A Marriage In Disguise

"Inform the Defense Ministry that I'll not be able to go to the training camp this morning, instead I'll be visiting there later in the afternoon." Sitting on the frame of the moon window, I ordered, gazing into the breathtaking sight of my garden.

Not receiving a response, my lips couldn't help but twitch. Well, putting that aside...

My eyes shifted down into a contemplating stare.

I thought back to the disturbing situation at hand. I wouldn't have to be so concerned right now if the holy jade hadn't been placed in my hands along with a set of rules and regulations that were specifically arranged for me. That aside, there were commitment and conduct rules passed down by our ancestors which were to be followed by both the Emperor and I.

There was no way I could refuse the ownership of the amulet either since the decision was irreversible. The amulet would be in my hands until my death, whether I like it or not.

It was a first for Xu Lin's history to have an outsider take this privilege. Added to that, I was a prince of another country. Therefore, some of the high ranking court officials who had earlier supported me were eventually starting to feel skeptical. Though, all I knew was that I had neither an emotional or physical connection with the Su nation other than their genesis running in my blood.

It's actually very natural to feel more insecure when the said man happens to hold greater power and authority than he originally should. And to make it worse, knowing their beloved jade was in the hands of their neighboring country's formidable prince, its equal to giving Su Empire, one of the smallest kingdoms, half the land, and authority to Xu Lin. Therefore, with the permission of the young Emperor, they decided to prepare a list of rules, aside from the commitment and conduct rules, to make sure I don't take advantage of this golden opportunity. Thus, I was very much concerned with one of the main rules that was written on the bamboo scroll,

**Confinement for a week due to irresponsibility and failure in protecting the sacred amulet. If not found within a week, thee shall be bestowed punishment of three hundred and fifty strikes per week until the recovery of the jade.**

I felt an incoming headache...

The first thought that came into my head... Unreasonable and absurd. After all, it was an open fact that the jade had been lost or in other words "stolen" innumerable times for the past decades.

Even if certain countries knew to constantly ridicule us for our beliefs, they were still curious cats wanting to know whether there was truly an extraordinary power within the jade. If so, they wanted to use it to thrive to the top. They were power-hungry, and they wanted to figure out the secret behind Xu Lin's continuous success, which was their main goal even if in the end it was something they considered as absolutely irrational.

However, no matter how many times they stole the jade, they were never able to take it past the Xu Lin borders. Those who stole it were doomed to face misfortune. And the jade would return back to its owner unharmed, like an invisible thread that pulled the jade to its rightful owner no matter what circumstances it faced. The more this situation occurred the more it proved that there was indeed something mystical about the jade.

One of the most recent stories that circulated around was the tale of the left prime minister of the Qing Empire, Cai Ding. He too was sent by his Emperor with an important mission to steal the holy jade. He had then successfully befriended Xu Lin's Emperor at the time and was able to get the jade right under his nose. But when arriving at the border, the horses had strongly refused to proceed forward leaving Cai Ding utterly frustrated. Cai Ding who attempted several times to move the horse himself had to give up at the end. He had no choice but to walk over to the other side of the border with the jade in his hands, only to die by a heart attack at such a young age. His companion who similarly tried to get past the borders was killed by a group of bandits who raided their carriages.

When the jade finally fell into the hands of the bandits, not knowing the true value of the jade, they decided to sell it to the black market in return for a fortune. A noble who recognized the jade was shocked and prayed the bandits wouldn't find out the priceless treasure they were holding onto. Despite dealing with the black market the nobleman knew the consequences an ordinary person had to deal if they held onto the jade due to greed. Many Xu Lin citizens clearly knew the disasters it may cause to a person's life if the jade wasn't at the possession of its rightful owner. So he quickly pulled out a heavy load of gold in exchange for the jade. The rest of the story was easy to figure out. This story may seem decent and believable, however, there happened to be countless questionable stories out there too.

As ridiculous as it may sound, there was a very interesting story describing an Emperor who lost his amulet during a dear hunt. He desired the jade so much that he never parted from the amulet even during baths or pleasure activities. As a result, he ended up carelessly losing it during a hunt. The funny thing was, four days later during a night feast the Emperor found out that he almost ate the jade along with the fish that was served. It was still deeply concerning as to how a fish, even though large in size, was able to swallow the huge jade with its little mouth or how the jade even ended up in the water despite losing it in the hunting grounds that was miles away. Anyway, this happened to be the very reason the jade was now kept in confinement, in order to prevent from carelessly losing it once again.

Maybe they were all baseless stories... No one would know the truth. These stories had been passed down by our ancestors. It was deemed to have twists and turns that could partly contain the truth while also partly containing some made-up lies.

