The Emperor and His Thief

Beginning of a Scheme
After the Crown Prince’s birth, the Emperor was so happy that he sent another Imperial Edict declaring all citizens of the Qin Empire were to be exempt from paying taxes until the Crown Prince turned five years old. Hearing this, the citizens rejoiced. Despite the few years of droughts, everyone celebrated for one hundred days as though the droughts had not lasted for the grueling four years. But, not all celebrated the matter. The Emperor had several Imperial Concubines, both female and male concubines. Although there were no objections from the male paramours, the same could not be said of the female concubines. Especially from the Imperial Concubines who birthed Princes and Princesses.

With the change of seasons, time passed amicably. The Crown Prince was doted on by both parents and most of their subjects. The servants served the Crown Prince wholeheartedly; some of the older servants even treated the Crown Prince as they would their own child. Days turned to months, months into years and, without realizing, four years had passed since the birth of Qin YiJun. Despite years having passed, everyone was still grateful to the young prince. In fact, some even thought that the prince was actually a reincarnation of a god that came down in order to face trials in the mortal realm. There are few gods in the legends that could call out the rain, but citizens seemed to prefer to liken him to one of the four Dragon Gods, XuanLong.

Imperial Concubine Xing, the mother of the eldest prince, had been the most hostile over the years. Although she did not publicly show it, there was a rumor that had been spreading to all that lived in the Imperial Palace that she disliked the fourth prince. There’s a saying that the walls have eyes and ears everywhere, and the Imperial Palace was one such place where evil plots ran the deepest. Whether the rumors were true or not, those who heard it already assumed that Concubine Xing hated the fourth prince; that she saw him as thief. After all, if it were not for the Imperial Edict, her son would’ve been the one to be crowned as the Crown Prince. And if that were to happen, her status would’ve been that of the Empress while the current Empress would have been reduced to Imperial noble consort.

“If only that rain had not fallen just when that useless child was born!” she cursed under her breath. “Don’t think this is over yet! It was just coincidence that your child was born when the rains were about to fall!! Your luck is going to run out soon!” Concubine Xing seemed to be unable to control her anger anymore as her face mirrored the sinister thought in her mind and her lips curved up in a malicious smirk. The servants that attended Concubine Xing could only lower their heads while the concubine paced around her room with a calculating face, trying to think of a way to gain Emperor Qin WuZhen’s favor toward her and her child.

“Mother…?” the quivering voice of a young boy snapped her out of her anger and she quickly turned to see her son. Concubine Xing noticed that her son looked scared and she suspected that the young prince had witnessed her earlier outburst.

“ChenJi, my beloved prince, how long have you been standing there?” Concubine Xing asked, her expression turned into pure concern as she approached her son. The servants who saw this retreated out of the room in a silent tacit understanding.

“Umm, I just arrived, mother. I just wanted to tell you that Imperial Father has just assigned a tutor for me! And also a martial arts tutor!” he announced happily. Qin ChenJi, was the first prince of Emperor Qin WuZhen. This young prince had only recently reached six years of age. Despite his youth, he was intelligent and cunning. There were several complaints from the eunuch and other servants about the first born prince. Some said that if you displeased him, you’d have your arm broken as punishment. The things that Qin ChenJi would be displeased with could be as small as dropping a grain of rice while serving him a meal.

“Good, good, good. You must work hard and make the Emperor proud. That way, all may not be lost yet,” Concubine Xing gave Qin ChenJi a warm, gentle smile yet, her eyes shone malevolently as her mind filled with venomous thoughts. Concubine Xing then remembered her son was still around and let out a heavy sigh as she patted his head gently. “If only I could make that bastard disappear,” she mumbled in a soft voice, making Qin ChenJi look up to her.

“Who are you talking about, mother?” the young prince asked. Though he appeared innocent, he clearly knew who his mother was talking about. Who else would it be if not the Crown Prince, Qin YiJun? With how most of the servants revered the Crown Prince, even Qin ChenJi felt that his limelight had been stolen. His mother used to tell him that he would be the future Emperor and that the Dragon Throne would belong to him. Then, Qin YiJun was born under the blessing of the heavens and suddenly, Qin ChenJi found his path to the Dragon Throne being blocked by his younger brother.

“That bastard YiJun of course!!” she hissed, her face turning ugly.

“Then, if he disappears, will mother be happy?” he asked, and his mother just gave him a smile.