“You’re cooking for me so of course, you’re allowed to,” Ren said as he smiled adoringly at me.
It was probably the first proper smile that Ren showed me since his return. Suddenly the long and boring days of lessons after lessons felt like they were nothing.
“Come to think of it, I don’t even know where the kitchen is here…” I said in sudden realization.
“…me neither…” Ren concurred.
We stared at each other hopelessly before we both started laughing. Since we both didn’t prepare our own meals, we had no idea where the kitchen was. Well, Ren doesn’t live in the inner court, so he has a valid excuse; on the other hand, I lived here but still didn’t know.
“I guess I’m adapting to being a court lady now. I’m so used to food magically appearing on the table that I don’t even know where the kitchen is anymore
I watched as Ren ate his dinner peacefully. His face seemed tired and there were visible dark circles under his eyes. Whatever happened over the span of the past week took a toll on Ren’s body. I could tell that he was tired and probably hasn’t been eating or sleeping well.I wondered if he would tell me about his journey and the war if I asked. Many thoughts went through my head as I watched him slowly eat his food. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious about what he had been up to. There was a war somewhere along the empire’s boarders and that was basically all that I knew.As I was making my mind if I should ask him for more details, Ren suddenly spoke up.“If you have something to say, you can just say it,” Ren said without looking up from his food.“I…was wondering if you would tell me more about…what you were up to…” I said hesitantly.
I knew well that he just got back and that he was tired, and it was not my intention to turn our conversation into an argument. This was not what I had in mind at all. He just returned, and after not seeing him for a week, I’m having an argument with him.“But…that doesn’t mean…” I began protesting again but Ren’s harsh words interrupted me.“If you’re desperately looking for a place to die or a way to die, I’ll suggest some painless poison for a swift death for you. Dying on the battlefield isn’t going to leave your corpse looking very pretty,” Ren said sarcastically.I watched silently as Ren got up from his seat signally that our conversation or argument was over. Ren probably viewed this conversation as crazy and full of non-sense. However, for me, an idea had started to solidify in my mind…“Where are you going?” I asked softly.
“Since you’re on top, want to try moving by yourself?” Ren suggested as he smiled sexily at me.“Move?” I asked, unsure of what he wanted me to do.“Move your hips, Rin. Imagine that you are riding my fingers…try it,” Ren instructed.I felt his fingers started wriggle inside of me and I automatically let out a pleasurable moan at the feeling of his fingers brushing against the walls of my pussy from various angles. It’s only been a week since we’ve been a part…did Ren’s touches feel this good?In response to his fingers, I started rocking my hips in rhythm to the movements of his fingers deep inside of my love hole. It feels…amazing…Ren watched me and my every move as he urged me on further with the movements of his fingers deep inside of me. I began moving my hips up and down, taking his fingers inside of my hole deeper and deeper and t
Ren haven’t entered me so how come I feel so much of him…it feels…strangely pleasurable. I could see the muscles of his body tensing as he rocked his body above me, thrusting his hips against me. His hard and swollen cock thrusted in between my close thighs, rubbing along the length of my wet slit. I could feel the heat of his arousal and passion and my body began responding lewdly to him. My hips rocked up and down in rhythm to his thrusting. It feels so good…Ren…I cried out at the intense pleasure as I tried to cover my mouth with the back of my own hand. Ren was moving faster and harder than before and I could tell how turned on he was. His movements were wild as he continued to pump his cock in between my thighs.His cock grew bigger and hotter as his passion intensified. I watched as his handsome face took on the look of a beast in heat and his groans and moans of pleasure got louder. I never knew that hearing Ren’s p
“I did tell you that it’s nothing,” Ren said.“Getting injured is nothing to be proud of…” I muttered.“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your lessons?” Ren asked, reminding me that I was running late.“Oh right…” I said as I jumped off the bed.…Jeely was already in the usual sitting room where we had our lessons when Ren and I walked in. Her eyes widened and for a moment her face lost her usual alluring composure at the sight of Ren. It was rare for Ren to visit his own inner court after all.I invited Ren to take a seat on one of the wooden sofas and he gestured for me to sit beside him. I did as I was beckoned.“You must be Rin’s instructor. Thank you for taking care of her while I’ve been away,” Ren said to Jeely; however, his e
The lesson continued without event and soon it was time for lunch break. Thankfully, the first lesson was over. I truly needed a break from this whole stressful and suffocating situation. Having Ren in the same room and observing me was truly distracting and unnerving.“Are you hungry? Isn’t it about time for lunch?” Ren said with a gentle smile.For some reason, Ren was being extra nice and caring towards me today; not that I had anything to complain regarding that matter.“I guess…I am a little hungry,” I replied.“Great. Let’s have lunch together. We haven’t had much time in private lately,” Ren suggested joyfully.“Yea…isn’t that because someone here left for a full week and didn’t even bother to tell me…” I said, sulkily.“Are you sulking?” Ren
After a short walk, we arrived at what must be the front gate to Ren’s palace. The gate and walls were so tall and heavily guarded. The place eluded a sense of importance and superiority which made me feel slightly intimidated.The guards bowed and opened the gate at once when they spotted Ren. With a wave of his hand, Ren silently walked through the gates to his own palace, dragging a very bewildered me behind him. Ren’s palace was huge and so was the garden that surrounded it. I had expected that, so it did not come as a surprise. However, the multiple layers of walls that currently separated us from the palace itself was something that I hadn’t anticipated.“There are three layers of walls that we need to go through to reach my palace,” Ren said as he grinned at me as if he could read my thoughts.“Isn’t that a bit much?” I asked.“Don’t
“There’s so much gold here. Do you like it?” I asked, curiously.“Oh, that. Honestly, I’m so-so with it. Most of the golden statues, decorations and…other stuff were mostly installed in by my grandfather and then my father when they lived here,” Ren said as he pointed to a statue of a horse made of gold.“This place is so…out there…” I murmured.“Yeah, I can see why you would say that. I think I had the same impression when I first moved here…” Ren said as if reminiscing of the past.“Don’t you have work to do? You don’t have to show me around, you know…” I said as I turned to offer him a smile.“I do. Want to help out?” Ren asked.“Sure…but I don’t think I’ll be much use…” I replied.Ren led me by the hand to a large room fill
“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