23 Chapter 20: Arriving at Beijing: Destination
Shanghai Supermarket, China
With my groceries in my hands, I was about to walk away from the supermarket when suddenly, I noticed something strange. A man was walking in front of me. He was dizzy. He was so dizzy that he didn't notice the rock in front of him and was about to fall to the ground.
" Be careful!" I caught him by the waist keeping him from falling off the ground.
" Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" Someone bumped into me.
The man's face was recovered by his long hair, but when he spoke, I recognized his voice instantly. Then, suddenly, there was a strong wind. The wind was so strong that it lifted the man's hair a little. In that small fraction of time, I was able to see the man's face very clearly and I got shocked.
" It's you! What are you doing here?" I asked in a questionable tone.
???
The man fainted in my arms which got me worried.
" What happened? Can you hear me? Open your eyes! Can someone please help me!" I shouted out for help.
A few minutes later
" Thank you very much for your help everyone!" I said thankfully.
" There's no need to thank us. We're always happy to help". Said Mr.Francis with a grin.
" That's true! We'll always be there and do everything in our power to help you, Ying Yue". Mrs.Francis, his wife added.
" I know you'll always be there for me, Mr. and Mrs.Francis. Knowing you're there puts me at ease. Thank you!" I said thankfully.
" We'll be taking our leave now! Do you need anything before we leave?" Inquired Mr.Francis.
" Not at the moment! Thanks!" I said thankfully.
" Are you sure? You don't need anything?" Mrs.Francis inquired further.
" How can I possibly lie to you? Now that you mention it, I may require something" I said.
" What is it?" She asked.
" I'll be away for several days starting tomorrow. While I'm gone, I would like you to receive our mail from the postman and keep it for us until we're back" I said.
" Is that all you need? This is a simple task for us! Consider it done my dear!" She said with a grin.
" I knew I could count on you!" I said smiling.
" Take care of yourself, dear!" Both of them walked out of my house.
What was he doing there at the supermarket? And most important of all, why did he collapse all of a sudden? Looking at him closely, he looks dehydrated and pale. He also lost a lot of weight which can be explained by his dry skin. Looking at his condition, I can say with certainty that he hasn't eaten anything since this morning. I'm certain of what could have caused him to pass out like this. I have to bring him to the doctor to make sure my hunch is right. That's what I should be doing, but I can't delay my trip any longer. It's been a week since Wei disappeared and with these human traffickers out there, I'm not at ease regarding his safety. This is what I'll do; I'll bring him to the doctor once I return from my trip. For now, I have to keep this information from him. To prevent the situation from worsening, meals should not be skipped anymore. I need to make sure of that. I'll go prepare something for him before he wakes up.
Beijing Prefecture, China
That has to be taken care of. The issue left now is that third case which I have absolutely no idea of what to do, Ying Jie thought to himself.
" Something on your mind, officer?" Mrs.Perez tapped on Ying Jie's shoulder.
" Mrs.Viviana, I'm okay!" Ying Jie said.
" You don't seem like you're okay to me, Ying Jie!" Mrs.Perez said.
" I have so much weight on my shoulders that I'm uncertain if I can do everything at once," said Ying Jie sadly.
" Wait for me! I'll be right back!" Mrs.Perez left in search of something.
Where has she gone to?, Ying Jie thought to himself.
" Here! For you!" Mrs.Perez came back holding a bowl in her hand.
" What is it?" Ying Jie asked Mrs.Perez in a questionable tone.
" It's a Chicken Soup!" Mrs.Perez said.
" A Chicken Soup?" Ying Jie asked.
" Eat it and you might find all the answers to your interrogations," Mrs.Perez said, handing me the bowl of soup.
" Thank you very much! It's delicious! I feel much better now thanks to you" Ying Jie said thankfully.
" It was my pleasure! Go to sleep early and tomorrow, everything will be much clearer to you. What do you think of my sublime idea?" Mrs.Perez asked.
" That's a fantastic idea! I'll do what you said! Good night Mrs.Viviana!" Ying Jie headed to his room.
