Chapter 1: First night with full Moon!

As it was said by the king, so it was done!

In a short time, someone reaches the Astronomy Tower and the royal envoy goes to the enemy camp to propose a peace treaty.

When the king's personal attendant comes to the tower in search of the Great Star-Gazer, the second princess of Xilu is still lingering in the Hall of Astronomy, playing with her master's tools.

Actually, the Great Star-Gazer, who is respected by so many in Xilu, is the personal tutor of the second princess (the daughter of a concubine who has died right after giving birth).

So, when Xilan hears the footsteps of two people approaching the hall, she fastly hides behind some bookshelves.

The two men enter the hall discussing about something important:

"Regarding what I have told you, the king would like to know when is the auspicious time for the marriage of the first princess with the emperor of Zhengzhou! He wants an answer as fast as possible!"....says the king's attendant.

"Is there no other way out of this?"...asks the Star-Gazer.

"I don't think it is....

Even though the king is reluctant to let the princess go to Zhengzhou, the elders and the other ministers strongly support this idea.They believe this will put an end to the war!"...murmurs the attendant.

"Zhengzhou has brutal men! You can see that on the battlefield. Who knows if a small tribute can stop this conflict! I personally think they want the whole land and our people as slaves to dig the precious crystals, and besides that, the queen won't allow her precious daughter to go there!"...adds the Star-Gazer.

....a complete silence befalls on the entire hall when the two men stop talking. Not even a mosquito can be heard.

After a moment, the conversation starts again:

"In any case, you only have to read the stars and give us the result! Everyone is waiting for your conclusion! Let's hope it will be a good choice!"...says the attendant.

"I understand. Tonight, I will observe the constellations and tomorrow morning everyone will have the desired answer. I also hope to see a favourable sign tonight!"....replies the star gazer.

The royal attendant leaves the hall and the Star-Gazer remains lost through his messed up thoughts, but somewhere in the hall an object falls down and the noise produced when it hits the ground awakens him from his dream.

"Who is there?"...he startled asks, "Show yourself!"

No one appears, so he says again: "Damn rat, I won't be merciful when I catch you if you make me lose my cool!"

Another moment of silence befalls upon the grand hall....

Shortly after, the little mouse gets out from the hideout and shyly speaks: "It's me, grand tutor! Xilan! Oops! You caught me!"

Frowned, he asks her: "Did you overhear the previous conversation, princess Xilan?"

"Oops! I am sorry! I think I just heard something, but don't worry, I will not tell anyone! I promise!"...says Xilan.

No one says another word.

Shortly after, the princess starts questioning her tutor again: "Is it true that they want to send Ah-Xua to Zhengzhou to be the emperor's wife? Grand-tutor, you have to stop my father! Please find an excuse to make him cancel this marriage! Can you do that?"

"Princess, I am afraid I cannot help you! I am not allowed to interfere in politics. I am just a star gazer without any authority in the royal court! If I speak against this edict, I may ruin my entire life!"...says the tutor.

"But so many people respect you and you are also one of the greatest sorcerers of Xilu. Even the princes were tutored by you! I can't believe you have no word to say in this matter!"...complains the girl.

"Princess, I really can not help you this time! It is not up to me!"....apologizes the grand tutor.

"Fine, then I won't follow you from now on anymore! I'll ask for another tutor!"....yells the angered princess.

"Princess, I really can't do anything about this matter! Please understand me! It's up to you to have what teacher you want. If you want to cancel our contract, I won't stop you!"...says the man.

More angered, the princess kicks his leg with her slender foot.

"Ouch!"...screams the tutor. "Princess, I really can't help you!"

"Of course you can't! As a woman, I can only wait for someone to decide my destiny? After one or two years, I'll end up like my big sister too, married to a foreign country! Don't you think is a bit unfair, grand tutor? Why do I have to be just a weak creature, a tool for someone?"...she yells.

"Sigh!"...sobs her tutor.

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