The Secret Princess – Fan Fiction by AC Chapter 64: Mother’s knows best

March 4, 2018 / Angel Chua

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♥Author♥Angel♥Chua♥

Adapted from Princess Agents drama series and original novel by Xiao Xiang Dong’er – Chu Qiao Chuan Biography

Mother’s knows best (08.12.2021 edited)

Inside the Jian, Kang city is the magnificent Daoming Palace. This is one of the greatest achievement of Empress Yuan that made the Liang Emperor happy and fulfilled.

It cannot be denied that she is a woman who rose from power and captured the eyes of the two successors of the Liang Empire. Her beauty is exquisite, a charm with no equal.

Her ambitions led to the rise of the new city of the Southern state, that gave a home to foreigners who engaged in Liang’s business trades and made them prosper next to the Great Summer Dynasty.

Some said that the former Liang Emperors chose a foreign princess to marry, this led commoners to think, that Liang Emperors have a distinct foreigner features except for Xiao Ce and Prince Lou where both of their mother’s, the past and the present Empress came from the pure, noble Chinese bloodlines of the Liang Empire.

Empress Yuan already set the stage for his son Prince Lou and arranged a secret bond from her close family clan and selected a mate for his son. She secretly adopted this child and like a princess grew up in the Daoming palace with Prince Lou and Xiao Ce the three became childhood friends.

A’Fu is brave, strong and not the typical daughters of the Liang Palace.

Her hobbies like a boy include hunting, camping and likes to play with ball games.

Later, A’Fu asked her guardian that she enlists in the military and so she was and became one of the female Lieutenant of Liang.

More after that, some maidens from the nobles and commoners followed her footsteps, and she became a role model to their state and received honors from their society.

Young at heart, Xiao Ce innocently showed affections and favors for A’Fu. Xiao Ce frequently tells in front of his parents that someday he would marry her and A’Fu always gave Xiao Ce a sad face.

In fact, A’Fu Xiao Ce’s puppy love though it is only one-sided love as A’Fu never responded to Xiao Ce’s affection.

Empress Yuan knew this very well but did not interfere with their young hearts and confident that their young hearts can still change when they become mature. Prince Lou, on the other hand, did not show many affections to A’Fu.

He is five years older than A’Fu while Xiao Ce and A’Fu have the same age.

A’Fu grew up admiring Prince Lou because of his handsome face and Adonis-like body, kind-hearted, hero attitude and lots of women looks up to him as the perfect mate, husband material type.

Prince Lou did not deny that many young women fancy him, but Empress Yuan kept these women distant from him then frame up A’Fu to be his constant companion.

This made Xiao Ce envy his brother and complains about it to his father. He creates a reason to grab the attention of his father and then requests for A’Fu to stay in the palace rather than go to the military and accompany Prince Lou.

Later on, these small time love triangles have come to a bigger picture. Xiao Ce’s harem is like a garden full of a foreigner and exotic beauties.

Unlike his father’s concubines, these women have never been touched by the crown prince because he likes to marry A’Fu. Sooner or later Xiao Ce found out that A’Fu did not have the same feelings as he does to her and finds out that A’Fu fancies his brother more than him.

Xiao Ce confronted his brother, and Prince Lou thinks this is a useless matter, he invited him for a sword fight instead to settle it once and for all.

Xiao Ce agreed and said: “Whoever loses will give up A’Fu. Whoever wins will marry A’Fu.”

A’Fu on the other end saw their sword fight, Xiao Ce could not even hold the sword properly and did not even match Prince Lou’s swordsmanship.

We can only guess who won on that day and Xiao Ce hurt, the crown prince envoy arrested Prince Lou.

Prince Lou was detained in the royal prison, he had to defend himself in front of Liang’s palace ministers, nobles and scholars that he did not intend to hurt his brother but merely swordplay.

Prince Lou hide the fact that the sword fight was started by his brother and arrived at his life and death situation. He accepted his punishment and about to received its death.

However, A’Fu came to rescue Prince Lou, she faked her statement and spoke in front of Liang’s Ministers that it was A’Fu who cut Xiao Ce and not Prince Lou. Prince Lou out of danger, A’Fu received the decree of punishment when suddenly Xiao Ce came to interfere and confessed the truth.

Empress Yuan stood up and bowed in front of Emperor and begged for his sons to be spared and A’Fu.

The Emperor realizing Xiao Ce’s love for A’Fu declared that A’Fu will receive her punishment by marrying Xiao Ce and be his first wife and the future Queen.

While Prince Lou to stay away from A’Fu and assigned A’Fu in the palace and took her out, under the command of Prince Lou.

Empress Yuan did not expect this kind of decision from the Emperor and became final she had no choice but to accept a lighter sanction.

This left Prince Lou safe and retained his position as the deputy commander of Liang’s military. What Prince Lou did not know was his heart will start to love A’Fu after her absence is felt.

