Cough Cough... Cough Cough... "Dou Dou!!!" Song Xiao Lin yelled in a panic as soon as her coughing fit had subsided. Song Xiao Lin opened her eyes and tried to get up immediately.
"Princess, Princess, you're awake!! Don't get up yet. Wait here, I'll go and summon the royal physician! Stop trying to move..."
Song Xiao Lin looked around her as she lay back down on the hard bed. She stared at the tanned young girl in front of her in a confused manner. 'Did Huang Jian Jie hire new servants? Where am I and where is Dou Dou?' Before Song Xiao Lin could ask the girl in front of her, she had already dashed away in a hurry.
All of a sudden, Song Xiao Lin felt a huge pressure on her chest as if she were being squashed by a ghost. As she struggled for breath, a flood of foreign memories came rushing to fill her consciousness. Song Xiao Lin gasped as her whole body was covered with sweat. 'I see… I must have transmigrated. Kai DI must have offered the incense to Foshan Mountain after all to see that I've not only came back as a Princess with the same name, but to have retained knowledge and memories of my former life in a body half my age. But what about Dou Dou?' All Song Xiao Lin could think of was her son. Just the memory of his limp body in her arms as they died brought a rush of grief and tears to her eyes.
By the time her maid Na Na came back with the royal physician, Song Xiao Lin was found sobbing heavily on her bed. Such was the pain of a mother grieving. Nobody could understand. Dou Dou was her world, the reason that gave her life purpose and meaning. He was her everything. Now that he, they innocent joy in her life, was gone. There was nothing that could console her. She was overcome with grief that she didn't even hear them enter her room.
"Princess, I know you are grieving now. Na Na is also heartbroken. The Prime Minister has always been good to Na Na and I will always remember his kindness in my heart. But you must look after your health or your mother the Grand Princess will not be able to stand on her feet again" Na Na also started breaking down when she came into the room seeing Song Xiao Lin crying so hard.
'No wonder my grief is inconsolable. I am grieving not only for Dou Dou but also this body's father?'
"What happened to father? The last thing I remember was accompanying him to the royal library and then a fire breaking out." Song Xiao Lin was still trying to piece together the memories of this former body that must have perished in the fire. Although she felt sad to know that he passed away, it was but a dull ache compared to the loss of Dou Dou.
"Princess, first please allow me to assess your health. You must not be agitated and still need lots of rest to recover." The old royal physician came forward and bowed before placing his medicine box besides the bed.
"There is no need. I already know my condition the best. I have rested enough already and need some fresh air and sunlight. Na Na, how long have I been unconscious for?"
"Princess, today is already the 3rd day. The Grand Princess could no longer wait and yesterday she had to escort the Prime Ministers body back to the Sky Kingdom to prepare for his funeral and burial. She wanted to take you with her but the royal physician said that you couldn't be moved so the Emperor insisted that we stay until you wake. I have already informed someone to send news to the Grand Princess. She will be relieved to hear the news. Princess, you should still let the royal physician check your health."
"I already said there is no need. I have a PHD in pharmacy and med… forget it. Royal physician, if you must…" Song Xiao Lin resigned her wrist for the royal physician to perform his check up. Sometimes it was just easier to go with the flow.
"The princess seems to be in good health. This humble subject will write a prescription for the kitchens to prepare. If there is nothing else, this humble subject will retreat as the Crown Prince still needs to have his bandages changed." The royal physician bowed and left the room.
"The Crown Prince is injured?" Song Xiao Lin tried to bring up memories of this cousin of hers. Song Xiao Lin's mother, the Grand Princess is the elder sister to the current Emperor. Xiao Yun Qi, the Main Lands Crown Prince, is her maternal cousin brother with whom she shares an extremely good relation with. He has always been gentle and generous with her, even treating her better than her own blood brother from her former life.
"Speaking of this, there are some things you must know Princess. Apart from you and the Prime Minister, apparently the Crown Princess and their only son were also in the library when the fire started. When the Crown Prince found out, he had rushed over and without a care for himself, he changed into his celestial beast form to save them. However, he only came out with his little Highness and yourself. When he came out, he wanted to return to save your father and the Crown Princess but he was severely injured. The building had also collapsed so there was no way to go in. Now the Crown Prince is recovering with physical injuries and the little Highness, like you, was unconscious and till now hasn't woken up. As soon as the Crown Prince woke, he tried to see you several times but you were unconscious. No doubt when the royal physician tends to his wounds, he will come blasting over when he finds out that you're awake"
"Na Na, please bring me some water and something light to eat. I am so thirsty and need some sustenance so I can get up and move again" Song Xiao Lin wanted some peace so she can recollect her thoughts and assess her current situation. After Na Na left, Song Xiao Lin closed her eyes and gathered what she knew about this world.
