Ning Zhuo put his sword on the side of the cave as he looked at the red fabric that had been festooned around the four poster bed. He could see the slim girl with the red fabric on top of her head. She was obviously sniffling as he moved closer to her. Her body rebounded backwards towards where the bed met the cave behind it.
Her voice was soft as she tried to speak through the sobs that were still racking her. "I thought I was going to be leaving with Master Guo. He told me I could serve as his maid as he advised the Wei generals towards peace."
Ning Zhuo threw off the red robe with irritation as he had been incredibly hot through the simple ceremony. The ceremony had taken place inside the natural hotsprings which were nestled in the karsts that made up the caves of the cult's site of operation. His boots came off as he felt the heat continue to rise in him. Maybe it had something to do with all the wine that he had bee
Alone on the winding road to Wei rode a young martial gentleman and his lover. Yan Sha wrinkled her nose as she looked at the view of the mountains she had watched from her windows for months. It was refreshing to finally see it while riding in front of her protector."Why are you riding so slowly? This is still tribal lands? The civilized people are much in front of us. It could get dangerous if we are here too long.""Nuan, yes. Yes, everything you say is true, but how long have we been shrouded with responsibilities. I'm so close to my birthright and all the pieces being in play for my good. I'm hopeful for the first time in a long time." Ning Zhuo sighed deeply as his shoulders brushed against hers."It's almost too good to be true."The horse stopped as Ning Zhuo considered this. "What are you saying? You don't trust me?""I'm not saying that. I'd like to prepare for thing
Ning Zhuo sat and waited while Yan Sha was in the other room bathing. She had ended up using the bason as the bath water had to be thrown out with all the cloudy blood that had contaminated it. He felt oddly annoyed at himself that he had not let her go first. Ning Zhuo had been so delirious that he had forgotten that this was not one of his servants who was here for his comfort. This role had come easy for her as she was trained for such a task from his old mentor. It still made him feel uncomfortable although these were things which were not unfarmiliar to him.As Yan Sha finally got out from behind the screen, Ning Zhuo couldn't help the soft exhalation that escaped too loud of his mouth. The girl moved close to him and touched him with the irresistable tendernesss in her eyes. She spoke even more softly than she had before as she asked with concern. "Does it still hurt?"Ning Zhuo pulled her into his embrace. "I
Yan Sha awoke surprisingly refreshed. She rolled over and was surprised to see the bed empty. Immediately she panicked as she could see the unfurled blanket reaching to the open window. Yan sha woke up with a yelp and moved to the window. She poked her head out and feeling a little self conscious whispered loud as she dared, "Yu Zhuo? Yu Zhuo? I know you're a martial artist, but could you at least wait until your wounds are properly closed to move."As she turned, a shadow fell over her face. She screamed and fell backward as Yu Zhuo swung his body into the room. He was so quiet when he alighted on the bed that she couldn't quite speak. His black clothing was loosened to reveal the Wei clothing that they had been given by the hotel's madam the right before.Yan sha gulped as she realized the flower clutched in his teeth was probably for her. She couldn't believe that he had brought up her need to furfill
Ning Zhuo opened his eyes and was shocked to see that the carriage was still moving, even though the outside was completely blackened as time had passed with his sleeping. He breathed deeply as he wondered how he was sleeping on something so soft. He sat up and Yan Sha's sleepy body lulled into his. Her soft snore was a surprise to him as her hands were holding both the crossbow and his sword in an almost read position.He looked at her with a slight smile. He fished in the tied bundle of clothing that held his old army issue clothing and he wrapped her in the cloak. She curled close to him. He remembered what she had said before as he leaned back into the carriage. It was strange to him that he had a woman now to take care of. He wondered how serious his teacher wanted him to take this marriage. Ning Zhuo's thoughts on the plucky woman was she could give him insights at strange times and she was much more capable than any
As the carriage slowed to a stop, Yan Sha could see that Ning Zhuo was starting to change his body language as he started to plan for the task ahead. Yan Sha looked at him and remembered what she had seen from her previous encounter with men. Currently their objective was murky as they were thrust into an unknown region to try and prevent a conflict before it happened. How would she make sure that her place would be respected if she returned to the place she had adopted as her new home?Did a prince really need any more accomplishments to solidify his position when his father was the emporer of such a bohemoth as Caiwong? There was little benefit to being the wife of a minor prince of such a huge territory. She could imagine the large country estate where she would be bound indoors taking care of children of his many wives that he would inevitably bring home once he tired of her. Her mother had always warned her that men like her father wer
Ning Zhuo looked at Yan Sha with a strange expression. He moved his face close to hers so that his words were soft. "We're so close to General Tang's study. Don't you find it strange that he would trust us all of a sudden? Why would he get so excited about two students of Master Guo entering his barracks when he has amassed a sizable army for war?"Yan Sha looked at the door which was closed behind both of them. There was a small crack where the torchlight outside was visible. The light went out for a second before coming back. She looked at Ning Zhuo with concern. "Zhou Yu, do you think that he put us here because he wants us to be observed? Is he wondering whether you will enter his study and try to alert the enemy of his plans?""No, no, listen. I understand that this is your first time where you are in this type of a situation. You have to stop the racing in your head and think clearly. You saw the f
"Oh here it is our lady general here with us?" Yan sha looked to the man who had spoken, a colonel of General Tang. He was holding a pot of wine in his hand which he raised to toast her as she walked into the room. She had decided to wear the same dark clothing as the soldiers so she could be less of a distraction, but the general had obviously decided otherwise.She waved to the concerned party before moving closer to the sand table where General Tang had already began the meeting.The same colonel raised his voice. "General, our sources have told us that Prince Ning Ren of Caiwong has returned to Jungpi and officially debuted as the emissary from Caiwong. His fiancee was mysteriously killed close to Taishou. Do you think it was due to bandits?"Yan sha shrugged. "Why does it matter? The young lady will not get any justice. The magistrate will not want to get too involved with the royals. W
"Your highness, congradulations are in order as I have heard there is a legend created about the lion of jungpi who stopped a war between Wei and Caiwong. One of your daughers brokered this deal to make it such that our neighbor will have splendor and stability. The people are rejoicing over this exempliary news."Queen Langhua smiled thinnly as she took her own small cup of wine and toasted with her minister. "There are many great accomplishments that have come from the people of Caiwong. My daughter is only serving as a good example to her people. It's excellent to have her advising the heir apparant."The festivities continued for a person who had decided that she didn't want to come to her own commemoration. Zaiyuan baited different officials with different explanations. His cheery expression disappeared as the last official left the party.=//=Yan Sha sat in the bath. There was the pass of the crown pr