" Sweet dreams!" Mrs.Perez said back and headed to her room as well.
Shanghai Prefecture, China
Ying Household
" Where am I? My head hurts! What happened to me?" the young man touched his head in pain while looking around confusingly.
The unknown man was none other than Emperor Li Jun himself.
" Finally, you're awake! How are you feeling?" I asked the emperor in a questionable tone.
" It's you again! What am I doing here? Where exactly am I?" The emperor asked in a questionable tone.
" You're in my house in case you didn't notice," I said annoyed.
" Your house? Why am I in your house?" the emperor asked shockingly.
" Why are you in my house? Do you think I wanted to bring you here? What else could I have done with you collapsing on me like that?" I said irritated.
" I collapsed on you? Why?" asked the emperor confusingly.
" That's what I would like to know myself. If you didn't collapse in the supermarket, I wouldn't have brought you here" I answered.
" The supermarket? My head! It hurts!" the emperor touched his head in pain.
" Lay down a bit more! You need to rest! You're not well!" I told him.
" I should get going! Sorry for the trouble!" the emperor stands and is ready to leave.
While standing up, the emperor felt dizzy and lost his balance. As he was about to fall off, I caught him by the waist once more.
" Be careful!" I said as I caught him.
" Ouch! Ouch!" yelled out the emperor in pain.
" I told you to be careful, didn't I? Let me see your forehead! Does it hurt? Is it painful?" I said massaging his forehead.
" What are you doing?" the emperor asked embarrassed.
" I'm rubbing your forehead! Don't move! How do you feel now? Any better?" I asked the emperor.
" Yes! The pain has slightly decreased!" the emperor replied.
" Listen, you can't leave for the time being as it's pouring outside. Why don't we do this: Stay here until the rain stops! What about it?" I advised the emperor.
" I don't have a choice but to listen to you this time," the emperor said defeatedly.
" Good! Why don't you call your family to let them know you're alright? They must be worried about you" I advised the emperor.
" I don't want to talk to them for the time being!" said the emperor sadly.
" Alright! It's your decision!" I said.
" Thanks!" The emperor said thankfully.
" Lay down now and don't move a muscle this time! I'll be back in a sec!" I ordered the emperor.
???
I came back later with a bowl in my hand.
" You must be hungry, right? Here, have some noodles!" I said handing the emperor the bowl of noodles.
" I'm not hungry!" the emperor said sadly.
" Why? Do you think I've poisoned the food?" I said irritated.
" It's not that! I'm not hungry!" the emperor answered sadly.
" How can you not be hungry? You haven't eaten anything since this morning!" I said to the emperor.
" You're mistaken! I've eaten!" said the emperor avoiding my gaze.
" Stop lying already! I can't be wrong in my judgment! You collapsed out of hunger. Stop denying it as I don't believe any more of your lies" I said annoyed.
???
" Here! Eat these noodles already before it gets cold!" I ordered the emperor.
" Why are you doing this?" the emperor asked me with perplexity.
" What do you mean?" I asked.
" You hate me, don't you? If you hate me so much, then why did you help me? Why have you brought me here? Why haven't you left me there laying on the floor? Why did you save me?" The emperor asked in a questionable tone.
" Don't misunderstand my actions! I'm not doing any of this for you! I'm doing all this just for Prince Wei. If something were to happen to you, Prince Li Wei would be all alone in the world. You're the only parent he has left. That is the sole reason I'm doing all this. There's no other reason behind my actions. Don't be confused! I don't care about you at all. You're not important to me, but your son is. He's very important to me" I answered coldly.
" He's important to you? Why is that?" asked the emperor confused.
" Enough questions! Eat these noodles before I lose my temper!" I said in irritation.
" Okay, fine! I'll eat it!" the emperor said getting scared.
" How is it?" I asked.
" It's delicious! I've never eaten anything like this before. This is my first time! It's quite delicious! Thank you!" The emperor said in amazement.
" It looks like deja vu," I said, diving into my memories.
Flashback
" How do you like it here?"
The young prince scribbled: " It's beautiful! I've never seen such beautiful landscapes before".
