On the top of a tree was a young man in his early twenties with the prettiest silvery flowing hair, playing on the dizi. His eyes were beautiful but lacked emotions,his nose well shaped and his thin lips wore a faint tint of red. His slender fingers moved graciously against the holes of the flute. His black robes flowing in the direction of the wind.
An handsome young man walked to the foot of the tree and bowed slightly,"My lord, your father is on his deathbed and requests your presence".
" Is there any reason for me to be there, Zhao Peng?" The silver-haired man asked but the other man kept quiet. He then smirked," Let's just go see what's happening there".
Wang Lei. The stone-hearted crown prince of the Country and the aura he exuded was unmatched.
He jumped down from the tree and walked towards the Royal gates while Zhao Peng shouted loudly" Throw open the gates".
As he walked past the guards and maids, he overhead whispers.
"Is this the crown prince? He hasn't been seen in years now".
"I heard he has been in Qingshao house, three miles away from the Royal Palace".
Wang Lei's face held no expression as he walked into the Royal Chambers. A Parrot announced his presence immediately he entered the bed chamber. His father looked miserable, lying on the bed while coughing terribly.
He stared at the Empress by his father's side and asked," How's my father doing?"
She slammed the small of medicine on the stool beside her and looked at him with disdain," And what right do you have to ask that? Not even a single show of respect to the elders."
Wang Lei frowned and replied coldly," I am the crown prince of this country and speaking of rights, what right have you to care for my father and what medicine is that? Where are the servants assigned to him?"
The Empress chuckled loudly," Me? I'm the Empress-"
"You wish. You're nothing but a lowly Concubine who took advantage of a vacant spot on the throne".
"Wang Lei!" The Emperor finally spoke and his son turned to him," Father, are you feeling better?"
" You shouldn't speak to elders like that. It's my fault for failing to bring you up properly". The Emperor said as he struggled to sit up while the woman supported him. Wang Lei cringed at her pretense but wore a facade. He handed his father a cup of water and asked," Are you dying?"
" Wang Lei! Do you have any idea what you just asked?" The Empress flared and Wang Lei smirked," Like you don't know what I mean".
He picked up the medicine and stared at it before smashing the bowl to the ground while the Empress gasped out loudly in both surprise and anger. The Emperor asked in anger," Wang Lei! You've gone too far. How dare you?!"
Wang Lei just smiled and said as he walked out," You should be thankful to me".
.....
"Zhang Li,very brave of you. You took the Sacred Sword of the ancestor, Ming Baixing which was forged out of blood and steel as a personal item ". Ziyi accused with a sinister smile plastered on her face.
"I did no such thing . Yes, I took the sword from it's place but I didn't keep it for myself ".
Ziyi faced the crowd of the sect members and asked ," How about we involve the Elders? They know what to do and how to handle this act".
" Mu Ziyi, you dare!" Zhang Li lunged at her but was stopped just in time by Zhu Xīn
" Li Jie, don't act rash. We should avoid involving the elders".
" Avoid? This is a serious matter, Zhu Xīn. Your Li Jie stole the Sacred Sword and you think it's a trivial matter?" Ziyi asked with a frown.
Zhu Ling walked to her and said," Li Jie isn't someone like that. She would never steal anything ". He raised an eyebrow and continued," Unless someone planted it in her belongings ".
Mu Ziyi's pupils dilated for a bit before she asked," What does that mean? Are you trying to say that I'm accusing her falsely or that I planted it just to implicate her? What nonsense are you saying?" . She turned to the people and asked," Does anyone think this behavior should go unpunished?"
They disagreed. Nobody should be found with the Sword. Zhang Li looked at the people she called family. Her brothers and her sisters.
The Elders walked in and one of the two women asked," What's going on here? This is no market place".
" Someone speak up. What's happening here?" Elder Wei asked and Zhang Li looked at him," Father?"
He turned to her and Mu Ziyi spoke," Elder Wei, Zhang Li has committed a crime. She took the Sacred Sword of Ming Baixing as hers".
"Did you see her do that? Zhang Li would never do that". The Elder defended and Zhang Li smiled in relief.
"I'm not the only witness. A few of them here can testify". Mu Ziyi smirked and turned to a few person's before asking," During the all-round room search, didn't we find the Sword in Zhang Li's room?"
"Yes. We noticed the Sword missing when we were cleaning Shànyì hall after lectures today". Someone from the crowd said and Zhang Li shouted," What Shànyì hall? It was never cleaned today ".
"And how do you know that?" Elder Wei asked her with his hands folded behind him.
The other woman asked, "Zhang Li, I want to ask you. Did you take the Sword from its place?"
Zhang Li swallowed and replied," Yes, senior. I did take it it but I never planned to take it for myself. Why should I do that?"
Mu Ziyi laughed and asked," Well, who knows? You might have an evil agenda".
"Mu Ziyi,you liar!" Zhang Li said with disgust written on her face. She turned to the Elders and convince," She's lying. I didn't take the Sacred Sword for myself ".
"How dare you touch it in the first place?" Elder Wei asked and Elder Mu coughed and chirped in," The rule still stands. The punishment for such offender is to leave the Sect and move down the mountains".
"What?" Zhang Li widened her eyes as she felt her knees weaken.