Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

"Who is he?" Li Juan examined the boy in the photograph. He looks so familiar. Where did she meet him? Li Juan searched in her memories.

"They are our nephews." Lin Li-Hui smiled with affectionate eyes. "Jun and Yu."

"Oh, they are so cute. It must be nice to have cousins." Li Juan smiled while looking at the picture.

Lin Li-Hui turned her head upon hearing Li Juan's comment.

"I am the only child in my family." Li Juan explained.

"Then your parents must have loved you a lot."

Li Juan replied with a faint smile." They loved me a lot."

Suddenly the smile vanished from her pretty face and replaced by seriousness. 

"Mrs, Zhang, can I say something inappropriate?"

Lin Li-Hui looked at the girl who stood before with a wavering smile. What is she going to say?

"I am jealous of you." Li Juan said with a pout.

"Huh, why?"

"You captured every single moment of your daughter." Li Juan pointed at the various photographs kept on the wall. "You all look so happy. My mom never had time to create such memories." 

"Was your mother was busy with work?" Lin Li-Hui asked with gentle eyes. She could understand Li Juan's feelings. Li Juan was a single child and with her mom being busy all day, she must have been lonely.

"Hmmm." Li Juan nodded. "I wish my mom could have spent more time with me." 

Lin Li-Hui touched Li Juan's arm as a way to console her.

" Every parent lives for their child, Xiao Li. Even though your mother didn't create such memories, she must have been worked hard to provide you with a good life. There is nothing to be jealous. It takes an immense amount of courage and commitment for a woman to handle a career after marriage. If my family hadn't supported me, I would've ended my career." 

"Yeah, it must be nice to have a big family." Li Juan said while examining the family photos.

" You surprise me Xiao Li, I thought youngsters like you, prefer to live alone." 

"I live alone and it is an extremely depressing experience." Li Juan was completely lost in examining the pictures. "It would've been very nice if my mom was born in a big family like yours." 

"Our family remains together only because of the laws made by our ancestors. They made sure that no one leaves the family or splits the family ties at any cost."

"Oh, it sounds like an authoritarian regime." Li Juan blurted out in astonishment.

However, the expression on Lin Li-Hui's face immediately turned sour. 

Huh, did she make mistake by calling Lin Li-Hui's family authoritarian? Did she hurt Mrs Zhang's feeling? Li Juan cursed herself in mind.

"My ancestors belong to a mountainous tribe. Due to the power disputes and feudal wars, they lost their land and forced to take refuge in Yun city. Staying together as one big family was their only option to remember their motherland." Lin Li-Hui explained with a stern and gloomy face. 

Yes, she did hurt Lin Li-Hui's feelings, Li Juan immediately realized her mistake and apologised.

"I am sorry Mrs Zhang, I didn't expect there will be such stories. I am really sorry."

Damn Li Juan, why can't you have a proper conversation? She scolded in mind.

"I didn't intend to hurt your feelings, Mrs Zhang," Li Juan tried to explain. " I like to live in a Joint family, but if you are forced to follow the family's tradition against one's wish, then it turns into something unacceptable."

"Hmm," Lin Li-Hui's face remained aloof. 

"What I've said is entirely based on my experience. My dad's family was very strict. They kicked him out of the family for marrying my mother against their wishes. They didn't even come to his funeral. For them, my mother and I were two evil people who ruined their family's reputation.

I never lived with my relatives, so I don't know how things are going in a joint family. All I ever had was my mom. I apologise if I offended you or your family by any means. I am really sorry, Mrs Zhang." Li Juan bowed to express her apology.

However, Lin Li-Hui grabbed her shoulder and stopped her from bowing.

"Please don't, I was wrong too, I was a bit quick to judge you, I am really sorry."

" Please, Mrs Zhang. To be honest, I was just jealous of how you all look so happy and pretty as a family." Li Juan tried to explain her real emotions about Lin Li-Hui's family.

" When I was a kid, people used to ask my mom, whether I am adopted or born in a mixed race. My mom only had me and how can they ask her like that?" Li Juan said with a faint smile. 

"In Jing city, people are too obsessed with light skin tones.

Even I used to change schools because of that. If we would've known that people in Yun city are different from the rest of the country. We would've moved straight away so that my mom can live peacefully without being questioned about her child." 

"I am sorry to hear that you had to fo through such terrible situations." Lin Li-Hui said with a concerned face. "But now the world has changed. Hasn't it?" 

"Well, not completely, even nowadays, people treat me as a foreigner. When I meet someone for the first time, they are like "Oh miss Li Juan, you speak our language so well," Li Juan said with a grin. 

"They don't believe me if I say my parents are from C country. They will be like you don't have an accent- Ufffooo, My dad is from Yun city, my mom is from S city. They met and fell in love and had me in Jing City. I was living in Jing city from the beginning, then how can I not have a Jing city accent?" Li Juan jokingly shared her experience having a different skin colour.

"Oh, your father is from Yun city?" Lin Li-Hui was curious. "Where in Yun city?"

"I don't know," 

"You don't know, what about his family name?" 

"I don't know that either." 

There was visible confusion in Lin Li-Hui's face. "What is your father's name?"

"Have you finished the house tour? Miss Li has got a train to catch. Let's have dinner." Zhang Zi Zhong interrupted their conversation. 

"Oh, I forgot, Xiao Li. Shall we have dinner?" Lin Li-Hui held Li Juan's arm and lead her towards the dining room.

Around 8 pm, the excavation team who went for checking the air route returned back to the hotel.

