At the palace, Councillor Xia enters his meeting room and angrily sits at the round table.
" That Prime Minister Gao is really getting on my nerves. How dare he insult me that way?"
"His daughter is close to the Second Prince. He's going to become the Emperor's in law soon enough, That is more than enough to make him grow wings." Minister Lao takes the cup of wine on the table and gulps it down his throat in anger.
"HA HA HA. Emperor's in law my foot. I won't let that happen at any cost! " Councillor Xia makes a tight fist and bangs it on the table.
" Scoffs"
" He can dream on " .
In Minister Huang's court yard, Madam Huang argues with Minister Huang about sending their only daughter to the Palace to participate in the Second Prince wife selection.
Madam Huang dries her wet hanfu and drops a bucket full of clothes.
" Let us send Huang Ran to the Palace, she will bring us fame and glory and our Family name will be written in the Jade plaque for the world to see. " Minister Huang confidently says while stretching his hand to the sky.
Madam Huang breathes heavily in anger and drops the plank in her hand. " What glory? What fame? Only a person that's alive can do these things . You aren't sending our daughter for a competition, you're simply sending her to her death. "
" Do you know how many high-class official's daughters will be present there? I won't send my Huang Ran to be a scape goat of political schemes! " Madam Huang retorted and left the courtyard.
At Prime Minister Gao's residence, Gao Xue visits and announces her presence.
" Father, it's me. Gao Xue. "
" Come in." Prime Minister Gao replied.
Gao Xue enters the room and closes the wooden sliding door behind her.
" Greetings Father. " Gao xue slightly bows and sits opposite Prime Minister Gao.
" You went to the Palace today. How was it? " Prime Minister Gao asked with raised eyebrow.
" It went well. I saw Second Prince and we spent some time together."
" I hope u haven't forgotten what we talked about?" Prime Minister Gao asked with a stern gaze.
" No father. Be rest assured, i won't dissapoint you." Gao xue replied with a wicked grin.
" Good! That's my girl. You must become Second Prince wife at any cost. Whether by fair means or by....." He gives a sly gaze
" Blood! Afterall, all is fair in love and war" He let out a wicked laugh.
At Marsha Feng's residence, his attendant bashes into his room.
" How dare you! Where are your manners? " Marshal Feng asked in rage.
" I'm sorry Lord. An urgent message came from The Falcon." He said and bowed
" What" Marshal Feng replied in shock and quickly takes the letter from his attendant.
"The Second Prince" He reads and smirks.
"Guess you weren't that smart afterall." Marshal Feng burns the letter and dismissed his attendant.
Xiao AI arrives back home and offloads the items she bought with the help of Chao Xiang. Madam Jiang sees them and smiles.
"Chao Xiang, you're here? Why don't you come in and have a cup of tea?" Madam Jiang asked. All smiles.
"Thank you Aunt, but I have somewhere very important to be and I might be late if I stay for tea. I just wanted to make sure Meihui arrives home safely. " Chao Xiang replied with a smile.
" Alright then. Thanks for helping out. You're truly a gentleman."
" Don't mention aunt, it's my duty. I promise to stay for tea next time." He says and holds Xiao Ai by her hands.
" I'm leaving. Take care of yourself." He says to Xiao AI with a smile and leaves.
"Meihui, don't you find Chao Xiang to be a nice and caring gentleman?" Madam Jiang asked while staring at Xiao AI with hopeful eyes
"Yes. He's a kind, honest and caring gentleman." Xiao AI replied with a smile
"But.... He and I are not on the same path" She thought.
" I'll go in and rest now. " she says to Madam Jiang and leaves. Zhan follows her.
Xiao AI paces back and forth in her room while Zhan closes the wooden sliding door.
" You... Will you really get married to Chao Xiang?" Zhan asked in concern.
Xiao AI fixed a gaze at the notes on her table, deep in thought.
" He and I are completely different. I'm filled with hatred from the past. This place, these people will only exist in my life in a fleeting time." she takes a deep breath
" I've spent too much time indulging myself with things around here. It's time for me to start acting on the reason why I'm here." Xiao AI said in a serious tone.
