THIRTY TWO

"Tell me who you are." Jiang Xi Yu asked in composed.

Sitting on the bed with Li Xi Shi, Jiang Xi Yu looked straight ahead to the woman who she only recognized in her modern time. She knew this woman had relations with Yu Han and Yu Mei since she remembered perfectly on Yu Han and Yu Mei's last court day, Jiang Xi Yu's sight caught her appearance far away behind the people there.

"You really lost all of your memories." The woman seemed satisfied with it. She crossed her hand on her chest then she leaned on the fragile looking wood table.

Seeing that, Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi fixed their setting pose on the bed. Their legs hung slightly above the ground as they sat on the edge of the bed. Their instinctive moves to fix their dress and also their pose might have irritated the woman.

"Noble women are indeed...highborn." The half turk woman commented.

Her slanted eyes stared at Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi. There was no more smirk on her long square face. On her pale skin appeared many reddish spots and it looked rough. She has many scars on her body and also her fingers were in bad shape.

Apparently that woman realized where Jiang Xi Yu's sight went. The half turk woman lowered her sight to check her own body and saw what she was wearing. When the half turk woman's sight went back to Jiang Xi Yu. She hissed furiously.

"Remember my name this time, you wench! My name is Pan Xi Yin." She straight away came towards Jiang Xi Yu with her pointy finger. "I was once Yu Han's personal maid. Did you forget her too? Your close friend who had her eyes on your lover back in Luoyang."

"I know all of you once were my close friends. I would even say we were best friends." Jiang Xi Yu lifted up her chin and did not back down when Pan Xi Yin ended up right in front of her face. She has no fear towards this harlot. "But my good fate and luck saved me from remembering such a betrayer. I only remember your face and forget everything else about you."

It appeared that answer burned up more hatred inside Pan Xi Yin's heart because Pan Xi Yin gripped Jiang Xi Yu at the rim of her neck line. Pan Xi Yin pulled Jiang Xi Yu to her face.

"I do think you run out of luck now because now I am in front of you to make you remember everything." Pan Xi Yin tried to pull open Jiang Xi Yu's clothes. Fortunately, Jiang Xi Yu saw this coming and she has her hands on top of Pan Xi Yin's hand. On her side, Li Xi Shi screamed out of shock and followed Jiang Xi Yu's struggle by trying to pull Pan Xi Yin's hands.

"I hate your attitude that always puts your pity on me. Your spoiled attitude makes me sick. Now is your time to feel what it is like to live a miserable life. You are no longer entitled to this expensive dress. Now I have power over you. Now I am the one who decides what you wear, when you rest, and what to do." She forced to undress Jiang Xi Yu. Meanwhile Jiang Xi Yu tried her best to keep Pan Xi Yin's hands from stripping off her clothes.

"You are an ungrateful commoner!" The soft mannered Li Xi Shi yelled at Pan Xi Yin. Even though Jiang Xi Yu was amazed at her loud remark, Jiang Xi Yu was in deep trouble as Pan Xi Yin had greater power over her.

"How dare you touch us?!" Then Li Xi Shi gave a loud slap onto Pan Xi Yin's face. The sound made Pan Xi Yin stopped and rounded her eyes and turned her gaze towards Li Xi Shi. She stomped her hand over Jiang Xi Yu and moved her hands fast enough to return the slap onto Li Xi Shi's face.

"I will educate you too, Gulun gongzhu." Pan Xi Yin warned Li Xi Shi and lifted her hand once again to give Li Xi Shi a second slap. Seeing that, Jiang Xi Yu quickly caught Pan Xi Yin's hand while she also pushed Li Xi Shi's body aside with her body.

The door once again squeaked open and from behind that door a tall fat figure appeared. "What happened here?"

Pan Tai Hao was stunned as he saw the scene before him. His older sister's hands got blocked by Jiang Xi Yu while Li Xi Shi rolled on the bed.

"Did they give you trouble, jie?", asked Pan Tai Hao as he approached the bed.

