Tale of the Lotus Heart
Chapter 29

I found myself by his bed, taking care of him without a break, but he was still unconscious and he had been for a week now. Even though I'd successfully ascended to Goddess, I was too busy being worried to celebrate. Peony finished the elixir before I quickly fed it to him. I had to wait a few more days before I began passing a little of my energy to him every day. I slept uncomfortably by his side every night, my hand only left his to spoon him soup or pass him energy. He barely stirred.

"You're going to make yourself sick if you wait for him like this," Peomy warned as I held his hand up to my mouth, waiting for him to open his eyes.

"I can't leave," I answered hoarsely.

"My child!" A dreaded but familiar voice said before I was pushed out of the way and onto the floor.

"Aivi!" Peony said in alarm before a set of familiar hands helped me up. I looked to see Tase. I almost broke down in tears all over again. I buried my head in Tase's chest as the fat tears rolled down my cheeks. Tase pet my head gently before he shushed me.

"There, there..." he muttered to me.

"Great-goddaughter, can you tell me exactly what happened?" The Emperor's voice reached my ears. I sniffled and let go of Tase to drop to my knees in front of Emperor.

"It's all my fault. I was about to go through my trial to goddess. The Crown Prince freaked out and broke through the barrier before taking the strikes for me. He's been this way ever since. Floral Goddess Peony fed him the spirit core remedy and I've been slowly feeding him my internal energy to wake him," I explained. The Emperor helped my to my feet as he sighed.

"Nonsense! Why would my son take the trial for you?" The Empress asked from Yong's bed with tears in her eyes. My hand went to my stomach on reflex. Even though the lightweight dress I was wearing was loose fitting around my stomach, with my hand there, it wasn't hard to tell what was going on.

"Because I'm carrying his child," I answered timidly. "No matter how much I tried to push him off, he wouldn't let go until it was over," I tried to defend myself.

"You... and my son," the Empress asked with wide eyes. She looked like she would faint at any moment. While the Empress and Emperor tried to process the news, Yong stirred on the bed. He groaned as his eyes scrunched together. He moved slightly before reaching his hand out, catching everyone's attention. The Empress held his hand tightly in hers as she got hopeful.

"Yong! My son! Are you awake?" The Empress asked quickly.

"Aivi," he muttered, still searching for me. The Empress froze before turning to glare at me. She stood face to face with me before her hand began to glow a bright red.

"How dare you bewitch a Royal Family Member," she seethed as she raised her glowing hand to me.

"Aivi! Aivi," Yong mumbled more clearly, causing the Empress to hesitate.

"Stop it, you don't know the whole story yet and you're not in a position to dish out the punishments; that's my job. Act on your own again and I'll be having a different talk with you, Wife," the Emperor said sternly to the Empress. When Yong called me again, I sat back down next to his bedside and rubbed gentle circles in his chest while passing as much Lotus Heart energy as I could as well. He squeezed my hand in his before his eyes finally fluttered open.

"Aivi, are you okay?" He asked hoarsely, oblivious to the others in the room with us. He reached his hand up to dry a tear that fell down my cheek.

"Don't cry. I'm fine, right? I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you," he continued when I didn't respond.

"So taking the Princess' trial was your idea?" The Emperor finally chimed in. Yong looked to his father before attempting to sit up. I helped him get to a sitting position before the Emperor held a hand up to keep Yong from bowing.

"Royal Father... Mother," Yong greeting them as I stood beside him and looked at my feet.

"Protecting Aivi has been my purpose since the beginning. Now she's pregnant with my child. I wasn't going to risk their lives. And it's not her fault either. I initiated this relationship. The trial was nothing, but I injured myself breaking through the Floral Island barrier beforehand, which weakened me," Yong explained.

"She's just ascended to Goddess. She's your brother's goddaughter as well, but I already had plans to marry you to the Fox Clan's Princess Enya," the Empress said. Yong straight out rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, you're just trying to secure my position as Crown Prince as well as your own position as Empress. I can't stand Enya. Just like you, she's obsessed with the title of Crown Princess and Empress. I can't even have a conversation with her because she's so scared of saying the wrong thing, every word from her mouth feels like she's reciting a book," Yong said outright. I was a bit taken aback. I didn't expect Yong to be so straightforward.

"The fact still remains that Princess Aivi is pregnant out of wedlock. She must still be punished," the Empress tried.

"Well you must punish me instead then. I pursued Aivi first. In fact, she's been trying to stop me, but I refuse to let Aivi go. I wanted her to have my child. Aivi just indulged me," Yong stepped in.

"Insolence!" The Empress snapped at Yong.

"If you wanted the Princess as your wife, why didn't you just say so? Why did you do things in this manner?" The Emperor asked calmly.

"Because without Aivi carrying my child, I was afraid Royal Mother would try any means to get rid of her," Yong said honestly. The Empress's face grew red in embarrassment and anger.

"I have every right to get rid of her. She bewitched you!" The Empress yelled. Yong coughed roughly. I sat next to him and rubbed his back gently.

"Enough! For now, we should let Yong recuperate. Aivi, it may be best to stay on Floral Island with Floral Goddess Peony for your own safety until we figure out what to do with the situation. At any rate, no harm should come to you while you're carrying a child of Royal bloodline," the Emperor said, being the only levelheaded one in the room. He turned his attention to the Empress.

"As Mother of the Heavenly Realm, you should be benevolent and forgiving. Your ruthlessness is unbecoming of a Heavenly Empress. We'll talk when we get home," the Emperor said before leaving my hut. The Empress glared at me once more before leaving also. I released a breath before turning my attention to Yong. I held his hands in mind as I looked to him guiltily.

"It's all my fault," I said softly. He shook his head at me as his hand went to my cheek weakly.

"No, it's not," he tried to assure me.

"What we're you thinking, breaking through the barrier?" Tase asked in irritation. He stayed behind when the Emperor and Empress left.

"Even if you were fine from the strikes, it would've broken your seal and you would've been exposed," Yong explained to me.

"What seal?" Peony asked. I almost forgot she was still in the room with us.