Zhao Li Xin was having a midnight meeting with Jin Hao in his study room when Bei Li Yan visited the manor. The three discussed the recent events as they knew the Imperial claws would soon seek them. Zhao Li Xin remained calm despite the incoming storm. The current Emperor's position was not stable as the previous Emperor's shadow was too great. The generals and the citizens, including some influential families in Liangzu still adored and respected the previous Emperor. They would all be outraged if they learned what the current Emperor had done.

Lory and Girsha were in their comfortable bed while this was happening, but Lory got up as she craved for ginger tea. She left the room and found a maid nearby. The maid, who knew Lory's preference, nodded politely when Lory requested for tea. Lory was about to return to her room but halted her steps when she saw a woman's beyond the moon gate in the garden.

​​

Ming Yue Yin crossed the small bridge and sat in the small pavilion. She could easily look around as stone lamps illuminated the garden. White paper lampions hang on the pavilion and the long hall. The soft light subtly showcased the flowers near the hallways. The garden inside Xinjing Manor was so beautiful it could match the Imperial garden in her courtyard. Ming Yue Yin was reassured to see Lory lived comfortably in this world. She was leaning on the pavilion pillar when Lory approached her.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Lory asked softly.

Ming Yue Yin giggled. A big grin plastered across her face as she teased, "I've slept for months… I'm not sleepy but you should be asleep aunty…the elderly need to sleep early."

"Shut up, brat!" Lory glared but Ming Yue Yin laughed loudly. Ming Yue Yin never laughed freely in the imperial palace. She also never dared to tease anyone except her personal dimwit maid.

"You know in the past, I'd always pity my fath...no, the Emperor," Ming Yue Yin corrected. She didn't want to call the monster father again. She let out a long sigh. "The Emperor has many children but all his sons have some form of disability, some did not even live beyond three years. It's a disheartening reality but that's how it is..."

"…But Huang Zi Feng seems alright," Lory tilted her head.

Ming Yue Yin snickered, "This is why it is all coming back to me… What if the issue with the sons was deliberate? What if all his son's turned the way they did on purpose?"

Lory was stunned, "That can't be, right?"

"Just think about it… Wouldn't the Heavenly Jade Pavilion's master have worried about the Emperor betraying them if he had another normal son? I mean we are speaking of a man who easily betrayed his brother for his ambition so what would he do to a stranger? I think the agreement between the Emperor and Heavenly Jade Pavilion was for the Emperor to have no other male heir except Huang Zi Feng."

"That is a cruel thing to do…" Lory's blood turned cold.

"I should have known it earlier! How could all the male heirs become like that? One or two is normal but...all of them? That can't be right, especially when I remember his face whenever he learned a son had died. Although the concubines got a huge compensation and lavish funeral for their son's death, his face… I thought that was expected for a ruler… I thought all rulers acted like that but then I dreamed of your father…" Ming Yue Yin's mouth curved and her gaze softened.

"I saw the way your father looked at you and your brother. It's…ahh…how could I describe it?" Ming Yue Yin took a long deep breath. Her eyes turned up to the night sky. "I wish I could see my father too. I wonder if he would look at me the way your father did."

"I think he would…" Lory said without hesitation.

Ming Yue Yin's eyes overflowed with comfort. She believed it as it was Lory who said it. They were interrupted when the maid Lory had sent for tea came to the pavilion with teacups for both of them. Lory praised the maid's professionalism as she served them tea and left politely after bowing.

"It's sweet and spicy," Ming Yue Yin's eyes twitched.

"It's ginger, cinnamon and honey," Lory inhale the fragrance before sipping the tea slowly.

Ming Yue Yin didn't comment. She took another sip and the warmth spread down her throat to the rest of her body. It made her more comfortable and relaxed. She placed the teacup gently on the table and said, "I never wanted to rule this country."

Lory gently blew her tea but didn't say anything as she listened.

"…But when tomorrow comes, he will learn of his son's death, the missing sacred tree, and even his badly hurt useless daughter… He will be enraged and will demand retaliation. The Heavenly Jade Pavilion will do the same. It will even worsen when the Emperor gets to know I'm conscious and functioning. He will be suspicious which will prompt him to kill a lot of people. He was always paranoid after all and General Fu and the others who are dissatisfied with the Emperor would rebel… This country would fall into war and chaos…" Ming Yue Yin clenched her teacup.