Jiang Xi Yu retreated and kept silent. Her mind was thinking what was the relation between the prisoner inside her dungeon with Pan Xi Yin and Pan Tai Hao.

"Yes, they did give me some trouble." Pan Xi Yi straightened her back and put her hands on her hips. She smirked in satisfaction as she got her brother as back up support. "I want to strip both of them from that expensive dress. They need to start being taught that their current position in life is not what it used to be. I want both of them to start wearing the peasants clothes."

"Which one do you want to teach first, jie?" Pan Tai Hao laughed at her sister's explanation. He eagerly nodded and he came to approach them.

"I personally suggest gulun gongzhu first because when I held her before, she felt soft in my arms." Pan Tai Hao showed how it was by hugging himself out. His perverted expression made Jiang Xi Yu feel disgusted. Li Xi Shi squealed in disgust since she realized she got touched by this man.

"Since I have to celebrate the day where I can finally reunite with my younger brother. I will let you enjoy your luck, Tai Hao." Then Pan Xi Yin grabbed Jiang Xi Yu's arms and pulled her until she stood on her foot.

Between her laugh, Pan Xi Yin dragged Jiang Xi Yu away from the bed, while Pan Tai Hao approached Li Xi Shi. Jiang Xi Yu could not stand properly since her lotus feet were not wearing any shoes. Somemore Pan Xi Yin dragged her so she could not help Li Xi Shi.

"Da jie! Da jie! Kick him!" Jiang Xi Yu shouted as she struggled to get loose from Pan Xi Yin.

Hearing that, Li Xi Shi did all she could, she lifted up both her legs and kicked towards Pan Tai Hao. With laughter and saliva that splashed out from his mouth, Pan Tai Hao easily caught Li Xi Shi's small legs. Instead of letting her calm down, Pan Tai Hao opened both legs wide and positioned himself between Li Xi Shi's legs.

From shouting to screaming, Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi were also crying. Both Pan Xi Yin and Pan Tai Hao laughed and kept doing their bad intentions. Might be because Pan Xi Yi got tired or she got an idea, Pan Xi Yin threw Jiang Xi Yu to the wall that was made from dirty sludge.

Luckily the walls were not too dense but a bit damp. Jiang Xi Yu only dropped down to the ground after she hit the wall. At that time she realized why the room has a strong goat smell. Apparently they made the walls of the room by mixing mud and goat dung.

From the ground she saw Pan Tai Hao start to pull Li Xi Shi's dress. Jiang Xi Yu did not care about the smell and the dirt anymore. She has to fight back and protect Li Xi Shi before Pan Tai Hao could touch Li Xi Shi.

"Don't ruin the dress, Tai Hao." Pan Xi Yin shouted from where she stood.

Pan Tai Hao turned around and Pan Xi Yin pointed at him full of warning. "The dress is mine so try not to ruin it by tearing it off her."

The fatso just nodded and grumbled as he turned back to Li Xi Shi. He said in the most perverted way he could. "Gulun gongzhu, I will do it as gently as I can. We do not want to make my sister angry, don't we."

The saliva dropped on Li Xi Shi's chest and made Li Xi Shi scream for help. Jiang Xi Yu tried to move fast by crawling as fast as she could. She thought she could grab Pan Tai Hao's foot so her hands were trying to reach the fat foot. But after her fingers brushed the back of Pan Tai Hao's feet, Pan Xi Yin was grabbing her hair violently.

"Your turn will be next, Xi Yu." Pan Xi Yin stopped Jiang Xi Yu from trying to help Li Xi Shi. Jiang Xi Yu's head got pulled up until Pan Xi Yin squatted down and their faces were again being close to each other.

Jiang Xi Yu used that moment to spat on Pan Xi Yin. It was too bad her saliva was only a little because she has not drank water for some time. But one thing she knew, her saliva must be a bit smelly. At least it was worth it to do.

Pan Xi Yin cursed at her. Before she even had a chance to clean her face, the door was once again squeaked open. The cramped room felt even more cramped when two men came in and found this semi-messy state.