Supervisor Wang Shiwei got down from the car with a tired face and helped Cheng Tao, who appeared even wearier. 

"Xiao Tang, can you look after that boy,?" Wang Shiwei asked Tang Wei Sheng who looked better in shape.

"Yes, supervisor Wang." Tang Wei Sheng supported Lee Tae Min who could barely stand straight.

"Tae Min, can you walk?" 

"Hmm," Lee Tae Min held on to Tang Wei Sheng's arms like a child who refuses to leave his parents.

Tang Wei Sheng, helped him to walk towards the banquet hall.

"What happened?" Han Guang looked at his assistants who appeared devastated.

"The turbulence was too much for them. Only Xiao Tang could handle that pressure. " Wang Shiwei notified them. 

"Can you check their condition?" Tang Wei Sheng asked the doctor who is in charge. 

"Thank God, I've decided to stay back." The doctor checked Lee Tae Min's condition and immediately put him on the glucose drip. Cheng Tao's condition was much better than Lee Tae Min who continuously vomited due to the motion sickness. 

"How was it?" Han Guang asked Wang Shiwei in a worried tone. By the condition of people who went for the air route check, it is evident that it was a rough ride.

"It is suicidal." Cheng Tao replied in a horrified voice.

"YAAAA, shut up and take rest." Wang Shiwei scolded Cheng Tao who is being checked by the doctor.

"Air route is possible only if the weather conditions are favourable." Wang Shiwei started to explain the struggles they faced during the journey.

"We tried to go through the south-east ridge of Tu mountains, but the wind speed was too much. Due to the turbulence, we made a turn at halfway and took the route which Xiao Li suggested."

"You guys followed the Xi river?" Han Guang asked in surprise. The Xi River, which is the largest river in the C country originated from Tu mountains. As per Li Juan's findings based on the ancient route map, one of the tributaries of the Xi river used to flow towards the lost city.

"What do you suggest supervisor Wang?" Han Guang asked.

"As I've already said the air route through south-east ridge is possible only if the weather conditions are favourable. Or we need to take a detour through "Xi Bei restricted area". 

"But it is strictly under military surveillance, we need permission to go there." Han Guang deliberated on that choice.

"On the behalf of Tang Corporations, I can try to get permission." Tang Wei Sheng suggested. After all his uncle was a high ranking official in the army.

"It will be time-consuming, Xiao Tang." Wang Shiwei discouraged him.

"Either we should travel by well-equipped aircraft or we should try travelling in groups. Crossing the Tu mountain is the main obstacle, after that everything is smooth."

"You don't even believe that such a place exists in this world. It must be counted as one of the top mysteries of the world." Cheng Tao said with amusement.

"For all these years, it was well hidden from all the satellites eyes and you guys just draw it out from some history books." Wang Shiwei praised Han Guang.

"Where is Noona?"Suddenly Lee Tae Min asked in a low voice.

"Ah where is she, I didn't see her at all." Cheng Tao repeated the question and looked around. No wonder he felt something was missing. Even Ning Jing and her assistant is here.

Why Li Juan is nowhere to see when both of her colleagues fell sick?

"Li Juan left." Han Guang said with downcasted eyes.

"What?" Everyone was surprised to hear that.

"She failed in the medical test." 

"But everything was fine when we took," Lee Tae Min tried to explain.

"She started taking the Antidepressants," Han Guang sounded dejected." Again." 

"Miss Li is having fluctuating blood pressure due to her medicine intake. It will be extremely dangerous to travel in this condition. She should stay back and recuperate," The doctor in charge explained.

"Where is she now?" Tang Wei Sheng who remained silent, asked him.

"She went back to Jing city."

Tang Wei Sheng stood up and took out his mobile phone to call someone.

"How can she leave?" Cheng Tao left in utter disbelief.

"Professor, how can you let her go?" Lee Tae Min said in a disappointment.

"Do you think I didn't try to stop her?" Han Guang argued.

"When did she leave?" Tang Wei Sheng who was still on phone call asked Han Guang

"It must be less than an hour." 

"Less than an hour, stop her at any cause," Tang Wei Sheng ended the conversation and turned to face Lee Tae Min. 

"Try to call her," 

"I am coming with you." Lee Tae Min tried to remove the needles attached in his wrist. 

"Where are you going?" Han Guang tried to stop him.

"How can I stay here, when she is left alone?"

"Lee Tae Min, Stay here." Tang Wei Sheng said in a commanding voice.

"CEO Tang, Noona is sick," 

"I know, I've asked to track her phone. Try calling her and ask her to come back, she will listen to you." 

Tang Wei Sheng instructed them and turns to walk away,

"Wei Sheng, where are you going?" Ning Jing, who remained like a silent spectator stood up to stop Tang Wei Sheng.

He glanced at Ning Jing and ignored her question.

"CEO Tang, she went to the railway station." Han Guang informed him.

"Where are you going," Ning Jing again blocked Tang Wei Sheng's path.

"She left her own, why do you care for a random girl?"

"It is none of your business." Tang Wei Sheng looked at with a murderous glare. The intensity in his eyes scared Ning Jing and she slowly steps down from his way. 

"CEO Tang," Han Guang walked towards Tang Wei Sheng and moved him away from.

"She asked me to give you, this,"

Han Guang gave him the jade ring. 

"It is a burden for her."

"Am I burden for you?" Tang Wei Sheng looked the solitaire diamond in the ring and asked again.

"Am I burden for my moon?"