The Emperor's General (ON HIATUS)

Chapter 10

"Inform the Defense Ministry that I'll not be able to go to the training camp this morning, instead I'll be visiting there later in the afternoon." Sitting on the frame of the moon window, I ordered, gazing into the breathtaking sight of my garden.

Not receiving a response, my lips couldn't help but twitch. Well, putting that aside...

My eyes shifted down into a contemplating stare.

I thought back to the disturbing situation at hand. I wouldn't have to be so concerned right now if the holy jade hadn't been placed in my hands along with a set of rules and regulations that were specifically arranged for me. That aside, there were commitment and conduct rules passed down by our ancestors which were to be followed by both the Emperor and I.

There was no way I could refuse the ownership of the amulet either since the decision was irreversible. The amulet would be in my hands until my death, whether I like it or not.

It was a first for Xu Lin's history to have an outsider take this privilege. Added to that, I was a prince of another country. Therefore, some of the high ranking court officials who had earlier supported me were eventually starting to feel skeptical. Though, all I knew was that I had neither an emotional or physical connection with the Su nation other than their genesis running in my blood.

It's actually very natural to feel more insecure when the said man happens to hold greater power and authority than he originally should. And to make it worse, knowing their beloved jade was in the hands of their neighboring country's formidable prince, its equal to giving Su Empire, one of the smallest kingdoms, half the land, and authority to Xu Lin. Therefore, with the permission of the young Emperor, they decided to prepare a list of rules, aside from the commitment and conduct rules, to make sure I don't take advantage of this golden opportunity. Thus, I was very much concerned with one of the main rules that was written on the bamboo scroll,

**Confinement for a week due to irresponsibility and failure in protecting the sacred amulet. If not found within a week, thee shall be bestowed punishment of three hundred and fifty strikes per week until the recovery of the jade.**

I felt an incoming headache...

The first thought that came into my head... Unreasonable and absurd. After all, it was an open fact that the jade had been lost or in other words "stolen" innumerable times for the past decades.

Even if certain countries knew to constantly ridicule us for our beliefs, they were still curious cats wanting to know whether there was truly an extraordinary power within the jade. If so, they wanted to use it to thrive to the top. They were power-hungry, and they wanted to figure out the secret behind Xu Lin's continuous success, which was their main goal even if in the end it was something they considered as absolutely irrational.

However, no matter how many times they stole the jade, they were never able to take it past the Xu Lin borders. Those who stole it were doomed to face misfortune. And the jade would return back to its owner unharmed, like an invisible thread that pulled the jade to its rightful owner no matter what circumstances it faced. The more this situation occurred the more it proved that there was indeed something mystical about the jade.

One of the most recent stories that circulated around was the tale of the left prime minister of the Qing Empire, Cai Ding. He too was sent by his Emperor with an important mission to steal the holy jade. He had then successfully befriended Xu Lin's Emperor at the time and was able to get the jade right under his nose. But when arriving at the border, the horses had strongly refused to proceed forward leaving Cai Ding utterly frustrated. Cai Ding who attempted several times to move the horse himself had to give up at the end. He had no choice but to walk over to the other side of the border with the jade in his hands, only to die by a heart attack at such a young age. His companion who similarly tried to get past the borders was killed by a group of bandits who raided their carriages.