One man was clearly an old farmer with an awkward look. His hands were dirty with dirt and he seemed embarrassed after finding Pan Xi Yin was squatting on the ground with hand grabbing Jiang Xi Yu's hair. The other was a young man with a lot of scars on his face and body. His face seemed familiar to Jiang Xi Yu.

"What is going on here?" The young man spoke in annoyance.

His low voice leaked his identity. Jiang Xi Yu recognized his voice as the man who sent chills to her bones and also abducted her. At that moment, the man no longer had a beard on his face. He even cut his hair very short.

Pan Xi Yin and Pan Tai Hao broke them away from Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi at the same time. While Pan Tai Hao seemed scared of that young man, Pan Xi Yin returned to her old self. She stood up and instantly acted pleasant.

"Their dress got into my liking. This lowly woman just wants the dress." Pan Xi Yin came close to the young man and became a completely different woman. Jiang Xi Yu did not want to watch her act any longer and continued to crawl to the bed as Li Xi Shi was crying and hugging herself to protect her body over Pan Tai Hao.

The old man who was shorter than Pan Xi Yin took a step forward and suddenly slapped Pan Xi Yin. The sound made Jiang Xi Yu turn to watch what just happened.

"I am sorry for my wife, warrior." The old man gathered his hands in front of his chest and bowed slightly to the young man. Seeing that, Jiang Xi Yu checked over at Pan Xi Yin who was touching her cheek and looked very embarrassed.

"Since the day I found and married her, she keeps bugging me about life in the big cities. My stupid wife has been a kept woman in a rich family before she got kick out. I believe she has an obsession for luxury goods." The old man was being sarcastic towards Pan Xi Yin who turned red because of embarrassment.

The young man did not reply to that at all. His eyes were fixed on Jiang Xi Yu.

"All of you wait outside." The young man said clearly. The trio beside Jiang Xi Yu and Li Xi Shi, exchanged glances to each other before realizing that the man spoke to them.

Pan Tai Hao walked past Jiang Xi Yu with difficulty because his body was heavy and big. The old man retreated behind the young muscular man and before he left, he grabbed Pan Xi Yin's wrist and dragged her with him.

Soon the room only heard the sound of Li Xi Shi crying. Jiang Xi Yu tried to get up on her feet but the young man caught her and brought her up easily.

"Who are you and why did you kidnap me and my jie jie?" asked Jiang Xi Yu after she stood on her feet.

The young man stared at her and said, "I am Ashina Helu. Your man caught me, so now I caught you."

When Jiang Xi Yu heard the name, her heart skipped a beat. So all this time, Li Fei Long has been keeping this barbaric man inside their fu without telling this matter to her. The man who had a big grudge against her husband was now taking revenge by taking Jiang Xi Yu away. Jiang Xi Yu started to imagine her life might be finished anytime soon.

***

For the first time since she was crowned as The Empress of the Xi Empire, not even once she attended an assembly alongside The Emperor. This time The Empress sat on the additional seat beside The Emperor's seat inside Xuanzheng Hall.

Only the four qinwang, The Grand Chancellor, The Minister of War and Defense, Imperial Guard Commander, Lou Che Fuma, and King Kan were there beside The Emperor and The Empress. The topic behind this small assembly was to further discuss the mission of finding Duan Wang Fei and Li Xi Shi gulun gonzhu.

"It has been two days but Li Xi Shi and Duan Wang Fei have not been found yet.", said The Emperor in anger. His voice echoed and sent a chill to everyone there.

The Imperial Guard Commander gathered his fist and bowed to The Emperor. "This Office had The Guards Corps look through all the parts of Imperial City and Capital City. Until now they are still on a search mission."

"How about the border, Commander? Any suspicious looking group of people?" The Grand Chancellor threw questions and sounded very concerned.

The Commander shook his head. "Soon after the security in the border got tightened and every activity across the border was strictly inspected even until now. Based on my investigation, besides the border guards allowing qinwang's personal guards and The Vanguards to passed in and out the borders, there are no suspicious activity which related to gulun gongzhu and Duan Wang Fei."

