Prince and His Fool

Chapter 2: I Have Been Kidnapped!

"Where am I? Ouchwhy does it fuckin' hurt?" groaned Rong Zian as he woke up from a coma. Every part of his body was in agony as if he had just come out of surgery and the anaesthetic was just wearing off. He studied his surroundings diligently though stuck in a daze. The last thing he remembered was hanging out in a park whilst drinking five-year-old scotch cursing out his mother for leaving him with such a callous family.

His life was nothing to be envious of, he had been dumped at his father's doorstep and raised by his fierce stepmother. One would assume having birthed her own children, she would have been more caring but it didn't quite work out that way. The woman had become viler with each child she bore. Rong Zian had become the focus of her frustrations which were meant for her husband, who had only married her out of convenience. Be it an academic award of excellence or a medal for best athlete, she always emphasised that her son Rong Erzi deserved the prize.

Her obsession had gone as far as using correction fluid to erase Rong Zian's name and replace it with her own son's so she could show off to every guest that walked through her door. In all this, Rong Zian's father had chosen to stay silent as though it had nothing to do with him but in reality, he despised Rong Zian because he reminded him of his first love who left him with no explanation.

Feeling trapped, Rong Zian thought the only way he could earn his freedom was slaving through school to get a scholarship for any university furthest from home. His dream was to become a chemical engineer specialising in innovation and production of personal care products.

Each time calamity besieged their home, he would always find a sense of calm in creating new things, be it a new hand cream or perfume, it always mellowed down the crazy. When he got accepted into one of the top five universities on a full scholarship, he thought his karma had finally changed and could now distance himself from his family to live his own life but that was furthest from the truth. When Rong Erzi was rejected to all the institutions he had applied for, his mother to save face, saw it fit to take everything away from Rong Zian resulting in him acquiring a criminal record.

He was accused of assaulting a relentless girl by the name of Xia Hua, she was one of his many admirers who had constantly confessed to him but had been endlessly rejected. In high school, Rong Zian was well known for his good looks and a day wouldn't go by without at least one girl delivering gifts and asking him out. With an alluring smile and angelic eyes, his answer would always be the same. Whether it was because he hadn't found the right one or maybe because girlfriends' were expensive, no one knew the real reason.

How his stepmother had come to convince Xia Hua to make such an unfounded accusation, was still a mystery but it had been effective. He instantly lost his scholarship and with a criminal record hanging above his head, Rong Zian was thrown out of school thus explaining his binge drinking in the park.

If anyone heard how much he cursed his mother that night they would think he was excessive but the stabbing pain in his heart justified his actions. The universe had unfortunately heard his drunk profanity from the previous night and paid him back tenfold. The proverb 'respect for one's parents is the highest duty of civil life' replayed in his mind as he scrutinised the room he was in, in a panic.

He was lying on a hard and uncomfortable wooden bed that could easily break to bits if gained just one pound. The mat and straw covering the base of the bed didn't make things easier, the straw was pricking his back through his clothes, and the mat smelt like a fish market. Assuming he was locked up in a prison cell may be for public intoxication, he felt a sense of relief but when he looked up the roof, he thought what kind of prison cell would use thatching.

Panic-stricken, he rifled through the room to figure out where he was, carelessly going through everything but he couldn't find anything useful except hideous ancient clothes. He looked down on his body and realised he himself was wearing an old ugly outfit. Now piecing things together, he tried to open the door just to confirm his frightening reality and as expected the door wouldn't budge. "Shit, I have been kidnapped!" he cursed as he struggled to open the door.

After a couple of minutes of Rong Zian fighting with the door till it was almost coming out its hinges, he heard sounds of someone fiddling with the lock and with a sweet soft voice saying, "calm down young master Rong, I was instructed to lock the door so you wouldn't try to harm yourself again."

What she said caused a sharp pain in his heart, he couldn't believe that he actually tried to hurt himself. His life had always been tragic but not once had he ever thought suicide was the solution, he would always drink and curse which made him feel better. As a result, he had started drinking as early as fourteen secretly stealing his fathers' stash but as usual, his father never cared enough to reprimand him, he even bought more to accommodate the thief.

A short average looking girl opened the door, her face flushed as soon as she laid her eyes on him. It was clear as day she liked him and he decided to take advantage of it. He was about to walk past her and run for his life but an excruciating pain around his neck stopped him in his tracks. A nauseous feeling crept on him, his head aching with an excruciating migraine instantly giving up on the idea of making a break for it.

The maiden helped him onto the bed and plead with him, "young master don't be hasty to go outside. Your neck hasn't healed yet and the physician instructed me to make sure you don't get out of bed until you are fully recovered otherwise your head might fall off."

'Why the fuck is she calling me young master? Don't tell me I transmigrated into this hell hole while drinking? Fuck!" he thought with all the blood drained from his face, pale as a ghost. After rounds of curses and screams in his head, he finally regained some form of composure and approached the situation more level headed.

From the conversation that followed he found out that he had apparently hung himself and had been in a coma for an entire week. Using this as an excuse for his loss of memory he probed the girl for answers. It turns out Rong Zian had somehow been transmigrated into a different era but his situation was unchanged.

His father, master Rong was not an accountant in this era, he was a high ranking advisor to Emperor Wu Qiangda of Hepeng. His mother was a coward in both timelines, she had dumped him at his father's doorstep once more with only a name. As for his stepmother, she was as cruel as always and his younger siblings bullied him constantly. Though he was considered a low life in this era, he still possessed his special traits. His charming handsome face had brought on countless marriage proposals from noble families but madam Rong had rejected them all because she didn't want her biological son out-shined.

It seemed as though the Rong Zian he had replaced was as smart and resourceful as him but couldn't help but wonder what had led him to the point that he didn't want to live anymore. So he asked her, "Why did I try to commit suicide? Did I at least leave a note or something?"

She lowered her head as though ashamed and he caught a few tears streaming down her face. 'Was she crying over him?' he thought as he touched her chin to raise her head. "Young master, if I tell you why will you try to kill yourself again?" she murmured reluctantly.

'That probably won't be the reason why I would kill myself, it will be the lack of Wi-Fi,' he thought to himself as he handed her a handkerchief from his pocket. "Wipe your tears and I promise I won't kill myself," he replied anxiously waiting for the answer.

"Well the girl that you have loved since childhood, Wang Tian was married off to another family because madam Rong rejected their marriage offer," she reluctantly divulged the details but Rong Zian couldn't hold back the laughter.

He was laughing hysterically that even the young girl was stunned by his response, "Master is something the matter? Have you completely forgotten her?"

It was too much for him, he actually tried to kill himself for a woman though his face could bring him ten more women in an instant. Maybe he found the reason unwarranted because he had never been in love before, his life had been too busy for him to listen to his hormones.

In a short space of time, Rong Zian had to adapt to his new life in a technologically deficient era and only hoped he would eventually wake up from this crazy dream.