The world she was now in is known as the Sentient Lands where all sentient beings live together in peace. All the so called "Humans" are evolved from celestial beasts and animals due to thousands of years of cultivation. Only the most cultivated and powerful sentient beings can change to both human and animal form at will. That is why pure bloods are valued. The more pure your blood, the more powerful and noble you are. Over time, as many different beasts take on human forms, they intermarry and produce mixed blood offspring. However, the royal family from each kingdom are all from the dragon line. Only the purest bloodline can place you as the successor of the throne. That is why the Crown Prince was able to change into his celestial dragon form and save his son and herself.
It is also because the inhabitants in this world are all evolved from beasts that the consumption of animals are prohibited. Eating meat would just be like cannibalism and would spark outrage as it is akin to having members of their family or friends killed and eaten. It is also the reason why even though milk and eggs were consumed, they fetched at a really high price and was seen as a luxury. I guess it would be difficult to ask a fellow cow to have their cousin milked or a fellow chicken to provide their potential relatives as fried eggs…
As always, there are rogue groups of rebels who do not follow the rules of this world and eat the meat of fellow animals. However, this group tends to develop a strange disease which Song Xiao Lin recognises as Kuru. It is a disease on Earth that people get when they engage in cannibalism. It is similar to the Mad Cow disease and symptoms include muscle twitching and tremors, slurred speech, dementia, poor coordination, moodiness and behavioural changes.
The Sentient Lands are also broken up into 3 Kingdoms. The biggest kingdom which occupy a large mass of land, as well as many islands, is called the Water Kingdom. Because of their location and dominance over water, it makes them valuable for trade in salt, algae and many other ingredients that grow in and around the waters. They also have many luxurious hot spring hot spots which are known for their medicinal and healing properties. They are the most powerful nation but value peace and the alliance with their neighbouring nations. The size of the Water Kingdom is equivalent to the size of the remaining two kingdoms put together. From time immemorial, Dragons are considered masters of rain, river and ocean. So the Water Kingdom are believed to be the forerunners and ancestors of the very first ruling Kingdom. The royal family of the Water Kingdom are known for their affinity with water and ice attributes and have the ability to breathe under water.
The second largest kingdom is known as the Main Lands. They are the main ruling force in the Sentient Lands as they have the biggest numbers and diversity in their population. It is also because since the ancient times, the Water Kingdom never seek to be engaged in power struggles. The Main Lands have the most powerful military strength and always try to maintain peace and alliance with their neighbours. This is why the royal family always seeks to have their children intermarry with the royals or nobles of their neighbouring nations. The royal family of the Main Lands are known for their affinity with the Earth and mother-nature and have natural healing and medical talents.
The last kingdom is called the Sky kingdom. Although they occupy the smallest sized lands, due to the position it occupies, the combination of altitude and climate ensures that the lush lands are extremely abundant in herbs, spices and medicinal plants. That is why the Sky Kingdom is extremely rich in resources and finance. However, in the last few decades, the Sky Kingdom have been looking for ways to expand into their neighbouring territories. They have occasional skirmishes and are always secretly scheming to overtake more land. The royal family of the Sky Lands have an affinity with fire elements and have the ability of flight.
That is why the Main Lands try to seek the most peaceful way to maintain the alliance by intermarrying royal family members. The Grand Princess Xiao Heng, Song Xiao Lin's mother, who is also the Emperor's elder sister, was married to the Prime Minister of the Sky Kingdom for this reason. Fortunately for her, the Prime Minister is an upright and righteous man of the pure dragon lineage.
Emperors are the considered to be the true dragon and Son of Heaven so the blood lineage must be pure. Being of royal and noble blood, Song Xiao Lin's knew that one day, her marriage alliance would also be arranged like her parents. With her position as Princess of the Main Lands, and a daughter of a noble from the Sky Lands, her marriage will play a valuable crucial role. However, her last marriage in the former life was a complete miserable failure that resulted in her being murdered by a jealous mistress. She didn't want history to repeat itself. 'How can I become self-sustainable to prove that I don't need a marriage alliance to provide value?'
Just as Song Xiao Lin began pondering on this issue, the door to her bedroom slammed open.
BANG!