Lory's comment made Ming Yue Yin rearranged her hair. She took out the pins and only placed one peach blossom flower hairpin on her half bun hairstyle. She watched Lory as she sat next to a round table and took out a wooden box from it.
"What is that?" Ming Yue Yin sat across Lory as she gently placed the box on the table.
?
Lory pushed the box towards Ming Yue Yin who accepted the box with confusion. Ming Yue Yin's eyes bulged out and her jaw dropped as she opened the box.
"It…it's a…how did you get this?" Ming Yue Yin stammered.
"It's not me. This is Li Xin's doing," Lory answered calmly. "He said you might need it..."
A half tiger tally made of bronze and gemstones lay inside the box. A complete tiger tally was needed for one to dispatch the imperial army as it gave you the absolute authority to command the army. The tiger tally was created and divided between the Emperor and a nominated official to prevent the Emperor from misusing his power.
The current Emperor owned one half of the tally while Fu Xiao Jin owned the other half. The Emperor couldn't get the tally from General Fu without having an appropriate reason. It was the reason he wanted to kill Fu Xiao Jin and snatch the tiger tally from him.
"No one knew where's the Emperor hid his tally. I never saw it too," Ming Yue Yin caressed the tiger tally with disbelief.
"It was in his spatial ring," Lory said casually.
"The Emperor has a spatial ring? But how… Does the Emperor know he has lost his tally?" Ming Yue Yin gasped. This was too much for her to comprehend.
Lory lazily propped her chin with both hands, "Li Xin replaced the Emperor's spatial ring so it is highly possible the Emperor is unaware it is missing."
"The Emperor is wearing a fake ring?" Ming Yue Yin was shocked.
"I guess so," Lory smiled.
Ming Yue Yin stared at the tally in the wooden box. Her face was solemn as she slowly held the tally. She suddenly felt like she was lifting a heavy mountain. The tally was small but it would change her life. Everything was now real and she could no longer turn back.
"I'm scared…" Ming Yue Yin said with an uneased expression. The hand holding the tally trembled. "What if I fail…? What if I make things worse?"
"That's why you need to surround yourself with capable and loyal subordinates," Lory comforted her.
"But…what if I disappoint them?" She gave Lory a deep look. Her eyes were filled with worry and doubt.
Lory was taken aback by the question. Lucas once asked her the same thing. Lucas was at the same age as Ming Yue Yin when he started questioning himself. It was a heavy burden for a teenager to carry. Lory exhaled loudly and gently held Ming Yue Yin's hand. "I will tell you what my father once said to my brother… Think with your head, feel with your heart, and walk tall no matter the decision or path you choose to take."
Ming Yue Yin's eyes glistened as she nodded without a sound. She smiled warmly as she felt Lory's hand. She tightened her grip around Lory and squeezed the tally between their hands as hope filled her.
_____________________________________
The lavish room in the main hall was half-burned. Some paintings, antique vases, and rare plants in the room were completely scorched. Thankfully, no one was hurt due to the protective talisman and barriers they had put up. Zhao Li Xin's subordinates sighed with indifference but General Fu and the others were petrified. Their faces were white as blood had drained out of them. No one had the energy to rise from their seat. They thought they would burn to death when Zhao Li Xin's anger erupted.
"Oh my god! Li Xin, what happened to the room?" Lory was stunned when she opened the door.
"You are here," Zhao Li Xin's cold face became gentle in an instant. It was like the sun had risen in the north pole.
Zhao Li Xin's subordinates cheered internally, 'Yeah! The fire extinguisher is here!!'
"What happened? Lory walked toward Zhao Li Xin with a worried look.
Zhao Li Xin held her hand and smiled at her, "I was a little angry. You don't need to worry!"
Zhao Li Xin's sudden change of behavior shocked the visitors but General Fu as he already knew how Zhao Li Xin pampered his fiancée.
"Wow! Who dared to make uncle angry?" Ming Yue Yin's nervousness disappeared the moment she entered the half-burned room.
