The Secret Princess – Fan fiction by AC Chapter 07: Report from the West
♥Author♥Angel♥Chua♥
Adapted from Princess Agents drama series and original novel by Xiao Xiang Dong’er – Chu Qiao Chuan Biography
Report from the West (proofread done)
Meanwhile, Princess Chun’er slowly got up from her royal bathtub made of full square wooden tiles, the water is lukewarm, but there is steamy foam everywhere. The attendants came to her and gave her covering she looked around and slowly walked out to dress. All of her things were packed up and about to leave.
After her last battle with General Chu Qiao of Xiuli army, one of the bloodiest fightings between Wei and Yanbei armies in the city of Hong Chuan, she was sentenced by her own father to be exiled in a faraway mountain to become a sojourner. After it, she was reduced to a slave status because of the treason committed to Wei state, she tried to murder her own father when she temporarily lost her sanity after the imperial concubine’s Ning’ers death. She was raped when she traveled to Yanbei. On her strange journey alone, she came to follow Yan Xun. In her insane mind, she thinks she should come to his bridegroom and finds herself devastated and laid.
She also found her brother Prince Yuan Song who disguised himself to assassinate Yan Xun. Yuan Song blended with the Yan Army walked at the back of Yan Xun and stabbed him. Yan Xun seriously wounded still managed to turn his sword and decapitated the 13th Prince Yuan Song.
That day, both of the Princes fell to the ground, and Chun’er was not away from where she is standing, runs to rally his brother. It was an unfateful day for both men he loved and doubled the agony of the Wei Princess as well.
She also lost the lives of her maidservants and Wei Shu Ye her closest ally died defending her when she was locked up in the secluded West temple about to be poisoned. Wei Shu Ye did not give any value to his life. At the end of his life, Wei Shu Ye admitted the secret love he hid for all these years, and he died in the arms of the Princess. From that moment, all good things were stripped out from Chun’er one by one and Chun’er cried to the heavens bitterly on heavy tears.
Royal Princesses cannot be executed especially if it is a direct descendant of the emperor and only be reduced to slave status. With her slave status, only the Emperor can recall her status by forgiveness and restored back to the royal palace. Another is, if she marries to another Prince of royal status then her status can be restored. Until then, she is not allowed to step in the Emperor’s palace ever again or until his father summons her.
“I have nothing to go back to this place,” Chun’er said.
She quietly left her room and went outside. Dressed in a casual light flowy dress, not in the usual princess dress adorned with heavy accessories and colors of the royals. Her pure jade hairpin that symbolizes her royalty taken off and her hair was merely perfectly straight down shining in its blackness.
She became more beautiful and more matured looking at her face this time than when she was a princess, she seems naive, walks and talks like a child but more than enough to say she is different. She had hidden talents that were never brought out to light when she was still a princess.
However, right now when she rode the white horse courtesy of Shen Jin palace, she took it with strength and with full conviction. Assured of herself that she will be all right and what more evil can come her way when she already surpassed them all. The ex-princess can only expect there is more to challenges to meet ahead, but this time she is now an ironclad.
The ex-princess is excellent in throwing a spear and also has exceptional skills in archery, so she can only rely on this skill to defend herself. She also learned swordsmanship skills and very well-educated regarding political science. With all of these skills she had, the Princess wasn’t able to apply to it to the most crucial times of her life because she lacked experience and confined in the four corners of the palace.
As the horse marching away slowly from the palace, Chun’er recalled her childhood happy memories.
While the Great Summer Emperor looking in the distance, his dark heart cries in despair.
He is the Great Emperor, but he became powerless from the law he passed subjected his very daughter he cherished and loved, is the first to taste its fangs. He felt the law itself exiled his very blood as they took his daughter away from the Shen Jin Palace. The Emperor must serve its subjects and prove a stable government where the justice system is working, and its punishments will not exempt anyone, not even the Royals can break it. Also if it means, it is the end of his family affairs.
Chun’er is heading south of northwest Wei. She will travel a thousand miles and were given enough provision until she reaches the place to stay after ten years to serve her life sentence. If the Emperor, her father cannot forgive her still, her current slave status would become permanent. The verdict sealed and passed on by his father on this 28th day of Spring of the second month of the year. She will live in a very secluded place far from the palace with no servants. Now she is alone, all by herself.
