Chapter 331: Misunderstanding
Ever since Zen Luo had entered the Feathery Star Hall, his focus hadn't been on himself or on anyone or anything in the great hall itself. His only reason for staying and waiting was to wait for Aura Su.
Ray already knew about the relationship between Zen and Aura. He had a vast network of informants at his command. Aura had been Zen's master when she was at the Drizzle Peak.
However, there was something Ray didn't understand. If they only called each other master and disciple, why did Zen care about Aura so much?
In any case, it wasn't important for Ray to know why Zen cared about her. The fact that Zen cared about Aura a lot was enough for him.
Zen turned a deaf ear to the conversations of everyone else inside the Feathery Star Hall. He seemed bored and after a while, he asked Ray directly, “Your Highness, it has been a long while. Why isn't the Sky Princess here yet? Have you been teasing me from the very beginning?”
“Please relax. The Sky Princess will be here any time.” A smile appeared on Ray's face again. He seemed to be in a mood to keep Zen there as long as possible.
...
...
The ambience in the Shine Hall was soft and there was a slight radiance in it.
It had been quite busy in the past but right now, it was desolate and quiet.
Only a very few necessary servants still stayed in the hall. Others were not even allowed to get close to it.
Being under house arrest was not a very pleasant thing. Aura was bored and had started to learn embroidery skills from an aged servant.
Right now also, to while away the time, her deft fingers were holding a silver needle and guiding a colorful string through a piece of white satin. Being pretty smart, Aura had found it easy to learn.
Delicate patterns were appearing on the satin gradually. They were neat, flexible and well-colored. Her skills had become much better than the aged servant herself now.
But right now she was merely staring at the pattern and keeping still. She felt depressed that she could do nothing under this house arrest.
'Did the All Peak Competition end?
What performance could Zen Luo achieve?
Among the top one hundred?' Aura talked to herself inwardly, To be honest, in Aura's eyes, if Zen was able to be among the top 100, she would have felt greatly satisfied. Thinking about this, Aura's smart eyes turned crescent. If Zen really managed to succeed in this endeavor, the Drizzle Peak's rank would go much higher this time.
She chose Zen from thousands of disciples. Aura really did seem to have a talent of spotting the occasional grain of wheat among large piles of chaff. And her loyalty lay to the Drizzle Peak, so much so that being a master there was better than staying here.
If she had not left the Drizzle Peak, she would not have been involved in the political struggles of the Imperial Capital.
But somehow, she could not remain unaffected due to her brother. The crown prince was her brother.
It was a pity that she could not change the overall situation even though she had returned to the Burning Sky Palace. The palace where the crown prince stayed had been sealed off and no one was allowed to go in or out. Ray claimed that he had done it in order to protect the crown prince, but in reality, both her and the crown prince were under house arrest. As the sister of the crown prince, and the most favorite daughter of the old Emperor, she was under the same situation as him.
It was so boring here!
How great would it be if she could go to the Cloud Sect!
She threw her hand in the air and the satin she was working on flew out and landed on the clothing shelf nearby. It had become a nearly-finished job but she had no idea who she made it for.
Walking on the smooth ground with her bare feet, Aura felt angry. But there was no one in here on whom she could vent her anger. It was becoming too much to stand now and she felt like her resolve would break. There was even a possibility that after a short while, she would take her sword and fight against the aged eunuchs in the palace!
At this moment, a voice came from outside the hall.
“Your Highness, Prince Ray asks you to go to the Feathery Star hall!”
Hearing that, Aura blinked in curiosity. 'Who is going to meet me in there?
What is going on? Does Ray want to kill me now?' She thought. There was a cold smile appearing on her face.
Theoretically, Ray would not kill her before the result of the competition between Ray and Conn came out. Ray had lots of resources and supporters while Conn was backed by the group of the old eunuchs. These eunuchs didn't show up in normal time, but they were a group of great power that could not be neglected.
'Before the results of the fight between the two princes come out, my brother and I should theoretically be safe.
