The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 4

Li FangMing
It had been a while since the Li family patriarchs had been summoned. So, they felt that it was an honor. And seeing that the Crown Prince was almost the same age as the patriarch’s seventh son, the elders decided it would serve them well if the young boy were to be brought along and introduced.

“Summon FangMing over,” the patriarch of the Li family ordered of a servant. A few moments later, the servant came back with a young boy in tow. The young boy was wearing an aqua coloured robe with a pale yellow sash around his waist. His black hair was tied up into a high ponytail. His pair of dark coloured eyes seemed to be filled with expectation.

“Father, you called?” Li FangMing asked, trying very hard to hide his eagerness. After all, this was the first time he had ever called by his father. He had, at first, thought that his father would ignore him for the rest of his life, treating him as air.

“You will join me at the Imperial Palace. I ask that you do not disappoint me,” the patriarch said in a cold tone. As soon as Li FangMing heard the tone his father used, the expectation within his eyes disappeared and replaced by disappointment. This did not escape his father’s eyes, but the older male couldn’t care less about Li FangMing’s feeling.

If it was possible, the patriarch would avoid bringing Li FangMing along. After all, he was the proof of his shame. Each time he looked upon Li FangMing, he would be reminded of the time when he was betrayed by a woman he thought loved him. But, as soon as Li FangMing was born, the woman disappeared without trace.

“Yes, father,” Li FangMing answered, bowing his head in respect. Li FangMing, despite his young age, knew that his father did not want him in the slightest. The only reason he was still in the Li household, being treated like a young master, was because the family had a plan for him. Yet, he couldn’t help but wish that, one day, his father would look at him just like how other children’s fathers would.

When they reached the Imperial Palace, Fang Ming couldn’t help but be in awe of the scenery. Everything was just as he had expected but, something seemed to be wrong with the atmosphere. The guards seemed to be running around in a panic. When they got off their carriage, Li FangMing asked his father about what was going on, only to be shushed harshly. When their carriage finally stopped, he was told to wait as his father went to meet the Emperor. That was when the Li patriarch found out that the Crown Prince had been missing for more than an hour and no one knew his whereabouts. The eldest prince had told everyone that the Crown Prince was hiding within the Cold Palace but when the servants went to find him there, there was no Crown Prince. They only thing they found was some smashed vase and an old plate that had, seemingly, been thrown across the room.

“Let this humble servant help find the Crown Prince, Your Imperial Majesty,” the patriarch of the Li family didn’t want to miss the chance to garner favor. If he could find the Crown Prince, he would surely be rewarded. The Emperor knew that the Li patriarch had an ulterior motive but as of that moment, he really did need all the help he could get so he simply nodded in agreement. The Li patriarch then bowed before he turned to return to his carriage. When he returned to his son, he just glanced at him coldly. “FangMing, you wait here!” he told his son before he started to look around for the missing prince.

After a while of waiting, the area that Li FangMing was in finally became empty with only him left. This made Li FangMing stand out despite his small stature. The young boy looked around and then walked over to the horse in front of the carriage. “It’s just you and me, horsie,” he said with a dejected sigh. He was just about to touch the horse to play with its pelt when he saw a suspicious man carrying a wriggling sack on his back out of the corner of his eyes. The way he crouched, and how his face was covered, it made him more suspicious. Li FangMing tried to call a guard, but no one was around so, he decided to follow the stranger.

After following the suspicious man for a while, Li FangMing finally found out what the man had been carrying when he took it out of the sack. It was a young boy, who looked the same age as him. Li FangMing had never seen the Crown Prince before, so he had no idea who it was. What he knew was that the young boy must be of higher class because of his clothes.

Li FangMing knew he had to save the boy. He looked around and saw a branch and a stone. The stone was not that big, but it was the size of Li FangMing’s knuckles. He knew he could never dream of beating an adult. Making use of the stick and stone he found, as well as his sash, he created a makeshift flail. But just as he finished making it, he was found out by eunuch Yang Ji.

“Who do we have here? A rat sneaking around?” the eunuch reached out to grab Li FangMing. In his panic, Li FangMing swung the makeshift flail and the stone hit the eunuch smack on his right eye. The eunuch screamed out in pain as he clutched his eyes, blood trickling down his face. That alerted the suspicious man that Li FangMing had followed earlier.

“What’s wrong?!” he took out the dagger that he had hidden with him. At first, he thought that Yang Ji had been attacked by the guards but when he saw Li FangMing, he felt silly. “Boy, what did you do to this Young Master’s companion?” he asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Li FangMing was immediately frozen in fear when he felt the pressure from the man. But Li FangMing gritted his inner cheek and braced himself. He knew how it felt to be hopeless. He knew how it felt when you were left alone when you clearly needed help. That was why, Li FangMing decided that he would not abandon that boy.

