Tale of the Lotus Heart
Chapter 17

Yong didn't want to let me go so we laid next to each other as I told him about my time at the academy. After a moment, Tase came back with a satisfied smile on his face. I sat up quickly and fixed my hair. There was no physician in sight.

"You were in on it? You played along and left your only unmarried daughter to this hungry dragon?" I asked in disbelief. Tase only laughed.

"Yong knows his limits here. Plus, you two needed time along to catch up or Yong would go insane. Would you have rather I tell him that your closer with a schoolmate?" Tase teased me. I blushed as I looked to Yong quickly. It wasn't that I was closer to Alexander. I just saw him in a completely different, nonthreatening way. Yong quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Is that so?" He asked.

"It's only natural to make friends at a school," I defended myself. Tase sighed as he shook his head.

"Alright, alright. We need to go back to prepare going into the palace. Royal Father wants to meet his great-goddaughter," Tase said. Yong placed a gentle kiss on my head before we went back to Eternity Palace. I bathed in flower petals and had Ixia help me wash my hair before dressing in an extravagant and expensive, but simple, white and pink dress with matching belt and robe. After Zinnia, Tase and I were dressed, we entered the palace. The Royal Main Hall was like nothing I expected. It was huge and grand with an open roof and giant thrones where the Emperor and Empress sat. When we reached the bottom of the steps leading to the thrones, we stopped and got on our knees to bow.

"Greetings, Heavenly Emperor.... Empress," we greeted them.

"Forgo the formalities. Come, let me see my successful great-goddaughter," the Heavenly Emperor said with a satisfied smile. I stood with Tase and Zinnia before glancing at them curiously. It didn't seem appropriate to approach the Emperor's throne.

"Go," Tase whispered to me. I kept my head down and my hands in front of me as I slowly went to kneel directly in front of the Emperor's throne.

"Quite beautiful," the Empress commented. The Emperor used his internal energy to check over my energy levels.

"She's quite talented as well. Only a Heavenly Trial away from Goddess status and not even 15,000 years old. You really are a true prodigy. Is there anything else you have talents in?" The Emperor asked excitedly.

"Responding to Heavenly Emperor, Godfather Second Prince also had a master teach me in the four arts," I responded. Technically it was Yong's doing but I couldn't say that to the Emperor.

"Call me great-godfather," he smiled excitedly. I could easily tell that the Heavenly Emperor was one who was easily impressed by talents and status. I was the talk of the Heavenly Realm right now, which meant I was bringing him great honor. He was satisfied with the prestige.

"You can go back now," he said with satisfaction.

"Wait," the Empress said. She reach out and touched the hairpin Yong gave me.

"Second Prince, care to explain what the Crown Prince's charm is doing in this girl's hair?" She asked. I stayed quiet and controlled my facial expression.

"Replying to Royal Mother, before Princess Aivi went to Heavenly Cloud, I was anxious for her safety. I asked the Crown Prince for this charm just in case. It did go off once," Tase lied easily.

"It's good that you're okay," the Emperor chuckled.

"Thank you great-godfather," I bowed again before descending the stairs to stand next to Tase again.

"This is the first time the Princess is meeting Second Prince's new wife. Why don't we let them go back and get acquainted," the Empress said. The Emperor nodded before waving us off. We bowed before leaving the Royal Main Hall. I felt myself sigh as the tension left my shoulders when we were finally out of the Royal Palace. The Emperor clearly liked me, but the Empress did not like the fact I existed and I couldn't figure out why.

"That could've gone worse," Tase said lightheartedly as we made it back to Eternity Palace.

"The Empress..." I said hesitantly.

"She had nothing against you, she just doesn't like me in general. Anything I do will annoy her. She's not my biological mother, but she is Yong's. Naturally, she's guarded against me because she doesn't want her son to lose his title. Now I've brought a heavenly prodigy into the Royal family under my care and generating great prestige. She's not happy about it," Tase explained. That made sense. But if she was Yong's mother, I would eventually have to get along with her if I wanted to stay with Yong.

"Aivi, would you like to help me prepare dinner?" Zinnia asked. I smiled gently before nodding. I followed Zinnia and took my outer robe off before putting the apron on.

"Do you cook often?" Zinnia asked. I smiled softly remembering my mortal life.

"Yong normally took over cooking. I guess you could say I've been spoiled," I said without thinking. My smile fell as I looked to Zinnia quickly. She only chuckled as she began cutting vegetables.

"Second Prince already told me about the fate between you and the Crown Prince. If I didn't know the truth, how could I protect your secret?" She winked at me. I smiled before helping by using my internal energy to start the fire. Although she knew about Yong and I, I didn't think she knew the whole truth about my Lotus Heart. Zinnia and I bustled around the kitchen before we finished with a roasted duck and at least five side dishes. After we finished plating the food, we took it to the main hall and placed it on the dinner table. I froze briefly when I saw the extra guest.

"You appear everywhere," I chuckled.

"I wanted to check on you after visiting the Royal Palace and meeting with the Emperor. Also I just got you back, it's understandable that I want to see you. Tase told me you were cooking with your godmother, so I opted for staying for dinner. I was always the one who cooked before, so this was a nice change," Yong said. I set the rest of the food down before taking off my apron and sitting down.

"Let's eat," Zinnia smiled.