Prince Yuan Song dressed in his usual prince’s fashion watched his big sister go. The Prince’s heart was broken for the second time, the first was when he had to painfully say goodbye to Xinger, and after it, he never saw her again and then news came that she died together with Yuwen Yue at the frozen lake.
When he thinks about it, it doubles his madness and promised himself that he will find Prince Yan Xun who killed them both in the icy lake.
All powers go to the Great Summer Emperor, Prince Yuan’s father and because of that, he was able to find the latest technology that replaced his decapitated arm. The empire spent some of its treasures for research that brought the empire various types of arm casts and artists who designed Yuan Song’s arm. He is the officially crowned prince of Wei that will inherit his father throne when the emperor passes to the next life. Prince Yuan Song also spent the entire winter season in bodybuilding and making himself fit and buff.
Prince Yuan Song pretended that he was at the palace watching her sister go, but after some time he sneaked outside together with one of his servants. A dark brown horse was waiting at the back door of his own palace, and he disguised himself wearing a black hood on his head, plain pants and shirt with his imperial jade hanging in his belt.
Yuan Song followed his sister Chun’er in secret.
He also instructed some advance party servants to watch and guard over the princess traveling alone. Now that Yuan Song lost two of the most precious woman in his life, his mother and Xinger, he cannot afford to lose his only one sister.
With the small power he holds in his hand at the moment, he is learning to use it to protect his sister. These are things that he was not able to do when his mother was still alive and Xinger too.
“Heee!” Yuan Song stopped the horse.
“Where did she go?”
She went this way Prince, said the palace guard.
Yuan Song followed her sister’s trail together with his personal bodyguard.
It is nightfall, Chun’er is trailing the road without anyone except herself. Her eyes were sad but not fearful. Sensing that someone is following her behind, she tightened her grip with her horse and stopped it. She loaded her bow with the arrow and ready to shoot when she saw a man in his hood head walking down in the dark forest.
“Show yourself!” Chun’er shouted and her horse a little bit anxious.
The man in the hood did not move. Chune’r not letting go of her arms and is ready to shoot. But the man raised his hand, but his head is down. Chuner’s eyes are fierce she let go of her arrows, but a pair of the dagger was released to counter it.
The man without inhibitions walked towards her. Chun’er loaded another arrow on her bow and pointed it to his forehead. The man stopped and Chun’er a bit startled when the man took off his hood. The ex-princess eyes got big, she thought she just saw a ghost.
The man had a long-wound stitch on his left neck. Not on his usual smirking face came forward and kneel down in front of her and said: “I beg you to come and stay with me, princess.” The man in his passive voice and looking like a fool making such an indecent proposal.
“Yuwen Huai!” The princess almost shouted, but the rejection is evident listening from her voice alone.
“Yes, it is I. Some said I am dead but today I came here to let you know I am alive and I have come to take you to a safe place. Wei Shu Ye asked me a favor before he went to the temple to secure you, but you never came to the boat he has prepared for you. I waited but no one came, and I am sad to hear the news he wasn’t able to survive.”
“I also hid your half-brother who is the son of Lan’er, my half-sister. Please come with me princess, I can take you to a safe place and be your refuge. Given your condition and your long journey ahead, I can foresee that any attack is going to happen, and you are left with no defense.” Yuwen Huai on his usual gambit tongue is persuading a hard-headed princess.
“Lan’er? My father’s latest concubine is your half-sister?”
“Yes, princess. She is my half-sister.”
Chun’er calmed herself, but her brows are tightly wrinkled. Yuwen Huai got up and put back his hood on his head. Yuwen Huai opened his palms as he waits for the princess response to come with him but Yuwen Huai is refused to see her eye to eye for he feels unworthy but Yuwen Huai is happy inside if she accepts. And if she will not, Yuwen Huai will let go of her princess but will continue to protect her in secret.
Before anyone, Yuwen Huai already knows the Emperor’s imperial decree to the princess. He facilitated it himself because he is the formerly in-charge of the royal court of the empire. After his battle with Chu Qiao, Yuwen Huai thought to be dead but rescued by Shi Da, the bodyguard of Princess Zama where they took him to the Batuha family’s mansion. From the cold northern grasslands of the Batu family, Yuwen Huai spent the rest of the winter season to heal.
