The Emperor's General (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 8

A white wooden bridge arched elegantly over the blue-green pond that had a low squeaking sound whenever my foot stepped on it. Since Lianhua and Tianshang palace were connected, the crossover bridge was the midpoint of the two palaces. Walking over to the other side of the bridge meant I had entered into my palace ground.

My insides were burning so badly, like a thousand ants biting into my heart fiercely, yet, I put on a calm facade quietly pacing back to my palace with the servants following behind. Shang was pretty shocked since he discovered the wound on my neck was actually caused by His Majesty,

"Your Highness, I'm sure His Majesty didn't mean to harm you. In fact, h-he umm..."

"He what?" I asked taking notice of his fidgeting fingers, showing a look of confusion.

"Deep inside His Majesty truly cares for Your Highness." He answered with a deep sigh. My heart skipped a beat at those words but soon it grew cold. If it's really as Shang said, why would he execute someone who he deeply cared about? I couldn't help but snort at myself for actually believing it. Shang could only say this thinking of the past. But now the past no longer matters.

Everything had changed...

When will you ever learn Su Ying? My inner self had been asking me this question repeatedly yet I continued to ignore it.

Lightly nodding at Shang to once again reassure him, I didn't say anything.

I just didn't want to.

Shang could only bow his head down depressingly as he followed me. The tension around us had become heavy. Once I reached the palace entrance, I dismissed the other servants and walked into the dressing room.

While Shang started to remove my outer red robe, I slightly moved my head to the side where Shang was and gave him a tight smile,

"Shang."

"Yes, Your Highness?" He replied cautiously from behind.

The little smile was still plastered on my lips as I said, "People tend to change constantly, Shang. It's funny how you can know somebody for so long and they change right in front of you. Sometimes it's not the people who change, it's the mask that falls off. At a certain point, you'll have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life. We need to move on."

Though I couldn't bring myself to move on, knowing that a person I love this much would not be appearing a second time in my life.

I shut my eyes, recalling a certain memory and continued, "Just like the tentative buds of spring, the heavy sensuality of summer, and like the autumn, colorful and majestic, but right on the verge of winter, to be stripped down to what was really beneath, the bare branches, people tend to change both physically and mentally as time goes. They would age and mature with continuous challenges in life. The people we once knew will no longer be the same, they will change like the seasons."

I turned to Shang who was looking at me with a serious expression,

"The only difference is that winter will come back once again but..." I let out a long sigh and resumed,

"Once gone, it's very hard to come back into a person's life."

He nodded in understanding, his eyes filled with concern.

My heart was itching at every second urging me to speak and I did. I couldn't help but ask him, "Shang, if there had ever been someone you truly cherished, but that person had mercilessly betrayed you, trampling your feelings and broken your heart without a second thought, will you still be able to cherish that person?"