"First Princess!" General Fu exclaimed in delight.
"First Princess?" Zhang Yu Hong had never seen Ming Yue Yin before but he could see her resemblance to the previous Emperor. His eyes turn red with emotion. He was the one who taught the previous Emperor from when he was seven years to his death. His relationship with the previous Emperor was very close and the Emperor's death was a heavy blow to him.
"You…so…much like His Majesty," Zhang Yu Hong murmured to himself.
"You mean my biological father, the previous Emperor?" Ming Yue Yin tilted her head and smiled happily at the thought of looking like her real father.
"Her Highness even smiles like Emperor Ming Ze," Zhang Yu Hong nodded as he wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeve. No one had said the previous Emperor's name in a long time.
"I can now see why the current Emperor recently tried to hide Her Highness from other people," Wu Tian Zi shook his head. The Princess was looking more and more like the previous Emperor as she aged. It seemed the current Emperor feared people would start to notice. It could be why no one had seen the Princess in the last two years.
"I think we need to move to another room before we continue the conversation," Bei Li Yan cut off the conversation. His statement was supported when a giant scorched painting fell to the ground.
'Yeah, let's move out!'
They moved to Zhao Li Xin's study room and the discussion moved to Ming Yue Yin and what happened in the palace. Ming Yue Yin revealed to the rest what Lory had told General Fu near the ancient tombs.
It seemed like many people, especially the commoners, were dissatisfied with the current Emperor. Life was getting harder by the day and the differences between the rich and the poor were getting more pronounced particularly outside the capital.
The Emperor only promoted those he could control and got rid of the good and honest officials. Those who were loyal to the previous Emperor like Wu Tian Zi and Zhang Yu Hong had it worse.
The next steps seemed to be cut out for them. They first needed to gather evidence and witnesses to speak of the current Emperor's crime, and they also needed to prove the current Emperor wasn't of royal blood.
"Your Highness, I can assemble the tiger army but to command them to attack our own Kingdom… I'm afraid…" General Fu trailed off when Ming Yue Yin placed the half tiger tally on the table.
"Is it okay with this?" Ming Yue Yin asked calmly. General Fu's widened as he knew the Emperor was supposed to have the tally in Ming Yue Yin's hand.
"This belongs to the Royal Family. Can I now be able to summon the imperial tiger army?"
"You now can," General Fu said as he placed his own tiger tally on the table. Anyone carrying the full tally had the authority to command the whole imperial army.
"Let's begin now!" Wu Tian Zi's face lit up. There was hope for their beloved Kingdom.
"But how will we prove the current Emperor doesn't have royal blood?" Fu Ying rubbed his chin "We only have Her Highness' testimony. Apologies, Your Highness. The question doesn't mean I'm doubting you…"
"You are not wrong, Master Fu. We do need solid proof!" Ming Yue Yin raised a hand to stop Fu Yin's apology before she crossed both her arms on her chest. She needed a proper reason for her to kick the Emperor from the golden chair or the public would think she was leading a rebellion out of greed.
"The Emperor inauguration!" Zhang Yu Hong abruptly clapped his hands.
"What?" Ming Yue Yin and the others gave Zhang Yu Hong puzzled looks.
"It's natural that you never heard about it as the ceremony was abolished hundreds of years ago," Zhang Yu Hong said. "In the past, they would drop a little of a chosen's Emperor's blood on the top of the 'Ancestor Crystal' to test the purity of the Emperor's descendant. The crystal contained the blood of the First Emperor of Liangzu Kingdom."
"Why don't they do the ceremony anymore?" Ming Yue Yin was excited while the rest were curious. The current Emperor would not have inherited the throne if the ceremony still existed.
"I don't know. Perhaps it was too troublesome," Zhang Yu Hong shrugged and said casually. His tone killed everyone's rising excitement.
"Eh…so…..where is this crystal thing?" General Fu awkwardly cleared his throat.
"I...I don't know," Zhang Yu Hong's old face was blank.
"..."
"…"
"..."
'SERIOUSLY!'
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