Of course! How could she be so stupid? Any woman who was picked off from the street would look so exceptionally beautiful, eye-catching for wealthy men to take them home. Why would she be so stupid to think that Hli Ja looked ordinary? How was she going to compete with her? Jealousy filled her with rage. She wasn't sure how to approach her enemy with the servants, and maids around.
*
After almost two weeks had gone by, a carriage arrived at the front gate, one early evening. The carriage door opened, and a man rushed out.
The servant opened the door and saw their lord had arrived a day early. He was in a rush. He greeted no one and went straight to Hli Ja's room, but she was nowhere to be found. He yelled for a maid and asked where she was. The maid told him she was in the hot spring house, bathing. Before the maid could even finish, he rushed out to the back.
Mua Kong stood right before the bathhouse. He hesitated to enter. After some internal struggles, he proceeded to enter the bathhouse. He quietly opened the door, walked past the shelves of towels, and robes, and parted the curtain veils but on the other side, Hli Ja was reaching her hands to part the curtain as well. She had just gotten out of the shower and was still in her robes.
Both of them were surprised. Mua Kong did not expect Hli Ja to be standing on the other side of the curtains, and Hli Ja didn't expect Mua Kong to arrive a day early. Mua Kong rushed up to Hli Ja and hugged her tightly.
He had missed her so much and was constantly afraid that the people in the main palace would create troubles for her. He did not even feel this uptight when she was still living with her grandma. He came and left at peace then, but he did not feel the same when she lived in his home.
Feeling a little suffocated, she mumbled, "It's hard to breathe," as she tried to gasp for air.
Her actions startled him. Afraid that he might have hurt her, Mua Kong loosened his embrace. He looked at her, gently ran his fingers through her wet hair, and cupped her flushed cheek with his hand.
Hli Ja lightly grabbed onto the hand that was on her cheek. She muttered, "Thank you for coming back."
As soon as she finished, he leaned in closer, gently kissed her lips and whispered, "I missed you."
Hli Ja wrapped her arms around his neck, and gazed at him, studying his face to see how he had been before she replied, "I missed you too."
She drew herself closer in his embrace. After a moment of embracing each other, Hli Ja asked, "Do you want to bathe and wash off your fatigue?"
"Hmm..."
*
The next day, Mua Kong had to report the progress to the king at the main palace, but he spent the entire afternoon with Hli Ja.
After a whole month, Mua Kong made time to be with Hli Ja whenever he could and went off to work in his study chamber when she had gone off to bed. They spent their day talking and idling around the mansion, or out of town sightseeing.
Mua Kong did not want to concern Hli Ja with his problems so he never talked about his work with her, even though she probed from time to time. He did not even tell her about his father denying her as his lawful wife until he conquered the entire continent.
She might not know the full details, but she at least knew that his father was unhappy with her because he had not brought her to greet anyone at the main palace. Even when she asked Chue Yi, he kept quiet, let alone asking Mua Kong.
However, the thing you do for the one you love is, you stick next to them and believe in them completely. You bend all your edges, your wills, and support them quietly as long as you get to be next to them.
Mua Kong had one month to be with Hli Ja. The problems in the southern border had not improved. Things had not gone according to the way he had planned. Mua Kong decided that his entire time would be dedicated to Hli Ja. In the time of one month that he had with her, he did nothing but spent the days with her, took her out for strolls, shopped with her, and ate delicious meals at famous restaurants.
While spending time with the one you love, time seemed to fly by in a flash. Soon, one month ended and Mua Kong left again.
Two months after Mua Kong left, Hli Ja felt more and more tired. She felt sensitive to smell and could not eat properly.
One morning, she could not get out of her bed. It was then she knew what was wrong with her. She had only heard from her grandma of pregnant women, but she had not had her period for over two months and her symptoms seemed to correlate. A sense of warmth and happiness overcame Hli Ja even though she wasn't feeling well at the moment. She slowly walked outside, careful about her unborn to ask a maid to bring her some clear broth soups. Though she knew it would be hard to drink the soup with how she was feeling, she was determined to be as healthy as possible, for the baby and for her.
At the end of the third month, Mua Kong came back home from the southern base. As always, the first thing he did was to see her before anything else. He found Hli Ja in the room. She was writing something.
He rushed up to her and embraced her to which she didn't seem surprised as she was expecting his arrival. While embracing her, he realized how much weight she had lost. He stared at her, and concern took over her. "Are you ill? Why are you so light?" He asked.