“Emperor, there is no such thing in my possession,” Prince Kin denied immediately.
“It won’t be hard for me to track down the exact person who sold it to you…and then I will go on to destroy their whole chain of trade and production. After all, you are aware that love potions are illegal in this empire, are you not?” Ren said as he stared down his younger brother.
Prince Kin seemed shocked at Ren’s apparent threat.
“It is based on the emperor’s and the high court’s will that My Lady and I have been working hard on producing the next heir to the throne. I am grateful for My Lady’s love and devotion and believe that we will achieve our objective in the very near future,” Ren said as he came to stand next to my chair and placed a hand on my shoulder.
Ok…what the hell is he saying now?!
If Prince Kin could lie smoothly, apparently, so can his o
After a period of time had passed, the emperor and the court members finally returned to the room where we were anxiously waiting. After taking his seat, the emperor began announcing the verdict immediately.“After much discussion between myself and the members of the high court, we have decided that the event that happened is indeed a grey matter. Prince Kin is believed to be at fault to a certain degree regardless of whether he had the intention to bring about harm to the Lady White Lotus or not. However, since the crown prince and general Shin arrived in time to prevent any serious harm, Prince Kin should not be held responsible for the highest possible crime since it wasn’t committed. Hence it has been decided that Prince Kin will receive punishment according to what the crown prince feels is suitable, and the matter will be treated as a family dispute rather than a public matter,” the emperor stated the verdict in a formal voice.&ldq
“I understand your reaction because I had the same reaction when I first heard Rin’s suggestion; however, her town has many women that practice medicine. It is the norm there. You are aware that there has been a shortage of royal doctors and doctors in general for many years now. I think allowing women to study and practice medicine can help solve this problem and we can start with Rin…as a sort of test case…” Ren continued pushing for his request. Our request.“Hmm…that is true. However, this is not an easy change to put in place…” the emperor said in a low voice as he seemed to consider Ren’s words.“The emperor is responsible to make changes that are necessary for the betterment of people’s lives. You haven’t forgotten the first woman that was allowed to ride alone on horseback, have you?” Ren asked. It was clear that his resolve was solid.“Of cour
Auntie Chen was there to greet us when we arrived back at the White Lotus palace. It was clear from her restless expression that Auntie had been very worried and anxiously awaiting our return.“Crown prince and Lady White Lotus, I am so happy that you are back…” Auntie said as relief flooded her voice and facial features. I wondered for a moment if she had seriously considered that I could have been executed and then decided not to think about that gruesome scenario any further.“Please leave us,” Ren said as he lifted a hand to signal to all that they should leave.Auntie and the maid bowed simultaneously before quickly taking their leave. Soon it was just Ren and I in the large hall of the palace and the silence crept up on us. Ren had not said anything to me on our ride back to the palace and I could sense that he was waiting for us to return to the palace before we would have our real talk.I spen
Now it was my turn to laugh at him. The truth was that I truly appreciated what Ren did. Perhaps without his son’s life on the line, the emperor may have never allowed me to practice medicine. Now I will need to work hard to make my dream come true and hopefully, open up the path for other women to become doctors as well.“You look breathtakingly beautiful in this dress…” Ren said suddenly.His hands held my shoulders as he gazed into my eyes. I could tell that he was earnest, and his words made my heart beat so fast in my chest. It feels so different from when I heard these similar words of compliment from Shin.When he bent his head down to kiss my forehead, I closed my eyes as a sense of calmness filled me.“Ren…” I whispered his name passionately.Slowly and gently, Ren placed his lips on mine as he kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and sighed at the joy of his lips on mine. W
The sensation turned me on, and I moaned loudly in response. Ren pulled the robe from my arms and threw it on the floor. I was now completely naked and laying underneath him on the bed. My heart was beating so fast in my chest, my whole body felt hot and ached with desire and I moaned every time he touched my body.Ren’s hot hands began massaging my breasts once more before dipping lower to stroke and play with my belly. Then his exploring hand moved southward until he arrived at the wet entrance of my pussy.“Ren…Ahhh…Ahhhh…” I cried out his name softly and moaned when I felt his finger stroking the wet slit in between my legs.I knew from experience what would come next, and my body quivered from anticipation. I couldn’t wait to feel his fingers thrust into my hole and give me pleasure. My pussy clenched and got wetter the more I thought about what was going to happen next.“Your
