Chapter 803 - The Princess Got Thrown into Her Room
Emperor Yun, his kind face, the transformation, was there. The warm, genial, diplomatic face — gone. Replaced by the cold, furious, absolute rage of a father and an emperor.
"ABSOLUTE OUTRAGE!" Emperor Yun roared. His voice, the amplified, imperial, rage-filled voice, filled the square. "HOW DARE YOU!"
The guards, the Azure Cloud guards, reacted. Instantly. The swords, the drawn, pointed, lethal swords, were at Shen Mu’s neck. The steel, the cold, sharp steel, was on his skin. The blades, two, three, four, from every side, were there.
"How dare you!" a guard yelled. His voice, the furious, protective, furious voice, was there.
"Arrest him! Arrest this insolent—"
"Brother!" Shen Yue screamed. Her voice, the horrified, desperate voice, was there. Her body, the slender frame, lunged forward. "Brother, what are you saying?"
"Brother!" Shen Ling cried. Her voice, the terrified, tearful voice, was there. Her hands, on her face, were there. Her eyes, the wide, wet, terrified eyes, were there. "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
Shen Mu, his body, the surrounded, blade-at-neck body, was there. His face, the pale, set, determined face, was there. His eyes, on Tianlong, held the rage. The absolute, past-life, I-will-kill-you rage.
"You planned this," he whispered. His voice, barely audible, was there. The accusation, the private, between-them accusation, was there.
A punch. From a guard. The fist, the armored fist, connected with his jaw. The impact, the bone-cracking impact, sent him flying. His body, the lean frame, hit the wall. The jade wall, the hard, unforgiving jade, cracked. His back, the impact point, was there. The pain, the sharp, electric, body-wide pain, was there.
"Arrest him!" the guard yelled.
They held him. His arms, pinned. His body, restrained. He struggled.
"Stop! Stop now!" he yelled. His voice, the desperate, angry, "you-have-gone-too-far" voice, was there. "You have passed—"
They dragged him. Out of the square. Through the crowd. Toward the dungeons. His feet, the dragging feet, left marks on the jade.
His sisters, Shen Yue and Shen Ling, lunged. "Your Majesty!" they cried. Their voices, the desperate, pleading voices, were there. "Please! Please leave our brother!"
But the emperor, his face, the cold, furious, absolute face, was there. The guards, the intimidating, armed guards, were there. The two young women, their slender frames, their terrified faces, were there. The intimidation, the imperial, absolute, "do-not-approach" intimidation, was there.
They looked down. Their eyes, the wet, terrified, helpless eyes, were there.
Tianlong, standing, spoke.
"Stop," he said. His voice was calm. "It is not their fault. Do not touch them."
The guards, hearing the command, the command of the man whose power had just made an Immortal Court prince kneel, stopped. The two sisters, released, stumbled back. Their bodies, the trembling, crying bodies, were there.
Tianlong, walking, passed them. Through the door, toward the exit. His dark crimson robe, his imperial stride, his gold-crimson eyes, were there. As he passed, his eyes, on the two sisters, the brief, evaluative glance, was there. The "I-will-see-you-later" glance, was there.
The emperor, his cold face, turned to the guards.
"Torture that man," Emperor Yun ordered. His voice was ice. "He must have been cultivating something in secret. He has too much power. Take out his secrets. How did he, without resources, become this strong? Find out everything."
The words, the order, the torture order, were there. The guards, the nodding, obedient guards, dragged Shen Mu into the darkness.
The sisters, their eyes, the wet, terrified, "what-do-we-do" eyes, were on the disappearing form of their brother. Their bodies, the trembling, helpless bodies, were there.
Then, the thought. The same thought, the same desperate, "who-can-help-us" thought, hit both of them simultaneously.
’Emperor Tianlong. He told the guards not to touch us. He... he might...’
