Chapter 4 - The Missing Crown Prince

“What do you mean you can’t find the Crown Prince?” the Emperor scolded his advisor.

“Your Majesty, despite looking all over the palace, no one is able to locate the Crown Prince,” the old advisor stated apologetically as he bowed low.

“He went out again, didn’t he?” the Emperor said as he heaved a big sigh as rubbed his brows.

“With the upcoming plan to attack the Town of Amber Leaves, the Crown Prince must have slipped out to scout out the town…” the old advisor replied in a weak voice full of dread and anxiety.

“Why does he always do this?! Entering enemy’s land all alone. Always doing thing without considering his position as the Crown Prince. Order the generals to go after him at once!” the Emperor yelled as he lost his temper.

“Yes, Your Majesty…” the old advisor replied solemnly before bowing low and leaving the throne room.

The Crown Prince’s reckless behaviors such as this instance must come to an end. How can he take over as the Emperor after me when he still takes such risky actions? I need to find something to tie him down to this palace. Going off to war to expand our territories is a good thing but he’s done more than enough of that in recent years already. It is the war generals’ responsibility to lead war, not the Crown Prince’s. Most importantly, it is the Crown Prince’s responsibility to produce as many heirs to the throne as possible to secure the bloodline.

If things stay the way they are, there will be no chance of me seeing an heir to this bloodline before I die. Not only does that son of mine not care for the women in his harem, but he’s also not even bothered to remain in the Imperial Palace. I need to make sure he takes serious interest in producing an heir no matter what. Let’s hope that at least one woman from the incoming batch of offering will catch his eye.

…

I felt his eyes on me, watching my every movement, as I carefully applied medicine and bandaged his arm. The wound isn’t so bad so it should heal without any issues and without leaving a scar in a few days. I wonder if he got into a fight to get wounded like this. The bigger problem was that he had been in the cold for a long time. His body must be weakened by the cold and harsh weather.

“Where do you come from? I don’t think you’re from this town…umm…What’s your name?” I asked, trying to make some casual conversation as I focused on dressing his wound.

“Ren. My name is Ren. I’m…just a trader. I travel around towns to trade,” the stranger who I now know is called Ren replied stiffly.

“Nice to meet you, Ren!” I said as I smile brightly at him. I hope he feels better soon.

Oh, I almost forgot! The herbal tea should be done by now.

“Please wait here…I’ll get some tea for you now,” I told him briskly as I quickly headed towards the kitchen.

…

Ren watched as Lin exited the room. He heaved a sigh as he stretched his arms. The wound in his arm hurts a little but it was no big deal. To him, it was nothing more than a scratch. Lin seemed overly worried about it though, he thought.

Running into bandits on the second day of his scouting mission was sheer bad luck. He could have taken them down with ease but that would expose his identity, so he had to stick to his role of a helpless trader until the end. After offering all his valuable belongings to the bandits, he was able to get away with some minor injuries. However, the sleeping powder they made him sniff successfully knocked him out cold. He didn’t know how long he was lying there in the snow before Lin found him.

This girl is too innocent and good-natured for her own good. She brought me back to her house without hesitation. Although she was clearly living alone in the middle of nowhere, she decided to bring a stranger home, and a man at that. She seemed to have decent skill and experience in medicine which was a pleasant surprise. Her body was quite frail and small, I wonder why a nice girl like her is living all alone in such a worn-down and isolated place like this?

The snow is still raging outside, I guess it’ll be better to rest up here for tonight. I’ll thank her tomorrow for her hospitality and be off. It’s such a shame that this town will be going to war with my vast army very soon. I hope she will be safe from the impacts of the war…

…

“Ren, here is some herbal tea for you. Be careful, it’s still hot…” I said as I poured him a cup of tea from the pot and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Lin,” he replied softly as he slowly took the small cup from my hand.

At that moment our fingers brushed slightly, and I felt my heartbeat suddenly quickened as our eyes met. It was the first time that I looked directly into his eyes, they were a beautiful shade of brown and his eyelashes were long and thick. Ren has such beautiful yet intense eyes, I thought as I felt hotness rush to my cheeks.

“Sorry!” I apologized as I quickly pulled my hand away. I didn’t know why I felt so flustered.

Ren just smiled a little at me before sipping the tea slowly. I watched him silently for a while as he seemed to enjoy the tea. I should leave him alone so that he can rest and get some sleep. I also need to clean up a few things and try to go to sleep too.

“Umm…Ren…please go to sleep after you’ve finished your tea. If you need anything, you can call for me. Please blow out the candles before you sleep. Good night!” I quickly urged him to go to sleep as I picked up a few necessities that I needed and headed out of the room.

--To be continued…