When it comes to heart matters, Xiao Ce’s youngster years were very immature. He was happy to hear his father’s decree, while Prince Lou was more matured and understood his young brother to protect him, he abides with rule and decree of the Emperor.

But at some point, when A’Fu for the first time left his side, he felt loneliness in his life. Prince Lou having been secured with A’Fu’s blankets of friendship and love, Prince Lou began to long for her presence.

One day when he can no longer cope, he asked one military guard to deliver a secret letter to Daoming palace.

A’Fu received the letter, but she did not respond to it. Instead, she sank the letter in the beautiful fountain, she thinks letters are not enough to rescue her and take her out of her sinking life.

A’Fu getting closer to her wedding day, she lost her dreams and hopes to end up with Prince Lou, being restricted to enter the military, the profession she devoted her life then shifting it to marry the Liang crown prince, she did not think much of her value and her life became useless in her sight.

Empress Yuan looking for a way to save A’Fu, she wrote a letter to Prince Lou.

She knows this will put his son into the power struggle and may lose his position in the military, but it is the only way she can save A’Fu.

The Empress intervened, and on the eve of Xiao Ce and A’Fu wedding day, she came in secret to propose a way out for A’Fu.

“Do you love Prince Lou?” asked Empress Yuan

A’Fu on her haggard crying eyes, torn night robes, dirty and smelly mouth drinking hard liquor she said: “I loved him all my life, but all he did was to send me a letter. It is not enough.”

“Then what is enough?” Empress Yuan pities her adopted daughter she asked her sincerely.

“Prince Lou can do unimaginable things, kill, fight and destroy a nation. But why can’t he defend his heart?” A’Fu not even realizing who is the person in front of her out of her drunkenness, she talked to the Empress like she is a nobody.

Empress Yuan partly to be blamed and out of her guilty conscience she proposed: ” Take this potion, and within 24 hours you will wake up with the man you love and not the man of your nightmare.”

The Empress slowly walked at the middle, put the tiny bottle on top of the expensive carpet, said: “If you believe and trust me, remember to pour a drop in your mouth at twelve-hour midnight and I’ll do the rest.”

The Empress did not stay long and on her graceful strides walked out of her room. A’Fu left alone and ran out of any options, out of her desperation, she put a drop of the potion into her mouth and not so long, she fell into the expensive carpet.

Empress Yuan heard a slight dropping sound, she walks back calmly to the crown princes room and saw A’Fu lying unconscious on the floor. She hid the potion to wipe out the crime and ordered her guards to prepare Prince Lou and said.

“Tomorrow, the future of this state will attend to a funeral and not a wedding day. One woman became sleeping beauty, two prince destinies will be known. One prince will mourn, and another prince will rejoice. What she did not know was whether she intervenes or not both Prince will regret a lady whose destiny already been decided by the fault of their stars.”

Like Romeo and Juliet story, wishing love to conquer all, the truth is, the secret lovers ended in a tragic story. When A’Fu suddenly came back to life, she remembered what the Empress told her.

She thought she would wake up with the man of her dreams, but she woke up in a beautiful temple built on top of the Tan Jing mountains.

She waited for many days for Prince Lou to come, but Prince Lou being entangled to his primary duties attended all his usual courtesies to the Empire first.

A’Fu unable to wait for his Prince, she took her life by jumping off from a cliff while Prince Lou riding on his horse with his military officials and other soldiers, they traveled for more than two days to reach the temple.

Prince Lou is Deputy General stationed at one of Liang’s largest military border prefecture called Duodu, so it wasn’t easy for him to escape unnoticed especially now that the Liang Empire mourns for the death of its crown princess.

Prince Lou and his men arrived at the place and found out A’Fus body being pulled by the local Tan Jing people from a cliff. When he saw her full of wounds and no signs of life, he embraced A’Fu.

Prince Lou cried for days and nights then eventually arranged a proper military burial for the first young female Lieutenant who serves under his command.

Because of what happened, Prince Lou wanted to rebel to the empire by planning to deploy Coup’état through its military troops.

Presently, Prince Lou holds six out of it’s eight large and small prefecture frontiers defending Liang borders.

But this is still considered small and weak military arm compared to the Great Summer Dynasty’s ten thousands of military troops led by Seventh Prince Yuan Che.

Sun Di one of Xiao Ce’s childhood friend became one of its Military governors who controlled the farthest remaining two out of its eight prefectures.

They said that Sun Di’s mother is a foreigner and his father is one of the Emperor palace ministers who traveled every day from dawn to midnight to attend to his office because his residence is located outside of Southern Liang but Sun Di his first-born son grew up in the Daoming palace to be educated and eventually enlisted by his father in Liang’s military academy.