But what does Ray want to do right now? Why has he asked me to go to the Feathery Star Hall? I hope he isn't going to recall the happy time of growing up with me, his half-sister!' These thoughts kept going on in her mind as she walked towards the Hall.
Familial obligations existed only as a formality among the royal people. Once there was a conflict of interest, the result would always be decided through fights. Being blood related would change nothing.
Aura walked out of the Shine Hall in a green grown. Coming to think of it, she had not come out of her hall for a long time up till now.
It was almost as if she was a prisoner being released from her cell. She could not help shaking her head. It was a pitiable state that the Sky Princess had been put in and quite embarrassing too.
On her way to the Feathery Star Hall, Aura breathed the fresh air freely. She forgot the situation of being imprisoned for the time being and enjoyed her temporary freedom. It had really tortured her to be under house arrest.
Soon Aura came to the Feathery Star Hall. It wasn't unexpected that there were several lamps burning inside. Ray had a party going on with people every night. He did this to try and pull them towards his side. This would allow him to gain more support.
Conn, who was the seventh prince and her half brother seemed to be a lot calmer and more composed than Ray. Except the masters of some top noble clans, Conn barely had connections with any warriors at all. Ray and Conn had different plans. No one could tell whose idea was better and it would only come to light once things had settled in the future.
Entering the Feathery Star Hall, Aura started looking for Ray. Having been under house arrest for such a long time, she wanted to speak sarcastically to Ray. She felt that even though Ray was stronger than her, she could still vent some of her anger out using her words.
All of a sudden when she was looking for Ray in the crowds, she found a familiar figure pacing about.
He looked hauntingly familiar to her. When she saw his face, her eyes opened wide in shock.
Zen Luo?
How did he get here?
“Is he taking Ray's side? Is he here to swear loyalty?”
A bad idea appeared in Aura's mind.
In Aura's eyes, Zen deciding to take Ray's side did not change the overall situation at all. There were already too many powerful people on Ray's side. Some people, who looked like ordinary guests were actually at the Illuminating Soul Realm. Zen, a nature creature, could not be thought much of.
Aura just felt terrible about it since Zen joining him was akin to her being betrayed.
Aura thought about the conversation she had had with Zen. She had believed in him so much and had even expected that Zen could create a miracle. She had hoped to see Zen grow strong in the future and help her to change the overall situations.
Now thinking about it, she felt that she had been too naive all that time. At about twenty years old, she was not a little girl anymore. How could she believe in a young man so easily?
Maybe Aura had been under house arrest for such a long time that she had become over sensitive now. She felt that she had been betrayed and wanted to cry when she saw Zen standing beside Ray.
It seemed that she had found out an elite and cultivated him with great efforts, but the elite was now standing on the other side of the game. She felt bad even though it had not been wise of her to have put so much hope on this young man. Zen could not have changed the overall situation by himself at all.
“Master Su!” Zen caught her in his glance and became excited. Of course Zen didn't know Aura had several negative thoughts going on in her mind right now. Zen was simply happy to see her safe.
To him, Aura was not his master, but an elder sister. She had helped him a lot every time he had faced difficult situations. He had survived them with her help and belief. That was one of the important reasons why Zen had come to the Burning Sky Palace as soon as he had come back to the Imperial Capital.
He must pay back the kindness of Aura.
However, there seemed to be a cold frost in Aura's eyes. She replied coldly to Zen, “Yes? Do you have anything to talk to me?”
'Since you have chosen to be on Ray's side, I don't suppose I am as important as I was before. So why did you want to see me? Do you want to show off the relationship between you and Ray?' Aura thought angrily.
“Are... are you all right?” Seeing Aura's cold reaction, Zen was stunned and didn't know what to say.
Aura smiled coldly and replied in a chilly tone, “Fine, I am always fine. I grew up in the Burning Sky Palace and this is my home. Why wouldn't I be fine?”
Zen was puzzled. Looking at the cold expression Aura was touting, he tried to find out the reason why she was acting that way. But no matter how hard he looked, he could not know what was wrong with Aura. Why did she have such a cold attitude? Was she really fine under house arrest?
“But...” Zen was totally lost and did not know what to say.