princexinju:
âOccupied? When is he not,â Xinju scoffed. His elder brother, the crown prince - oh how gloriously he stood upon the empire. As if the constant comparison wasnât enough, the man was a walking reminder of duty and responsibility. And he could not see how anything by the likes of Feike had to do with him.
âSis,â He said, a familiar playfulness twinkled in his eyes - dropping her royal title, they were family after all. What could she be on about this time? âYou look like youâre about to tell me something ominous, it really canât be that bad can it?â His life had always been rather easy going and well, he was privileged to remain ignorant to the complexities and politics of court. If this would be yet another lecture of courtly etiquette or someone he had pursued, then he would turn a blind eye to it as per usual. âYes, yes, just tell me whatâs wrong this time.â
Though Xinju hadnât expected to hear what followed from her lips.
âFather, gone missing?â syllables echoed like a hushed hiss.
His brows narrowed, his heart felt like it was running a thousand miles more. While Xinju was never one to care about his immediate family, when it came to his Imperial father - that was a whole other matter in itself. After all, it was through the graces of his father that his faults were forgiven and his antics tolerated. A part of him wondered what sort of chains he would be tied under should the crown pass to his brother.
He found himself pacing back and forth, thinking before he turned to Meirong once more. âHave they done anything? Alerted the palace paladins? How could this happen - fatherâs always been careful. What is brother doing right now?â Each question quicker than the last.
Well, Xinju may have been humping his way through China, but he does, every now and then, have a point. In the last few months that Feikeâs been home, he was... distant, his head always buried in his work, or whatever it was that occupied that restless brain of his. âPoint taken.â She replied, an involuntary smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, and despite the situation at hand, she found herself slightly amused by the princeâs lighthearted jabs.
But, while there was mirth in his voice when he called her sis ( and as much as she disliked to admit it, her heart did flutter with the same sort of affection she held for her blood siblings whenever they would call her that ), she knew the mood will quickly turn very sour. It did not take him long to realise that his teasing words have been a sort of a prophecy, perhaps self fulfilling one, since there was hardly any other reason but an ominous one for her to be barging in his room at such unsavory hours.
Head inclined in a light nod to confirm her previous words, Meirongâs dark gaze fixed upon the prince, calculating and assessing his mood - and the change in his posture.
His emotions were written in his posture, and if she was any good at deciphering the Ninth prince, she was certain it was a wild ride in his head. Her guess seemed to have been correct, and she was pleasantly surprised that he was taking this a lot more seriously than sheâd initially thought he would. His questions have all been rational and calculating, yet there was an underlying sense of fraternal concern for his eldest brother, which made the princess quite happy to see it displayed in such a dire time.
âMn.â Head inclining in a dip, she gracefully nodded before she spoke ; âThey have been alerted, of course, but nothing conclusive came out of their search, yet. He seemed to have disappeared between two acts of the play and, I admit, I was feeling wary of the plot - it seemed like false flattery, what they chose to stage in all of our honour.â The play was... oddly captivating and distracting and it made her distrust it even more than before. âYour brother is currently discussing this with general Mu. I think we should all be on our guard, until His Majesty is found - and I pray nothing truly sinister comes out of it.â





















