The Devil of Scarlet Rain

Chapter 45 - The Immortal Flame (Part 1)

How long has it been?

It was probably about fifteen years ago... when he met her for the first time.

Jing Yun Sheng was just sixteen years old at that time. He was at the peak of his life. He was the head of the prestigious Jing clan leader, and the prime minister of the Mo Empire. To attain such achievement at such a young age, Jing Yun Sheng had seen much more than people twice his age, hence he had never thought that anything, nor anyone could ever intrigue him... until the moment he laid his eyes on her.

The scarlet red figure that flew down from the high stage like an immortal flame descending onto the mortal world, burning everything in its path, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.

*Flashback*

Jing Yun Sheng threw the invitation cards on the table, as he instructed the servant by his side, "Tell them I am busy attending to the Yin ambassador and will have no time to attend to their invitation."

The servant nodded in acknowledgement, and quickly picked up a stack of invitation cards on the table before retreating from the study room. Young Lian Xi, who was barely eleven years old quickly served up a cup of tea to her agitated young master.

"Who had provoked you this time?"

Jing Yun Sheng turned to look the doorway. The frown on his face eased imperceptibly when he saw the beautiful young lady standing at the entrance. She was wearing a dark purple dress embroidered with gold azaleas, which was a stark contrast to her fair and delicate skin. Her long black hair fluttered gently in the noon breeze as she smiled brightly at him. The sight of her brought a small smile to Jing Yun Sheng's face.

"Ah, you are here, Yi Er."

Yang Yi strode into the study room and took a seat by the round table in front of his desk. Lian Xi quickly went forward and poured a cup of tea for Yang Yi.

"Lady Yang Yi, you did not know, but these few days, the Noble Consort Gui, Noble Consort Chen and even the first and second prince have been sending invitations to invite Master for a meet up. No matter how many times Master rejected them, they still keep pestering him!" Lian Xi complained, feeling vexed on behalf of her master.

"Lian Xi, you seem to have a lot things to say today," Jing Yun Sheng chided sternly as he walked over to the round table, and took a seat next to Yang Yi.

Lian Xi pouted sourly as she retreated quietly to a corner. Normally she would not blabber so much, however since the other person was Yang Yi, her future mistress, so Lian Xi did not hold back. After all, she had been Jing Yun Sheng's personal attendant from when she was a just a young child, so she knew her master rarely hid anything from Yang Yi.

Yang Yi revealed a small smile as she asked, "It is because of the news that His Majesty had put out a request to you to tutor the princes?"

Jing Yun Sheng hummed lightly in reply as he took a sip of tea. Irritation flashed across his eyes as soon as Yang Yi brought the matter up. It was evident that he was not very pleased with the task.

"Seems like you still haven't decided on which prince to tutor." Yang Yi commented again when she saw his dark expression.

Jing Yun Sheng let out a sigh as he replied tiredly, "I have told His Majesty that I will only be able to tutor one of the princes... but as for who, I have yet to decide. It is really too much of a hassle for me."

Yang Yi paused for a moment as she eyed Jing Yun Sheng carefully. Naturally, both knew the meaning of this matter. It was no secret that the Emperor regarded Jing Yun Sheng highly, hence he was able to take up the role of the prime minister at such a young age. Hence, whichever prince he would be picking as his disciple was not anything insignificant. The person he chose would be the person the Jing clan would be supporting as the future heir of the throne. It was solely for this reason that the inner harem could not sit still and had been trying very hard to get him on their side.

Yang Yi also knew very well that at this moment, Jing Yun Sheng had no intention of backing any of the princes in the fight for the throne. It can be said that he did not really care who would be the future Emperor of Mo, or maybe none of the princes had caught his attention yet. At this moment, Yang Yi suddenly had an idea.

"What about the fourth prince?" She asked hesitantly as she observed Jing Yun Sheng's expression.

Jing Yun Sheng raised his brows questioningly at the mention of the fourth prince. It was so unlike her personality to get involved with the royal court matter. Not to mention, it was the fourth prince that she brought up out of all the princes in the Mo Empire.

"The misfortune star, fourth prince, Mo Lie Yun?" Jing Yun Sheng asked doubtfully.

In the Mo Empire, there was a belief that twin was a bad omen, hence when the fourth prince, Mo Lie Yun and his twin sister, third princess, Mo Xing Yu were born, they were labelled as misfortune stars. This had even resulted the previously favoured Empress of Mo to fall from the grace of the Emperor. The twin ended up becoming an outcast among the royal children as soon as they were born. They were shunned by the royal family and was always disregarded and not invited to any of the royal banquets. Due to this reason, even Jing Yun Sheng had never seen the pair of twins despite having attended countless of royal banquets.

Jing Yun Sheng looked quietly at Yang Yi for a moment, before saying, "I know you are trying to help the twin, but this matter is more complicated than what you think it is. Even if I take Mo Lie Yun as my disciple, it might not be a good thing for him. Instead, it might even make it worse for them."

Yang Yi lowered her gaze in disappointment as she muttered softly, "Even you cannot help them?"

Jing Yun Sheng paused when he heard her words. Picking up his cup again, he said nonchalantly, "It is not that I cannot help them, but I do not see the need to get involve with the royal affair."

Yang Yi opened her mouth, wanting to say something but was interrupted when a servant came knocking on the door.

"Lord Jing, the Yin ambassador will be arriving soon. We should prepare to leave now or we will miss the opening ceremony."

Jing Yun Sheng hummed in acknowledgement, before turning back to Yang Yi and asked, "Do you know who will be performing in the opening ceremony today?"

Yang Yi looked at Jing Yun Sheng in confusion, before finally realizing what he meant. She gasped in disbelief and asked, "You mean...?"

Jing Yun Sheng nodded slowly as he answered, "Yes, they have picked the fourth prince to perform the sword dance today. To put a royal prince up to this task really showed how much the royal family scorned this misfortune star."

Jing Yun Sheng placed his cup down and stood up. He said gently to Yang Yi again, "Listen to me, Yi Er. Do not get involve with the twin. The royal affair is much more complicated than you think it is."

"I really don't want to see you get hurt."