NoGift

ARGENT looked outside the carriage window. The streets were filled with food vendors and different kinds of shops. It's only the middle of the morning and yet there were already a lot of people walking about. This busy street was only a part of the big capital of Xing - Kou. Just to show how big it was, they've been travelling for over 20 minutes already and they still haven't arrived at the palace yet.

"In Xing, there's a court assembly every morning, right? Would it be done by the time we got there?" Argent didn't really want to come in contact with any court officials.

"It should be over by now."

"You don't attend court assembly even though you're a general?" Argent thought of asking.

He's been away for almost three months because he accompanied the fourth prince to Albion as his bodyguard and yet on the first morning he's back, he didn't even attend a morning court assembly. That got Argent a bit curious.

"I became a general three years ago and was stationed at the Northern border. I never took part in the morning court assembly." And Lei Feng probably never would. He's not interested in politics after all. And since he's not a court official, he's not really required to attend one. Not unless the Emperor summoned him, of course.

"Heh... you became a general at quite a young age," Argent commented. With his double Gift, achieving that at such a young age wasn't really impossible. "Why did you choose to be in the military anyway? You could have had a very comfortable life with you being the sole heir to your family."

"Military life is all I've known." Lei Feng looked outside the carriage with a distant look on his face, as if remembering something. "I don't really know any way of life besides that."

Was it because his father was a general? But somehow, Argent felt that Lei Feng was talking about a completely different thing. Well, what did she care anyway?

"Do you have any advice for me, before we go and meet the Emperor?" she asked, changing the subject.

"The Emperor looks like an amiable man. Someone who's fairly good-tempered. But don't let that fool you. He could be really cruel if he wanted to. I heard my father once said that his way to the throne was particularly bloody. When the former emperor was bringing the country to an economic downfall because of all his wrong decisions, his youngest son - the current emperor, poisoned him to death.

"Then he put himself to the throne and killed anyone who opposed him - including some of his brothers. There may be people who disagreed with his methods. But once his reign started, they all shut their mouths. Because no one could argue that he indeed has the ability to be a great emperor. He lead Xing to a prosperous new era. And last important thing, you have to be aware of his mind games."

In short, the Emperor would not be easy to handle. Aside from that, it was also quite obvious that the Emperor was confident with the power he had over the imperial court and the people. Because if he's not, then he wouldn't allow a powerful man such as the older General Zhang to retain his power over the military. An insecure leader would immediately want to get rid of someone like that. But seeing that the General and his family were living quite well, there was definitely none of that issue.

Shortly after, they arrived at the Imperial Palace. It's not like the palace of Albion. Because the Imperial Palace of Xing was made up of different palaces and buildings, each having their own roles. The Emperor has his own palace, as well as the Empress, and the other concubines. The princesses also have their own palaces. Then there were also the buildings for different offices. It's probably more accurate to call it an Imperial ground than a palace.

The head eunuch greeted them and led them to Jin Long Palace - the Emperor's own residence. On their way there, they encountered a few maidservants. And of course, those girls couldn't take their eyes off Argent. Even some of the guards blatantly stared at her. Oddly enough, everytime someone stared at her, Lei Feng would immediately move and block their views. That continued until they reached a white building that seemed to be completely carved out from jade - Jin Long Palace.

The head eunuch led them inside to the Emperor's study where two guards were standing outside. But Argent was pretty sure there were many more others hiding in the shadows.

"Your Majesty, General Zhang and Lord Blackbourne have arrived," the eunuch announced.

"Let them come in," a very pleasant voice called inside.

The two guards opened the door and Argent and Lei Feng entered. When the young general kneeled, Argent gritted her teeth before following along. She didn't really want to kneel in front of anyone. But not doing so would only offend the Emperor. And she didn't want that to happen before she could even begin her search for her mother. Because offending the Emperor could only lead to a lot of problems she didn't have the time to deal with. So she held in her pride and kneeled.

"You may rise," said the same pleasant voice.

Argent immediately stood up and raised her head. She saw a man behind the imperial table. He was wearing a black robe with a golden dragon embroidered on it. His long black hair was tied atop his head with a golden crown. Just like what Lei Feng said, he looked very amiable. There was a certain delicateness to his features that's quite similar to that of the fourth prince. But unlike the fourth prince who still had an undisguised innocence in his eyes, this man in front of them had eyes full of canniness.

This was the Emperor of Xing - Li Wei.

The Emperor first looked at the young general. "General Zhang, you have this Emperor's gratitude for successfuly escorting back the fourth prince."

"This general only did his job. There's no need for Your Majesty to thank me." Although Lei Feng said that, his tone was nothing remotely close to humble. In fact, it was so emotionless it's like he's just stating the weather.

The Emperor seemed to be used to that because he didn't even berate the general. Then he turned to Argent. "Welcome to Xing, Lord Blackbourne. This Emperor hopes that you're enjoying your stay so far."

[I've only been here a day. How the heck should I enjoy a place in that short time?] But Argent still answered as politely as she could, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Your sister seemed to not be with you. As this Emperor remembered correctly, you and your sister were both invited by Shen-er to visit the palace today."

"My apologies, Your Majesty. My sister is currently not feeling well. The long travel on the ocean took a toll on her body. She isn't in a healthy state to see Your Majesty," Argent apologized, not really meaning it.

"That's too bad then. This Emperor would ask the head eunuch to send herbal supplements to the Zhang household so your sister could get better much faster."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After that, the Emperor glanced back at the young general. "General Zhang, this Emperor has something to discuss with Lord Blackbourne. Do wait outside."

