2 The birthmark

In the resting hall of the Emperor that lied in the heart of Chang Yuan Palace,

"Greetings, Emperor Father." with his eyes lowered and head bowed, Hui Jing curtsied the Emperor.

Residing in a dragon throne, a man in his late sixties wearing a luxurious dragon robes, featuring the five clawed dragon, with a golden crown that was tied up in his hair, he was the Great Emperor Gua Huang of the Gua empire.

"You may have guessed why I summoned you here." spoke the Almighty Emperor.

"How's she? Where did you find her?" In a chilly tone, he queried once more.

"Observing from her condition, it seemed like she had fallen from a high cliff, but I am not sure. I rushed to bring her to my residence as soon as I found her. With the grace of Emperor Father, she is slowly recovering." the Crown Prince answered courteously still his head in a bowing position.

Hearing his son, Gua Huang sighed, "Now, she is here. Don't let yourself get seduced by her again. As the Crown Prince of the Gua empire, your first concern must be your people! For her sake, you are not allowed to neglect the palace affairs." the Emperor gave an eerily frightening warning as he knows his son has a gentle heart which can easily deceive him again.

"Yes, Emperor Father." Except of agreeing with the Emperor's statement, Hui Jing had no other options. He couldn't help but surrender himself to the order of the Emperor.

"You are dismissed." Gua Huang motioned the Crown Prince to leave with a wave of his hand in the air, and Hui Jing bowed once more before exiting the hall.

Despite being the second prince of the Gua Empire, Hui Jing was first-in-line to ascend the throne amongst his three half brothers and that makes him solely responsible to abide by his duties as the present Crown Prince and the future Emperor.

For him, Fei Jia was his childhood sweetheart and the woman he had dreamt of spending the rest of his life with. But, It was not only one-sided. Fei Jia also felt the same for him.

As the saying goes, some circumstances are beyond one's control and this was true for Crown Prince and Fei Jia who couldn't be together even if they were willing to. It still saddens Hui Jing's heart and shakes him to his core, recalling incident the three-year-old incident. Now that she has returned, all he wants to do is be with her.

********

The weather was pleasant, and the scents of flowers floating through the autumn air added the pleasure.

Anchhi was sitting upright, leaning against the pillow. Her mind wondering over the cherry blossom tree that appeared right before her glistening eyes but in a quiet long distance as she was gazing outside the window.

With the fall of each petal that was quite beautiful and pure, her infinite questions were at the edge of her brain.

She raised and pulled her eyebrows together in a sudden thought that knocked her mind, "Have I transmigrated?" A gasp escaped her lips, a tinge of sweat covering her forehead.

"Is this body really of Fei Jia's or mine?" Anchhi slowly stretched her hands forward and hung her head low, only to stare at her delicate hands in surprise. As she still hadn't recovered so she didn't dare to move her body parts recklessly.

In the meantime,

"Young Miss! Your soup has been prepared."

Shoumen approached from the ornate door with a tray on her hands and a bowl of soup on it.

"The Royal Physician stated that you had lost some of your memories as a result of your severe injuries. As a result, he advised mixing the herbs with the soup to help you recover quickly." Shoumen walked towards her, placing the bowl of soup on the table.

"Hey Shoumen. I need your help." Anchhi beckoned Shoumen to come near her. Her mind must have come up with something solid. She then carefully rotated her body around and divided her hair into two distinct portions, leaving only a single distinct division between them.

"Can you notice a stain of port wine on the back of my neck?" Anchhi queried the maid who was standing to face the back of Anchhi.

And not to lie, Shoumen could clearly see the birthmark on Anchhi's neck. So, she responded with a nod.

"Hey, speak something. Even if you have nodded your head I cannot see your face, so just reply with yes or no." Anchhi's tone was sharp as she shouted. Her eyes casting a sideways glance.

"Yes, Young Miss!" The maid suddenly lowered her head, replying in a meek voice.

Anchhi finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Shoumen. She felt as if a weight of strain had been lifted from her shoulders. She turned around and leaned against the cushion once again. This time, she was staring the ceiling in solace.

Even if Anchhi and Fei Jia looked same, she knew there was one thing that would set Fei Jia apart from her: her birthmark, which was the rarest in color.

"Thank you, God! This body is mine." Anchhi muttered beneath her breath, her eyes closed. Her closed eyelids, however, were abruptly snapped open. "Does that indicate I've teleported?" Her trembling terror was sucked down.

"But? H-How? How is this even possible? What brought me here?" Never she had felt so on edge before.

The mere maid was actually observing her young miss's expressions which made her ask, "Is anything bothering you, Young Miss?"

Anchhi broke her eye contact with the ceiling and averted her gaze to face Shoumen. "Shoumen, since I have lost my memory, can you tell me more about this place?"

Looking at her face, Shoumen opened her mouth to only say, "Pardon?"

Anchhi took a deep breathe before blurting out, "Shoumen! You're the only one whom I can rely on. For my sake, please tell me. Who knows my memories may return?"

"But, What do you want to know Young Miss?" the maid again asked in amazement.

"What exactly is this place? Tell me, if this is an empire then who is the ruler right now?" As Anchhi was putting forth her question, she noticed Shoumen inching towards her, with the soup bowl.

Shoumen sat at the edge of the bed and took a mouthful spoon of soup, reaching near Anchhi's lips to feed her before saying, "This is the Gua empire, ruled by one of the powerful mighty Emperor Gua Huang. According to what I have heard, he was able to conquer ten thousand households along with small kingdoms which he amalgamated to form the empire we know today."

Anchhi was taken aback hearing the strange names. "Gua empire? Gua Huang? Probably the first time I've heard these names! Why don't the histories have records about me if I really came in the past?" She was expressing her internal confusion.

"Take this, young Miss." Shoumen tugged on her arm, attempting to jolt her awake from her slumber.

Anchhi parted her lips in response, allowing Shoumen to feed her the spoon of soup.

Even though Anchhi was unaware of the bond Fei Jia and Shoumen shared, but Shoumen had utmost respect and love towards her Young Miss as she was the First Lady whom she had ever served.

Our Anchhi, on the other hand, is a 21st century university student, who doesn't seem to remember how she got stuck to this place called Gua Empire. Witty and vivacious would be the words which best describe her as she is not someone a man would dare for.