“I-I’ve already called the guards before I came! Release him and leave!” he yelled out. The man just laughed before he slowly approached Li FangMing.

“You actually dare to threaten this Young Master… You must be tired of living. Fine, let this Young Master send you down to meet King Yama!” he said before he swung his dagger toward Li FangMing.

Li FangMing was so scared that he tripped when he tried to take a few steps back. The dagger, that was aimed at his neck, grazed his chest instead. The cut wasn’t deep but, for a child who hadn’t even lived ten years yet, it was enough to make him cry. It was painful for Li FangMing. When he saw the man aiming another swing at him, Li FangMing clutched the makeshift weapon he was holding and quickly swung it.

He wasn’t really aiming at anything; he just wished the man would take a step back in surprise. But luck seemed to be on his side when the stone once again hit its mark. The man had suffered the eunuch’s same injury and he yelled out in pain as he clutched his eye. The dagger he was holding fell to the ground and it took Li FangMing a few seconds to register that the weapon was no longer in the man’s hand.

When he did, Li FangMing quickly picked the dagger up, though it felt exceedingly heavy in his small hand. He went to the Crown Prince’s side and cut the rope slowly, as to not accidentally injure the boy. When he finished, FangMing removed the cloth tied around Qin YiJun’s mouth. “Let’s run!” FangMing said as he grabbed Qin YiJun’s hand.

Qin YiJun didn’t even care that the boy before him was being rude. No. He didn’t care at all, after all, the boy saved him. As they ran, he glanced back at the man who tried to kidnap him. He would make sure the Emperor executed the kidnapper, along with the traitorous eunuch, Yang Ji.

When the two boys finally ran into the guards, Li FangMing felt relieved. The guards saw them, but when they saw the boy beside Li FangMing, their eyes widened and they quickly went to their knees. “The servants see the Crown Prince!” the guards all cried out at the same time.

“Hurry and inform His Majesty that we have found the Crown Prince!” one of them, who seemed to be the leader of the group, barked his order. Following that, one of the guards started to run towards the direction of the Imperial Court Hall.

Li FangMing immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed to the Crown Prince, making YiJun confused. “This servant has been disrespectful to the Crown Prince! This servant is willing to accept punishment…” Fang Ming said fearfully. He wasn’t scared that he might be executed for being disrespectful to the Crown Prince, he was scared that his father would find out about it. Seeing this, Qin YiJun frowned and he wanted to pull Li FangMing up. He wanted to assure the boy that he won’t be punished for saving his life.

“YiJun!!” before Qin YiJun could do anything, a loud, imposing voice called out to him. The Emperor came, followed by the Li patriarch and a few royal guards.

“The Crown Prince greets the Imperial Father,” YiJun greeted the Emperor with a bow. But the Emperor quickly pulled him into a hug.

“Thank the heavens that you are safe!” was all the Emperor could say. Being an Emperor, he mustn’t show any weakness. But when Qin YiJun was involved, he could not control himself.

The Li patriarch, though glad that the Crown Prince was safe and sound, could only feel anger, and shame. He had seen how his son had kowtowed to the Crown Prince. He had put two and two together and assumed that his son had offended the Crown Prince. “FangMing…” he hissed out in anger and YiJun heard it.

“So, he is called FangMing?” Qin YiJun asked with a smile, happy to know the name of his savior. “He is really brave,” hearing the Crown Prince say that, the Li patriarch quickly kowtowed to the Crown Prince. He was about to apologize to Qin YiJun on behalf of his son when he heard something that made his eyes widen in surprise.

“He saved my life even though he was clearly sca-,” he trailed off, “What’s wrong…? Imperial Father, why do these two people bow down to me like that when they did not do anything wrong?” Qin YiJun asked the Emperor.

The Emperor just cleared his throat before he stood up. “Rise, both of you,” he ordered, and the Li patriarch slowly stood up. But not Li FangMing; he was still too scared to see his father. Scared to see the disappointment in his father’s eyes. The Emperor, seeing this, approached the young boy, followed by Qin YiJun. “The Crown Prince has told Zhen that you selflessly saved him. There is no need to kowtow,” the Emperor said once he was close enough. Only then, did Li FangMing slowly raise his head.

“Your… Ma-Imperial Majesty… I…” FangMing’s face was full of tears. He was about to say more when his vision darkened, and he fell face first to the ground.