The Taking Of Princess Yingyue

Tianshi Xue was awakened by the prince after quite some time and they went to the ballroom. She was still too sleepy to function but this was all part of her stupid 'duty'.

"Just how long are these party going to go on? I'm already tired of this repeated process." She ran a hand through her skirt. She had managed to come out with only a few creases on her dress after laying down.

"Just a few more days," Prince Qui replied to her and he nodded towards the two guards on the door.

She held on the crook of his elbow and stood close to him, plastering a smile on her lips. Thankfully, there was only a small line of people tonight that wanted to give their greetings and gifts.

It was only the beginning of her good mood. There were plenty food and cool drinks. She was actually enjoying her throne beside Prince Qui. Just a seat away, Prince Xiaodan sent her a smile. It was nice seeing him in a good mood again.

"Do you think he's allowed to dance with me?" she asked Prince Qui.

Prince Qui only leaned his head and gave her an answer. "I don't think that would be appropriate. Everyone knew you were supposed to marry him. Maybe some time in the future. Or better yet, just save that dance on your wedding day."

Tianshi Xue felt giddy on the inside. Everything will fall in their rightful places, she told herself. We'll take small steps, then we'll get to the finish line.

She had never heard of a villainess getting a happy ever after. But there's always a first time.

Maybe this was going to be HER happy ever after.

The Emperor suddenly stood up and all the noise inside the room went to zero. "Greetings!" he said in his huge voice. "Tonight, we celebrate the union of my son Prince Qui and my new daughter Princess Yingyue. A popular travelling puppeteer group has been invited to show us the love story of Yang Qui and Lin Yingyue, the two people who finally ended the long war between Shanmai and Heping."

She turned to Prince Qui who only lifted an amused eyebrow back at her. What kind of love story do they have? They did not even have love in the first place.

A stage had been set up in the back of the ballroom and they all turned to it. All the lights were off to give the puppets shadow. Tianshi Xue was genuinely interested on how the palace played out their marriage and how they miraculously fell in love. 

Soon enough, the narration started and the puppets moved.

"Around fifty years ago, the world succumbed to war and chaos. Countries fought, men lost their lives, families lost their homes, and when the government fell, the cities crumbled and turned into lawless lands.

Only the lucky ones survived and the strong were worshipped. In dust and rubbles, there rose kings from every corner.

But one king wished to conquer all.

Lin Zhiqiang had been a general before he was chosen to rule over the city he had protected from outsiders when The Wars began. He was very successful in keeping the peace and prosperity in the Kingdom of Shanmai. But it was also the reason why he had turned greedy and plotted to invade other countries. He had been able to extend his dominion in all directions possible, making him an Emperor and his little kingdom turned into Shanmai Empire.

There was another emperor all the way in the west from the Heping Empire. In this Empire, most of the civilization had been preserved, life went on as usual. But outside its walls the world was a battlefield. Emperor Yang Yong found out about Emperor Zhiqiang's plan and decided to offer a treaty between them. The land was wide enough to fit two leaders. But for Emperor Zhiqiang, it was only him that could be the supreme ruler. He tried to invade Heping and failed.

Emperor Yang Yong decided that Emperor Zhiqiang had to be stopped. He brought all his men and slew the other emperor in battle. He took the daughter of Zhiqiang to make sure that the Shanmai Empire would never be a threat to the Heping Empire ever again.

Princess Yingyue lived in the peaceful land of Heping, alongside with the Emperor's children. She was raised as if she was the Emperor's own."

The scenery completely changed and now showed a black figure on top of a horse with a background of trees.

"On the night of the return of the third prince, Yang Qui, Princess Yingyue's uncle lead an invasion that threatened the walls that had protected Heping all these years. Prince Qui and Princess Yingyue fled to safety outside of the walls. In the small hiding place, they remained together. In the cold, they found warmth with each other. In hunger, they fed themselves with one another's company. In thirst, they drank each other's presence. In closed quarters, inevitably, they fell in love."

Tianshi Xue could only guess how her face was looking at the moment. She was fairly certain that she looked like she just stepped on dog poo.

The scene now changed into their marriage. There were three puppets representing them both and Doctor Jung.

"As their feelings burned, they decided to have a beautiful wedding in the woods." Blossoming flowers were added to the scene. There were small animals that bordered them together. Doctor Jung's puppet was removed as her and the prince's puppets leaned and kissed.

Okay, that certainly did not happen, she said in her mind.

The scene changed and there were a crowd of happy people and the silhouette of the palace loomed in the background.

