Snow Phoenix

2. Life of Third Consort

Wang Dynasty :

In the palace of emperor Wang Yibo, everything was going like any other day. Or at least everyone was trying their best to act like a typical day. Some are busy with their daily chores in the palace, some are busy gossiping, and some are trying to look more beautiful to impress the emperor, but one poor lonely soul is lying on a bed unconscious for the last five days. Who's, non-other than third consort Xiao Zhan. Now you might be thinking that, even if he's unconscious, he might be getting good treatment from the best healers in the kingdom, lying on a soft bed, with many servants to take care of him. Then sorry to pop your bubble...

The third consort was kept, in a small abandoned cottage in one corner of the fort (the fort is mainly considered, as the small city itself. It has the palace where royals stay. Fort can have anything according to the king's wish like markets, houses of other court ministers, farms, and forests. It's a border around the king's palace. Some people might consider it a capital. ). The area of the fort was immensely vast. The palace was surrounded by a garden that has a variety of beautiful flowers, there was a farm spread over acres that cultivate high-quality grains and vegetables for the palace kitchen, then comes a forest which has many herbs and medicinal plants as well as tasty fruits. The geographical structure of the fort was elegant yet impressive. It consists of plain ground that is good for farming, mountains to grow rare medicinal plants, a river that gives fresh water from the mountain, and a lake for beautiful lotus farming.

And within this mesmerizing beauty, the small cottage we were talking about is far away from the palace and abandoned by everyone. And it is reasonable, cause if you are willing to go to that cottage, then you have to go through a garden, then you have to cross a farm, not so small river, and then after a walk, you can finally see a small cottage at the base of a mountain, besides a lake. Huh!!! No one will be willing to go for that long-ass journey only to see a pitiful consort on the verge of dying.

But for the last five days, there was no news from the cottage. And if you ask me who will inform the palace about the consort's death? Then let me tell you. Our third consort has only one loyal, pure-hearted, and strongest servant. Whom he considers a brother, Yubin. He can gladly dye for his master. But due to his master's wish, he has never shown his power and spirit to anyone. He has a wolf spirit like his mother, but when his father was on his deathbed, he gave all of his powers to Yubin. So now Yubin has the power of Wolf and Lion; at the same time. Xiao Zhan was weak since he was a child, and as his mother asked him, he always covered his face with a veil and all of his skin covered with a long robe, thin gloves, and shoes. No one other than his mother had seen his face or skin. So everyone thinks that; he is so ugly that he has to cover his face and every inch of his skin. His mother has a powerful eagle spirit but; was murdered by 'the second wife of his father. His father really loved his mother, so in anger, he killed all his consorts and their kids. But Zhan was already poisoned, so his father couldn't save his spirit, but he saved his precious son Zhan. His father was a respected minister in the royal court, but due to the crimes he committed, the former king sent him to the borders. Mr. Xiao can't return to the capital until the king allows him to. Xiao Zhan has an elder brother from the same mother, but as he is serving in the army, he rarely visits the capital. Nevertheless, Xiao Cheng loves his younger brother a lot. If anyone tries to bully his brother, he can show hell on earth to that person. He won't mind offending and fighting with the king for his brother. But Zhan being Zhan, never showed his pain to his brother.

The past few days were terrible for Zhan. On the night of the moon festival, something unexpected happened. After that, he tried to avoid everyone in the palace. At that time, he was still staying in the palace. After feeling sick for almost a whole month, the healer gave him news that gave him new hope to live. But his happiness was shortened; when he was accused, of a crime he never did and was punished by the emperor without giving him a chance to justify it. What happened that night, what was the news, what was the crime he committed, why did the emperor punish him so badly, that he almost died, or did he really die?