The Legend of Moonflower

Chapter 10 - Goods and Services

Wei Wuxian paced the courtyard.  He counted the bluestone bricks under his feet, from one wall to the other, while waiting for the prince and marquis. Today he'd been asked by the prince to accompany them to the Heavenly Palace of Supreme Cultivation for an important meeting with the emperor.

"You will come and listen at the meeting," Jin Guangyao said to him after the emperor's eunuch left. "If necessary, you will go back to Jin with a verbal report for my father."

All important messages to the Jin King were of the verbal nature. They couldn't risk interception of written messages sent by servants or carrier pigeons.

Nervous anticipation had him cursing under his breath. It was more than a week since he'd last seen Lan Zhan. The rumours in the palace explained why the emperor had been too busy to visit the practice arena. Wei Wuxian had seen the Noble Consort Xingchen and could admit that the omega was not only beautiful, but he carried himself with grace and dignity. How could he even compare to the noble consort with his unruly behaviour and lack of manners? Although there was no reason why he should be upset, he couldn't help but feel the bitterness in his heart. The oath had him bound to the state of Jin, plus he was a mere manservant, not the son of a nobleman or even a rich merchant where an alliance could be gained from marriage. There was no future for him here, even if he and the emperor shared a deep connection. Even if their wolves wanted to be together.

His wolf was despondent. He wasn't even sure what would happen if he shifted; whether his wolf would howl in anguish or try to run away. All he knew was this wasn't the time to find out. Eventually his wolf would come to terms with the situation just like he needed to.

"Wei Wuxian!" yelled Jin Zixun, "Why are you over there? Can't you see we are ready to leave?"

He refrained from rolling his eyes. The marquis, once again had nothing better to do than berate him. The prince was still adjusting his cape and not ready to go. When the beta was ready, Wei Wuxian made his way over to the palanquin and lifted the curtain to allow for the prince to step in. He then backed away and took his place beside the palanquin. They proceeded towards the emperor's palace at a brisk pace.

His mind went back to the day at the arena when Lan Zhan kissed him. Desire had eroded all sense of propriety and concern for his future. The cold air of the dawning winter did nothing to cool the flush of heat on his face at the thought of what could have happened if Lan Zhan hadn't been so honourable. He still couldn't believe he had rambled on about how Lan Zhan smelled like he was coming home to his mate. Preposterous. Maybe Jin Zixun should cut out his tongue, then he wouldn't go around saying the most ridiculous things. No wonder Lan Zhan was staying as far away from him as possible. Now that he was going to be seeing the emperor again, he didn't know if he was quite up to it.

They arrived and were guided into the hall by a eunuch that looked strangely familiar.  Wei Wuxian tried to place him, and remembered there was a guard at the autumn hunt that looked just like him. Although, with his hunched shoulders and chin tucked to his chest, his demeanor was totally opposite of the strong alpha guard, his features were much the same. Wei Wuxian shrugged. Perhaps the eunuch had a brother.

He was hit by the scent of sandalwood, although not strong, his nose had become attuned to it. His wolf stirred and he could feel its happiness even when his chest felt heavy. Greetings between the nobles and the emperor went unnoticed by Wei Wuxian as he concentrated on not falling apart in front of everyone. His job was to focus and listen so he could bring word back to his king if it was necessary.

Looking around he could see several ministers along with Zewu Wang and Cifeng Gong were all in attendance. On the dais sat the emperor behind his large ornately carved table and Eunuch Nie along with the eunuch that guided him in stood off to the side. The hall was lined with a few guards. To distract himself, Wei Wuxian tried to see if the brother that looked like the eunuch was amongst them, but he appeared to not be on duty today.