A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 17

This early morning, did a ship pull into the harbor of the Xie Kingdom. The insignia engraved onto the side of the ship was of a magnificent stallion that stood on its hind legs as the front hit against the air. This belonged to Xie Kingdom's allied partner, the Ra Nation, known for their horse riders.

As the gangway was laid to connect the ship to the pier, there, followed men dressed in fine robes.

Running as fast as he could in his black attire, Crown Prince Xin Hua finally reached the palace gates that began to open. Standing behind the gates, were a number of men who rode their mighty beasts and entered the moment they opened. Xin Hua couldn't help but smile in glee upon their presence as one individual jumped off their horse.

A short bow, the man spoke, "Greetings, Crown Prince Xin Hua."

The Crown Prince returned the same gesture, "Greetings, Prince Ren Huiliang." he was his longtime friend since childhood and now.

As the two walked about the palace grounds, they simply caught up on one another's lives and past events that came to mind. Here, the foreign prince was still concerned about his friend's well-being considering his loss.

"So, how are you doing?" Ren Huiliang asked the Crown Prince.

He seemed to hesitate, "....Fine, how about you?"

Ren Huiliang did not answer his question, and instead questioned him. "Are you okay?" He always gave ear to his problems, and wasn't one to idly sit by when a friend needed someone to talk to.

At this, Xin Hua gave a light sigh before then turning to look at Ren Huiliang. "About Lian Song, I am indeed saddened by her death but for some reason it didn't hurt so much..... I thought that I would fall into a pit of nothingness yet I did not."

"What do you mean?"

A frown came upon his lips, "I don't know.......when I think about her death it pains me knowing that she is no longer here. It hurts my mind but not my heart."

This rose a brow on the foreign prince, "How about your wife?" speaking of Crown Princess Lian Yu.

Xin Hua gave an awkward chuckle, "As for that, I also do not know."

"Something wrong?"

Just remembering what he did to her was not a pleasant memory. "I feel horrible." the start. "When I first met her, I threw everything at her, but with the recent events.....it made me question everything. What happened to her and is she okay?" He wanted to know the story behind the misery that followed her.

"Does your heart say something about her that it didn't with Lian Song?" he knew this question was rather absurd, but said it anyway.

Xin Hua laughed hearing such, "There's nothing, of course. I don't even know her very well."

Ren Huiliang huffed with a short frown, "You didn't know Lian Song either." Those words caused him to think about something that never occurred to him before, and it brought upon confusion.

Did he really know Lian Song? Ever?

Arriving at the day of break, Ru Mingyu opened the doors to his father's study, Clan Leader and General Ru Yan. Already sitting at his desk despite this early time of the day, the young man came before him with a solemn expression.

"Greetings, father." home at long last.

Setting aside the many reports he was reading, he turned to his son and stood to pat his shoulder. If he was being honest, he was quite awkward with him as sometimes he didn't know what to do or say when it was just the two.

"I'm glad you returned safely."

Seated across one another, the General began. "Your position of being the Crown Prince's sparring partner has been changed to being his personal guard by my word. This will only be for a while."

Somewhat surprised by this shift, he asked for the reason. "Has something happened?" He wanted to know at least a fraction of the information that's always been withheld from him since he was a child. 

"The foreign prince that you wrote to be arriving, was Prince Ren Huiliang." not even he, nor any of the Three Great Noble Clan Leaders were aware of this. It was likely that only the king and the Crown Prince knew but did not mention it.

A short bow, Ru Mingyu showed his gratitude on his given position. "I will protect the Crown Prince to the utmost of my ability." and without fail.

Handing the emblem of the shield, it signified the mark of the Crown Prince's protector. Only one such person was able to hold this piece.

Hands outstretched, the young man received it with the greatest honor.

"I've notified the king of this matter, however we will not take action." his eyes narrowed. "The rumor of the Ra Nation can threaten everything."

And everyone they love.
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