"I'm not going for the coronation!," I said with full force.

Of course I wasn't gonna go. I wasn't even planning on it and why should I? Did I even have a reason to go? Duh! Nope!

I was relieved after sharing my thoughts in front of amma. It felt so right and so victorious. 

Finally, it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Amma just cannot tell me what to do...can she? Nuh-uh.

I couldn't help smiling. With the toothy smile playing in my lips, I drew my concentration back onto the Wei qi game.

'Let's see where we left off,' my inner conscience spoke cheerfully.

I picked up a glittering emerald pawn, ready to shoot out my next attack. But my cute toothy smile faded away into a grin as I analyzed my opponent's pawns which were already glittering with glory.

My opponent was indeed amma. My hot tempered aging amma who buries herself in a gothic world.

Wait just a moment!== I couldn't think straight. How could an old soul like amma still be so witty and full of drive when it comes to games? This was unacceptable. Highly inappropriate!

 I glanced at amma who has become unnaturally silent all of a sudden.

When my eyes landed on her face, she was burning with fury. Even her eyes looked like red rubies dancing in wild flames. Something told me that it wasn't the Wei qi game she was mad at. Something worse.

"Bai Ziyi! You don't wanna mess with this old woman's nerves!" amma yelled at me and slammed her hand on the table. The pawn dropped out of my hand and landed on the marble floor with a small thud. 

Amma's nerves were crazy. Nobody dared to mess with her. 

So, here she was, standing in front of me and reacting like she always does-irritated at my stubborn nature.

"This is an auspicious event in history. It's the crowning of the new emperor who is said to have descended from the heavenly realm as a blessing for our kingdom.

You're gonna wear that new hanfu I bought from the golden alley market and you're gonna go!"

The situation was growing serious. Why was I forced to participate in this grand coronation event? I wasn't that special either. The emperor would dismiss me with a flick of his finger and he wouldn't notice me at all. Instead, he would even remark me as "puny".

I had to fight for myself. Plus, I had my own reasons why I shouldn't be in the palace.  

"Why? I haven't set a foot on that palace in ten years. Ten years amma!," I showed her my fingers and counted them for her. I needed her to understand my point.

"And besides, father won't allow me to go. You know that he has forbidden me to join him in his tours to the royal officials and ministers." I felt proud of my logical attack.

Other than that, I knew the scene I'll be facing once I set foot on the palace again. Everybody would start saying:

"Are you really Lan Jianyu's son? Our general's son?"

"You have such a terrible physique."

"Too gentle."

"Ah! What a waste."

"You look too pretty for a boy."

"For a moment there, I really thought you were a nice young lady. Ha Ha!"

Those are the compliments I was used to hear ever since my childhood days(especially from royal officials who only cared about demoting the other as 'weak')

So, setting foot in the palace would be a big blow on me and I wouldn't be able to endure it.

"Ziyi? What's the matter my boy?," amma's voice pulled me out of my stupor.

"Nothing amma. Nothing," I said with downcast eyes.

Nothing? No! Everything was a problem. Here I was suffering in a huge mess of complexities while amma had no clue at all.

"It's final! You are going and I will force you if I have to! This decision is the end. Please understand Ziyi. You're not a little child anymore. I don't know what has gotten into you.

Fine then...you know what? I'll tell you a story. It's not just a story, but it's THE golden story of our history. By listening to it, I hope that you can come into your senses."

"No amma! Don't! I don't want to hear it again," I really didn't want to listen to her story once more. The magical legendary story of our future emperor of course. She would always keep saying it with every word etched neatly in her memory. I was tired of it...Urggg...I doubted that it was true at all. It was just some story she built out from god knows what(?).

Amma was a superstitious woman. She believed in legends and folklore. And you would always find her performing spiritual rituals and reciting strange mantras which have no meaning at all. 

"So listen very carefully," she took a deep breath. I accepted defeat and tried to look as if I was very interested but actually, I was in disdain.

I never really liked the new emperor nor his story. To add to that, I wasn't interested in listening to anything about him. In my mind, the image I had about him was bad and painful. The new emperor was in fact, very cold, stiff like a stone, emotionless and very deadly-with a red alert warning.

Though he was known to be the most handsome man one has ever seen, his actions were anything but beautiful.

He is heartless.

"Xander Meilin is not only an emperor but also an immortal who is the ruler of a heavenly realm....," I flinched at the mention of his name. Amma didn't see it. Instead, she calmly started to tell the story.

The story of the beautiful yet terrifying,

Xander Meilin.

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Amma= Ziyi's grandmother

BTW, get ready for a heart-fluttering story with romance, hot scenes and lots of fun and comedy as well. Hope you guys will stick with me for this exciting rollercoaster ride!!!