" Prince Wei, do you mind if I ask you something?"
He scribbled: " What exactly do you want to know?"
" Is it your first time out of the Royal Palace?" Ying Yue asked him out of the blue.
???
" Don't force yourself! It's okay if you don't wish to tell me! I won't force you to do something you do not wish to".
He scribbled: '' Yes, this is the first time I'm out of the Royal Palace. I never went outside before today. Thank you for bringing me out today.''
" Thank you!" She hugged him all of a sudden.
???
" Thank you for confiding in me! Thank you! Thank you!"
???
" Thank you for trusting me! I promise never to break your trust". She said to the young prince.
???
" Let's go back! It's getting dark!" They head back inside.
End of flashback
Wei, I miss you so much! Just hold on a bit longer! We'll be reunited soon, I promise, I thought to myself.
Somewhere far away from the far side of the city
Wuxi Prefecture, China
" Hurry up! There's still a lot left undone".
" It's so much stuff! I'm tired! I'm not used to this kind of work! Why is everyone keeping up with this?" a little girl named Estrella Perez inquired in compliance.
" What's all this ruckus about? What's going on here? Why aren't you working?"
" Nothing's wrong here, sir!" The little girl was terrified.
" It's you again! You must be the one responsible for all the ruckus again!"
" No, sir! I didn't do anything! You're mistaken!" The little girl said to the terrifying man.
" I've had enough of you! I'm going to dispose of you!"
" Please, sir! I'm sorry!" She begged for forgiveness.
" Come with me!" The man dragged her along.
A young boy scribbled in his diary: " Sir, please wait!"
" What do you want?" He stopped.
He scribbled: " It's not her fault! She was explaining the work details to me as I'm mute(unable to speak). We'll be short on hands if you dispose of her. Please, forgive her sir! There won't be any more problems!"
The man gave him a hard kick on the stomach. " Stop interfering in other people's matters! I'll forgive you this time, but don't repeat it or your little friend will pay the consequences of your actions. Now, get back to work and no more slacking off".
The man left from there and the young girl ran to the young boy's side.
" Are you okay?" She inquired anxiously.
He scribbled: " I'm fine!"
" Why did you step out for me?" She inquired confusingly.
He scribbled: " He would have killed you otherwise if I didn't do something to stop him".
" You were worried about me?"
The young boy nod as a response.
" Thank you! You saved me today! Thank you very much!" She hugged him suddenly.
???
" Sorry! I got carried away!" She said embarrassed.
He scribbled: " It's okay! Let's get back to work!"
Shanghai Prefecture, China
Ying Household
" After you finish eating, I'll call a taxi for you. The rain has stopped!" I said coldly.
" Let me stay here for tonight!" the emperor said.
" That's not possible! You're the emperor! You can't sleep here! Go back to your palace!" I said coldly.
" Emperor this, Emperor that! Before being an emperor, I'm a human being. Why can't anyone understand me?" the emperor said as tears started falling out from his eyes.
Seeing the emperor cried out shocked me and I felt sympathy for him for some reason. I approached him and sat beside him.
" What happened? It might help if you talk it out with somebody" I said surprising myself.
" I got into an argument with my sister and------------------------------------------"
" I see! Is it also the reason why you haven't eaten since this morning?" I asked the emperor in a questionable tone.
" Yes! I wasn't in the mood to eat!" the emperor replied.
" You shouldn't skip your meals because of that. Skipping meals like that all the time can get you sick. You should stop skipping meals. As for your sister, you should talk it out with her. There might be a reason behind her behavior" I advised the emperor.
" Thank you for listening to me! I've made so many mistakes in my life and among them, my son. I was never there for him. I've neglected him, which is why he ran away" the emperor said sadly.
" He didn't run away! He'll come back and I'll make sure that's the case. Sleep on the sofa for tonight! Have a good rest!" I said leaving the living room.
The following day
" How are you feeling? Does your head still hurt?" I said as I checked the emperor's forehead.
"... No! Said the emperor reluctantly.