They ran. Both of them. Shen Yue and Shen Ling, their robes disheveled, their faces tear-stained, their hearts pounding. They ran. Not toward the emperor. Not toward the dungeon. Toward Tianlong. Toward the man who had just walked through the door.
"Your Majesty!" Shen Yue cried. Her voice, the desperate, pleading voice, was there. "Please! Wait!"
"Emperor Tianlong!" Shen Ling cried. Her voice, the tearful, desperate voice, was there. "Please stop!"
They caught him. At the corridor, at the junction, his dark crimson robe, his retreating back, was there. They grabbed. His sleeve, his arm. Their hands, the trembling, desperate, tears-on-their-faces hands, were there.
"Please save our brother!" Shen Yue cried. Her voice, the breaking, sobbing, desperate voice, was there. Her tears, the falling, continuous tears, were there. "We will do anything! Please! Please, Your Majesty!"
"Please!" Shen Ling echoed. Her voice, the crying, pleading, "we-are-begging" voice, was there. "Anything! We will do anything! Just save him!"
Tianlong, halting, his gold-crimson eyes, on the two young women, was there. The assessment, the brief, evaluative, predatory assessment, was there. Their faces, the tear-stained, desperate, beautiful faces. Their bodies, the slender, eighteen-year-old bodies. Their eyes, the wet, pleading, helpless eyes.
"Really?" he said. His voice was soft. The question, the "are-you-sure" question, was there.
They nodded. Frantically. Desperately. "Indeed! Indeed! Please!" they cried in unison.
"I don’t force women," he said. His voice was calm. The words, the technically-true, practically-false words, were there.
They shook their heads. "Please! Just save our brother! We are willing!" Shen Yue said. Her voice, the desperate, willing-to-sacrifice voice, was there.
He looked. At both of them. The eighteen-year-old, bright-eyed girl with the crush. The eighteen-year-old, round-faced, curious girl. Both trembling. Both crying. Both willing.
"Then follow me," he said.
Both women followed. Through the corridor, toward the guest quarters. Their footsteps, the unsteady, trembling, following footsteps, were there.
~~ The Princess — The Witness
Princess Yuexin, from the distance, saw.
Her dark eyes, on the corridor, on the two sisters following Tianlong, were there. The recognition, the "I-know-where-they-are-going" recognition, was there. Her mouth, the twitching, the corner-of-the-lip twitching, was there.
’This bastard. He did it again. He set up Brother Mu. Had him arrested. And now he is taking his sisters. Both of them. To his chamber. Did he... did he plan this from the beginning? The tournament, the prize, the "generous offer" — all of it, a setup?’
’I need to save them. Those two girls. They are eighteen. They are innocent. They don’t know what he...’
She moved. One step. Toward the corridor.
"Stop there, Princess."
The voice, the emperor’s voice, was there. Emperor Yun, his cold face, his hard eyes, was there.
She turned. "What happened, Father?" she said. Her voice was composed. The mask, the princess mask, was there.
"That man," Emperor Yun said. His voice was ice. "He would not have dared to ask for the princess if he was not confident. Someone put him up to it. Someone gave him the courage." His eyes, on his daughter, narrowed. "Do you love him?"
The question, the direct, accusatory, political-and-personal question, was there.
Yuexin, her dark eyes, the widening, the shock, the fear, was there. "No! No, Father. I do not. I... he... he is my friend. Just a friend."
The hesitation, the barely perceptible, the father-sensed hesitation, was there. The conflict, the impossible, unresolvable conflict — Brother Mu was her childhood friend, her ally, the man who had warned her about Tianlong, who had given her the intelligence she needed. But Tianlong had given her power. Divine Integration. Through his body. Through his seed.
She was caught. Between two men. Between loyalty and gratitude. Between love and power.
But she could not tell her father any of this.
Emperor Yun, his cold face, the order, was there.
"Put her in her chamber," he said. His voice was absolute. "She will not leave her chamber. Not until this matter is resolved."