An Amulet
Bai Yaling averted her gaze from Wang Hao and asked him what he had to say. Wang Hao saw how her hands were trembling, how she was holding the tears and anger in her.
"Why is Princess Bai not taking her meals?" Wang Hao questioned her.
Bai Yaling turned to look at him. "Why does General Wang care? It is up to me whether to have my meals or not," she asserted.
"Don't you think the life inside you needs to be fed? You cannot risk the well-being of your child," Wang Hao reasoned with her.
"Prince Shi called him a traitor's child. Is my child who's not even come to this world a traitor? When my child will come into this world, will people accept him or her? My late husband never had any lovely conversations with me. When Prince Shi conversed with me, I thought I made a great decision to get married." Tears rolled over her cheeks as she continued, "I don't want to live. It hurts."
Wang Hao walked to her and made her sit on the bed. He got on his one knee while the other laid flatly on the ground. He wiped the tears from Bai Yaling's with his thumb. "The child you are pregnant with is not a traitor. Sometimes, a man's true face is not visible unless a situation arises where he makes it visible," asserted Wang Hao.
"Isn't it great that we all get to know that Prince Shi is not the man for you? If a person talks lovely, it doesn't mean he is good," Wang Hao stated. "There will be someone, who will accept you wholeheartedly," Wang Hao encouraged her a little.
"No. That's the biggest lie that I had told myself. There is no one, General Wang. I am a widow with a child. I should have never dreamt of getting married because my identity as Bai Yaling dissolved a long ago when I got married to Prince Yongzheng. Now, my only identity is the widow of a traitor. People should have at least spared my child. It's fine to call me anything but my child does not have to do anything with my late husband," Bai Yaling blankly stared into the eyes of Wang Hao while conversing
Wang Hao recalled the words of Shi Zhihao, who had told him earlier that no man would ever be ready to marry Bai Yaling.
"I feel suffocated, General Wang. I want to leave everything behind. I miss my past self. Why has my fate turned like this? I never thought ill of anyone. Why does it have to be me only? Everyone shows their sympathy towards me, but no one truly understands me. General Wang should have let me die that day. He should not have saved me," Bai Yaling said as tears again started to pour down her eyes.
"Princess Bai, I have saved two women in my life. One is my sister, Yin Na, and the other is you. Even if you have given up on your life, I will not. I am Wang Hao, who never gives up whether it is a thing or a person," he stated with a menacing expression on his face. He again wiped the tears from Bai Yaling's cheeks.
He stood up and poured water into a glass. Giving it to Bai Yaling, he told her to drink it. Bai Yaling gazed into his eyes and then took that glass from him. She drank the water. Wang Hao took it back from her and placed it on the bedside table.
"How long do you want to keep yourself starving?" Wang Hao asked her.
Bai Yaling did not answer him. "If starving could solve problems, then people would starve themselves for days. However, it does the opposite," Wang Hao stated.
Bai Yaling watched him take out something from his neck. "My father gave this to me when I picked the sword for the first time. He told me that I wouldn't get harmed easily if I wore this. I wouldn't get defeated." She was perplexed to hear those words. Why was General Wang even telling her that?
Wang Hao bent down a little and put the amulet around Bai Yaling's neck. "General Wang," she murmured.
"I do not need it. This amulet will not let you feel defeated against the internal fights you are having with yourself." He stepped back and put his hands behind his back.
Bai Yaling looked at the amulet. "I cannot accept it. It is of--"
"It's already around Princess Bai's neck. I cannot take it back," Wang Hao affirmed. "Princess Bai shall take her meals. We will meet soon," he passed her a tiny smile and left the chamber.
Coming outside, he informed the two Court Ladies that they should feed their Princess. He then left the Eastern Palace.
He came to the Northern Palace to meet the Emperor. He stayed outside the chamber and gave a message to Xing-Fu for Sheng Li. Xing-Fu passed the same message to Sheng Li, who had finished lunch with Ying Lili.
"What is he doing here? Isn't he supposed to meet the Prime Minister's daughter?" Sheng Li muttered.
"Go and meet General Wang. He must have something important to discuss with you," Ying Lili asserted.
"I will be back soon. Wait for me," Sheng kissed her lips and Li got down from the bed. He wore the shoes and came out of the chamber.
Wang Hao bowed and apologized to Sheng Li for disturbing him at this time. They both went towards the chamber adjacent to the main one. Sitting on the chaise, Sheng Li told him to sit on the other one, in front of him.
"Didn't you meet the daughter of the Prime Minister?" Sheng Li asked.
"I met Miss Ai earlier. The meeting was nice," Wang Hao answered. "I was informed about Prince Shi. So, I came to meet Princess Bai," he stated.
"That Prince! He made me furious. If he had not been a guest, I would have beheaded him," Sheng Li said while gritting his teeth.
"I met him too, Your Majesty," Wang Hao informed Sheng Li, who was bewildered for a second. "I asked him the exact reason behind his denial.. That made me think, what if I marry Princess Bai," Wang Hao suggested to Sheng Li.