"With the news of their wedding, the threat beating down the doors of Heping disappeared… possibly forever. Prince Qui and Princess Lin Yingyue returned to Heping as husband and wife. The whole land celebrated in joy for their union and the prospect of seeing only peace for the next generations to come. 

May the prince and the princess live a very long and happy life, and may they never forget the great gift that they had bestowed upon the lands of Heping and Shanmai."

Tianshi Xue was on the verge of laughter. Hell, she was not even the princess and yet her deeds were going to be written down in history books.

The people in the ballroom exploded in cheers and praises. The sound of applause was deafening and Tianshi Xue felt a sharp jab on her side and she glared at Prince Qui.

He nodded towards the stage and she was suddenly back in her senses. They had to see that she was happy with the adaptation of her life. She stood up from her seat and actually made herself shed a few tears which she quickly wiped away in between clapping her hands until they were sore. The puppeteers bowed in all directions with huge smiles on their faces before disappearing behind their stage.

"Did you like the show?" voiced Prince Xiaodan from his seat.

"It's delightful, my prince," she said.

And Prince Qui did not miss a beat, "They completely wrote you out, brother."

"Hmmm, I wonder why," replied Prince Xiaodan.

Before things escalate into something that would reset them back to zero, Tianshi Xue claimed both of their attentions. "Excuse me, I really need to go to the restroom."

"But your handmaiden is not here," Prince Qui protested.

"I'll be fine," she said and waved a nonchalant hand. 

"Let me come with you."

"No!" she said. "The bathroom's just here."

There was a separate bathroom for the royals in this ballroom anyway. She was going to be fine. Guards followed closely behind her as she walked but the moment that they saw the sign for the ladies room they stopped walking.

"Thank you," she said to them and did her business. Her bladder had been begging her even before the show started. She had been trying to keep the laughter to herself that it finally become unbearable.

Now, Tianshi Xue was too focused on making sure that she had not wet her dress that she had not noticed that the strand of beads on her ankle came undone.

The next step that she took sent her sprawling on the ground. Her head hit the floor that left her in blindness in a quick second. When she opened her eyes, she saw a blurry vision in front of her. 

There was an unmoving figure standing above her, way above her… it looked like they were looking down at her from… stairs?

In a sudden wave of panic with the unfamiliar vision, she sat up. Her eyes cleared and she breathe out in relief. She was still in the bathroom. She touched the back of her head and felt a small lump forming under her fingers.

She immediately recalled her vision.

She was definitely in a different place then. Was that one of her memories? But she could not remember anything with the same setting. She had never fallen down stairs in her whole life.

Or was it the princess'?

There were stairs… the princess had been in an accident on the stairs…

What if she did not fall?

What if someone pushed her?

What if that was how she died?

Tianshi Xue quickly got to her feet. She immediately felt dizzy and held on the walls for support. She knew what she had to do.

She was going to tell Prince Qui about everything, how this was not her body, how she had been pretending all the time, and how there was someone who probably wants the princess dead!

Yes, she was going to tell him no matter how crazy that would sound!

Tianshi Xue had just crossed the doorway of the bathroom when a sack had been placed on top of her head and all she could see was black.

Before she could even scream, a hand clamped on top of her mouth and something sweet entered her nose. "No, no, no, no… no… no…"

Then she slipped into unconsciousness.

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Author's Note for Premium:

First of all, thank you so much for reaching this point. I am very excited to start this new part of the journey in this book with you. We still have a long road ahead of us and I hope that you will stick with me to the end. Just a few notes to keep in mind:

~ EACH CHAPTER will cost 5 coins. Occasionally 6-8 coins. 

~ FILLER CHAPTERS with side characters might be labeled "can skip" so you don't waste your coins on characters you don't really care about. 

~ BONUS CHAPTERS are long ones. It could be priced around 8-10 coins each. It's usually filled with a flashback or a deleted scene of some sort. I don't recommend that you skip because some important information could be dropped there. But it's all up to you of course :)

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REMINDERS: (You will be redirected here in case you seem to forget)

1. English is my second language. If you notice grammatical and spelling errors, please do leave a comment and I will fix it.

2. Please leave CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms about the plot and characters. Let me know what you like and what you don't so we can improve more!

3. This book is slow-paced. Yes, you already saw how slow things could get in the past 80 chapters. ROMANCE is coming for the leads. *wink wink*

4. Please DO NOT BE RUDE in the comments section, if you do not like the book please have the courtesy to just leave.

I guess that's it! Now, let's read get that empress throne for Tianshi Xue <3< p>