Two thousand years ago, the peace of the Kingdom of Lixin is disturbed by the emergence of an armed conflict between two neighboring kingdoms and by an alliance forced by circumstances. King Chen's plan is deeply doubted by his daughter - Princess L...
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The Royal Palace was not far from the Royal Army Training Ground. The palace stood impressively tall, with four watchtowers positioned in the north, south, east, and west. These towers were constructed to oversee both the activity within the Lixin Kingdom and beyond its borders. Any danger could easily be spotted by the Royal Guard from such heights. In case of danger, the soldiers in the towers were obligated to immediately alert the entire kingdom by ringing the bells of the towers, preparing both soldiers and bodyguards for battle and instructing the residents to take cover.
The imposing structure was surrounded by a deep moat filled with water. To cross this moat, three bridges had been built since the early days of the Lixin Kingdom. Two of them were for the access of palace servants – those supplying the Royal Kitchen or working in various parts of the palace, while one served as the Main Bridge. That was the bridge where the Royal Family, their bodyguards, the soldiers of the Royal Army, royal advisers, and guests from other kingdoms could tread. The first two bridges were on the sides of the Royal Palace, while the main one led to the grand and imposing doors of the palace. Usually, the kingdom's inhabitants gathered around the moat just to gaze beyond the three bridges, dreaming that one day they might have the opportunity to work inside the palace. There was no wall surrounding the palace, although King Lin Chen had planned to build one. The reason behind its absence was Queen Lin Mei, who argued, quite seriously during the construction discussions, that in case of danger, the kingdom's inhabitants could seek shelter directly in the palace without wasting time requesting the lowering of potential gates placed at the end of all three bridges.
However, this decision, made out of love for the people, had small gaps that could endanger the Royal Family. In the event of an invasion, the lack of a wall around the Royal Palace would allow the enemy to advance more rapidly, making it impossible for them to escape in the face of an attack. However, the entire kingdom was surrounded by an immense brick wall, like a barrier against unwanted guests. With the help of that wall, both the inhabitants and the Royal Family felt more at ease, secure and protected to some extent.
At the base of each bridge, on either side, were two officers whose role was to control the presence of access tiles. Each person, based on their status and position, had a different tile. Royal Advisers had blue wooden tiles, hung with a cord of the same color, decorated with the symbol of the Lixin Kingdom: the sun. Similarly, Royal Bodyguards had purple wooden tiles, palace servants and workers had white wooden tiles, and soldiers had black wooden tiles. The Royal Family, on the other hand, used much thinner access tiles, also made of wood, smooth, colored in a pleasing gold to the eyes, bearing both the sun symbol and their own names. Most of the time, the Royal Family did not have to show their tiles, as the officers controlling at the base of the bridges knew each member of the Royal Palace very well.
While crossing the Main Bridge, Lin Su cast her gaze down at the water, thoughtful. Although she clasped her hands to conceal her nervousness, they continued to tremble subtly. Her state of unease was fueled with every step toward the palace, but no matter how much she wished to turn back and run to the Royal Army Training Grounds, it was her duty to obey her father's orders, and at the same time, she needed to find out what the problem directly involving her was. Upon reaching the end of the bridge, the two officers stopped the four individuals, saluting them beforehand with a deep bow of the head. Quan Yi and the two bodyguards behind the Princess presented their wooden tiles one by one, while Lin Su passed without showing her tile to the two officers.
