Chapter One

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Terminology:
鹿鼎记 (The story of the Deer and the Cauldron) - a metaphor for inner China and the Chinese Empire. A story written in 1969 by Jin Yong, the protagonist of the story is called Wei Xiao Bao (韋小寶, an extremely lazy, illiterate whose redeeming points is his witty and cunning brain. He is a complete nobody born to a prostitute and after a chain of events he finds himself posing as a eunuch where by sheer luck he becomes the most trusted to the Emperor. I assume that he had in possession the dagger that was mentioned in chapter 1 of Volume 2.

无双 (Wu Shuang) Unparalleled - I was frustrated when I had to decide what name I had to give this stupid sword because in Chinese, the characters mean more like there is no twin or double. So I ended up picking 'unparalleled' instead of 'Matchless' sounds more classy right?
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Early next morning Feng Ming and his entourage were due to set off, Chiu Lan and the other girls had risen with the sun and entered Feng Ming's chambers to assist him into his travelling garments.
The case of the Crowned Prince being sent on a diplomatic mission was a grave matter. Naturally, there was an emphasis to uphold presentation and etiquette. Needless to say, this included the extensive amount of clothing and personal adornments Feng Ming had to wear.

The inner robes, outer coat, boots, cloak, jade pendants...

Feng Ming had stood like a store mannequin for over two hours when Chiu Lan frantically made last minute adjustments to his completed attire.

"It is ready now." Chiu Yue stepped back to double check the collective efforts of the maids. She smiled and said, "What Country has a more attractive Crown Prince than Xi Rei?"

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince wasn't smitten with the compliment. The heavy gold crown that rested upon his head was starting to give him a migraine, internally wishing that someone would put him out of his misery. Everything about this 'trip' and the added burden of the official clothing made him feel uncomfortable.

The matter of travelling to Fan Jia was tormenting him. There was the whole aspect of mindlessly heading towards an 'adventure' where he might meet his doom. Although his impending death was weighing heavily on his mind, Feng Ming couldn't help but to feel the kick of excitement pushing through.

Chiu Xing had grown accustomed to the Crown Prince over the past months, and knew that Feng Ming was good natured and kind so she purposely teased him knowing there wouldn't be any dire repercussions.

"If the Regent King sees our Prince, I wonder what praises he will say." She giggled.

"Let alone Rong Wang, it is very likely the Third Princess of Fan Jia will be smitten with our Prince once she lays her eyes on him."

The maids continued to chatter whilst Feng Ming was occupied with his thoughts.

"Why hasn't Rong Wang come by?" Chiu Xing asked.

"Yesterday, Rong Wang sent a messenger to forward that he was busy, and could not personally see our Prince before his journey." Chiu Lan replied.

"I refuse to believe it, our Crown Prince is leaving for abroad and the Rong Wang does not want to see our precious Prince off?" Chiu Yue interjected.

Feng Ming snorted at the mention of the two words - Rong Wang.

Suddenly, a rush of footsteps heading towards the Prince's chambers could be heard, the anticipation of his visitors sent Feng Ming's heart racing.

As the footsteps slowed down, he could distinguish two sets of feet heading his way.

Once the visitors made way into the Prince's halls, they loudly announced themselves.

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