15. It Hurts So Bad

Luck is far more out of reach when he really needed it the most.

After spending some time with Rushan, Lui Xian planned to switch duty with one of the guards serving His Majesty during the night. But he was sad to hear that he had long been transferred to work in the military branch starting from the next two days. No words could descibe how disheartened he felt. It seemed as if the gap separating them was becoming wider and wider as each day passed.

He knew martial arts or so to say he was great at it. But leaving his nightly watch and shifting to dealing with hard-headed senile people was a big headache to him. It's not like he had never gone to battle once or was he afraid to go to war and die. But it was mostly because he was going to be deprived of his little time with the Emperor.

"I wonder why I have to shift. If I try to ask him to let me stay by his side will he agree? Forget it, let me have some rest." He plopped on his woods and quite comfortable bed, removing his boots and outer garments. He had missed his bed so much. It wasn't easy sleeping on the floor for all these months.

He started to reminisce about the two months he was away and eventually felt his eyelids getting heavy as sleep took over.

Early in the morning, Rushan rushed to his door. He slid in and trotted to his bed before taking away his quilts. While shaking his body to wake him up. He shook him non-stop until he was grumbling and swinting.

"Xian get up. I have big news to tell you."

"What is it? It better be important." He threatened and groaned before sitting up. He couldn't stop himself from yawning. So he tried to stretch to get rid of some of the sleepiness.

".... What do you wanna talk about so early at this hour?" He demanded feeling very cranky. He didn't like it when people disturbed his sleep like this.

"What? It's now seven. Come on get up!"

"Your Highness, I'm sitting what more do you want."

Rushan just shrugged and then joined him to sit on his bad.

"So?"

"I came to tell you that imperial Brother is takin..an.er.con..bin..righnow as we speak."

Lui Xian was still a little bit sleepy, so he struggled to understand what his friend was saying to him. "Speak slowly. I don't understand anything hey. So what brought you here hah Your Highness? Don't you want me to rest."

"Call me Rushan! Anyways I was saying, Imperial Brother is taking in another concubine right now as we speak."

Lui Xian felt cold. He felt very cold. It was like his heart was being cut open by a freezing knife. It hurt so bad.

'Aren't they enough. One more obstacle to conquer among the many...' He thought to himself lowering his head as he clutched at his heart. Trying so hard to reduce the pain he felt.

'I thought we had gotten a little closer. And when I was away I thought you would at least think of me. But how wrong was I.' His mind was filling up with so many questions. Questions he didn't have even a single answer for. The pain continued to overwhelm him as he sunk into sorrow.

Rushan saw his friend's mood depleting and regretted that he had told him. He just wanted to share it with him. He had known that Lui Xian was in love with the Emperor and that every time he comes from duty his mood would be down but now he had done it. He mentally slapped his talkative mouth before moving to the window and taking a sit there.

He looked down below where he saw palace maids running about with materials for the ceremony to welcome the concubine. He sighed and looked back at his friend who was still sulking now clutching the blankets as if he would tear them.

"Give up. I know it's hard but."

Before he could finish talking Lui Xian lept from the bed and grabbed his sword. He hurried out through the window. He behaved as if he did not hear him speak.

"I can relate to your pain." The prince was left mumuring to himself.

After running away from Rushan, Lui Xian continued to sprint towards the Imperial Palace. He wanted to see it for himself. He knew he couldn't ask. But.....

"It hurts." He whispered, while a tear threatened to roll out of his eye.

People passing by gave him unsettling looks as if they had seen something they shouldn't see. Lui Xian kept running. He had one thing in his mind that is to confirm everything by himself.

He couldn't believe it.

He reached the palace doors now feeling very nervous. The guards guarding the big doors peered at him with shock then lowered their heads. They looked like they were holding back their laughter whilst clutching their weapons.

As Lui Xian stretched his hands to open the doors, a white sleeve fell into vision, his eyes paused at the sight. He tried to recall the moment he changed clothes. But he just couldn't remember when he had put on such a pristine white robe.

Then it hit him hard. He had run all the way here wearing only his inner garments. That's why all the maids on the way were giving him weird looks.

All the pain he had felt was replaced with sheer embarrassment. 'Oh heavens, what have I done.'

He quickly retracted his hand and turned away taking on a route which was with lesser people and went back to his room.

"You're back?" Rushan asked as he tried hard not to laugh at his friend. "You! Why didn't you stop me? I had to embarrass myself all the way there." Rushan could not help himself as he laughed harder falling on the bed watching his friend as he approached with a sword unsheathed ready to slice him wide open.

"It's not my fault I called out for you to stop."

"When you?"

The two kept on fighting forgetting the matter at hand.

Meanwhile, Wu Luan was very busy ordering his eunuch to find an exquisite robe for him to wear at the wedding. He couldn't wait. His concubine-to-be was the most beautiful woman on the continent.

He had met her during the hunt when she was almost attacked by the animal he was hunting. She was so soft and delicate that he wanted to keep her safe away from danger. He wanted to dote on her on every single day.

"Not this one. Hurry look for another one." He instructed his eunuch who immediately ran off to fix everything.

He has been having a guilty conscience in wedding her whilst one of his man was missing, but when he came back, he felt so happy to the point that he wanted to bow and kiss his shoes for making it possible to wed his beauty freely. He couldn't live without her.

No! It was impossible.

Just imagining her adorable eyes looking at his face and her cheeks blushing at every joke he shared makes him so happy.

"Meimei I can't wait to be with you for life."