Valiant Princess

Fifteen: The past, now and future?

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Duchess Bing

(Vicki Zhao Wei)

When the princess has arrived at the waiting hall, she calmly greets her family including the Prime Minister's family. When she sees Lady Meili, she looks at her for a while and nods her head. She is not wearing her veil, instead, she is wearing a beautiful gold mask that covers the upper part of her face.

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Lady Meili stares at her, even with a mask on the Crown Princess's small face, there is no doubt that she is very beautiful. Only one thought crossed out her mind as she is looking at her, "Calamitous beauty". But she can feel that the Crown Princess herself do not care about her looks as she calmly sits next to the Empress. Not even once the smile on her face falters as her 4 maids calmly served hot tea and desserts to each of them. She even said thanks once her tea and desserts are served on her small table.

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The Emperor is talking candidly with the Prime Minister. The women are listening to the men and smile amongst themselves. Seems like both men are in a light and happy mood. A few moments later, sounds of childish laughter can be heard coming from the outside the waiting hall. Crown Prince Long Dongji playfully pulls Princess Long Hua's hair while making weird hand movements with her hair with his hands resulting in the youngest princess laughing out loud. Just behind them, Lady Mudan smiles seeing this childish pair of siblings. Once they arrive, they properly greet the Emperor, the Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort. Princess Long Hua sits next to her mother. Crown Prince Long Dongji sits next to his sister and he then holds onto her small hand. The Crown Princess smiles and she pats the top of her older brother's hand soon after.

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Crown Prince Long Dongji's outfit.

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Princess Long Hua's outfit.

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Lady Mudan's outfit.

The Emperor looks proud as he watches at each of his children. The Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort have done a great job in raising his beloved children. The Crown Princess acted a bit cruel towards her younger sister before but, even then, she never has shown any disrespect towards the Imperial Noble Consort. The Empress treats Princess Long Hua as if she is her own daughter as well. The Imperial Noble Consort did the same thing towards the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. His beloved consorts never go against each other, Empress Huihuang spoils Imperial Noble Consort Mei as if she is her own blood sister, the Imperial Noble Consort obviously respects the Empress (and, many have said that she greatly adores the Empress as the Empress is somewhat an important figure to her).

The Prime Minister and his wife smile upon seeing the royal family interaction towards each other. They are obviously a happy and loving family. There are no rivalries between Empress Huihuang and Imperial Noble Consort Mei. Even the prince and princesses got along great with each other. They heard that the older princess did bully the younger princess in the past, but they heard that it was caused by their son. The older princess acted out of jealousy back then.

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The royal couple during their younger days.

The Emperor, even after years of marriage, treated both his consorts with utmost love and care. When it comes to the Empress, he still acts like a smitten young man as he did when he first realized that the Empress is his fated lover. Imperial Noble Consort Mei, on the other hand, never feels jealous towards the Empress and have focused on raising the young prince and princesses back then. Yes, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are mostly at her Yueliang Palace back when they are growing up. Reason? The Empress is a ‘tiger’ and treated her children with strict military rules so they always escaped to her palace whenever they can. And, whenever the Emperor came to Taiyang Palace, he cold-heartedly kicked them out of the palace so that he can spend more time with his beloved Empress.

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Lady Meili's outfit.

Lady Mudan keeps on smiling even as she is assessing the Prime Minister's adopted daughter, Lady Meili. Lady Meili is indeed a beautiful girl but still pales to comparison with the Crown Princess she thought to herself. As much as she hated the General, she sincerely hopes that the General will learn how to appreciate her future sister-in-law. She grimaces and concentrates on the tea and desserts that have been served on her small table.

The Crown Princess looks at Lady Mudan then at Lady Meili, she smiles and decided that she must personally meet Lady Mudan soon. She might even let her join the Ghost Sect as well. After all, she knows that Lady Mudan is a well-known strategist due to her close association with her late father. Lady Mudan is a no stranger in battlefields. She had followed her father when he was guarding the northern region back then. She is a well-respected warrior in her own rights.

When her brother first met Lady Mudan, she is wearing an armour suit and looked quite manly, still, he fell in love with her and had to be forced to go back to the imperial city as he keeps clinging to her most of the times. He does not care that his betrothed is older than him by 5 years. All he knows that seeing how she presents herself as worthy as any men on the battlefield made his heart beats faster every single time. That is the woman that he wanted to be by his side for the rest of his life. After he got back from the northern border, he insisted that their father give a royal decree for his marriage with Lady Mudan which the Emperor gladly and immediately bestowed the engagement and marriage with no further delays.

Unlike hers, her brother's marriage was a happy one in her other lifetime. Even after he had taken in a concubine, his love for his main wife remains unchallenged. She smiles but her eyes show the sudden change in her mood, she feels a painful ache in her heart, the same place that she has been fatally stabbed in her other lifetime. She softly puts her small hand on her empty stomach, her poor child never had the chance to be borne. That is her greatest regret of all time.

Unbeknownst to her, the General arrives at the waiting hall while she is deep in her thoughts, he saw how sad her smile is. He even saw how she gently strokes her stomach for a few seconds before she suddenly grips onto her other hand. There is a slight tremor on her hand too, but she remains smiling though it did not reach her eyes.

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Crown Princess Fenghuang's outfit.

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Her hairstyle and accessories.

Cold. That is what he is feeling from coming out from her small body. For days after their meeting, he has realized that he has been greatly affected by her changes. He is slowly and gradually feeling like he no longer hates her as much as he did in the past. His plan that has been prepared and planned for years is on the verge of breaking apart with this new development. In the past, he did not hesitate and decided that he wanted more power in his hands. Whenever the Crown Princess acted uncontrollably and, how she reminded him repeatedly that he has to bear in mind that he is just another servant of her Kingdom, he vowed that one day no one will ever again belittle him and his family. Even if his family is one of the powerful family in the Kingdom of Long, they are still considered servants of the Kingdom and the royal family members are their masters. He hated that fact. The turning point is that when he is forced to accept the Crown Princess as his betrothed. Now, everything seems to be meaningless. What is his purpose to gain more control and power in the first place? He no longer has the confidence to answer that.

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General Bing Xiaji's outfit.