Chapter 26
First Prince''s letter came only dayster. My n had worked and the demons were effectively sealed
off. Most of them died in the explosion, but those who survived couldn''t cross over to the Heavenly
Realm even if they wanted to. First Prince was back in the Heavenly Pce, awaiting the debrief to the
Emperor that I would also have to attend. It was soon. I got dressed in my armor before sighing. Yong
watched me wordlessly for a while.
"You''re going with First Prince?" He asked. I nodded.
"He should be here to fetch me soon," I replied. Yong stood before cing his protective hairpin at the
base of my ponytail.
"I shouldn''t need that," I tried to stop him. He sucked his teeth at me before finishing.
"Just in case. I''ll be able to see what''s going on with this. How are your symptoms today?" He asked.
Lately, I''d been nauseous and tired all the time.
"I''m still tired, but I can suck it up for one meeting," I tried to brush it off. A fairy maid came and
announced First Prince''s arrival. I said goodbye to Yong before going out to meet the First Prince. He
smiled gently at me.
"Princess, are you prepared?" He asked. I nodded as I took a deep breath. We set out and arrived at
the main hall shortly after. The Emperor and Empress were both seated on their thrones as we bowed
to greet them.
"Good. Good. Good job out there with the demons. First Prince, I know I can always count on you
when ites to war, but great-goddaughter... you were a weed surprise. Who knew you would
also have the brains to back up the talent. You''ve made me proud today," the Emperor smiled in
excitement.
"Thank you great-godfather," I bowed.
"Royal Husband, Princess Aivi has almost cultivated to a Goddess status. I think it''s time to start
thinking about her marriage. What do you think?" The Empress said cordially. I knew she was just
trying to get rid of me as soon as possible. In the Heavenly Realm culture, the women followed their
fathers until marriage, then they followed their husbands. If I married, I would be part of the royal family
in name alone. My husband’s n would be the family I would serve daily.
"The Princess is such a renowned figure in our realm, we can''t just chose randomly when ites to
her marriage," the Emperor said. I felt nervous. This was exactly the kind of discussion we didn''t want
to have. I bowed quickly.
"With all due respect Heavenly Emperor, I''d like to contribute more the the Heavenly Realm and my
godfather before my marriage discussions start. I’m not even 20,000 years old yet. I wanted to learn
from the physician faction next and help immortals before then moving on to help the Floral Goddess
with nts and herbs for medicines and remedies," I gave the excuse.
"The physician faction doesn''t do much unless there''s a war ongoing. Being that you were just in the
Northern Territory, you probably already did more there than physicians ever do here. How about going
straight to the Floral Goddess? You''ll be able to learn more about medicines there under her guidance,"
the Emperor agreed, quickly forgetting about my marriage talks.
"Yes, great-godfather," I agreed quickly. He dismissed us after that. I sighed in relief as we stood
outside of the main hall. I put a hand to my stomach and stopped as it turned ufortably. I was
nauseous again. First Prince stopped beforeing back to my side.
"Are you alright, Princess?" He asked, worried.
"Just nausea," I tried to breath through it.
"Maybe the Floral Goddess will have a remedy for it. She''s know for being sweet-natured and caring
but stern and independent. If you told her, I''m sure she would keep your secret. She''s a high goddess
that all immortals hold a high respect for. Even the Empress wouldn''t question her," First Prince
informed me quietly. I nodded and gained control over myself before As took me back to Eternity
Pce. Tase was waiting for me at the doors. He smiled gently when he saw me before taking my
hand in his.
"You''re finally back. Zinnia has been waiting for you. Why don''t you head inside and change into
something morefortable," he said happily. I nodded with a light smile before saying goodbye to
First Prince As. Back in my room, Ixia was waiting for me. She looked at me in relief.
"Princess, I''ve been worried. Did everything go okay?" She asked. I sighed as she began taking my
armor off for me.
"I''m pregnant with Yong''s child," I admitted outright. She hesitated before taking the rest of my clothing
off. I got in the bath she''d prepared and closed my eyes as she undid my hair.
"Do you have a n?" She asked anxiously. I chuckled humorlessly as she began washing my hair.
"I''m going to hide on Floral Ind and wait," I answered.
"The Crown Prince..." she started. I knew what her worry was. Floral Ind was run strictly. Me going
was only at the instructions of the Emperor. Men weren''t allowed to stay on the ind. From the fruit
fairies to the High Goddess, everyone was a woman. Men of a high status could stay during the day,
but staying for a few days was prohibited. It would already be an exception for me to train there. I was
also considered an outsider.
"It was the only thing I could think of to keep the Empress from arranging my marriage today," I
exined. Ixia sighed and began scrubbing my body gently.
"He''s going to think you''re trying to run away from him again. Every time you two finally get some
quality time, you run off to do something else. Are you really running from him, or are you trying to
avoid the problems you know wille?" She asked. She had a point. It did seem like I was running.
"It''s just... I''m not ready to face the consequences of the Empress finding out. I want to try and prolong
it as long as possible. I want our child to be safe," I admitted. After I finished bathing, I couldn''t help
staring down at my stomach through the silk robe. I had the strong urge to protect this child, but the
problems kept adding up without even thinking about my Lotus Heart.Please check at N/?vel(D)rama.Org.