Though, regarding its mystical powers, I couldn't help but admit that there might be something miraculous happening unbeknownst to the eyes of the ordinary. I couldn't shake off the strange feeling I kept having whenever I fought on the battlefield. It's as if someone or rather something was holding me in place without letting me lose my footing. Like an invisible force was closely watching and shielding me. Along with that force comes a great deal of mental and physical strength, but more importantly the raw power to intimidate the opponent and infuse fear within their hearts...

It's as if... I was above all humans... This sort of thought had started to invade my mind since the day I was officially and publicly announced as an owner of the holy jade.

Seven days after the late Emperor's death, the Imperial Palace held the coronation of the new Emperor. On the same day, at the main entrance of the Imperial Palace, a public ceremony was held, presenting the sacred amulet to the Xu Lin citizens. It was a tradition performed whenever the amulet was passed down to the next successor.

The High Priest commenced the ceremony with two goblets of holy water in his hands, offering them to the heavens. He then announced the owners of the amulet to the public which in return stunned them, yet they dared to say a word on the decision. They could only complain and question the doubts in their hearts.

When our names were revealed, the booming sound of the drums echoed in the vicinity as the Emperor and I, dressed in fiery red robes, walked hand in hand and greeted the people. They immediately kneeled and chanted the customary greeting three times, sending goosebumps across my body. The thousands of voices could almost reach the depths of heaven. Somehow, I felt really proud of myself. At that time, I couldn't help but lift the corners of my lips into a gentle smile.

The High Priest requested us to stand at the center of the podium, our backs facing the sea of people. Down below the long stretch of stairs, people curiously stared at our tiny figures as we completed the ceremony. Since it could take almost sixty to seventy years for them to personally experience this ceremony again, the number of citizens gathering to witness the once-in-a-life-time occasion was huge.

There was a long process of the High priest reciting prayers, blessing the Emperor and I. Next, in the name of peace, protection, and prosperity, the Emperor and I connected the two halves of the amulet placing it into a golden crafted jade display stand. The two goblets were then handed over to us by the High Priest. After saying our vows, the two of us had to feed the holy water to each other. The action of feeding symbolized dependence, loyalty, trust, empathy and... Affection.

The people had their jaws dropped at this action since no Emperor would be intimate to anyone other than his wives and mother. The Emperor and I too had turned stiff while proceeding the ceremony like a pair of puppets. We hadn't been informed on the change of events, therefore we were expecting the traditional ceremony where we only say our vows and exchange the holy water.

I guess at least it was considered tolerable compared to what came next.

At the final step of the ceremony, we were told to bow down twice to one another. The first bow was to heaven and earth, where we had to show our respect to the gods and ancestors. The second bow was representing the respect we hold for the other person and it was a sign of equal power and authority.

When the High Priest announced this, not only the people gasped in utter shock but also behind the beads of his crown, His Majesty had his expression twisted in confusion and anger. His dark eyes were piercing the High Priest demanding an immediate explanation. I was no better, maybe worse. An Emperor who was known as the Son of Heaven, holds the highest position in the nation, was bowing down to me? And moreover something like bowing to the heaven and earth... Wasn't all this usually a custom during a marriage ceremony?

I almost stumbled on my feet hearing these unexpected words coming out of the High Priest's mouth. I too had lightly narrowed my eyes at the culprit wondering what he was up to.

There were so many emotions mingling in my heart. Happiness, excitement, doubt, anger, sorrow, and guilt... But the one that stood out the most was happiness. This feeling of extreme closeness with His Majesty filled my heart in complete bliss. If it wasn't for the fact His Majesty held a nonchalant face throughout the ceremony as if it had nothing to do with him, I wouldn't have felt so guilty.

Usually, in a marriage ceremony, it requires the husband and wife to bow to each other three times. Each bow was a form of respect to heaven and earth, to parents and to each other. It was considered a unique custom and a rite before the final step to tying the knot in the marriage. I secretly had to pray hoping the High Priest wouldn't tell us to cut a lock of our hair and put it inside the pouch. In the final step of the marriage ceremony, the groom and bride will both cut a curl of their hair off, tying a knot with it and placing it into a brocade pouch where it shall be kept with the bride. This ritual was a symbol for their bonding both body and soul and the determination of sharing each other's life despite joy or sorrow.

I sighed in relief when the High Priest decided to end the ceremony.

Wasn't this simply a marriage ceremony in disguise, even having to wear red robes? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

After the ceremony had ended I immediately questioned the High Priest,

"Venerable Cheng, why had the process of the ceremony changed so drastically?"

His Majesty looked hesitant to mention the word marriage so he kept quiet. I'd never seen him look so conflicted...