Duan Qin Wang stepped forward then gathered his fist together as bowed towards The Emperor. "Fuhuang, as erchen made a conjecture the very first time erchen reported this accident, erchen presumes that Ashina Helu got supported by people who betray their loyalty to the empire. Therefore, erchen asks permission to suggest a mission and also take part in the mission."

"What other missions have you prepared for?!" The Empress finally let out her voice. She was too worried over Li Xi Shi.

The Grand Chancellor responded to the question before Duan Qin Wang got the chance to answer it.

"Huang Shang, in my humble opinion, Duan Qin Wang must also be very much worried about the whereabouts of Duan Wang Fei. Therefore This Office suggests to let Duan Qin Wang to rest and leave this search effort for Duke of Lin and I to handle. Let Duke of Lin and I make a plan to bring home gulun gongzhu and Duan Wang Fei alive because emotionally attached to a case like this would bring emotional decisions that lead to nothing instead of finding both gulun gongzhu and Duan Wang Fei."

The atmosphere inside Xuanzheng Hall became tense because Duan Qin Wang dropped down to his knees and beseeched.

"Fuhuang, Duan Wang Fei and da jie are the two women who erchen cherishes. Time is running and discussing whether erchen should be included in this mission is just a waste of time."

Following Duan Qin Wang's action, Ning Qin Wang also dropped his knees on the ground. "Fuhuang, erchen's personal guards are still in search around neighboring towns and villages. Erchen believes that we need to involve many parties instead of relieving anyone who could help the search. All this time da ge is a calculating person. He always has a good way of thinking. We better discuss what else to do since Ashina Helu also has good sense and excels in strategies."

The Empress did not expect these words to come from Ning Qin Wang, the qin wang who was never serious in anything and never succeeded in all his endeavors. Even though he has high praise toward Duan Qin Wang, Ning Qin Wang also conveys the impression that Duan Qin Wang's ambition created this problem.

"Shèngshàng…" King Kan gave his respect toward The Emperor. "No one knows Ashina Helu better than I am. I believe his end goal is to return to his tribes and I also believe that Ashina Helu would not do any harm to both Duan Wang Fei and gulun gongzhou and will use them as bargaining tools."

"Does King Kan have an interest in this matter?" The Emperor asked him.

"Shèngshàng, I do have a plan in mind." King Kan slightly bowed. The Emperor nodded as a sign for him to continue on.

"Considering this matter is confidential to the public and that I have been here in the imperial city for quite some time, I would like to express my intention to return to the Northwest. As in the tradition where the groom will take the bride back to her maiden house on the third day of their marriage, Chen Qin Wang and Chen Wang Fei would join us back to the Northwest. As the relationship between Chen Wang Fu, Duan Wang Fu and Lou Che Fuma is very well known, it would not be a surprise if Shengshang give an order for these two households to accompany my departure to the Northwest. An order for inspections in the west and northwest areas after Duan Qin Wang and Lou Che Fuma accompanied us also sounded reasonable. Like this, Duan Qin Wang and Lou Che Fuma can enlarge the search scope in case Ashina Helu uses an unusual route to return to his tribes."

The Empress was satisfied with King Kan's explanation. In silence she paid attention towards all the men inside Xuanzheng Hall. Strangely, Rui Qin Wang seemed unhappy.

"Fuhuang, allow erchen to join this convoy…." Rui Qin Wang begged The Emperor.

His action made Duan Qin Wang and The Grand Chancellor's expressions change. The Empress realized by sitting on the Dragon Seat, The Emperor must have witnessed so many different acts from his subjects.

"Rui Wang Fei is carrying a child." The Grand Chancellor sounded irritated. "The winter is cold and Rui Wang Fei needs so much attention and care. It is not wise for Rui Qin Wang to leave Rui Wang Fu for an undetermined time."

"But.." Rui Qin Wang tried to argue but Duke of Lin cut his speech by stepping up the attention.

"King Kan's suggestion is the best we have to do right now. Meanwhile, This Official will arrange a wide search to the south as according to the information provided by our intelligence in the east, Ashina Helu did not have any ally that is possible to support him over there." Duke of Lin suggested.