I gasped when he turned to me and pulled me into his arms. Then his lips were on mine, and I could taste the bitter taste of alcohol in my mouth. The alcohol entered my mouth along with his tongue as he fed me the alcohol through his kiss. The bitter taste of the alcohol filled my mouth before its heat ran down my throat as I swallowed. Ren continued to kiss me deeply and I moaned into his kiss as I felt my body melt in his embrace.“Now you can say that you were drunk…and that the crown prince wasn’t playing fair…” Ren whispered to me after he broke our kiss.I gasped for air as he traced the outlines of my lower lip with the pad of his thumb.“Ren…” I whispered his name, completely spellbound by his charms.It wasn’t that I didn’t want him or that I needed alcohol for an excuse.“You can blame everything on me…and the alcohol…” R
Ren began moving and my eyes widened in shock as I cried out loudly at the unfamiliar sensation of his cock stroking the inside of my pussy. It was certainly quite painful, but I couldn’t deny the pleasure I felt as his cock stimulated the walls of my pussy. Soon, I didn’t know whether I was crying out because of the pain or the pleasure from his movements.Ren stopped moving for a moment to check that I was doing alright. I guess, I screamed a little too loudly.“I’m…ok. Please…continue…” I whispered shyly.Ren only smiled at me before he reared back his hips and plunged his cock back into my hole deeply. I moaned and cried out at the pleasure of it all this time. Seeing that I was now moaning from the pleasure, Ren began moving his hips faster.His cock pumping in and out of my hole at astonishing speed. Each time he thrusted deeply into me, I felt like my whole stomach was being
“What? No!” I exclaimed loudly when the blanket was pulled away from my hands and my entire body.“Just stay still…” Ren said firmly.His hands keeping my body down on the bed with ease.“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed in shock.Ren’s hands reached for my legs and began spreading them open. Ignoring my protests and my struggles, his hands held my legs opened firmly as he looked down in between my legs.“No…Ren…I can’t…anymore…” I cried out pleadingly as I closed my eyes shut tightly in embarrassment.My pussy still hurts so much from last night and my whole body felt bruised. I felt like my body was black and blue. There’s no way that we can go for another round right now.“Keep your dirty imaginations to yourself, My Lady,” Ren said mockingly.“What?” I
“Really? I think you’re as young and as pretty as before…if not more pretty…” Ren said reassuringly before he bent down to kiss my cheek tenderly.Although I knew that he was probably just saying it to please me, I couldn’t help but feel my heart flutter at his words. The truth was that I have aged, and I definitely don’t look as fresh or young as I did all those years ago. Even I wasn’t foolish enough to believe that I haven’t aged. “Thank you, Ren…but that’s not really the point…” I replied with a small laugh. “Can’t we try for one more? Please…just one more…” Ren pleaded sweetly. “But we already have three children…” I pointed out. “But we don’t have a daughter yet…” Ren said with a sigh as he looked depressed and deflated. I wanted to roll my eyes at fate. Most women had problem pleasing their husband and his family because they couldn’t produce a son. In my case, I had no problem producing sons, but my husband was adamant in wanting a daughter so that he could spoil her like
My political influence changed again when I became pregnant with my second child and soon gave birth to another very healthy son. Having two sons for the emperor gave the entire empire confidence that the line of succession is secure. Despite Prince Kin’s women giving birth to a few sons as well at that point, it was clear that the line of succession will continue in Ren’s branch of the family, much to the dowager empress’s joy. Strangely, I have developed an amicable relationship with the dowager empress over the years as she had taken much interest in her great grandchildren. Naturally, I was favored without needing to do anything much. Unfortunately, the dowager empress passed away from old age before she got to see the face of our third child. To my utmost surprise and to many others’ jealousy, she had chosen to leave all her treasures to me so that I could distribute it to my children’s wives when they got married. I cried so much at her funeral that Ren had to step in and lead
Lately Ren has found his work as the emperor boring and repetitive. As a result, he has been spending more time with me and our children. That was a great thing for me and our family, but I wasn’t sure if it was best for the empire. “Shin can take care of most things. He’s unmarried, has no kids, and loves the empire. He’s perfect for the job,” Ren said before laughing loudly. That was his response when I asked him about skipping out on some of his royal duties. It’s been around 7 years now since Ren and I got married but Shin was still as single and free as a bird. Despite our efforts to get him to settle down, Shin had some how successfully evaded the topic of marriage all together. Even an arrangement by the previous emperor couldn’t tie him down. Shin now considers my children as his own and acts as their loving godfather. …When we arrived back at the main palace, I was greeted by my second son, Rem. Rem is more of a carefree spirit compared to Rou. He doesn’t seem super devot
