Chapter Two.

After Emperor Yan left,the ministers turned to the eunuch to seek clarification.

"Distinguished Ministers,please maintain silence,"the eunuch politely requested before revealing Emperor Yan's instructions. Emperor Yan had instructed the eunuch to conduct some sort of voting exercise where the ministers would raise their hands if they wanted one of the two mentioned princes to go. As expected,a significant number proposed Yan Yu to go. So after the voting exercise,the Ministers left each having mixed feelings.The eunuch went to Emperor Yan's study room to report the outcome of the voting exercise.

"Who did those sly foxes suggest ?"Emperor Yan asked with a disgusted look on his face.

The eunuch bowed,"Replying to Your Majesty,they suggested His Highness the Eighth Prince to go."

"I will let them have their way this time."

Emperor Yan drafted an Imperial Edict and asked the eunuch to send it to the Empress' residence. Since the princes were young,they stayed at the same residence as their mothers. The four princes were having a meal when the eunuch arrived. Empress Wan was in her room taking tea while reading a book. One of the maids quickly summoned her. The eunuch read out aloud the content of the Imperial Edict and handed it over to Empress Wan. Empress Wan got shocked and furious but she hid it. In such a society,it was no use to express her feelings. Yan Yu's elder brothers proceeded to ask Empress Wan to reread the Imperial Edict as it sounded unbelievable to them but Yan Yu had heard it clearly. The victim knows what pain he suffers from the most. Yan Yu was the youngest but he was adept at many things and hot tempered at the same time. He immediately stopped eating and ran to his room and locked himself.

For several hours,he didn't come out of his room. Empress Wan had the servants try to break in. Based on his temper,this kid would end his life rather than suffer the humiliation. Whenever he got bullied,he would try every possible way to win the fight. Most of his victims ended up being left with marks of his small sized teeth. Unlike other princes,at the age of four,he was already good-looking and whenever he smiled he had a cute boxy smile and the palace maids favoured him for that.

When the servants broke into his room they searched around for his traces,others looked up to see if he might have hidden somewhere. The kid was there, seated at the corner hugging his knees pitifully. Empress Wan entered the room shortly after and was heartbroken at the sight of his pitiful son. Empress Wan knew his soft spot. She got him shadow puppets to play with to at least lift his mood.

When the next court meeting was held, Emperor Yan issued an oral edict of the ones who were supposed to safely escort Yan Yu to the Qijun State.Emperor Yan had sent a letter to the Qijun Emperor to inform him about taking in the hostage prince. Since he had received an agreement letter from the Qijun Emperor,it was only a matter of days to solve the bigger issue.It would take approximately fourteen days to travel from Yunshan Metropolis,the capital of Zhenyan State to Tianyu City,the capital of Qijun State.

Emperor Yan appointed an envoy of five people to accompany Yan Yu to the Qijun State;Minister Bai Que to carry out the negotiations in the Qijun State,Minister Feng Buyi of Finance to back him up,one eunuch to serve them during their journey and two palace guards for security. As the day of departure got nearer, Yan Yu thought of all possible to escape this nightmare that kept haunting him every time. What was even worse, the other princes kept teasing him about it. Even the palace maids who initially favoured him began gossiping about him. Some claimed the emperor wasn't his biological father so that's why he discarded him like trash to suffer in a foreign country.

On the day of departure,the members of the envoy reported at the palace to pick up the prince. The carriage was ready, Emperor Yan sent the eunuch to supervise the departure alongside a few other ministers. It didn't take long before the news of Yan Yu's disappearance circulated throughout the whole palace. Empress Wan was suspected to have helped him hide so she was immediately summoned by the emperor. The envoy had to see the emperor for further instructions. Empress Wan kneeled there begging for Emperor Yan's sympathy to spare his son. And if possible to send one of the older princes instead of Yan Yu. This was the more reason they suspected she was behind Yan Yu's disappearance. Emperor Yan had no compassion towards his wives. He didn't see them as humans. Empress Wan degraded herself to gain sympathy for her son. Emperor Yan was beginning to lose his patience and the ministers kept inciting him to pressure Empress Wan to confess. Emperor Yan called the guards in to take her away. As commanded,the guards rushed in to capture her.

"Where are you taking my mother?"a domineering voice of a young boy came from outside. The owner of the voice walked in heroically gaining attention fromm everyone.