22 Arc 2 Chapter 2

Tian Yi couldn't sleep the entire night, his eyes were wide open thinking about what happened. The incident replayed in his mind again and again. That faint throb...what is it? Is it happening again? Could it be him? Those blurry memories and feelings replay like a movie in his mind. His mind focuses on a certain time, looking into Yixuan's eyes feeling that same throb. He unknowingly caresses the earring that he cannot bear to take off.

Ni Ni...could he have followed me here?

[I don't know, I am not authorized to check that information. But host...I think you should trust in yourself. That man has always chased you so hard, it's not impossible that he couldn't help but keep chasing.] That beast is capable of anything.

Tian Yi takes a deep breath and thinks, we shall see.

What happens will happen

[Why do you keep saying that? It that your life motto or something? It's irritating as hell and so passive. Can't you muster up some energy to actually try?]

Ni Ni, there's no need to be passive, but some things are fated and cannot be changed. Tian Yi has a nostalgic look on his face.

[Like what?] Ni Ni challenges him.

I would like to think that Yixuan and I were fated, and if it is fated we will meet again.

[Clearly you're feeling something so why are you lying that you don't feel a thing?]

Maybe I'm just lying to myself

[I don't get it...why?]

You don't need to know. Let's move on. The Tian people are about to arrive. I can't leave anymore, so what do I do? Any ideas?

[Ummm...I was just thinking, don't you want to figure out if the Crown Prince is your man? So why don't you just go along with it? Win the concubine selection and spend more time with him. Oh btw don't forget if he is your man, you need to rip him away from that Holy Mother bitch.]

Why do you even hate her? She hasn't done anything to you?

[Did you forget that the hypocrite hoe basically got you killed? Well...the original Tian Yi but still! Don't tell me you believe that innocent facade. She could have said ONE word and saved you, but she just watched you get killed. What kind of Holy Mother is that?]

They're coming it's time.

Tian Yi fixes his face to mirror the melancholy expression that the original Tian Yi always sports. Many maidservants and attendants swarm into the room. It's too small to fit everyone but they manage somehow. Nobody shows any sympathy for the depressing living situation of the young master, in fact they look slightly disgusted.

Tian Yi sits as they manipulate his body. His face is brushed with makeup and his hair is pulled into a bun with two wisps framing his face. It's the first chance he has gotten to actually see his face. He is a beauty that's for sure. Long, waist length black hair. Creamy skin and a soft face with no sharp defining lines. His peach blossom eyes are doe-like and he could bring down cities with just a pout. No wonder his father wasn't satisfied by him as a son. There is no outward heroic spirit or strength in his physique. He looks willowy and fragile. However, he is still a man and some things can't be hidden. Though his facial features are soft he still has a somewhat visible jawline, and he can't remove his adam's apple. Though the lack of breasts can be concealed soon enough once he lies on that bed, what is lying dormant between his legs will be revealed.

For now his face is still youthful so he hasn't fully developed into a man yet. At 17, he still looks fresh but this won't last more than another two years. No wonder Father wants to marry him off. It's now or never to get rid of this useless son. Tian Yi has been completely made over to look like a gorgeous woman. With his hair up and framing his face, it contrasts gorgeously with his skin. They outlined his eyes with black kohl to make his eyes pop. They used powder to further soften his jawline and they dressed him in a gorgeous red robe embroidered with butterflies at the hem, they almost looked alive. Being a growing man his height was still higher than an average woman so it made him look tall and flexible, swaying in the breeze. It all added to the allure, and the maidservants and attendants couldn't tear their eyes away. But hearing the morning bell, they rushed Tian Yi into a carriage preparing him to travel to the palace. The concubine selection begins at noon.

Tian Yi sat in the carriage calmly with no fear of being sent to the unknown and this gave the servants a better impression of him. Not that he noticed. Tian Yi asked Ni Ni to monitor the Crown Prince and report his every activity. While Ni Ni was busy with her task, Tian Yi had nothing but time to think and his mind always went back to the memories replaying like a movie in his mind. Even now the only thing he could feel was the throb and other than that there was nothing. There was a little anticipation and hope but everything else was dead. He still couldn't smile, or laugh or cry or rage. It was just empty. Ni Ni had asked him why he was lying to himself, but rather than lying to himself he had locked himself into a cage. Everything he had been able to feel was locked away somewhere and he couldn't find the key. Yixuan opened the cage and released the emotions, becoming the key. But as time passes and Yixuan just becomes a memory the feelings are starting to fade too. This hopefulness and anticipation is faint, grower fainter by the second. Maybe by the time he reaches the palace it will be gone. The throb had been the first emotion to disappear but now it is back. Maybe the Crown Prince will bring the others back too.

The carriage jolts to a stop and Tian Yi is helped out of the carriage. He steps out onto a carefully maintained garden and looks around. They are in a maze of flower hedges, only someone who has often been to the palace would know their way around. A palace attendant comes to receive him and he bows in gratitude. Tian Yi is led to an open field which is filled with beautiful ladies of noble birth vying to be the Crown Prince's consort. A feeling of pity rises in his heart before it fades away. He realizes it is because these young women are all competing to live a life where they will share their man with hundreds of other women. They will have to maintain their appearance until they die just to keep their status and fight for their husband's favor. This era is not kind to women. Then that thought fades and he feels nothing in the knowledge that he too is here to fight for a man who might never be faithful to him.

Everyone hears a loud voice as a palace courtier is sent to gather the women. It can be seen how important this event is just from the fact that a courtier has taken charge. Tian Yi walks along with hundreds of women into a great hall. Women throw dirty looks at Tian Yi and turn their faces away when he approaches. This might be their approach to snub him, but it only works if he cares. He stands there quietly and being alienated just makes him seem ethereal and otherworldly. The Crown Prince sits at the throne ahead of them but he looks bored and preoccupied.

Ni Ni returns and snorts at his attitude. What a dick, these women's lives are in your hands and you couldn't care less. Of course Ni Ni might change her mind if this man turns out to be her host's lover. Her host's lover should never have anyone on his mind other than her host.

The Crown Prince finally looks up after the courtier clears his throat at observes the beauties. He gives them all a rakish smile and many women almost swoon. The Crown Prince is a very handsome man. Being a part of the Song Royal Family they all have attractive genetics. His name is Song Feixiang and he is the first born son between his Father and the Empress. Being spoiled for most of his life he just ended up trying to find things that would alleviate his boredom. He would chase anything that caught his attention and once he was tired he would throw it away.

Currently Song Feixiang is fascinated by a beauty he met the night before. Her visage is imprinted deeply in his mind and he wants to meet her. There's something about her that just attracts him, and he wants to know more, see more, be in her presence. He has never felt this desire before. It's much stronger than his passing fascinations and he has the desire to possess her. While he's planning a way to find her, he hears the courtier clear his throat. This concubine selection is a waste of his time. He never touches them anyways. He may play with women by throwing flirtatious glances or smiles, he never touches them. There's just something that feels wrong about it. He sighs and looks up wanting to get this over with. He surveys the crowd of beautiful women. They are all definitely beauties but they just don't catch his interest, but then he sees one. Standing aloof from the others, in a gorgeous red robe with wisps of hair framing her porcelain face. He would notice her anywhere. Her eyes just jump out at him, the disinterested look and the expressionless face, it was her. He found her...