“It sounds very complicated. In my town, weddings are something that you celebrate with your close friends and family in a simple way…” I mumbled. “I’m sure that doesn’t apply if you marry a prince or if you’re becoming the next empress,” Ren said with a laugh. “I guess you’re right…” I said with a nod of my head. “Don’t worry too much. We’ll both have it easy until the day itself. If you’re not too picky, you can leave the preparation to the officials and the staff. They’ll get everything done and if you have any special requests, just let them know and they’ll figure it out,” Ren said before he patted my head. I guess planning my own wedding was out of the question. I was sure that whatever the officials in charge had in mind would be very different to what I wanted. Recalling the minimal version of the wedding dress that Ren once made me wear to appear in court, I shuddered at the thought of the real wedding dress itself and the ceremony involved. “I’ll leave it to them then.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?” Ren asked the moment the door to my bedroom closed behind us. “I…I was just waiting for the right moment to tell you,” I said honestly. “When did you find out?” Ren asked. “About a month ago while we were still in the middle of war,” I confessed softly. “You should have told me,” Ren insisted. “But you were so busy, and you were out there fighting every day. I didn’t want to add to your burdens,” I explained. “Regardless, you still should have told me,” Ren repeated his same opinion. “I’m sorry, Ren. It wasn’t like I was trying to keep it from you,” I apologized sadly. “I would have taken care of you better…” Ren muttered. Is that why he was so mad? “You’re so sweet, Ren,” I said before giggling. It was probably the first time that I think I saw Ren blush. I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at the sight. “Thank you, Rin. I can’t wait to raise our baby together,” Ren said as he hugged me close to him. “Me too…” I replied before sm
“But if you go, they might kill you…” Shin said. “Isn’t there someone who can help me?” I asked as a thought struck me. “You can’t be seriously thinking about…” Shin muttered as he probably caught on to what I was thinking. “Please, Shin…please help Ren…please help me…” I begged. “Shit…this is crazy…” Shin said in pure disbelief. I watched as Shin sprinted off. After he was gone, my legs lost all its strength and I eased down onto a nearby chair and concentrated on keeping my breathing calm. I placed a hand on my tummy as I prayed that all three of us would be safe. …**Back to the present**Everyone looked towards the entrance of the hall, where a frail old woman walked in slowly with her most trusted eunuch supporting her arms on both sides. Despite her age and her weakened body, the Dowager Empress walked with a straight back full of pride. In unison as if they had practiced it beforehand, everyone stood up from their seat and bowed. Ren and I did the same. “Mother…” the em
After quite a long while had passed, all five doctors were done with inspecting my body. Ren returned back to my side before he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as we all waited for the verdict from the doctors. “So, what is your opinion regarding the Lady White Lotus,” the emperor asked impatiently. Each doctor was asked to present his view one by one starting with the least senior and ending with Doctor Pai, who was the most senior of them all. “Your Majesty, I believe that the Lady White Lotus is with child,” the first doctor stated before bowing deeply to the emperor. The whole hall erupted in whispers and gasps of shock. Some members of court who had undoubtedly been eagerly waiting for the next royal heir cheered and clapped their hands. “Silence. Next…” the emperor said firmly as he invited the next doctor to give his opinion. “Your Majesty. The Lady White Lotus is indeed pregnant,” the second doctor said before bowing to show his respect. “Next…” the emperor said
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this! “There is no need to punish the crown prince because I am without a doubt loyal to this empire. I wish for a bright future for this empire because that would mean a bright future for our child…” I said, making sure that my voice rang loud and clear. “Rin…” I heard Ren whisper my name. “What are you saying?” the emperor asked as a frown formed in between his brows. “I am with child. I am pregnant with the crown prince’s child,” I stated firmly. I could feel and hear everyone’s shock. Loud gasp of surprise filled the room followed by whispers. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I placed my hands over my stomach as if to protect the baby that was inside. “What are you saying? Leave with Shin right now,” Ren hissed to me as he came to my side. “No…I am not leaving you…” I said stubbornly. “Is it true, Rin?” Ren asked softly, I could feel his gaze on my stomach. I smiled weakly at him as I nodded. His eyes widened in surprise befor
Ren stood up from his seat and all eyes were on him. He took in a breath to calm himself before facing the emperor and the members of court. “I believe that the punishment decided for the town of Amber Leaves is just and fair. The emperor who also approved it seem to share my beliefs. The people of the town had no knowledge of what was going on and did not benefit from the enemy. Because of this, I believe that they should not be punished. I spent more than three months fighting the war. Compared to someone who had never stepped foot on the battlefield or the town itself, I believe that it should be fair to say that I am more knowledgeable about the situation,” Ren said calmly.“What about the punishment for Lady White Lotus? It is indeed her town that rebelled against the empire,” a senior member of court inquired sternly. “The Lady White Lotus has failed to deliver a royal heir for this empire as well. It has been a very long time and she is not yet with child,” the empress spoke