Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

Li Juan stared incredulously at Guan Lin Zheng's proud face, her mind struggling to digest the truth behind his shocking revelation.

Her mind flogging with countless questions.

Lee Tae Yang indeed appear intimidating and overbearing in first look, but he was calm and composed in real, definitely not revengeful or maleficent enough to kill people,

He is a doctor.

He knows the value of human life.

He is well aware of the extreme difficulty of saving a life from death's hands- a person like him can never lethally injure someone, let alone kill.

As Li Juan's mind started to argue in support of Lee Tae Yang's kind and considerate personality, a faint knock followed by the moving sound of the door panel pulled her back into reality.

"Xiao Li," Lee Tae Yang's deep voice rang in the silent room.

Li Juan raised her tired and weary eyes at the familiar figure of her man.

"Why are you-" His surprised tone turned grim when he caught the sight of the bandages on Li Juan's exhausted face, 

"What happened to you?" Lee Tae Yang asked and moved to her side, 

"Save your questions for another time and take her inside," Guan Lin Zheng instructed his grandson and rose to his feet, "She drove from Yun city, let her take rest," 

"Yes, grandpa," Lee Tae Yang immediately agreed and glanced at the woman whose eyes were fixed on him.

"Please be our guest, miss Bai," Guan Lin Zheng's request made Li Juan snap out from her muddled thoughts and her tightened lips gradually relaxed into a faint smile.

"Thank you, elder Guan," She stood up from the seat and slightly bowed before him.

Guan Lin Zheng acknowledged her gestures with a nod and then, looked at his grandson, silently commanding Lee Tae Yang to take her away.

"Xiao Li, please," Lee Tae Yang led her to his bedroom, leaving Guan Lin Zheng and Hu Hanmin in the living room with their discussions.

As soon as the couple walked out of the room, Guan Lin Zheng turned towards the head butler,

"What do you think, chief Hu? Does miss Bai fits the title of "the daughter in law of the Guan family?" He asked for Hu Hanmin's opinion,

"After meeting miss Bai in person, I can undoubtedly assure that she is the one for the young master," Hu Hanmin said with an honest smile, "I can see why young master fell heads over heels for her and spent his youth in waiting for her,"

Guan Lin Zheng's lips curled into a wide grin, agreeing with whatever Hu Hanmin has said,

"She got a character that is rare to find nowadays, especially, "the willingness to admit her wrongdoings and mistakes," For the sake of saving the relationship, she could have just hidden whatever she has done from him. But instead of that, she came right here to confess and seek repentance from him. She really lives up to her name, Li Juan, bold and beautiful," Guan Lin Zheng said proudly,

"Intelligent too," Hu Hanmin added his perceptive towards the woman for whom they all waited so far to become the daughter in law of Guan family. 

"But I think she is blind, or else how did that brat be able to perfectly fool such a girl until now?"Guan Lin Zheng said sarcastically, when he remembered Li Juan's startlement on mentioning Lee Tae Yang being different.

"Anyway, let's give a call to Han Qing and Gu Ying, there is no point in delaying the proposal any longer, we should pay a visit to Yu palace as soon as possible," Guan Lin Zheng suggested and took his cell phone, to call his nephews.

At the same time, Lee Tae Yang and Li Juan was walking hand in hand through the corridors leading the inner court of the palace.

"Your grandpa is quite intimidating," Li Juan made a honest comment and placed her head on Lee Tae Yang's shoulder, snuggling up to him.

"He is actually sweet and caring," Lee Tae Yang corrected her with a hearty grin. "But he won't show that side to anyone. A typical military tsundere,"

"Tian gege and you, both of his grandsons share some similarities with him," She shared her opinion as she recalled general Guan's impeccably superior genes.

"Trust me, we are not half good as grandpa in his prime," Lee Tae Yang chortled as he opened the door and let Li Juan enter into his bedroom.

As soon she stepped into the room, Li Juan's jaw-dropped at the perfect amalgamation of the modern and traditional style interior design of his room.

"I will get you something to change," Lee Tae Yang casually said and went to bring her change of clothes.

However, when he came back, Li Juan was still checking out the interior of his room, especially the huge painting of a mountain valley hung on the wall.

What did he expect from his woman who is a hardcore "Retrophile,"

With a broad smile lingering in his face, Lee Tae Yang ambled towards Li Juan and circled her slender frame into a tight embrace,

"I missed you," He cooed in her ears as he breathed her sweet scent and placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck,

"I missed you so much," He repeated as his tantalizing hot breaths caressed her ears.

Li Juan could help but smile when the familiar warmth started to spread over her body.