Empress Yuan had born two children from Emperor Tang, Xiao Yu and his younger brother Xiao Yun and became Xiao Ce’s legitimate half-sister and brother.

They were the least priority among the two princes Prince Lou and Xiao Ce, that pushed Xiao Yu to climb the royal ladder and establish herself as the Queen of Yanbei.

Like her mom, with grand ambitions to rule, her dreams came true. While Xiao Yun, a youngster prince who did not concern himself in military or politics but he excelled in a ball sport called soccer.

He is seen mostly at the royal soccer ball courts with Liang’s most excellent soccer players.

Even if Xiao Yu and Xiao Yun were Xiao Ce’s legitimate siblings, Xiao Ce did not put behind his brother Prince Lou.

Because King Tang isolated Prince Lou, he has never been close to his half-brothers and sister except for Xiao Ce. Although Prince Lou is consumed with his anger to King Tang, he took careful consideration in planning for his revolt to the  Throne would positively affect his mother and his brother.

Because of that, Prince Lou did not pursue any coups after A’Fus death.

Later on, Xiao Ce found out in secret, he asked for the post-mortem of the Liang crown princess body and dugout the royal tomb in secret and confirmed that it is not the real body of A’Fu.

Xiao Ce out of respect for the dead and found about his brother’s secret love that he was ignorant before and did not know about it, let the matter be buried in secret.

Xiao Ce since then, put a distance to his brother and kept his discoveries quietly in his heart, forgiving himself, A’Fu and his beloved brother for he is only aware of one thing, A’Fu loves Prince Lou, but he never knew that his brother loved her too.

Also, he kept a secret pile of bitterness to his stepmother who caused the death of A’Fu.

***

The tragic story of his puppy love, Xiao Ce would never again offer any marriage proposals. A

fter his first heartbreak, he settled into short-term love affairs, making him the hottest playboy prince is known in China.

And after a few years of playing around, his state visit in Wei made him stop his activities and started to rekindle his heart towards the path of love.

This was when he met Chu Qiao and where marriage proposals started to court Xiao Ce’s heart, he remembered A’Fu, this is the type of woman he falls his knees into.

Chu Qiao gave Xiao Ce’s life, a break from its chained heart. Like a light in the dark skies, Chu Qiao gave Xiao Ce’s heart to cut the rope of its past and follow a ray of hope in the future.

But the glimmer of hope did not last long. Every rainbow comes to an end when Xiao Ce found out about Yuwen Yue, and he is alive, he knows he lost his only chance with Chu Qiao.

He finally understood that he is never going to have Chu Qiao as his lifetime partner and gave up the road to it.

Xiao Ce managed to stay at his palace, and King Tang determined to end his son long time mourn of A’Fu and agony of his vulgar open love of Chu Qiao, he added foreign concubines in Xiao Ce’s harem after Xiao Yu married Yan Xun.

None of it gave Xiao Ce of what he seeks. Then King Tang also invited some beautiful women from Liang’s noble households, hoping for the crown prince eyes to catch some of these lovely ladies but none of them was able to end his broken heart.

Xiao Ce is also forced to produce an heir for the throne, the Liang palace minister’s asked him to take a concubine since the first crown princess has long been dead, the next in line would take up the responsibility to produce his offspring.

Xiao Ce cannot say no, he followed the palace protocols and entered a sexual relationship with his first concubine from the noble household of Zhan, the beautiful concubine Ziming filled in Liang’s first-born grandson Li Xuiyi and the whole empire rejoiced for the first son of the crown prince who will most likely to inherit the Empire from King Tang.

Then another son was born. King Tang gave its name Li Qingrong from the same mother, Zhan Ziming.

By this time, Empress Yuan thinks her ambitions to become the ultimate ruler of Liang Empire is bleak.

Looking at Xiao Ce’s two sons, she is most likely to grow old and die in her palace as a retired Queen.

And so the unthinkable happens, Empress Yuan walking in slow in plotting to kill Emperor Tang and all of Li’s royal clan and establish herself as the Regent.

Then finally, claim the Throne by appointing herself as the first woman Emperor. Sounds crazy but Liang State is known for its weird state laws, its ministers are not afraid to pass many unheard and turned impossible laws to possible ones.

Unlike the Wei state, they follow a conservative style of governance, limit themselves to royal protocols and the law of the land with restriction of the role of woman in their society.

Of course, there is an exception to the rule, when Chu Qiao was appointed as Wei’s Archer coach in Xiaoqi Elite forces Camp and became the first female to receive a high position, the Mulan title.

In reality, this is to give its constituents an idea, that this is a prerogative decision the Emperor bestowed upon her and not available for another female to follow.

Prince Luo, on the other hand, became passive and stayed as General Sui’s deputy commander.

General Sui is the Grand Duke of Liang that became his father figure in the absence of his older brother and same time father, Emperor Tang.