It took all of Lei Feng's willpower just to remain expresionless and not glance at Argent. If he showed even the slightest of emotion, the Emperor would surely noticed that. He's aware of the Emperor's love for mind games. Lei Feng didn't want his emotion to be used against him or Argent. So just to make sure, it's better to act like he didn't care. At least just in front of the Emperor.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said and walked out of the study.

"This Emperor really does admire your genius, Lord Blackbourne," the Emperor said once they were alone. "Creating a device that managed to capture the interest of almost everyone in the world and in such a very young age too. Not many men could accomplish what you have done in their lifetime. But don't you think monopolizing a single industry would sooner or later bring you a great deal of trouble?"

So basically this guy was telling Argent to share how to create sPhones to the world. If this conversation continued in this direction, he would probably later on suggest that she should share it with him. "I don't mind the trouble. I could handle anything that would be thrown at me. Besides, even if I do tell someone how to create an sPhone, they wouldn't understand the procedure or even just the gist of it. Not everyone could have the same brain as me, after all. That's already quite evident, considering the number of people who tried to copy it and yet failed miserably."

Li Wei felt a muscle on his face twitched. This brat might have thought that he disguised it quite well, but Li Wei could still hear the hidden mockery in his voice. It was true that when the boom of sPhone started here in Xing, he saw the explosive market it has. So he asked the imperial artisans and alchemists to make a copy of an sPhone. But those famed inventors couldn't even make heads or tails on how it exactly worked.

So in a way, Argent Blackbourne was right. If he was not there to supervise anything, a copy of an sPhone wouldn't be produced.

Li Wei looked at the kid in front of him. One could immediately feel the indifferent atmosphere around him. But there was also the underlying confidence that showed his faith in his own ability. Something a NoGift - even if he's a genius - would not easily have. In that regard, Li Wei does admire him.

He did want for Xing to have their own version of sPhone. But it looked like that would not happen anytime soon as long as they didn't understand the principle behind it. In that case, for now, it would be best to have a good relationship with Silver Corporation. His fourth son did a good job on that front. The only problem was he did it for his brother and not for the betterment of Xing. Easily showing that that son of his still had a lot to learn.

"Now, let's talk about that business deal you made with Ah Jun," the Emperor said, suddenly changing the subject. "This Emperor already read the plan and heard of your request. What you proposed was indeed great and could help Xing in a lot of ways. This Emperor only wants to have a few change in the contract. Instead of Ah Jun, the 40 percent that was promised would go to the royal treasury of Xing. Don't worry, Ah Jun already agreed to this change."

Argent would just bet that the fourth prince did not agree on his own accord. But she didn't care about that. As long as she could search Xing freely, the money could go to anyone for all she cared. "It would also not be a problem for me, Your Majesty."

"Good. About your request, when you go out, the head eunuch will give you a seal that would allow you to enter any town and place in Xing. But you have to do it under supervision. Not that this Emperor doubts you, but it's not safe for you or your sister to go around the country without anyone at least acting as your guide. You understand, right?" the Emperor said, smiling.

"Of course, Your Majesty. If that's the case, then could I request for the younger General Zhang to go with us?" If it's Lei Feng, Argent had a feeling that he wouldn't really be much of a hindrance. In fact, if she asked, he might even help them. "Having him would be much better than a complete stranger."

"General Zhang is indeed a good choice."

Then they proceeded in signing the new contract. When Argent thought that that would be the end of that, the Emperor suddenly started a very unexpected conversation.

"Do you know why this Emperor wanted you to visit the palace today?"

"Wasn't it to sign the new contract?"

"That was one. But the bigger reason was for this Emperor to have a clear look at your face." Argent showed a confused expression. "You see, 15 years ago, a thief tried to sneak in in one of my summer villas. Coincidentally, this Emperor was there at that time in disguised for an inspection. This Emperor tried to stop him and we exchanged blows. But he still managed to escape with the thing that he stole. During our fight, the half-mask he was wearing was destroyed and this Emperor had a glimpsed of his face.

"As time went by, this Emperor completely forgot about that incident. Maybe because what he stole was really not that much of import. But when this Emperor saw a picture of you, that incident returned once again to this Emperor's mind. So this Emperor wanted to take a closer look at your face. And it was really indeed similar. Your face to that thief's, that is," the Emperor finished, looking at her with a meaningful smile.

Argent was shocked by what she heard. Because there could only be one person who could have a similar face to Argent's. That missing father of hers.

But she immediately calmed her mind. Because she remembered what Lei Feng said to her earlier about the Emperor - that he loved mind games. It's possible that he found out about her missing father and made up this story just to mess with her. Probably to get back for the little impertinence she showed earlier.

"Do you not believe this Emperor?" the Emperor asked after quite sometime when he didn't receive any response from Argent. His black eyes were filled with amusement.

"That's not it, Your Majesty."

"That's alright. If you don't believe this Emperor, you could search for that courtesan who was with me at that time. Like this Emperor, she also saw the face of that thief." He looked at Argent. "This Emperor believes that Lord Blackbourne would surely want to meet that thief. But clearly, this Emperor was wrong."

"What makes Your Majesty think that I would want to meet a thief?"

"Two people having similar features is quite rare. So this Emperor just thought that it would interest Lord Blackbourne."

Argent clenched her fists. Although there was a chance that the Emperor was just playing her, there was also a chance that he was telling the truth. Especially if she managed to talk to that courtesan he was talking about. If Argent could talk to her, then she would know. And if that thief really was her father, then what he stole might even be connected to her mother's abduction.

"Your Majesty is right. It was indeed interesting. Could I have the name of the courtesan you were talking about, so I could talk to her?"

The Emperor smiled at her. "This Emperor no longer remembers her name. After all, it happened so long ago."

At that moment, it took everything in Argent just not to turn her bracelet into a sword and stab this annoying Emperor.