THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THEMES WHICH MAY BE UPSETTING FOR SOME READERS

After two days of the crying its heart out, the gloomy sky has finally smiled,

Li Juan sat on the thin railing of the balcony, bathed in warm sunlight, looking at the panoramic view of Yun mountains,

Whenever she looks at the Yun mountains her heart ached, it reminded her of the Tu mountains,

Will she ever be able to climb the majestic Tu mountain and touch down the sacred earth of Yu kingdom?

Will she ever be able to find the truth about the queen?

"Princess, what are you doing?" Get down from there," Ji Ya who came looking for her, panicked when she saw Li Juan sitting on the thin railing of the balcony.

"It is slippery due to the rain, please get down," Ji Ya walked carefully and held Li Juan's arm tightly.

"What if I fall from here?" Li Juan asked with an expressionless face.

" You are scaring me, get down from there," Ji Ya was worried, these days princess has been acting weird,

"Your friend is here to meet you,"

"Liang?" Li Juan asked in anticipated voice,

"Yes, he is talking to your eldest uncle,"

Hmm, Li Juan carefully got down from the railing and walked towards her room,

"Okay, Let me get you a jacket," Ji Ya walked towards the closet and when she came back with the jacket, Li Juan was nowhere to see,

Liang embraced the girl in his arms and gently stroked her wavy hair, "It's alright,"

Li Juan didn't want to break down in front of Liang,

but the moment she saw his familiar form, the pent up emotions in her heart unleashed all at once,

Somehow he has become an important person in her life,

A person with whom she can share everything, someone who supports her, someone who wishes for her well being,

What is this public display of affection?

Zhang Zhi Jun couldn't take it any longer. He stood up from the seat and walked towards the door.

Bai Qi who returned from the garden ran into his grandson who appeared dispirited,

He held Zhang Zhi Jun's arm and stopped him from leaving.

"Grandpa!"

Bai Qi held on to Zhang Zhi Jun and led him back to the living room,

"You came again, young man!" Bai Qi asked Liang.

Hearing her grandfather's voice, Li Juan moved away from Liang's embrace and looked at Bai Qi.

"Good morning, Elder Bai." Liang greeted,

"Hmm, good morning, what happened to princess?"Bai Qi examined Li Juan's tear stricken face,

"Are you that happy to meet your friend?"

"Sorry grandpa," Li Juan wiped her eyes.

"Are you feeling any better? and why are you wearing so little?" Bai Qi asked when he saw what Li Juan was wearing." Get her something warm to wear,"

Ji Ya who stood in the staircase rushed towards Li Juan to hand over her jacket. However, Liang has already removed his trench coat and placed it on her shoulders and wrapped his arm over her shoulder.

"Elder Bai, I wish to take her with me," Liang said in a calm voice.

Li Juan turned to look at him in surprise,

"Hmm, only if the princess is willing to come with you." Bai Qi examined Li Juan's surprised face and agreed.

"Father," Bai Zhu called his father in disbelief.

"Liang, what are you saying?" Li Juan asked him in a low voice.

"Tae Min called me again," Liang turned to face Li Juan,

"He said that his Noona might need a doctor to look after her while travelling to high altitudes,"

Li Juan stood staring at him, unable to process what he just said,

"Go, pack your bags, researcher Li, we are going to find your lost city." Liang's lips curled into a smile, revealing a pair of cute dimples on his cheeks.

Li Juan was lost for a moment, he has dimples?

"We are going on an expedition." His deep voice pulled her back to the senses,

"But Miss Ning," Li Juan shared her biggest worry, "she refrained me from returning,"

"It is not her who takes decisions for you."

"But if I go, they may dismiss Professor Han," Li Juan pursed her lips for a moment and said with downcasted eyes, "They even cancelled my scholarship,"

Liang pushed his hair back and looked around,

Girl, you are one of the heirs of Bai corporations, do you really need a scholarship?

"I forgot to tell you, there is something inside the pocket," Liang said to her,

"can you take a look?"

Li Juan put her hand into the pocket of the trench coat and took out an envelope,

"Read it,"

Li Juan opened the envelope which is addressed to her.

