A Flower Without Rain

Chapter 60

The palace gates opening, three individuals entered in separate carriages with their respective guards that surrounded them. And there to welcome them, was King Xin Chao and Crown Prince Xin Hua. The doors to the carriages opening, stepped out King Wen Junjie of the Wei Kingdom, King Fei Yongnian of the Jin Kingdom, and King Han Zhaohui of the Sui Kingdom.

Word for them to be here was sent weeks ago and with them finally here, also came the change of seasons where leaves fell from the place they were once attached to. Just the sight of the four kings in one place, was enough to sway the nation.

At the grand hall, sat the four kings at the table along with the Clan Leaders of the Three Great Nobles Clans and Crown Prince Xin Hua.

Each of them had their own story before becoming the ruler of their kingdom. King Wen Junjie, despite being in his thirties and already showing visible signs of aging due to the responsibility placed on him since young, still held the same handsome features he had when he was younger. Written down in history as the youngest to ever ascend to the throne at fourteen, his prowess was not something to turn a blind eye to. Before his father would pass, he helped in ridding his kingdom of the rebels who slaughtered his brothers and brought the head of the man responsible as a gift for him. And as for the next Crown Prince, it has yet to be determined.

King Fei Yongnian was in his sixties, and in a few years will he step down from his throne to pass it onto his son, the Crown Prince. But before he was king, he and as did his brothers, participated in the selection as it is the tradition of the choosing of the Crown Prince. And as his time being the Crown Prince, he was troubled with those who didn't see him worthy in holding such a title. He wasn't the strongest fighter and yet he won the selection. His only other brother to survive their tradition, decided to strip him of his title and to end the coming coup, he silenced him.

As for King Han Zhaohui, his story is already known, and is soon expecting a child.

With the discussion of dealing with the remainder of Han Yinjie's followers reaching the end, came another issue to handle.

"Have you already cleansed the palace of the Sui Kingdom?" King Wen Junjie questioned King Han Zhaohui.

"It has already been done, Wen Junjie." spoke the young man.

"I hope that you are aware that there is more than to just spilling blood upon the cursed blade and placing it among the Plum Palace grounds of Her Divine Goddess Daiyu. I'm also sure you realize how severe the mess your bastard of a brother caused." The Wei king's voice was intimidating.

"There is no need to shun him for the actions he didn't cause. And if you are going to just sit here and complain, why don't you take it upon yourself to please the deities?" argued King Xin Chao.

Wen Junjie's brows pressed together, "I'm aware that you tend to always choose the path that involves less power being involved, hence why you sent only three people to bring back the Crown Princess instead of an army. However, do you understand how careless you were to send the Crown Prince with only two others to protect him? What would you have done if that bastard killed both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess?!"

"Yes, I do understand but they both came back safely. And to send an army would only tear apart the kingdoms further as the people would believe we initiated the attack without a cause. Lies are more easily believed than the truth."

Han Zhaohui looked at two in silence as they went back and forth at each other. He was still relatively new to his title and being met with the words of the Wei king who was a headstrong individual, caused him to set himself back. "Fei Yongnian?" he said as the other two also turned to look at the man who hasn't said a word.

"That is not something I should decide as I am only responsible for keeping balance." referring to how his kingdom would often send their princes if needed to tend to matters that caused issues to its sibling kingdoms. "However, you must keep in mind that the secrets that we've kept from the majority are under the jurisdiction of the Xie Kingdom. The only thing that we can do are to say words that could possibly influence their decision. We are not the ones to make it."

King Wen Junjie simply nodded in silence, as he was indeed correct.

Xin Chao cleared his throat. "What Han Zhaohui has done seems to have done the trick at the moment as the divine tree is no longer in harm's way." This took the Crown Prince's attention since he was not yet aware of it.

Although not many generations of the royal families of the other kingdoms knew the story behind everything except for the Xie Kingdom, those today knew of it due to Han Yinjie's actions. Sure, they may have held doubts and mixed feelings but they had to remember that their duty at the end of the day is to protect the people.

"What do you mean by that?" King Wen Junjie questioned.

The Xie king turned his direction. "The poison seems to have vanished and the divine tree looks more powerful than before."

Xin Hua fell into thought as he wondered what exactly Han Zhaohui did that caused the divine tree's state to reverse. The only thing that was done, was as the Wei king said; spilling his blood on the cursed blade and placing it on the Plum Palace grounds. Did that really do anything?

King Xin Chao continued. "The only thing we should do at this point, is to hold a ceremony to please the deities." Referring to the cleansing dance that is done by the shamans.

Nodding in agreement, the meeting came to an end.

It was later in the day as Crown Princess Lian Yu sat out on the patio of her chambers. Her husband, Crown Prince Xin Hua was elsewhere, meeting with the kings. The space was quiet, and she could only think about him with a smile that gradually formed on her lips as she sewed the unfinished piece of embroidery she had done with the late princess, Xin Lan.

However, her smile faded when a thought that had only been sitting in the very back of her mind, invaded it. Those beautiful eyes lowering, her gaze turned to look over the hill where the peach tree resided. The expression she held was sentimental and almost heartbreaking.

Slowly, a tear slipped from those phoenix eyes.
.
.
.