Seeing the King"s reaction, Mua Kong felt baffled. Was it really the King who was behind the murder? The King had an even more shock expression than him. When he heard the news from Yee Len, he was filled with rage and anger whereas the King was deeply shocked.

The King asked again, "What happened exactly? I was not aware of such news."

The airs around Mua Kong slowly loosen as he tried to calm down his raging heart.

The King"s eyes sharpened, he asked, "Are you suspecting me?"

"You"re the only one who voiced your dislike towards her, making you the first suspect."

Hearing Mua Kong"s accusation made the King furious, he stood up angrily and walked towards his son, "I would never do something underhanded behind my children"s back! I promised your mother, I would never cheat my children like my father, grandfathers and great grandfathers and those ancestors that came way before me!"

Mua Kong"s facial expression hasn"t change. He still remained silent.

"Now tell me what happened?! This also involves civilians. It is a matter of time before the family members come knocking on the door of Justice. I have the right to know." The King ordered.

Mua Kong slowly glanced at his father before explaining, "They were attacked the night before reaching the capitol. The inn they stayed at was burned down. All the guests and owner died. According to the closest neighbors to the inn, two people witnessed after the flames had died down but did not see anyone. If there really was survivors, why wouldn"t the survivor scream for help or run to seek help? Isn"t that too abnormal?"

The King listened intently and nodded. Mua Kong continued, "When I arrived at the site, there was evidence of sword wounds on my people. I lost one of my trusted man. My wife was nowhere to be found."

A puzzled look appeared on the King"s face. "If she"s nowhere to be found, doesn"t that make her a suspect? Supposed, she was the only survivor, why didn"t asked for help?" The King questioned. He has never met the woman his son loved dearly as his son forbid him to get close. When he sent someone to investigate, what he found was she did not have an origin, just a commoner. She could"ve been a spy from the neighboring countries for all he knows. From his perspective, the crime seemed to point to her.

"Nonsense!" Mua Kong shouted angrily. "I"ve known her since she was nine. She was the one who saved me from the first a.s.sa.s.sin attempt when I was 13 years old."

Hearing Mua Kong exposed a little bit of his life to the King, made the King very surprised. "What did you say? You knew her that long ago?"

"That"s right father, if she didn"t help me take down three a.s.sa.s.sins, and took care of my wounds, I wouldn"t be here today. I owe her my life. She didn"t know any fighting skills other than archery for hunting food, yet she managed to get me out of a dire situation, putting her life at risk for a complete stranger."

The King stumbled backward a few steps unable to hold himself up. He reached his left hand onto the table to help steady him up. "Why didn"t you tell me anything? I thought you took care of the a.s.sa.s.sins yourself and spent time to investigate before you came back."

Mua Kong remained silent. The King hates this character of his son the most, never tell him anything of pertinent. But still, Mua Kong is the son he hoped to one day take over the throne. His first son was born sickly, he is afraid the responsibility would be too much for his first son to handle.

After Mua Kong still refused to explain, the King gave up. He turned around and signaled for Mua Kong to leave. "I"ll send another search party and tried to investigate from another angle."

Again, Mua Kong still remained silent. He turned around and proceeded to leave. The King knew that it is a futile effort to get Mua Kong to speak again. This is the first time his second son had talked this much with him in one setting.

After Mua Kong left, the King sat back down onto his chair and sighed. He thought of his late wife and knew how his son must of felt. He"s the only King ever written in history that doesn"t have a harem. He never had to worry about women persuading him, or getting close to him with intention to harm him and over throw him.

The King got up and walked behind wall that separate his study chamber and a rest bed to look at the picture of his late wife. The picture hung onto the wall next to the bed. He gazed at her photo with warm and longing eyes. Whether people call him a weak, greedy man who only loves himself and the throne, he had seen too many dramas, chaos, a.s.sa.s.sination attempts in all the King"s harems before him. As the youngest child and the weakest one, if it wasn"t for his wife"s skill and ability, he wouldn"t have the throne today. The King reached his hand and gently touched the picture of his wife who never seemed to age.

She helped him take down his enemies and nourished his kingdoms. He promised her, he would never let his children live life like him and she would be his only wife. Although he had two sons, neither one were interested in being king. His oldest son used illness to get away from the throne but will work in the shadow while his second son wanted to give the throne away to his first son. The King has never missed his wife so much. She helped him become the man he is today, gave him two children but she was not around to walk the journey with him.