Princess Zama had a deep admiration of Yuwen Huai ever since they were still kids. Yuwen Huai is way older than Princess Zama, and she used to visit their courtyard together with her father who is close to his father, Yuwen Xi. For Zama, this handsome dork Yuwen Huai is his ideal man. Although he is rough and tough in his terms, Yuwen Huai has a lonely side that only Zama knows.
Yuwen Huai is not letting his hands go, although he already feels rejected on air, he is still waiting for her to accept.
Chun’er was stubborn and in times like these where she really needs someone to lean on Yuwen Huai is the only option she has. He was not her enemy, but she does not trust him as well due to his ruffian nature and his brutality handling the court rulings on the empire’s political parties, Yuwen Huai did all of the sickening crimes to accomplish his father’s orders and to please his late father, Yuwen Xi. Yuwen Huai stayed low after his near-death encounter with Chu Qiao where he was gravely wounded. Without the Bathuja family, Yuwen Huai would have been six-feet-under today.
Yuwen Huai infatuated with Princess Chun’er just like Wei Shu Ye, he loves Chun’er deeply more than anyone else. That is why when she saw Chun’er lying on the street on the day of her wedding, on her stunning bride dress, Yuwen Huai furious, gnashed his teeth with anger and gave his full force to punish Prince Yan Xun who declared rebellion, used his wedding day to get out of Chang’an. But then Yuwen Huai thought of himself: “Who is he that he should get on the way, he would prefer to act after the fact, and he is going to do it differently than what Wei Shu Ye did. Trapped with no way out, Yuwen Huai met his almost sad ending with Xinger. He already foresaw this before it even became a reality.
Back to the Yuwen household, where the master of the eyes of God is still missing and the master of the Red Hills courtyard gravely wounded, the eyes of God repository was self-destructed, there is nothing left to restore the information and supreme court center of the Western empire. Yuwen Gao Feng left standing after the raid of the Green Hills courtyard, had been busy looking for his adopted grandson Yuwen Yue. The third concubine Tai Furen of the Red Hills courtyard and the mother of Yuwen Huai was about to rise in power when Yuwen Gao suppressed it. There were lots of changes and change of command for the entire Yuwen household since both masters were missing in action where the emperor himself ordered to reconstruct the eyes of God and save what is left.
The Great Summer Emperor threatened Yuwen Household to be ousted, subjected Yuwen Yue for its destruction and Yuwen Huai held liable when the self-destruct button was pushed. Later Yuwen Huai pardoned through the help of Princess Zama father. Yuwen Huai not reinstated with his position and it became vacant for a long time. But his mother came into the picture which later Yuwen Gao controlled to prevent further damage.
Hence, Yuwen Huai left floating in the Wei State empire and the interim master that took over all the duties and responsibilities put back to Yuwen Gao. Then Yuwen Gao exposed to be alive when he faked his death. The Emperor’s reaction was strange. Instead of getting angry at him, the Emperor rejoiced and threw him a banquet to welcome him again and issued a decree to become the interim master to control the Eyes of God.
“Princess, will you come with me?” Yuwen Huai on his soft sweet voice and all honest gesture, it is not so natural for him. Now, seems, his heart is overflowing with anticipation to allow him to serve her now that he is not set for anything to do for the western empire.
Chun’er at ease to what Yuwen Huai is offering her. It looks tempting and seems this is for her advantage and nothing will benefit Yuwen Huai.
“On one condition,” she said. You are to let me live with my half-brother.”
Yuwen Huai feels joy, took the hand of the princess but not in an awkward manner where Chun’er allowed her too but still cautious. Yuwen Huai although he took time off from his office and in a floating status, he is still an influential body whose followers are loyal to him. He called in his guards who are hiding in the trees and received instructions from their master. Yuwen Huai not the usual gentleman but in front of the princess Chun’er he was unconsciously one. Is this a change of heart?
Yuwen Huai gave his coat to warm the princess and one of his servants, as if planned and ready, put another poncho hoodie for his master Yuwen Huai. Chun’er and Yuwen Huai ‘s traveled back to the road going to the Yuwen current residence near the Red Hills courtyard.
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