the Peony Hairpin

"Impossible ..."

"Impossible!" Weiheng said.

"What's impossible?" said Wenhua who had returned. He looked slightly curiously at his little brother who was acting strangely like he had just eaten a poisonous fruit giving it an illusory effect.

Weiheng turned his head and immediately pulled Wenhua over to hear his words, "Brother you won't believe it! Your Majesty...'

"Speak calmly" Wenhua said covering Weiheng's mouth before he let him go back to talk.

"Your Majesty proposed to the girl!"

"What?. Proposing what?. Say it clearly, don't be half-hearted like that" explained Wenhua who was always annoyed when someone spoke half-heartedly and rambling on his because it was a waste of time.

"The girl at the jade lake this afternoon-"

"Alright. Forget about it, I have more important things for you to tell Your Majesty" Wenhua cut in with a serious face as he remembered what he wanted to say after Weiheng said about the jade lake.

When he saw his brother's serious face, Weiheng immediately became serious. He knows the time when he has to acting and acts naturally as his identity is hidden along with his brother's identity. They will not forget the events of five years ago that made them have to change faces and even have to be vigilant in their own homes. There is much for them to do to take back what is rightfully theirs.

"There are more victims around Yue Lan spring" Wenhua said to Weiheng after that he left again because he still had to continue his investigation of what had happened recently in Yue Lan's eyes who continued to have corpses around him without anyone knowing what which was happening because even Yue Lan's spring looked calm without having any beasts that harmed the residents living in the vicinity.

Weiheng understood, and immediately headed for the pavilion of the Li Xi emperor's room to convey the important information that had been assigned.

Weiheng knocked on the door and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I have something to tell you," Weiheng said.

Chunyin certainly heard it. Although he still didn't know what he wanted to say, he let Weiheng in because it seemed that what he wanted to say was important and quite secret.

"Come in"

Weiheng quietly opened the door and stepped lightly without making any noise in the silent night. Only Li Xi knew that his two personal knights were also very skilled assassins. They came silently and left without leaving a trace, so Li Xi dubbed the two as snow owls, but those who didn't know only called them ghosts.

"Your Majesty, in Yue Lan's spring there is yet another victim. Brother Wenhua had already secured the body and made sure no one was looking. We will also make announcements as usual later so that people don't worry," Weiheng said in a half whisper.

Chunyin racked his brains fiercely. He didn't know what Weiheng was talking about, but he got a hint when he recalled his past where there was a strange occurrence in his jade lake which also had a victim every thirteenth night and it lasted for five consecutive months. Chunyin thought, did the same strange thing happen in the Li Empire? if so, that would mean the Li empire seemed to be covering up this strange incident tightly because nothing and the slightest rumor reached the Feng empire.

In the past, Chunyin closed the case after there were no more victims. But after hearing this, Chunyin wanted to investigate again because after all it was quite strange, even though the residents at that time only speculated that the victim was a victim of a water ghost who might inhabit the jade lake because after several residents performed the ritual, there were no more victims. that fell. That's why Chunyin also joined in closing the case because he also didn't want to raise a problem that worried the citizens.

The next night, Chunyin went to sneak into the Feng empire to see if what happened last time happened again?

Chunyin sighed, "why should I have a personal knight?, troublesome" Chunyin thought. He glanced back every now and then to see Weiheng who still faithfully followed Chunyin wherever he went.

Chunyin himself always preferred to walk alone anywhere unless there was a special occasion, then he would ask some soldiers to accompany his. Everyone in the Feng empire knew that, so no one dared to approach the emperor before being asked. But this time there was a scene that made Chunyin wonder when she had managed to enter Long Feng's palace.

"A-concubine?!"

Chunyin was stupidly surprised.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?, why did you stop?" asked Weiheng who again saw the strange behavior of his master. While waiting for an answer, Weiheng again made his own judgment if what he thought might be true. His infiltration of the Feng empire itself had a purpose other than investigation.

"Is that the servant girl?" Weiheng thought. He thought back to Chunyin giving a hairpin to a servant girl.

