"I vow to be loyal and sacrifice my life to my country." This was the oath he made when he first joined the army. Now here he was surrounded by hateful gazes of his own people for murdering their country's Mother Empress.
He was once a mighty genera...
The morning light flickered through the soaring trees across the field of bluebells as I strode back to the stone pathway that connected to His Majesty's and my palace. The shimmering blue-green water of the large lotus pond came into my view.
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His Majesty's palace was constructed on this lotus pond, just like Tianshang Palace (Heavenly in Chinese is Tianshang. The palace name of the First Imperial Prince) which was built within the Heavenly Garden. The lotus pond was far-reaching to the borders of my palace ground.
The Lotus Pavilion was built at the center of this pond, which was closer to the Lianhua Palace. Imperial Father wasn't satisfied since the pavilion was quite far from Tianshang Palace, so he made sure to build Juhua Pavilion (the chrysanthemum flower in Chinese is Juhua) right at the edge of this pond. Just like the name that had a wealth of meaning associated with it, its appearance could be daisy-like, decorative, pompons or in buttons with a variety of colors, mainly yellow, red, white and violet combined with different shapes and sizes.
It's strange how Imperial Father chose this place out of all the places in the garden where the yellow chrysanthemums were particularly large in number compared to the rest of the colors. It also happened to be the color that was more pleasant and beautiful to my eyes whenever I visited the pavilion. But it could also mean its destiny. After all the yellow chrysanthemum symbolizes unrequited love.
Juhua Pavilion was only a few meters away from the Lotus Pavilion, so no wonder the Emperor heard my zither. Especially in the silent night, the sound was vivid, forming the nights in this splendid manifestation of a garden akin to a miracle created by the divinities. Who wouldn't fall in love with it? But out of all the places in this enormous garden, the Lotus Pavilion had the most mind-blowing view during night-time while Juhua Pavilion seemed ethereal during the day-time.
I lightly yawned due to lack of sleep but paused midway in a daze, looking at the cold visage of the man walking a few feet away with his servants closely following behind. He had his hands clamping at the back while he paced forward leisurely, seeming to be taken by the garland of the most vibrant blooms. The dark pupils that were keenly assessing each flower finally landed onto my face. It's a great wonder how a cold-hearted man could be a lover of fragile flowers.
I continued to hold his gaze as his eyes raked down my half-naked body. My lips lightly curled up into a smile as I bowed,
"Good Morning, Your Majesty."
I looked up only to see a dark shadow hovering across His Majesty's handsome face as his deep eyes lightly frowned with a trace of displeasure. Still holding onto my smile I was about to open my mouth when he walked right past me. My smile instantly fell continuing to just stare at the place he had previously stood. How many times had he ignorantly walked past me in all these years? Innumerable...
When he threw rude insults at me, I was able to bear it. When he punished me without trying to hear my explanations, I was still bearing it up. When he humiliated me in front of all my people, I accepted it. But treating my presence with ignorance was what punctured my heart even at the last moment of my life. Every single time he blatantly disregarded my existence, my heart would throb violently. I had always wished that he'd turn back and look at me, at least once. Unfortunately, there came no such day and I highly doubt there would ever be.