" Let me see! Does it hurt?" I said as I massage the emperor's forehead.
"... No!" said the emperor reluctantly.
" Come to the dining room for breakfast!" I said heading off.
Ying Dining Room
"Thank you! It was mostly delicious! I'll get going!" the emperor thanked me for the food and stood up, ready to leave.
" Wait! I'll come with you! You're still a bit weak on your legs!" I said to the emperor.
Li Imperial Kingdom
" The person you are trying to reach isn't reachable at the moment" Princess Li Mei was unable to reach her brother's phone.'.
" Still no answer!" Empress Dowager appeared.
The princess nodded and the empress understood the message.
" Ring! Ring! Ring!" I rang the imperial gate.
The gate opened and there stood a tall young man with black hair and brown eyes. He welcomed us inside with a bright smile on his face.
" Welcome back your majesty! Come inside!" the young man welcomed us inside.
The young man was none other than Fei Wong. I encountered him at the gate once when I came for my interview. He was very kind to me. I'm happy to have the pleasure of meeting him again.
Li Imperial Hall
" Princess! Princess! His majesty has returned!" Imperial Advisor Dong Cong rushed out to inform the princess.
" You're back! What happened to you?" Princess Li Mei asked Emperor Li Jun concerned.
" He collapsed in the supermarket!" I spoke out.
" Collapsed? What were you doing at the supermarket?" the princess asked her brother in a questionable tone.
" Let's not bother him! I'll answer all your questions, but before I do, I need to get him to his room. He needs to rest! Where is his room at?" I asked.
" Right next to Prince Li Wei's room!" Prince Li Mei spoke out.
" Wait up! We'll take him to his room ourselves! You can leave!" Empress Dowager stopped me in my steps.
" Don't bother! I'll take him there myself! Don't try to stop me!" I said coldly.
" Mom, please! Let her go!" the princess said to the empress.
Emperor Li Jun Pavillon
Emperor Li Jun Chamber
The emperor was about to lay down on the bed when I stopped him.
" Wait a minute! Let me arrange the sheets for you!" I said as I arranged the bedsheets.
" Thank you!" the emperor said thankfully.
" All done! You may lay down now! Be careful! Let me help you!" I supported the emperor by the waist.
" Thank you for all you've done for me!" the emperor said gratefully.
" I'll get going! Take care of yourself and eat your meals on time" I said as I turned around to leave.
" Wait! Don't go just yet!" the emperor grabbed my hand from behind stopping me from going any further in my steps.
That action took me by surprise but I stayed silent nonetheless.
" What is it?" I asked as I sat on the bed beside the emperor.
" I want to talk to you for a bit! Don't go!" the emperor said, still holding my hand.
" Okay! I'll stay for a bit! You can let go of my hand now!" I said.
The emperor realized his action and let go of my hand right away.
" Sorry! I'm so sorry! Did I hold it too tight? Does it hurt?" the emperor asked worriedly.
" It's fine!" I said.
" Sorry again!" the emperor apologized to me.
" What do you want to talk to me about?" I suddenly asked the emperor.
" Do you think Wei hates me?" the emperor asked suddenly.
" I don't think he does! Why do you think so?" I asked the emperor in a questionable tone.
" I was never there for him. I was only thinking about myself and the pain I was going through. That was my mistake!" the emperor said sadly.
" Wei is a kid. He needed his father's love his whole life but never got it. He wanted his father's advice on many aspects of his life. He never saw his dad's face for five long years. If he were to see him today, he wouldn't recognize him. Don't you think that is a sufficient reason?" I asked the emperor in a questionable tone.
" You're right! He'll never forgive me!" said the emperor sadly.
" You never know! He might forgive you, but it won't be easy. You hurt him deeply. You'll have to work hard to earn his forgiveness. Happy recovery!" I head out of the emperor's quarters.
Li Imperial Hall
" How is he?" Princess Li Mei asked worriedly.
" He needs rest! He'll recover quickly that way! I'll have to go, but Princess, may I have a word with you?" I asked the princess suddenly.
" Sure!" the princess said nodding.
