Night of the Broken Gliph

It wasn’t the beautiful shade of azure, but a shade of blue very close to black. This was the bloodline of Emperor Lam. 

No hesitation was left; only extreme pain remained when Emperor Lam saw this. In the past, he had always thought that Sit Ting left because she was sick of dating him secretly. But now, it was obvious that Lam Ming Sum was the reason for her leaving. 

Emperor Lam reached out to hug Lam Ming Sum. The sudden warmth shocked Lam Ming Sun. But that was when a clear voice was heard. “Her Highness has arrived!” 

Kan Hang stood up immediately, the embroidered robe that disappeared moments ago came back and wrapped around his body. 

Bang! 

The door to the Hall of Affairs was opened, letting sunlight reach the hall and shining brightly on the stunning figure standing outside. The sunlight was so bright that one could hardly open his or her eyes. Lam Ming Sum only looked at the gorgeous woman when the door was shut once more. 

She had a thin figure and  slim waist. A long, close-fitting beautiful oriental dress wrapped around her tightly, showing her beautiful figure off. Just as Lam Ming Sum turned towards her, the woman’s eyes landed on her too. 

How should one describe the woman’s eyes? 

Beautiful was an understatement. Her mesmerising eyes were as dreamy as the fall and spring, that one would find it difficult to take their eyes off them. Normally, one would scan the girl up and down, but her eyes seemed to suck Lam Ming Sum in, making her unable to take her eyes off of the female’s orbs. 

As a fellow female, Lam Ming Sum felt embarrassed at seeing the goddess in front of her, but she could clearly tell that the woman… heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of her ?

“Oh, Kan Hang is back. Eh? Your Majesty, this little girl…” Hearing the woman’s question, Kan Hang remained silent. 

“Fei Yin.” Emperor Lam stood up, looking at the woman weirdly. “This… She is my daughter.” 

The woman looked at him confusedly after hearing him. “Fei Yin is in charge of the Three Thousand Hall but why don’t I know anything about this girl? Which concubine is she the daughter of?”  

Emperor Lam shook his head and looked at Fei Yin complicatedly. “She’s… Sit Ting’s daughter.” 

The woman’s face fell when she heard Sit Ting’s name. “So it’s Your Majesty and his true love’s daughter. Since that’s the case, Fei Yin will not disturb Your Majesty from his reunion,” she said. Her voice was as alluring as ever, but even colder this time round. 

Lam Ming Sum who was watching all of this walked towards Kan Hang quietly and pulled the edge of his clothes. “Who was that beautiful woman? She’s gorgeous.” 

Kan Hang looked down at Lam Ming Sum awkwardly. “Lee Fei Yin, the most beautiful woman in the South. The empress of the South, Emperor Lam’s wife and… your stepmother.”  

In the Three Thousand Hall, the main courtyard was no longer dark, but extremely bright. A kiddish voice was heard, “I’m here to pay respect to Mother Queen.” 

Hearing him, Lee Fei Yin smiled happily. “Come in, Siu Zaa.” 

A handsome young boy walked in, forcing a smile. He had dark blue eyes and midnight blue hair, symbolizing his royalty. “Mother Queen, I said not to call me that.” 

Seeing him, the palace maid serving Lee Fei Yin turned towards him respectfully. “Greetings, Your Highness.” 

This boy was Lam Zaa, the Crown Prince, and the only son of Emperor Lam. 

“You may take your leave. Let this mother have a good talk with her son.” Lee Fei Yin waved her hands. 

“Yes, Your Highness.” 

After the palace maids left, Lam Zaa came towards Lee Fei Yin’s side. “Mother Queen, I heard that I’ve gained a younger sister?” 

“Yes,” Lee Fei Yin answered nonchalantly. “The love debt of your father’s affair many years ago.” Emperor Lam today, Lam Chun was in fact a good emperor. The country was peaceful with him as its leader, and despite having a huge number of concubines, he only met very few of them. But as today’s emperor, nobody would blink even if he had more than ten million children. 

Thus, both Lee Fei Yin and Lam Zaa had no comments about his love debt. “What is she like?” Lam Zaa looked at his mother with his large eyes, having great interest in the sister he had never met. 

“Silly boy, you’ll know when you play with her.” 

“Will she be like Siu Mei who throws a fit every time she sees me?” 

“I don’t think so? She looks kind.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Since when did I lie to you?” 

“Then I’m going to go play with her, Mother Queen!” 

“Have you finished your homework? Don’t neglect it!” 

“I have, Mother Queen. I feel that I’m about to break through the one-chambered state, too.” 

“Great.” 

After Lam Zaa left, silence fell over the main courtyard as it was embraced by darkness once again. A gorgeous woman sat on her bed lazily, mumbling to herself, “It’s a girl… Sit Ting, you’re such a smart person even when it comes to having children. If she had been a boy, she would’ve been dead by tomorrow.”

“Now, it seems that things are getting interesting, huh?” 

“What?” Lam Chun shot up. 

He was currently in the Pure Sun Hall, dedicated as his bedroom. As the emperor, his bedroom was inaccessible to most, even eunuchs.  Palace maids and eunuchs who enter without permission would be deemed as plotting a rebellion and killed as punishment. 

But Lam Chun wasn’t the only person in the hall currently. There was another man kneeling on the ground when he shot up in great shock. Lam Chun was just like the sun that lit up the entire South while the other always lowered his body, playing the role of Lam Chun’s shadow well. 

There was a hall called the Shadowforge Hall that trained a teenager to accompany each imperial household member during their childhood. The teenager would follow the household member like a shadow, similar to Kan Hang and Emperor Lam. Their relationship was of master and servant, and Kan Hang would never betray him. Even so, they were like blood brothers. 

Just like how a shadow would never leave the light, if the shadows wanted freedom, it would only happen if the emperor passed away… or the shadow himself died. Otherwise, they’d have to spend their entire life with each other. 

Kan Hang remained kneeling to the ground, repeating his request. “Your servant pleads with Your Majesty to rescind the bond.” 

Lam Chun looked at Kan Hang, shaking violently. He might be over fifty years old, but a glipher normally had a longer lifespan than a commoner, and he was still at the peak of his life. Never in his life had he trembled so violently. 

“You know that I’d never agree,” Lam Chun replied, taking a deep breath to calm down. “Give me an explanation.”