The Empress To Be (BL) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 6 - To The Kingdom Of Xiu, Part 1

The morning was a bright one, with zero clouds in the sky as the sun shone exceptionally bright, as if it was the happiest day of its prolonging life. Yu Zhen on the other hand, thought otherwise as he was forcibly pulled from his bed, impelled to have a bath then was physically dragged off by Hui Jingyi and Fan Jiahao to the palace, yet again! Am I ever going to have a morning to myself or is that an impossible thing to imagine?! I mean, it's not a sin to want some time to yourself, am I right?? Yu Zhen thought with black lines over his head, both of his hands were yet again held by the of the two varlets in front of him, and both were extremely eager for Yu Zhen to arrive at the palace hall strangely enough.

Yu Zhen hadn't the slightest idea as to why the two were so enthusiastic about him going to the palace hall, it was basically a normal routine – so why was today any different to the others? Was it perhaps because of the announcement that is going to be addressed is by the emperor himself; about who will accompany him to the Kingdom of Xiu? Probably, but why exactly would they be excited? Many thoughts coursed through Yu Zhen's mind as he tried to think logically about this situation, when a familiar voice brought him back to reality. "Jiejie?" the voice called, waving their hand in front of his face attempting to get his attention, "hmm? What?" Yu Zhen finally replied after being snapped out of his trance like state.

"The emperor's coming!" another familiar voice of Hui Jingyi whispered, his eyes were bright with anticipation causing Yu Zhen to look at him questioningly. The sound of loud yet graceful steps drew Yu Zhen's attention as he looked to the front, as soon as the emperor came into Yu Zhen's line of sight his heart clenched in what he deemed to be fear, for he was a man with a lot of power after all. But specifically something about that man made Yu Zhen want to flee, it was an abnormal feeling – something he has never experienced before, it felt as if he was going to be trapped under that smoldering gaze that belonged to none other than the emperor.

Said emperor walked to his throne then sat down in one swift and fluent motion, his attention turned to his varlet silently signaling him to begin the meeting, the head eunuch cleared his throat then began addressing the small crowd of people below him. "Ahem, attention all! As you know, the emperor, in just a moment, will be telling you all who will be accompanying his royal highness to the Kingdom of Xiu on royal business. So please behave appropriately regardless of whether you are chosen or not, if you cannot guarantee that your behaviors will meet the palace's rule of conduct, then please excuse yourself without causing any unnecessary drama." With that murmurs erupted from the crowed below as one person, Cheng Chen, a male, immediately left the palace hall and was directed away to where would then be led out of the inner kingdom, never to return again.

Seeing as no one else was moving the head eunuch continued, "since no one else is leaving, let this meeting commence" he then looked over his shoulder to the emperor and kowtowed politely, "your highness." The emperor looked to him and nodded murmuring a quiet "rise" as he turned his attention to the crowd below, "as you all know from the day before yesterday, today I will be announcing who will be accompany me to the Kingdom of Xiu. I have gathered information about you in secret with the help of your eunuch's which inevitably decided the chosen three today, so if you aren't chosen you only have yourself to blame and yourself only." He explained with no emotion, even his face was lacking in the department of emotion, which inevitably gave the emperor an all the more terrifying and intimidating aura.

"The three that have been selected are, Lai Jun" he paused, allowing the young girl to let the new found information sink in, others around her congratulated Lai Jun quietly however their eyes were raging with jealousy. "Li Mei" he continued, only to pause yet again for the same reason he had for Lai Jun, Li Mei's eyes brightened considerably and she jumped with joy only to be silenced by the emperor's glare, Hui Jingyi grasped Yu Zhen's dress tighter and tighter as his eyes got bright and bright with joy. Yu Zhen looked to the boy, what is wrong with him? He's been excited ever since he bursted through my doors early this morning, after all, it's not like I'm going to be chosen for- "Yu Zhen."