The Emperor turned to his side. The Empress caught his sight. All these years they were together as husband and wife. They shared lives much deeper than a piece of love. Li Xi Shi was the only daughter they have together. The Empress failed to deliver sons for The Emperor but The Emperor never failed to care and love their only daughter. This time The Empress knew exactly what was behind the look. The Empress nodded at The Emperor.

The Emperor cleared his throat before saying, "King Kan, Zhen bid farewell and hoped for a prosperous relationship between The northwest states and the imperial. Along with it Zhen orders Duan Qin Wang and Lou Che Fuma to show the royal gratitude with leading the envoy to ensure King Kan and his envoy return safely."

All the men below The Dragon Seats quickly kneeled down beside King Kan. "Long Live The Emperor. Long Live The Empress."

***

Entering the palace that day, Han Yao Ying made a special visit to Huangji Hall where The Empress Dowager resided. By the time she arrived there, her mother, The Grand Princess Li Liang Rong was already there. Both of them were warming themselves and were in death silence when she entered the hall.

All the windows got covered to block the cold winter. A warm pastry was prepared on each side table and a coal burner was placed close to each chair to warm the three of them.

It was her who requested this audience. The matter that involved Duan Wang Fei and gulun gongzhu, has created a big argument between her and Li Qing Feng. Han Yao Ying needed The Grand Princess and The Empress Dowager to help solve it for her.

After she took her seat, Han Yao Ying waved at her yahuan to leave the hall. The Empress Dowager's close attendants were waiting outside the hall, in the middle of the coldness. Han Yao Ying commanded the same thing towards her maids.

"Yao Ying, you should rest and take good care of your pregnancy. The weather is getting colder each day. The snow is getting thicker. It is not good for your pregnancy if you spend a lot of time in the cold." The Empress Dowager's eyes stared at her belly as if she could communicate with the baby inside her.

Han Yao Ying sighed and did not wait any longer to complain about her life. "Taihou, I have to request this audience since I just had a huge argument with Qing Feng."

"You cannot ask for an audience like this every time you have an argument with your husband, Yao Ying." Li Liang Rong strictly warned her. Her mother took the warm cup next to her and sipped it a bit.

"Mother, Qing Feng insisted on joining the mission to the west to search for Duan Wang Fei and Li Xi Shi. I am pregnant and he prefers to leave me. What will the public say later if they hear Rui Qin Wang is joining King Kan back to the northwest while Rui Wang Fei is pregnant? In addition to that Li Qing Feng dares to request support from Shu Gui Fei to help search Duan Wang Fei's whereabouts." Han Yao Ying complained. Her voice rose up as she clearly showed her anger.

The Empress Dowager added, "Aijia heard the situation inside Zhong Jing Hall is not getting any better. With Duan Qin Wang leaving the imperial city and the report about Duan Wang Fei being kidnapped once again, Aijia makes a blunt prediction that Jing Gui Fei will not stay with us much longer. When it happens, Shu Gui Fei will have no other rival inside the hougong."

Han Yao Ying had no patience and spoke her mind freely. "With everyone leaving their post, father and you, mother, can easily run your backup plan."

Hearing that, Li Liang Rong put her cup a bit rougher. She bugged out at Han Yao Ying because her daughter dared to speak that sensitive plan casually.

"We do not even know that Li Fei Long has been keeping Ashina Helu at his own fu. That barbaric can escape that easily and even can abducted Duan Wang Fei and Li Xi Shi. Do you think that barbaric can do it by himself?! There must be someone helping him and it is not us. Taking advantage of this incident is a bad decision for us." Li Liang Rong sounded stern at Han Yao Ying.

"Mentioning our sensitive plan casually is a bad move for you, Yao Ying. Learn to sort things first before you open your mouth." She continued to warn her daughter with an even lower voice.

Han Yao Ying could not say any words to reply to her mother. She just made her own mother angry at her. But Han Yao Ying admitted, her mother was brilliant to come up with conclusion like that.