One cannot imagine that these types of complicated relationships are legal in Liang’s royal clans.

While Xiao Yu did the same, she became passive and did not do as much after a year of inactivity, could it be that Yan Xun did not want his father to know what happened to her?

If Emperor Tang knew that her daughter was attacked by the Blackguard assassins, Yan Xun maybe put into bad shape and who knows, the Emperor might do unlikely things to charge his son-in-law or start a war with the Batuja Royal family one of protectorate state of Wei.

Chu Qiao slightly turned her head and smelled a familiar scent, she thinks she is dreaming as she slowly opened her eyes and meets the high ceiling in her sight.

She rose up from the expensive bed and observed her surroundings when suddenly a young boy with a tray in his hands just came in.

Chu Qiao quickly tapped the expensive carpet, and the air in the room suddenly took the young boy down, and Chu Qiao caught the tray from his hands.

Chu Qiao took one chopstick and stick in the boy’s neck she asked: “I will only ask once, where I am?”

The boy not afraid of her, he looked at her face and as if waiting for her to recognize him. Chu Qiao suddenly realized he knows this boy, she put her hand and her killer instincts completely disarmed she said: Ping’An! What are you doing here?

“Master Chu, I am working here in Jinwu palace.”

Chu Qiao remembered what happened almost a week ago and asked him again: Where is Viper, did you see her?

Yes Master, please do not worry she is also safe.

While there are still speaking, Viper came to Chu Qiao’s room together with Tie You, and when she started to talk, Chu Qiao went closer to her and whispered: “Call me Chu Qiao, and do not expose me as Mimi Gongzhu.”

Tie You greeted Chu Qiao: “General Chu, how are you feeling now?”

Chu Qiao saw Tie You and said: “I am fine. Where is your Highness Prince Xiao Ce?” Chu Qiao remembers him very well, her memories are back and can respond just like the way she is before.

Sun Di is walking towards them, he consciously looked at Chu Qiao beautiful figure and angelic face, still dressed in her night robes he secretly admired her, he said: “General Chu Qiao, this is rather unexpected fate that brought you here in the palace.”

Behind him is Xiao Ce, he slightly slanted his head to see Chu Qiao and beamed at her with his perfect white teeth and foxy eyes. Chu Qiao on her usual sarcasm said: “Your Highness, thank you for taking care of us, but we have to go.”

Xiao Ce did not stop beaming at her and said: “Who said I will let the two of you go?”

Chu Qiao responded and said: “Why not?”

Xiao Ce sighed and said: “You have not changed all these years and still beautiful Qiao Qiao. What about that ring in your hand, are you engaged to somebody?”

Viper looked at Chu Qiao and rebutted: “No she is not engaged to anybody.”

Chu Qiao did not respond, she let Viper answer it for her. Xiao Ce sensing Chu Qiao’s sadness in her eyes, he said: “I am glad to hear she isn’t. Like I said before, the future belongs to those who wait.”

Sun Di interfered and also said: “how about a hearty meal for all? My treat at my Mansion, let’s all go.”

Xiao Ce agreed and said: Sure, Chu Qiao I would like to introduce Sun Di, my childhood friend and one of the Military Governor of Liang.

Chu Qiao asked: “How should I call you? Governor Sun Di?”

Sun Di replied: Just call me Sun Di, Xiao Ce and I would like to invite you for a meal. Can I expect to see you attend?”

Chu Qiao said: “Yes after I talk to Viper.”

Xiao Ce on his bright face said: “Happy to hear that.” And Xiao Ce smiled at her again on his foxy eyes. Chu Qiao somehow noticed some wrinkled lines in his eyes, and she thinks maybe the Prince has matured by face but not his attitude, she continued to display uninviting looks towards her.

Tie You also said.

“By the way, let me tell you Miss Chu, this palace is newly constructed and its called Yehua palace, you won’t believe the history oh how this palace was built but my master said that he saw a falling star in this place and decided to build that falling star a palace that someday if that falling star should come, this is a place she will call her own.”

Everyone looked at Tie You and Xiao Ce was the one to break the silence he hit Tie You head and said: “Naaaahhh, you are telling bedtime stories again.”

Chu Qiao somehow knows what Tie You is saying, and she said: “That falling star, whoever she is, she is not just lucky to own this place but must be really favored by the crown prince itself.”

Viper rolled her eyes for everyone knows, Tie You is referring to Chu Qiao where Xiao Ce cut if off, and Chu Qiao is going with the flow.

Viper does not know anything about courtship, romance or even love but she thinks Chu Qiao has matured in some ways and this has something to do with the peddler man she married one year ago.

Xiao Ce smiled at Chu Qiao, a smile that meant for a new beginning waiting to unfold.

A smile that spells a more mature man and woman, both of them felt they are in the right time, right place and ready to take care of the matters of their heart.

♥♥♥

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