The Empress To Be (BL) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 8 - Meeting Xiu Royalty

¡Chapter recap¡
Yu Zhen was nervous, but he knew very well that he could do this, he just had to stay focused; that's all. And with the encouragement given to himself, Yu Zhen was prepared to make do with what he had and stand strong in front of this so called totalitarian man. Yu Zhen was going to be fine, he believed it – and that is all he needs; as long as he believes in himself, nothing can stop him.
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¡Chapter Continue¡
Yu Zhen stayed completely focused on the task at hand, making sure to look directly in front of himself to accomplish his objective effectively, zoning out the unnecessary noises, his eyes not venturing anywhere else but the three men in front of him, not caring in the slightest about the stares or whispers that were directed at his group; however – certain murmurs caught his attention, though some more than others.

"Hey, do you see just there? That's Emperor Tai Xiang of Ling, have you heard all the stories about him? They say that he's the strongest out of all the emperors' that have ever come to be known, a real powerhouse that could easily conquer multiple nations in one single attack" a civilian off the side of the moving group whispered to another, the two were clearly in deep conversation over the arrival of the Kingdom of Ling's emperor. Yu Zhen's didn't turn to the any of the civilians, however he kept his ears perked when something interesting was brought up; well what he thought was interesting anyway, "and that little boy just there... isn't that... isn't that the Crown Prince of Ling? The emperor's most beloved younger brother? Who appears to be currently being carried by a women?! Is that his empress?" another exclaimed, believing it to be a rather large predicament.

"No!" someone from behind hissed at the accusation the young woman made, "the Emperor of Ling is currently in pursuit of an empress, yes, but he has yet to find one; perhaps that's his favourite or something." Everyone looked at the young woman and quirked their heads to the side, but decided not to question it and kept looking at the group of foreigners; some people – men and women – still believed that in their heart the 'woman' was something more than just a favored lady in waiting or concubine even.

Yu Zhen turned bright red at the hushed accusations, w-what? Me? The emperor's empress? Are t-they insane?! He thought to no one but himself. Yu Zhen's body quivered at the mere thought of the emperor and himself being together; intimately, it was all just pure madness to Yu Zhen – sure no one knew he was actually a male in disguise as a woman, but still it was ludicrous to even think such things. I mean, just because I'm carrying the crown prince on my back does not mean I'm favored; or that I'm the emperor's empress, it's just pure ridiculousness to even speculate such a thing! Yu Zhen practically screamed in his flustered mind scape of confusion and shock. He was lucky that the veil had been able to hide his face somewhat, at least to an extent that no one would be able to tell he was furiously flushing – not unless they stared intently, but who would ever do that?

It was then Yu Zhen decided his thoughts were quickly getting out of hands, to the point that he was losing all rationality, breathing in and out slowly seemed to do the trick in calming him down. He hadn't the slightest clue why he was freaking out so much, but he was getting sick of it; people have cursed and laughed at him before, what's so different now than compared to then? Pretty much nothing – except they think that the Emperor of Ling and himself have a thing going on!

Yu Zhen sighed, relinquishing his confused mind of all the crazy thoughts that had just been running rampant around his head, and soon enough everything was settled in his mind once again; just like before. However it seemed that in and amongst his panicking, Yu Zhen hadn't noticed the sleeping child was stirring awake, and sure enough was quickly reminded of that slightly important factor. "Yu Zhen..." a sleepy voice came from directly behind him – almost too close for comfort, startling Yu Zhen slightly before realising who it was and calmed down almost instantly, "young crown prince? You should still be asleep, we've traveled along ways to get to here and right now; you need all the rest you can get."