The King's Mate - Part 1: Banyue

Chapter 36

Before you read this I just wanna say that if you don't remember TianMa you should reread chapters 7-11 👀🤣 which.... I don't actually remember if I let you guys know in a previous chapter note that those chapters are fully updated here on wattpad now too... if I didn't, sorry I'm only saying it now😅

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this :)

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The weeks Hua Cheng was gone passed by unexpectedly fast.

Xie Lian was sure it was because Ruoye and E'ming kept him on his toes the whole time, but if he was honest, he enjoyed himself quite thoroughly. Since Ruoye had been born, Xie Lian had stopped working beside Mei NianQing during the times Hua Cheng was visiting Guishi, simply because he refused to let his daughter out of his sight when she was not even a year old. It had worked out well enough though, and both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng had decided to let Mei NianQing handle those duties alone after all. At least until both of their children were comfortable spending days without getting to see either of their parents a lot. 

Of course, Ruoye was already big enough to be able to walk around the palace grounds without his supervision, and she made use of that freedom quite frequently. But of course there were guards everywhere, and Xie Lian never had to worry about her.

E'ming's training was coming along much better than he'd anticipated; they'd even gotten around to practising basic stances and simple moves to attack. He was truly incredibly talented, and Xie Lian thought he might even go so far as to call E'ming a natural genius when it came to fighting. Of course he'd have to wait a while longer to voice such a thought out loud, but he was sure it would become even more obvious once E'ming got older.

Last week, Hua Cheng had written them a letter to let them know he'd be coming home in about two weeks, as he always did, so both Ruoye and E'ming were already looking forward to showing off their new skills to their father.

However, the next week passed without Hua Cheng arriving, and without a letter to let them know about his delayed arrival. It was extremely out of character for Hua Cheng to let something like this happen, but Xie Lian figured that something must have come up to prevent him from contacting them, so he didn't worry about it too much and told their children he'd be a little late.

After that, another few weeks passed without a letter and without Hua Cheng appearing in person, and by the time he hadn't heard from Hua Cheng for two months, he was starting to grow incredibly worried. Not only was Hua Cheng not coming back, but not a single member of his entourage had come back, either. Not the guards, not the maids... nobody. At first Xie Lian had been reassured by that fact and figured everyone had to stick around for a bit longer, but it was ridiculous that nobody let them know about their extended stay. Added to that, Xie Lian simply had developed a really bad gut feeling about the whole situation.

After another month had passed, Xie Lian started writing his own letter, which he sent off to Guishi, but even after he'd waited for another two months, he still hadn't received a reply. Hua Cheng not replying to him, knowing how worried Xie Lian was, was truly unthinkable. It cemented his thoughts that something must have gone very wrong.

And of course, the court was growing rather antsy from not hearing from the king in so long as well. Xie Lian had already begun hearing talks about replacements, but there were no official opinions on the matter yet.