She leaned onto his broad chest and covering his arms with hers as a sense of security filling in her mind,

"I missed you too," She murmured and repositioned herself to face him.

While the pair of her glistening black eyes stare into him, the brave front Li Juan that has been plastered on her face gradually faded away.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face on his chest.

Realizing that his plan to send Li Juan away has left her in pain, Lee Tae Yang gently kissed the top of her head and held her close.

It was a tough period for them. 

The tragedy that befell them has done more damage than anything else.

They didn't even get an opportunity to be each other's solace and grieve over their loss.

"I'm sorry, I did not come to pick you any sooner," Lee Tae Yang mumbled his apology and pulled her away from him, only enough to see her face.

When he got a close look at Li Juan's face, he felt a sharp pain in his chest,

One of the bandages was just above her eyebrows, luckily missing her eyes,

He touched her face tenderly, fearing he might hurt you and leans down to place a kiss on her forehead,

"Will you change into something comfortable and..... let me redo the bandages," He requests as he hands over the clothes to her and guided her to the bathroom, 

When Li Juan came after changing and washing her face, Lee Tae Yang was ready with the first aid box. She trudged up to him and sat silently to dress her wounds.

The ghastly sight of the open cuts and lacerations on her face, made Lee Tae Yang's blood boil in anger. 

He clenched his jaw to suppress his vexation and carefully began to sterilizes the wounds.

"Why aren't you asking anything? Like how I got injured and all," Li Juan tried to initiate a conversation when she saw his unsmiling and stern face up close,

"We are taught to analyse the wounds on the patient," He said monotonously.

"Ohh," She replied and pursed her lips into a pout, "So you are angry,"

A small smile curls on Lee Tae Yang's lips upon watching her sulk at his words.

"Thank god, you don't need any stitches," His voice turns delicate just like his touches as he tried to pacify her.

"You are not angry at me?" She raised a brow at him and asked to clarify,

Lee Tae Yang wobbled his head into a "No", confusing her once again.

He can be intimidating sometimes, but not even for once, she has seen him losing temper or getting angry at anyone. How can a person like him hurt someone?

No! Li Juan stopped her thoughts from wandering around and struggled to stay calm.

"But I'm a bit mad at you," She pulled a long face at the man and said in a petulant tone, "You didn't tell me that you live in a palace,"

"What is there to tell someone who lives in a palace, enthroned as a Queen?" Lee Tae Yang asked her while pasting antibiotic ointments on her wounds. 

Once he did bandaging Li Juan's wounds, Lee Tae Yang helped her to lie down on the soft bed, allowing her rest.

It was evident that she was exhausted to death.

"Come here," Li Juan pulled the man who was about to leave the bed and made him lie next to her so that she could snuggle into his arms.

"Try to get some sleep," He caressed her cheeks and suggested in low voice.

"I don't think I will be able to sleep after knowing that I'm staying at the inner court of Dai Jinlong palace," Li Juan shared her excitement of visiting the palace for the first time, "How can you just hide the fact that you live here?"

"Actually nobody lives here, we just gather around for ceremonies and special occasions," He affirms,

"Why is that so?" Li Juan asked, childish innocence and curiosity rippling in her big eyes.

"Hmmm, why is that so?" Lee Tae Yang contemplated for a moment. He then took her hand and started to count using her fingers.

"First of all, we don't have a big family like yours. With people or without people, this place doesn't make much difference- It will be always silent and eerie," He stated and moved her ring finger,

"Secondly, ours is a military family and thanks to the deputations, five of us live in different places. As I have already said, we only come here on special occasions," He paused and hesitated a moment before went on talking about the next reason.

"Last and finally, there is a huge rumour going around in this place that Dai Jinlong palace is haunted by memory ghosts," 

"Memory ghosts?" Li Juan's repositioned herself to face him, her eyes widening in disbelief, "This palace is haunted by ghosts?" The tip of her nose turning red in fright.

"Well, it is not an actual ghost, silly," Lee Tae Yang tapped the tip of her nose and grinned, 

"It is more like a psychological trick that our mind plays on us. We have already the preset notion about the old spooky places that it is always haunted by ghosts and spirits. And Jinlong palace is an age-old deserted place without any occupants. So once you starts living here, our mind started to rewind those horror stories that we've already heard and give us a feeling of being watched by someone, hearing or seeing some figures etc," Lee Tae Yang tried to break it down for her, without scaring her off. 

"Have you ever experienced it?" Li Juan asked him in a worried tone. 

