Princess Dyyana was sitting on a chair by the garden when a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello, my short sis," came Prince Zhan Nathenial's teasing tone.
He sat on the chair opposite her.
Princess Dyyana made an annoyed face.
"Do you want to die?"
Prince Zhan Nathenial grinned.
"You? Kill me? Can you even hold a sword? Hahahaha!" he mocked, laughing loudly.
Furious, Princess Dyyana hit him.
"Ouch! Ouch! Stop it, you little demon!" said Prince Zhan Nathenial, trying to dodge her attacks.
"No! You mocked me. You deserve this!" replied Princess Dyyana and continued hitting him.
Prince Zhan Nathenial quickly grabbed her hand to stop her.
"Aaaa! Let go of my hand!" she yelled.
Prince Zhan Nathenial smirked and made a silly face just to annoy her.
"Ishhh! Youuuu…" Princess Dyyana growled.
They were still arguing when suddenly a commanding voice stopped them.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?"
It was Empress Yao Roselinda, standing in front of them.
Both Prince Zhan Nathenial and Princess Dyyana immediately stopped and bowed.
"Greetings, Your Highness," they said in unison.
The Empress looked at them sternly.
"Why are you both arguing? Is this how the Imperial family behaves?!"
"She hit me, Mother!" said Prince Zhan Nathenial, pointing at his sister.
"No! You started it!" snapped Princess Dyyana.
They continued bickering right in front of the Empress.
"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" she shouted again.
They finally fell silent, glaring at each other.
"Today is a celebration for General Lian. Many guests will come to the castle. And you two are here arguing like children. Such a disgrace to the Imperial family!" the Empress scolded.
"And you, Nathenial—as her older brother, you should protect your sister, not bully her."
"What?! Mom, I'm your son!" Prince Zhan Nathenial protested, upset that his mother was siding with Dyyana.
"So what? I'm not going to protect you just because you're my child. You're the eldest. You should take care of your sister, not bully her," she said firmly.
Princess Dyyana smiled gleefully as her brother got scolded. She stuck her tongue out at him.
Prince Zhan Nathenial saw that and was about to speak, but stopped when he noticed his mother's glare.
The Empress then turned to Princess Dyyana.
"Dyyana, the party is about to start. Let's go together," said Empress Yao with a smile.
Princess Dyyana nodded and followed her.
Before leaving, she cheekily stuck her tongue out at Prince Zhan Nathenial again.
He clenched his fists but said nothing, returning to his chamber in frustration.
Back in Prince Zhan Nathenial's Chamber
"Ishhhh! I'm so angry! That Dyyana dared to mock me!" fumed Prince Zhan Nathenial as he sat down at his desk.
General Wei, still beside him, chuckled.
"Your Highness, Princess Dyyana is loved by many. You shouldn't have called her short in the first place," he said while laughing.
Prince Zhan Nathenial glared at him.
"I'll cut your monthly salary if you laugh again."
General Wei immediately stopped laughing.
"You'd better continue your investigation quickly, if you want to stay alive tomorrow," said Prince Zhan Nathenial in a chilling tone.
Hearing that, General Wei quickly bowed and left the chamber to resume his mission.
............................................................................................
The grand hall of Zhan castle was lit brightly with oil lamps, buzzing with voices from guests who had come from all corners of the kingdom. Tonight, a grand banquet was held to honor General Zaeil,the national hero who led the victorious battle at the northern border. High-ranking officials, nobles, and warriors filled the hall in their formal robes, while palace servants moved quickly to serve food and fragrant wine. On the royal throne, the Emperor sat calmly, watching the scene unfold, waiting for the arrival of the most important guest that night, ,General Zaeil, who had just returned from the battlefield.
A few moments later, General Lian Zaeil arrived with his family. They walked closer to the Emperor and Empress and bowed to them.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Today I bring my family as you asked me. This is my wife, Lian Qinan, and these are my children, Evelyn, Xavier, and also Elyyana," said him while introducing his family members to the Emperor.
"Good, good. You guys may sit now," said Emperor Zhan.
"Thanks, Your Majesty," said them and sat in their places.
Suddenly, Lian Evelyn noticed Yan Yan. She smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Yeyyy, Yan Yan is also here! But why is she sitting in the Princess's place?" thought Lian Evelyn.
The King rose from his seat. His voice was loud and clear, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.
"Tonight, we gather to honour General Lian Zaeil. He has contributed greatly to the kingdom. With his bravery on the battlefield and his expertise in drawing strategic maps, we were able to defeat the enemy and win the war in the north."
All the officials and nobles stood up, raising their cups high.
"To General Zaeil!" they shouted together.
"The Hero of Zhan Country."
General Lian Zaeil stood up, lifted his cup, and drank.
"I appreciate it. Thanks, guys," said him.
The Emperor laughed happily.
"Tonight, let's enjoy ourselves. Eat and drink until you are all satisfied," said the Emperor.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Queen!" said all the officials and nobles.
And just then, the party continued joyfully with laughter and happy voices.
After a while, a random nobleman stood up and said,
"General Lian, this party seems a little boring. What if you ask your pretty daughter to dance? She looks talented," said him.
General Lian Zaeil quickly refused.
"I'm sorry, my daughter is a spoiled child. She doesn't know anything," said General Lian Zaeil.
"Oh, come on, it's impossible for a noble lady to not know anything. She must be able to," said that nobleman again.
"I'm so sorry again, Your Excellency. Even if my daughter knows how to dance, I'm worried she might do something wrong and make the Emperor mad," refused General Lian Zaeil again.
"Haishh, General Lian, you're such a great general. How could our Emperor punish your daughter just because of a small sin?" said him again.
"He was right, General Lian. I also want to see your daughter dance. Don't worry, I'm not going to punish her even if she does something wrong," said Emperor Zhan, who suddenly cut off their debate.
"But Your Majesty, I... I..."
Lian Evelyn, who saw her father hesitate, finally got up and spoke.
"Your Majesty, I'm willing to dance to brighten this party," said her.
Madam Qinan and General Lian Zaeil were shocked. Madam Qinan quickly held Lian Evelyn's hand and whispered to her,
"What are you doing? Are you sure about this?" asked Madam Qinan. Worry was written on her face.
"Mommy, don't worry, okay? I'm pretty sure I can handle it," said her while smiling, trying to comfort her mom.
"But…" Madam Qinan was about to say something but was cut off by General Lian Zaeil.
"Fine, fine, enough, okay? She's already big, she can handle this matter alone," said General Lian Zaeil and pulled Madam Qinan's hand to step away from Lian Evelyn.
Lian Evelyn bowed to the Emperor and Empress.
"Your Majesty, tonight I will dance Long Feng We," said her.
Emperor Zhan smiled and said,
"Good, quickly, summon the music for the performance!" asked Emperor Zhan to the servant.
The music started and Lian Evelyn started dancing elegantly. Her dance was stunning and left everyone speechless. After finishing the dance, Lian Evelyn bowed to the Emperor and Empress. Everyone at the party, including Emperor Zhan and Empress Yao Roselinda, applauded and praised her beautiful dance.
Lian Evelyn just smiled awkwardly because she had never been praised like that.
"Good, good, such a beautiful dance. General Lian, you really raised a talented daughter," praised Emperor Zhan to General Lian Zaeil.
General Lian Zaeil quickly stood and bowed.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, I really appreciate it," said him.
"Hahaha, you deserve it, General Lian. Miss Evelyn, you may go to the treasure hall and collect your gift . Just say your name to the treasure officer," said Emperor Zhan.
Lian Evelyn was very happy after hearing it and quickly thanked him. After that, she went back to sit on her chair.