Golden Orchids

Chapter 14

The minute Yan Zhi stepped foot in the Ghost Realm, soldiers gathered upon her. She made a gesture of surrender and was brought back to the palace in chains.

Yan Zhi knelt in front of her brother and his queen.  Li Jing was angry, of course, he was. His dearest sister had lured, lied and ran from him. Now she came back with a defiance scowl on her face.

"Your Majesty, " she greeted.

"Why?" Was the first thing he asked her.

Yan Zhi reminded herself she is doing this for Su Su. She needed her brother to get off their backs. Seeing her injured like that had sent a reality check on Yan Zhi. There's a reason immortal weren't allowed to interact with mortals. She needed to fix this wrong and set Su Su back to her intended fate. 

She eyed the surrounding soldiers and court members. Li Jing dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He stood up and released her chain. "Where is the military seal, Yan Zhi, "

"First things first, Er Ge, " Yan Zhi stood up, "Where is Da Ge?"

"He went missing seventy thousand years ago. Yan Zhi, we been through this, " 

"You're lying. Seventy thousand years and there's no news about him. No report of him starting a rebellion to challenge your reign. With his ego, he would have rebled from the very beginning." She said.

"You seem to know Da Ge well, " The Ghost Lord stated. 

"I used to know you well too, " Yan Zhi argued, "You imprisoned him in the Arctic Lands, why?"

Li Jing eyed Xuan Nu and turned back to face Yan Zhi, "Have you ever wondered how your mother died?"

The question stunned Yan Zhi, she never knew much about her own mother. She died just a few years after she was born. Yan Zhi was brought up by Li Jing's mother instead. "Mother? Father said he executed her for betrayal to the crown, " she recalled.

"That information came from my mother, " 

"What?"

"And for that Li Yuan killed her, " Li Jing said, "An eye for an eye makes the world go blind. We all three had lost our mothers. But that's not enough for Li Yuan he wanted to kill me too, "

"You were just a child back then too. How can you be responsible for her actions?"

"He didn't care. He despised me. And when father was sealed, his first course of action was to take the throne and kill me along with Xuan Nu, " 

"So you conspired with the Celestial and became the Ghost Lord instead, " She concluded, "If so, why did you hide this from me, "

"Because you held a silly notion that all three of us could still be a happy family. You would have done everything in your power to help Da Ge like you're doing now. Freeing him will risk war with the Celestial again. The people want peace, Yan Zhi."

"Then you don't know me as well as you think you do. I wanted to stop the fighting too. Maybe I could convince Da Ge to-"

Li Jing raised his hand, Yan Zhi turned quiet. Convince Li Yuan, saying it out loud sounded silly now. Stubbornness was a gene passed down from their father's side.

Li Jing let out a sigh, "Where is the seal Yan Zhi?"

She swallowed, "I don't have it with me, "

"Then why are you here?" Li Jing asked.

"To make a deal, " Yan Zhi said, "The military seal for a chance to see Da Ge, "

Xuan Nu stood up, "You dare to make a deal after everything you did?"