"We are glad to inform that, you are selected for the Fullbright global scholarship for meritorious students"

Her eyes quickly ran through the letter,

"funded by Lee Corporations?" Li Juan asked in disbelief.

"Hmm, actually CEO Lee wanted to inform you personally-"

Li Juan interrupted him, "Isn't it Tae Min's?" She asked to confirm.

She knew that Lee Tae Min belonged to a prestigious family in K country. But how can he use his authority to give her a scholarship, that too within a single day?

Not to mention that the letter was signed by the CEO himself,

"Didn't you said that he is the famous second master of Lee corporation?"

"But Liang this is, how can I accept this?"

From the moment Lee Tae Min became a part of Han Guang's team he took care of Li Juan as his own sister.

Making her breakfast to taking her to the hospital, he did everything a brother must do for his sister.

When Li Juan said that she will leave the country once her research finishes, Lee Tae Min even suggested settling in K country with his family.

Lee Tae Min had done so much for her, but this,

"Uffo Li Juan, Ace of the archaeology department, you didn't get the scholarship because of recommendation. You earned it with your hard work and talent," Liang tried to convince her.

"CEO Lee wishes that you continue the research and pursue your dream of finding the lost city,"

"But still Liang?" Li Juan hesitated, She knows that Lee Tae Min loves her, but this kind of love, it's burdening her.

"Li Juan, do you believe me?" Liang grabbed her shoulders and looked at her black eyes.

"Hmm, yes,"

"Then go and pack your bags, we are leaving as soon as possible."

"But Liang," Li Juan looked at her family who was silently observing the interaction between them.

"Well, thanks for noticing that we are here," Bai Yu said in a mocking tone.

"Grandpa, I" Li Juan tried to explain,

"You said that you want to rejoin your team," Bai Qi said with a straight face.

"So why don't you sort it out first?"

"Grandpa, are you saying that I am allowed to go?" Li Juan was surprised,

"It is your decision."

Li Juan looked at Bai Qi and declared in a firm tone,

"I wish to leave,"

"Father," Bai Zhu called his father, "what is happening here?" He was quite annoyed by the visitor,

"Didn't we agreed that Princess will stay here and become the queen? Then why do we have to discuss it again?"

Though Bai Zhu had a different opinion on his niece's life choices, he was worried about her well being. From Liang's behaviour itself, it was clear that he had feelings for Li Juan. But what made him more worried was his mysterious identity.

"If she wishes to leave then, let her leave," Zhang Zhi Jun who understood his father's intentions, suggested,

Liang looked at Zhang Zhi Jun, he was actually surprised when he saw a celebrity in the house. Is he related to the Bai family?

"This is Bai Jun, Princess's fiancé." Bai Zhu introduced Zhang Zhi Jun as Li Juan's fiance in order to draw boundaries between his niece and this mysterious man.

Liang smiled and slightly bowed," Dai Liang, Li Juan's friend."

Friend and fiancé!

That made a clear division between the two men who had feelings for Li Juan.

" I am sorry, Mr Liang, but what do you mean that you came to take her?" Bai Zhu asked him. "We are planning her coronation."

"Bai Zhu, did you forgot that Princess asked for some time?" Bai Qi meddled in between.

"But she also said that once she comes back from Jing city we can conduct the coronation ceremony?"

Bai Zhu was getting angry, why his father is siding with a stranger?

While Bai Qi and his Bai Zhu were arguing Li Juan looked at her family in grief.

Whatever Bai Zhu said was true, she agreed to stay here, but she didn't expect that things will turn out like this.

"Elder Bai, sorry to interfere," Liang said in an apologetic tone and cut the conversation between the father and son.

"As someone who knows Li Juan, I know that she will be willing to do anything for her loved ones.

For her, you are the only family she has left in the world. I understood that you are delighted to meet the long lost member of your family.

I am sure that upon your request she will stay here. She will become your queen. Even marry the person you choose.

But have you ever thought about from her side?" Liang's question was directed towards everyone in the Bai family.