The High Priest took a glance at me who was patiently waiting for an answer and his sight shifted to the Emperor.

"The act of bowing down to the heaven and earth is a form of gratitude to the Lord of Heaven and Lord of Earth, whom your life will be reliant on. Is this world only consistent with marriage partners? Then what about the loners, what about the souls that are free of worldly desires? Aren't they all reliant on heaven and earth and their blessings? It is very important for a ruler to have their blessings. Has not the previous Emperors performed this act before?"

"..."

"As for the feeding of holy water, it is seen as the most modest gesture for bonding between two people. You need to be one soul, feel each other's pain and happiness. Learn to bow down to each other. Let no one come between you."

"...."

He gave a meaningful smile to both of us and nodded gently with closed eyes and his right palm raised towards us,

"*Amitabha."

"......"

It was clear as to what he meant. Do not ponder on insignificant things. What's important now was building up the trust we had lost and on creating a special bond. It was very crucial when two people run an Empire.

(*Amitabha- It can be a greeting, a salutation, a blessing, or it can mean "please" or "I'm sorry." You can use it to express anything from your heart. Venerable Cheng simply blessed them.)

"Ah, it's just a rock. As long as we don't expose ourselves we could just pretend we are on good terms and get over with this weird ceremony." Is what we thought even after Venerable Cheng's heartfelt advise. But soon we came to realize the jade wasn't just a simple stone as we had assumed. The High Priest wasn't joking after all when he warned us to treat the jade as a living person.

The first ceremony we held had ended peacefully. But the bright blue sky had unexpectedly turned dark grey, rain pouring heavily into the vast land of Xu Lin as if the gods had truly heard our prayers and blessed us. However, we simply saw it as a mere coincidence since neither the Emperor nor I believed in superstitious things despite the entire nation thinking otherwise.

A year later when war erupted from the North, we held our second ceremony to bless the Xu Lin army before setting off to war. Each time Xu Lin was facing a dire situation, the Imperial Palace will hold this ceremony in order to receive heaven's blessings, but it was not held in public.

Miraculously just like the first time, right after the ceremony had ended, it had rained for a week, similar to our first ceremony. For Xu Lin, it was a miracle indeed, since it had not been raining for three whole months. His Majesty and I were obviously dumbfounded with how things had turned out and had no choice but to believe that there was some truth in the mythical stories of Xu Lin. Though His Majesty recovered rather quickly, I was in a trance for three whole days unable to absorb what was happening, still trying to reason out that it might be another coincidence. But all in all, after holding onto the jade for many years it was no longer deniable. Perhaps it was due to this that I was able to quickly adapt to the fact I was reborn.

And here I was trying to think things through and figure out an opening into the matter at hand.

Who can be courageous enough to touch the Imperial Twin Dragon amulet? It had to be someone who knew the whereabouts of it too. It might be as Du Xi previously suspected. And he happened to be the only one who knew where it was. Also during my last moments, through my own eyes, I saw it in his hands.

But... He wasn't the type to play dirty. If he wanted me dead, he would fight me head on head. Not scheme. Definitely not something so pathetic.

I trust him.

I steeled my heart and voiced out, "His Majesty wouldn't do something so lowly. Those who scheme are those who live in greed, hatred, and jealousy but of all, they live their lives in fear of those around them. They are weak. He is no such person."

He was never afraid. He worries about the country, he's alert and that's why he tends to be aware of me who happened to be the prime suspect. Fear? That had to be the joke of the decade. Shouldn't I be the one to fear him with how ruthless and undefeatable he was?

Du Xi looked into my eyes. I knew what he meant.

I shook my head looking stern. He sighed, waiting for my orders.

When I leave to war, my jade would be in the possession of His Majesty. He would return it once I come back. That's how it had been this time too and I had safely put the jade back to the box.

"Hmm just check if there were people who mysteriously died in the past two weeks at the borders or maybe they must have been killed." I knew I was crazy believing all those ancient stories but I had to rely on my knowledge in them to get a track on the jade. I hope it would be helpful. But that's unless those stories were true.

"I need time to gather my thoughts on this. There's too much going on, but I think they all connect into one big picture. Anyway, you can head to the training camp now."

Du Xi nodded and turned to leave, but I quickly ordered him, "Wait."

I walked closer to him, a smile hung on my lips. I approached him so close that he felt my breath on his ear,

"Next time, I need you to reply to me when I say something. Do not forget your place, Deputy General."

And with one swift move, he fell down, his butt landing on the wooden floor with a loud thud sound. He was now staring daggers at me.

"Oh, my leg slipped," I muttered nonchalantly.

"..."