There is a unique tradition passed down in the Li empire that still has blood ties to the descendants of the sky clan. Namely about the way they express their feelings to someone they like. Giving a hairpin means that the person has an interest in proposing to her.

The hairpin itself became a symbol of honor for the sky clan. For the royal family, hairpins are a support for the crown so it doesn't fall off. And because of its function, the hairpin has become a symbol of honor that cannot be touched carelessly. So if someone gives a hairpin of his it indicates if he wants to give honor and in other words it can also mean if that person wants to propose. Although gradually it was not only for the royal family, it had also become the tradition of all the people of the Li empire with slight changes.

Since the jade hairpin was a very expensive thing, the common man would only use that type if he really wanted to marry the person to whom he was given the hairpin, it could be said as a wedding gift as well as the bride and groom would exchange jade hairpins with each other. Unlike the usual hairpins whose purpose is only as a statement of feelings that can be accepted or not.

Weiheng recalled, back then his master didn't give a jade hairpin but a silver hairpin to the servant girl, meaning "Your Majesty is only interested in her, not wanting to propose to her..." Weiheng murmured a little relieved. After all, it was impossible for a royal person to marry an ordinary girl, let alone a servant of low status, plus she was from the Feng empire.

"Heaven and earth will not be able to unite" Weiheng thought remembering that the earth clan and sky clan had always had taboos and never got along.

"I'd better build a parapet. I'll go see the servant girl later" Weiheng thought. He didn't want anything complicated to happen between the two empires so he planned to give An Jia Li a warning not to go any further to be with Emperor Li.

Weiheng was still faithfully trailing behind Chunyin and again he was astonished, "Why does Your Majesty Li seem to have memorized every corner of this Long Feng palace?" thought Weiheng who couldn't help but think about his master's slightly different behavior the last three days. He wasn't even told what his master's plan was to infiltrate Long Feng's palace for what purpose?.

Chunyin walked sneakily, of course he still had to be careful of the soldiers on patrol because he didn't want to cause a ruckus. Long Feng Palace was always quiet at all times, but that didn't mean there was no guard because all the special soldiers with sharp eyes had been stationed at certain points to guard the palace very strictly.

"Your Majesty-"

"You better not make a sound if you don't want to get into the trap array," said Chunyin, who of course knew very well the security system in her Long Feng palace.

Weiheng simply nodded in understanding, "Since when did Your Majesty Li become such a meticulous person?" Weiheng thought, and again he could only attribute his master's strange behavior to falling in love with the servant girl. Weiheng understands that feeling very well because he has also fallen in love even though he has forgotten who he was in love with to the point of being stupid and acting strangely like he is not.

"Eactly what does Your Majesty Li want to do?"

"Concubine ... why don't I remember that I once had a concubine" Chunyin thought as she thought about the whereabouts of the concubine she saw earlier. "No," he continued. Chunyin realized that something was up. As long as his memory is still muddled, things will become unclear. Due to Chunyin's memory loss about the novels she wrote, she doesn't know which stories are real and which are fiction.

Put that aside. Chunyin tried to enter the royal archives room to check if there were any new records coming in about strange things happening in the jade lake. And as expected everything was still the same in his memory that he could remember. Chunyin could easily enter the file room using a special door that she used to use for herself when conducting personal investigations.

Right. Chunyin is someone who likes to do things alone. He had to have his own private space to think before he could finally discuss with the other ministers and elders.

***

Meanwhile, Concubine Zhi Yang had come out and ordered to return An Jia Li to her room because she didn't want Emperor Feng to find out that he had tortured the ignorant maid, even though her torture was delayed because An Jia Li fainted.

Concubine Zhi Yang's annoyance seemed endless after she discovered that there was a pretty hairpin on An Jia Li's belt. Of course concubine Zhi Yang thought the hairpin was a gift from Emperor Feng so she took it.

"An ignorant servant like you doesn't deserve to use this silver hairpin" Concubine Zhi Yang muttered to An Jia Li who was already half conscious but didn't want to wake up because she would definitely bring him back to the prison.

Even though it's sad. An Jia Li couldn't help but surrender when the hairpin given by Chunyin was taken and brought by concubine Zhi Yang.