Missing

Half a month had passed since Lin Xiao was rescued and he had almost fully recovered by now. He could walk around without needed support and have even started to help Long YinLian pick up herbs in the mountain.

He also frequented down to the nearby village to sell some of their spoils and exchange them for some fresh ingredients. Of course, he had also asked around if there were any noble families looking for a missing son but so far, there is not even single news. In the end, Lin Xiao simply gives up trying to find out his own origin. In his mind, if his family did not come looking for him, then he must have already been abandoned.

Meanwhile, the state within the Imperial Palace was stifling, to say the least. Qin YiJun had turned the Imperial Court upside down. He dismissed the corrupt officials and ruthlessly punished them. He also replaced the ministers that he found ‘could no longer contribute to the betterment of the country’. Of course, this was after he had gotten the concrete evidence of all the bad things they had done. Unfortunately, he could not uproot every single one of them.

Afterward, the search for new officials took place. The Imperial Palace invited all scholars throughout the Empire of Qin to attend the Imperial Examination. The news of the Imperial Examination spread through far and wide, and before long, the guests’ houses within the Imperial City were fully booked. Everywhere everyone went, there will always be a group or two of scholars hanging about. The third month after the news was released, the registration for the Imperial Examination was closed.

Due to the huge number of participants, the Imperial Examination had to take place on three different days. The Imperial Scholars of Tiantang Xueyuan had to come up with three different papers in order to avoid any kind of cheatings to occur during the Imperial Examination.

A week after the registration was closed, the examination finally took place. There were a lot of outstanding scholars that participated and there were also those children from noble families. In order to avoid biased evaluation, Qin YiJun personally oversees the marking of each paper. Because of this, the results which should have come out in a day was delayed. This made all participants nervous.

Time continued to pass by and the anxiousness within each scholar’s heart grew. Then, noon of the third day after the examination, the officials in charge finally pasted the list of participants that passed the exam on the announcement board outside the Imperial Palace.

Some were overjoyed while some can only leave with disappointment. Qin YiJun did not bother to waste any more time and ordered the ministers to cultivate the scholars into an upstanding official. After this event, it took several more months until the Imperial Palace has finally calmed down.

Qin YiJun was currently taking a walk through YueXing Palace. He walked quietly, appreciating the beauty within the palace. At the same time, his heart was filled with loneliness. For almost a decade, Li FangMing would always accompany him whenever he simply wanted to relax but now, Li FangMing is no longer by his side. He had always believed that they would be together for a lifetime and yet, he still lost him. “You promised to stay by my side,” Qin YiJun murmured in a soft voice.

Turning his head, his eyes landed on one of the trees planted in the courtyard. He slowly approached the tree and touched the bark. There were several marks on the tree bark, and they were all made by Li FangMing. He remembered how Li FangMing would always climb the tree to check on the nest that belongs to the bird he saved long ago. Though it had died a few years ago, its children seem to love staying at the old nest. Even when they already made a nest of their own, they would still fly over to this particular nest on this tree whenever they see Li FangMing and Qin YiJun around.

Even now, they still flew over and they would always look down as if waiting for Li FangMing to climb up and play with them. Qin YiJun looked up and saw them, and he could not help but give out a sad smile. “At least, Zhen is not the only one who missed him. Still… are you two not a falcon? Isn’t it about time for you to find a mate?”

The two falcons stared at Qin YiJun before one of them glides down from the tree and perched itself over on Qin YiJun’s shoulder. Then, it nuzzled its beak lightly against Qin YiJun’s cheek. “Are you trying to comfort Zhen?” as he said this, Qin YiJun lifts his hand up and stroked the underneath of the falcon’s beak with his finger.

Just then, a shadow guard came over and knelt before the Emperor. “Reporting to the Emperor, we still could not find the remains of Li FangMing… We have also asked around, but no one has seen him. We did find someone who looked like Li FangMing—”

“Where?!” Qin YiJun quickly asked in a hopeful tone.

“At the small village near the Wujin Senlin. The villager called their village the Wujin Village.”

“Why have you not brought him to Zhen yet?” Qin YiJun was now anxious. He really hoped that the man in question is Li FangMing but the shadow guard’s next answer crushed his hope.

“Answering to the Emperor… When we approached him, he thought that we were… thieves…” the shadow guard answered with much hesitation. “He refers to himself as Lin Xiao, and when we asked of his origin, he simply answered that he was abandoned by his family so he’s currently living in seclusion in the mountain with his benefactor. He also didn’t look as if he’s lying, and when we tailed him, we found that he lives in a cave with a visually impaired hermit.”

“Did you mention to him that Zhen was looking for him?”

“This slave has mentioned it. But he only told this slave that we got the wrong person. He said that if he was someone that is favored by the Emperor, then his family wouldn’t have abandoned him in the first place…”

Hearing this, Qin YiJun closed his eyes and tried to calm his heart. “You’re dismissed. Tell the rest to return. There is no need to look anymore,” Qin YiJun said with a heavy heart. “His remains were not found, so he should still be alive. Zhen believes that he will return to Zhen’s side one day…” although he said this, it seems that he himself doubts it. The shadow guard also understood this, but he didn’t comment on it. They are just slaves that had sword their life and loyalty to the Emperor. It is not their place to question the Emperor.

The falcon that was still perched on the tree suddenly spreads out its wings and flew away. At first, Qin YiJun thought it went back to its own nest but then, he saw it flew over YueXing palace’s wall for the first time. “See? Your sibling already left. Probably to look for a mate. You should go too,” Qin YiJun told the falcon that was on his shoulder. The bird just stared at Qin YiJun but didn’t attempt to move away. “Alright, stay if you want.”

After that, Qin YiJun decided to leave and return to the Imperial Study to work. Just before he stepped out of YueXing Palace gate, the falcon on his shoulder flew away, going back deeper inside. This was how the falcon usually acts, not wanting to leave the courtyard at all.

Qin YiJun looked up at the sky, towards the distance where the other falcon had long disappeared to. “At the very least, you have a chance to find your happiness while Zhen can only live with regrets…”