Li Imperial Exit
" As I already told you earlier, he collapsed in the supermarket out of hunger" I informed the princess of the situation.
" Hunger?" the princess asked shockingly.
" It was by mere chance that I was in the supermarket at the same time as he was. He didn't eat anything the whole day which is why he collapsed. No matter what happened between you, you have to talk it out and solve the problem. After all, you're family! See you around!" I said heading out.
" Thank you for saving my brother!" the princess said thankfully.
Imperial Nanny Ying Yue
" Hello! I'll be there in an hour!"
An hour later--------------------------------!
Shanghai Train Station
" Let's go or we won't make it on time!" I rushed the train driver.
" This way!" the train driver showed me the way to the train. We took off sooner after that.
Inside the train
What's so important that I have to go all the way to Beijing? Why not tell me on the phone? I thought to myself.
Beijing Prefecture, China
Beijing Train Station
" Thank you for driving me all the way out here! Thank you very much!" I said thankfully.
" It was my pleasure! Let me know if you need anything!" said the driver.
" It must be here! That's the place!" I said looking at the address.
Perez Household
" Ring! Ring! Ring!" I rang the doorbell.
The door opened and there stood a beautiful young woman.
" Yes! How may I help you?" the young woman asked me.
" My name's Ying Yue and---------------------------
��� Did you say, Ying Yue? Come in! Welcome!" the young woman welcomed me into the house.
" You're here?" my brother appeared.
" Brother?" I said emotionally.
" I missed you so much! What took you so long? I was waiting like forever!" my brother hugged me as if he hadn't seen me for years.
" I missed you too, brother!" I returned his hug.
" How was the trip?" my brother asked me.
" It was fine!" I replied.
" Let me introduce you! This is Viviana Perez, my client. Mrs.Viviana, this is Ying Yue, my lovely sister" my brother introduced me to the young woman.
" Nice to meet you! I'm Viviana Perez!" The young woman greeted me politely.
" Nice to meet you too! I'm Ying Yue! Thank you for taking care of my brother!" I greeted her back politely.
" You may converse in the living room while I cook dinner" the young woman headed to the kitchen.
" It's right this way! Follow me!" my brother showed me the way.
" She's nice!" I said.
" I agree! She's very nice and courageous" said my brother.
" What did you want to talk to me about? What was so important that you couldn't tell me on the phone?" I asked my brother in a questionable tone.
" Listen! I don't know if all this is just a coincidence, but it's too similar" Ying Jie adopted a serious tone.
" What is?" I asked seriously.
" My client's daughter went missing on the same day as Prince Li Wei. The human traffickers were located in the same city as those people" Ying Jie said in a serious tone.
" The same city? Do you mean--------------------------?"
" Yes! My client's daughter went to Wuxi. Prince Li Wei must be there too as we speak" said Ying Jie in a serious tone.
" Dinner's ready!" the young woman interpellated us.
" We're coming!" Ying Jie said.
My brother showed me the way to the dining room. The place was fancy as was the dining room. I sat down and ate along with my brother. During dinner, my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't stop thinking of my brother's words.
" The food was delicious!" I said.
" I'm glad it was to your liking. I'll go wash the dishes!" said the young woman.
" Let me help you!" Ying Jie offered a helping hand.
" It's okay! I'll manage! You guys go to sleep!" said the young woman.
The young woman rejected Ying Jie's help as she knew we still had a lot of things to discuss.
" What seems to be the problem?" I asked Ying Jie in a questionable tone.
" I got another case! I have to bodyguard someone and I don't know if I'll accept the case or not" Ying Jie replied.
" What's keeping you from taking this case?" I suddenly asked my brother.
" I have another case to take care of! I don't have time for another one" Ying Jie answered.
" Accept the case?" I said seriously.
" What?" Ying Jie reacted shockingly.
" I'll help you out! I'll take on this case as well! What's the name of Viviana's daughter?" I suddenly asked.
" Estrella Perez!" Ying Jie answered.
" I'll go to Wuxi and retrieve both Wei and Estrella. I'll save them both" I said confidently.