" Young mistress, do you think your disciple might be able to help you?" Zhan suggested.
"No. I don't want to involve him and get him into trouble."
" But the both of you have the same motive. He's on the same path with you. With our capabilities alone, we might not be able to do much." Zhan replied.
" You're right. I need to know what's going on in the palace first. I can't do anything by staying here. Only by entering the palace can I know who The Falcon is, why he lied about Western Xia being a rebel and who on earth in the Royal Family Orchestrated it." Xiao AI said while writing on a piece of paper.
"Young mistress!" Zhan excitedly said and moved closer to Xiao AI. Xiao AI looked her with curious eyes.
" I've found a way for you to enter the palace. It will help a lot in your mission. A competition will be held in the palace for the selection of the Second Prince's wife. All women of noble birth are eligible to participate. If you participate, you can enter the palace and even live there. It will make things easier. " Zhan explained in excitement.
" Really?"Xiao Ai quickly asked.
"Yes. And it will begin two days from now. But how will you tell Madam Jiang about it and call off your wedding to Chao Xiang. After tonight, there will be one day left." Zhan replied with concern written all over her face.
Xiao AI takes a deep breath and stares at her writing. "By any means necessary, I must stop this wedding and go to the palace." Xiao AI declared in determination.
On his way to delivering food supplies to the frontier fortress, First Prince looks at the vast land ahead of him and inspects the environment.
" General Wang, this forest pathway seems really quiet. Is this the way it has always been?" First Prince asked with frowned eyebrows. Holding the reins of his horse even tighter.
"No, Your Highness. I've also noticed for a while now. " General Wang replied.
" I guess we should prepare for ambush. Be alert. This high terrain is perfect for ambush. " First Prince said as he frantically looks around.
" Yes, Your Highness." General Wang replied and within few munites, there were under ambush. Arrows fired from both sides.
" It's an ambush. Protect the carriage supply!" First Prince shouts in awareness and draws out his sword to dodge the arrow attacks. He gets down from his horse and kills a few bandits. General Wang also does the same.
At the Second Prince's Pavilion in the palace, Huan announces his presence before entering the room.
"Your Highness." Huan greeted with a bow.
"Tell me." Second Prince said in anticipation, on the edge of his seat.
"I followed her. Master Qi Lang is actually Minister Jiang's daughter. Jiang Meihui." Huan swiftly replied.
"So she's actually a Minister's daughter. But why would a lady of noble birth dress and pretend to be a man? Do you think she has a motive of approaching me?" Second Prince asked in confusion.
"I don't know why but I don't think she meant any harm by pretending to be a man. Though, after what I heard there's something definitely wrong with her. She's not that of a simple person." Huan explained.
"What do mean?" Second Prince asked with seriousness. His gaze fixed on Huan
"I asked around. Jiang Meihui was sent away from home a long time ago due to an illness she had that was hard to treat. She was sent to the country side so she wasn't able to go to school and learn like other ladies. While growing up, due to her illness she didn't like to be seen outside."
"She used to be calm, reserved, shy,slow witted and weak. She was brought back to Bianjing a month ago. When she returned....." Huan explained and narrowed his eyes, as if searching for answers in his mind
"What happened after she returned?" Second Prince eagerly asked.
"She seem like a completely different person. Her behavior, her attitude and way of talking, everything changed. It's normal for people to change but the kind of change she had in five years was much. Meihui is now someone who talks back at people and knowledgeable in all forms of art." Huan replied.
" That is strange indeed but five years is enough for someone to change. That's even the least of my concerns. I hope she doesn't have any ill intentions in approaching me. Do you think she knows I'm the Second Prince?
"I don't think so. If she knew, she wouldn't be surprised to see you at the palace the other day. And besides she's been helping in our investigation." Huan replied.
" Is that all you found about her?" Second Prince asked
"Oh, I almost forgot. She's getting married to Chen Chao Xiang in three days."
"What!" Second Prince exclaims in shock.