"You have every right to love and cherish her and you may think that keeping her close will be the best thing you can do for Li Juan who struggled to live amongst all odds."

"Liang," Li Juan tugged into his cuff and signalled him to stop, "Please,"

"If we refuse to talk now, you are going to regret it for the rest of your life,"

"They are my family, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings." She refused to speak up,

"What about your feelings Li Juan? Why do you have to ignore your feelings in order to keep others happy? That research is your dream, it was the only thing which kept you alive, how can you give up on your dreams and regret and suffer later? Liang bombarded her with questions. Honestly, he was disappointed with Li Juan's stance on the topic. Sometimes you need to be selfish to be happy.

As a friend, I cannot simply stand and watch you go through this pain. It is the time to let it go," Liang told her and turned to face Bai Qi.

"Elder Bai, whether you allow it or not, if Li Juan wants to go, I will take her wherever she wants to go."

Li Juan looked at him with bewildered eyes,

"Do you have anything to say, princess?" Bai Qi asked Li Juan, "we will go with your decision."

"Do you want to continue your research or do you wish to live as the Queen of Yu palace," Bai Zhu straightforwardly asked.

" I have a medical condition,"

"We are aware of that and I've already said that it is not going to be a problem,"

"No uncle, it is not like that," Li Juan corrected him,

"I don't know whether it can be called as a medical condition, maybe, huh it must be some psychological disorder,"

Li Juan's confession left everyone in utter silence.

"I used to have a troubled childhood, huh, what I am saying," She bitterly smiled, "I am still having it,

Back in school, kids used to bully me," Li Juan smiled bitterly, " For them, I was different, they used to call me names and tease me due to my skin colour. One day, they did something really bad that I lost my temper and hit the boy who teased me and almost broke his jaw,"

Li Juan scratched her hair and glanced at Bai Yu, with a smirk,

Bai Yu who immediately understood the inner meaning hidden in her words and gulped,

"It made my mom really worried and I was forced to get transferred to another school, but unfortunately the same thing happened there too. So I thought, it is better that I will ignore their teasings and study well. I managed to obtain a scholarship to study in one of the prestigious school in Jing city,"

Li Juan stopped for a moment,

" But no, nothing goes right for me. I was bullied by everyone for almost every day. There used to be a senior who treated me well," Li Juan scoffed,

"I believed that he was better than others and used to like him. I guess, he liked me too. He used to protect me from others and acted as a saviour. To be honest, I quite enjoyed it too," Her face had a melancholic smile,

"During the vacation, while I was working part-time, some people tried to abuse me and he came to rescue and got injured in the process. Soon after that, his family sent him abroad.

"On the day of his departure, I went to meet him and got into a car accident."

I was bedridden for two months and when I came back to school, there was a ridiculous rumour circulated among the students.

"I got sexually abused by him, got pregnant and nearly died during the abortion," Li Juan pursed her lips to control the uneasiness spreading in her mind.

"they were just rumours, even though it was painful, I tried to endure it since it was my final year at school. I terribly wanted to finish school."

"But it didn't happen,"

"They brutally bullied me, called me a whore, tore my books, filled my locker with trash, locked me in the toilet and even tried to strip me naked to check whether I am having some-"

Liang who silently listened to her wrapped his arm over her shoulder and held her closer. She looked at him with moist eyes and nodded,

"I didn't say anything about all those things that happened in school to my mom, I didn't want to hurt her. But that incident was too much handle it, I told my mom everything and we went back to S city. I got into a new school, started afresh, but the rumours followed me there."

Even I stayed away from everyone, I could hear their hurtful words and curses. It rang in my mind every time, even in my sleep. Maybe that was the beginning, I thought I was going to mad. But one day everything went silent,

Li Juan paused for a moment, "I fell down from the school building,"

" Did someone pushed me or I slipped or I intentionally jumped, I don't remember actually?" She avoided looking into others and tried to control her tears,

"I went into a coma and doctors said that it was impossible for me to recover,"

But miraculously I woke up on my birthday" Li Juan wiped her tears and smiled, "because of a dream,"