"Unless you step in as the last Princess of previous Emperor," Lory said as she placed her teacup down.

"I never wanted this burden…" Ming Yue Yin's eyes glistened. "I never wanted to rule this country…"

"I know," Lory said softly.

"…But I have to..." Ming Yue Yin's mouth trembled. Tears rolled down her cheeks like transparent pearls. "It is my kingdom and I…I'm the King's Daughter…"

Lory smiled, "Yes, you are…"

Ming Yue Yin looked down and sobbed freely. The burden was too heavy for a seventeen-year-old woman. She realized her life would never be the same again after this episode. She couldn't be the same again as she was the last of her kin, the last descendant to receive the Gift. There would be no one else after her so she had to accept this duty...the burden whether she was ready or not.

Every woman wished to be a Princess, but they never understood the burden of the title and the weight they had to carry. It wasn't their fault as even Lory needed years to understand everything that came with the title.

Lory remained in the garden once Ming Yue Yin returned to her room. She lay on the wooden bench near the pond and listened to the wind blowing and rippling water from the manmade fountain. They gave her a sense of serenity.

Lory watched the stars twinkle in the sky as the grey clouds moved slowly. The night sky was always beautiful. It gave her comfort and familiarity but it also made her lonely and melancholic yet she never stopped gazing.

"It's very late. Why aren't you asleep?" Zhao Li Xin's handsome face appeared above hers. His long dark hair flowed behind his back. His perfectly carved face stared at her with his black onyx eyes. Lory sighed at his beauty. It still mesmerized her even after all this time.

"I can't sleep…" Lory answered softly.

Zhao Li Xin crouched beside the bench so they could be face to face. He moved a strand of hair from her face and asked gently, "What are you thinking?"

The warmth from his hand made her shiver. Lory smiled shyly, "I worry for her…"

"The Princess?" Zhao Li Xin frowned before a faint smile touched his lips. "They are still other generals who are loyal to the previous Emperor other than General Fu. The Hei Shen Sect is also helping her. You've nothing to worry about."

"It's not her safety I'm worried about. It's her heart…" Lory sighed.

Zhao Li Xin was a little jealous of Ming Yue Yin but that weird girl chose to call him uncle and Lory aunty. This meant Lory saw her as family. It wasn't weird for her to worry about the brat.

'The nickname suits her perfectly', Zhao Li Xin lamented inwardly.

Lory's eyes turned back to the stars, "You know, Li Xin, I've been through a lot of things in my life…the good…the bad....and the worst but I've never been betrayed by anyone close to me, like you and Ming Yue Yin."

Zhao Li Xin clenched his hands tightly inside his sleeve. His heart pricked when he heard mention what she had been through.

"My father used to say we might not always have the best in the world but we should do the best from what we've got," Lory remembered what her father used to preach to her whenever she wanted to give up.

"Your father sounds wise. Did he pamper you?" Zhao Li Xin slightly probed. In the depths of his heart, he wondered what happened in her past and why her family didn't protect her. He feared her family would be like his or Ming Yue Yin's family.

Lory didn't know Zhao Li Xin's thoughts as she remembered her father. Her face lit up and a sweet smile emerged from it. "My father…was very strict, a firm disciplinarian but also kind, gentle and very wise... However, he had many sorrows and secrets. I thought I knew everything about him but I guess I was wrong…"

Lory became somber. She felt like someone had ripped out her heart from her chest and crush it to the ground on the day she lost her father. She repeatedly rewound the day in her head. Wondering if she should have said or done things differently, but no matter how many times she replayed the day, the result remained the same. She couldn't leave her people behind to run to her father. How could she watch them get slaughtered when she had the power to protect them? Her father would also never let her leave their people.

"You are sad again…" Zhao Li Xin kissed her hand to get her attention.

"Sorry. I can't help it," Lory smiled helplessly.

"It's fine. I'm here… I will always be here," His words were calm and soothing like a warm breeze. The sadness in her eyes slowly dissipated. She intertwined her hands with his and pulled his hand above her chest.

"I know, thank you," She was really grateful she met him in this world.

"Do you want to go inside?" The wind was getting colder and he worried she would be sick.

"Can we stay here a little longer?"

He could not say no to her pleading eyes, "Let's stay then…"