up!
Be brave, my dear readers!
More character introductions :
Supreme General Zhang Fengxi, 24 years old, alpha.
Also known as the Longjing Palace Master, one of the nine palace masters.
Our gong/top/seme ᕙ( ~ . ~ )ᕗ
Grand Chancellor Liu Yichen, 50 years old, alpha.
Also known as the Wuyang Palace Master, one of the nine palace masters.
Liu Wenyuan (passed away at the age of 22 years old), son of Grand Chancellor Liu.
Dubbed as the most beautiful omega across nine layers of heaven.
COMPLETED - PENDING EXTRAS
Please support my new book - The Billionaire's White Moonlight
Quà tặng
-- Nhận quà Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
200+ Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
54 Đá
Quyền lực Bạn cũng có thể thích
bình luận đoạn văn