"I have..My experiences are quite different from what others had...I used to get nightmares that almost felt like reality whenever I stay here. Grandpa still thinks that it is the reason why I became a doctor over a soldier," He admitted with a chortle,

"You become a doctor because of a nightmare?" Her eyebrows perched high when she heard him mentioning nightmares.

"Hmmm, I used to have nightmares in which I appear like some kind of military doctor who always fails to save his patients. People dying before my eyes, all those blood and gore. It was indeed torturous. I think, it did influence me to choose a medical career," He replies and stared at her confused face, 

"If I ask you something, will you honestly answer me?" Li Juan inquired suddenly, 

"Hmmm, I swear I'll only speak the truth," He agreed right away without any reluctance.

"What do you like the most, working as a doctor or being a CEO?" She asked like a school counsellor who is in charge of assessing the student's career options.

"It's a tricky question, Xiao Li," He gave her a vague reply and continued, "At this point, even I don't know what do I like the most," 

Hearing his reply, Li Juan raised from the bed and sat leaning on the headrest,

Her face full of doubts,

When Lee Tae Yang realized that Li Juan is not going to sleep unless she gets her answers, he let out a sigh and placed his head on her lap, waiting for her queries.

"Suppose, if you get a chance to continue your career as a doctor, will you go for it?" She inquired after thinking for a while, 

"Practically speaking it is not possible, Xiao Li. A sudden change in the CEO position might lead to chaos among the board members. Plus we still haven't found someone capable enough to lead Lee corporation instead of me," He replied honestly to her questions as he promised earlier. 

"What if Tae Min starts working?" Li Juan asked as she ran her fingers through his hair, 

"I don't think he is interested in leading the corporation but he might start working in the software and technology division in the future," Lee Tae Yang shared his expectations about Lee Tae Min. He will never let his little brother go through the same torment of managing the entire burden of a large conglomerate.

"But aren't you the one who treated me when I got injured while we were in Tu valley?" She recalled whatever she heard about him.

"I barely assisted the main surgeon. Uncle Gu and Tian, kind of forced me to do it. To be honest, I wasn't very confident with my skills and my state of mind at that time. Looking back now, I feel terrible. What would have happened if a made mistake?" Lee Tae Yang shook off the direful thought from his mind as his hand reach for her left hand and plants a tender kiss on the back of her palm.

"I heard that you were considered as one of the best due to your exceptional skills and surgeons were trying to scout you into their team," Li Juan remarked,

"Wait a minute, where did you hear all these?" He sounded baffled as he spoke, "That happened six-seven years ago,"

"But it's true, isn't it?" She asks for affirmation, "Why didn't you continue working as a doctor even after uncle Tae Joon recovered from the accident ?"

"At that time, I had enough on my plate. I was physically and mentally exhausted. Why gamble with someone's life when I'm not in control of my own mind?" He said bitterly, the look on his face seemed rueful as he spoke,

"It only takes one mistake to ruin everything you've achieved so far,"

Li Juan silently listened to him, an affectionate gaze lingering on her eyes,

"I was only 23 years old when I took charge as the acting CEO of Lee Corporation. No matter how hard I tried to get things done, there were always people who nitpicked and criticized me. Almost all of the board members were against me. They literally despised the fact that they are working for a "kid".

He let out a mocking laugh and let open the burdening sack of his struggles in professional life,

"I was too invested in bringing back Lee corporation to its glory and of course, I was obsessed with proving everyone that I'm capable of leading a congolmerate,"

"It must have been hard for you," She said while stroking his head as a comforting gesture. While they were together, Li Juan never had a conversation about Lee Tae Yang's professional life. Since he was born into a privileged family, she mistook that everything went easy for him.

"Hmmm, I used to believe that I got high self-restraint and high tolerance. But working at headquarters for three months proved me wrong. Nobody went easy on me even though I'm a newcomer. They condescended me for having a foreigner mother. Called me names, spread rumors behind my back. They were like a cackle of hyenas, taking down the prey by biting and dragging it down," As he went on with words, Lee Tae Yang's tone unknowingly changed grim and forbidding,

"There were days when I felt like killing them," He said coldly, the air around him turning extremely overbearing,

"Crushing them like ants,"

The look on his handsome face turning dark in a grimace as he plunged deep into his dark past without realizing that someone was silently scrutinizing him.

"And you killed them?" Li Juan's steely voice pulled him back to reality.

Witnessing her emotionless face, he unconsciously raised from her lap, his heart palpitating crazily.

"The dark emperor of Lee Corporation, the devil in disguise," She enunciated with a deadpan expression, her sharp icy cold words pointing right at his heart,

"These are not just any nicknames, right?"