Song Qiu leads Ying Yue into the throne room. Ying Yue glances around her and could see Bai Chun and his men standing off to the side. Taking a good look at the throne room, Ying Yue could see that it was a much smaller room then the one in the dragon kingdom. Unlike in the dragon kingdom, the room was covered in a dark blue color. As Ying Yue continued to look around the room, she notices Song Qiu motioning for her to walk closer to the king of Xinjing. Ying Yue could feel everyone's eyes on her, feeling uncomfortable, Ying Yue fixates her gaze to the floor.
"You're very bold to be ignoring me."
A voice calls out to Ying Yue from the distance. Ying Yue couldn't help but feel that the king was mocking her from his tone of voice. With her fists clenched, Ying Yue brings her head up and gazes at the old man sitting in front of her.
"You dare to gaze at me with those eyes of yours woman?"
"I am merely treating you the same way you are treating me, old man."
"Old man?! I am the king of Xinjing!"
"And I'm the empress of the dragon kingdom!"
"What?! Is that true Bai Chun?!"
The old man looked confused for a moment, before turning to face Bai Chun. Ying Yue could see Bai Chun break into a grin and scratch the back of his head.
"Well, your majesty. It looks like the crown prince hasn't filled you in on anything."
The moment Bai Chun mentioned the crown prince; the doors behind Ying Yue opened. In comes walking a tall and handsome man; dressed in dark blue with dark brown hair. Ying Yue could tell that he was a lady killer based on this looks alone. Not to mentioned he looked like a very flamboyant man. Ying Yue knew there were other kingdoms and species in this world, but she didn't think they'd resembled people from her world so much.
"Pardon me for being late, father."
"Long Jian! What's the meaning of this?! No one told me she was the empress of the dragon kingdom! Are you trying to start a war?!"
"Ah, I thought Bai Chun had filled you in."
"What? Don't pin your mistakes on me crown prince. It was supposed to be your job."
Ying Yue watched as the three men bickered back and forth at each other. Finally fed up with the chattering, Ying Yue cuts them off.
"Enough! Someone needs to explain to me about what's going on here!"
The crown prince moves in closer to get a better look at Ying Yue. After breaking into a smile, the crown prince walks towards his father and whispers something to him. After they were finished talking, the crown prince turns his attention back to Ying Yue.
"Dragon empress was it. What's your name?"
"None of your business."
"Playing hard to get I see..... Bai Chun, what's her real name?"
"Tsk. What a pain. That human woman goes by Ying Yue."
"Ying Yue? My, what a pretty name. It rather suits you."
"I'm sure you didn't bring me here to just compliment my name."
"Ha Ha! Amusing! Very....very amusing."
The crown prince leans in and gazes right into Ying Yue's eyes.
"What's this? You have jade eyes. Are you a mix?"
Ying Yue takes a step back and glares back at the crown prince. Bai Chun who was silent the whole time walks to Ying Yue and forcibly grabs her by the chin; he stares into her eyes before smiling.
"Well, I'll be damned! I had no idea you had dragon blood in you."
Ying Yue slaps Bai Chun's hand away before wiping her chin with a handkerchief that she had hidden inside her sash.
"Whether I carry dragon blood or not, is none of your concern."
Bai Chun walks back to his men as the crown prince continued to stare at Ying Yue.
"True, and it doesn't matter whose blood you carry. Our plan will still continue as planned. Ying Yue, you will be the key to helping me get rid of the dragon emperor. Maybe even the entire dragon race."
"You bastard!"
Ying Yue had enough, with her right hand clenched into a fist she walks right up to the prince and punched him with everything she had. Catching him off guard, Ying Yue sends the crown prince flying back and onto the ground. The moment Ying Yue punched the prince; the king summoned for the royal guards to surround Ying Yue.
"You damn woman! You dare try to harm the crown prince?! I should have you beheaded for that!"
"No, father. I'm alright."
The crown prince wipes away the blood on his lips before standing back up. He motions for the guards to back off, before walking closer to Ying Yue.
"That was so unladylike Ying Yue. You didn't have to reject me that hard."
"Stop wasting my time and tell me why you've brought me here."
"You'll know soon enough. Although there was a miscalculation somewhere. Looks like we'll have to revise our plans."
"What do you mean by that crown prince?!"
"Bai Chun, I had this woman examined by a doctor on the night you brought her here. Just in case she might carry a disease. You'll never guess what I found out."
"What?"
"Apparently, the doctor told me she's carrying."
Ying Yue looked just as surprised as everyone in the room. She had no idea she was pregnant and considering how she rarely saw Jianyu, she didn't think it was possible. Quickly placing her hand over her stomach, Ying Yue couldn't help, but breath a sigh of relief that she was going to have a child of Jianyu.
"I can't marry a woman who's carrying another man's child. So looks like I'll have to wait until you give birth."
"What do you mean by that?! Why would I marry you?!"
"Who says you have a choice? Until you give birth we'll keep you in the palace. I would honestly chose to give you medicine to make you lose that child, but I know it wouldn't do me any good."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"My oh my. You're the dragon empress and you don't even know this? An unborn child of royal blood from the dragon clan is powerful. While it's inside your womb, no poison or miscarriage medicine will affect you. Why do you think I said I have to wait until you give birth?"
Ying Yue had no idea her child was so strong already. She was so certain it was going to be hard to conceive due to her upbringings.
"Ah, I should remind you. Just because you're immune to medicine and poison doesn't mean you're invincible. Like many other woman, you still have to avoid any hard labor and please refrain from trying to run away. Horse-riding won't be good for you also as you're still in the early stages."
Ying Yue couldn't help but think that the crown prince knew everything. He probably even knows about her meeting Hong Chen. but she wasn't going to bring it up if the crown prince didn't. Even if Ying Yue hated Hong Chen, he still helped her; therefore she wasn't going to drag him into anything else. Ying Yue watches as the crown prince walks away from her and moves closer to Bai Chun. Once they finished chatting, Bai Chun walks to Ying Yue and offers her an advice.
"Dragon empress, if you want to survive until your emperor finds you. I hope you continue to play it smart and stay out of trouble. I have things to do and will be leaving Xinjing. Until I return, you are on your own."
"Where you go is none of my concern. If you're so worried about me causing problems then take me back to the dragon kingdom!"
"Heh, not this time little empress. See you next time."
With those words, Bai Chun motioned for his men to follow him. Ying Yue watched as everyone left the throne room. All that remained was Ying Yue, the crown prince, the king and the royal guards.
"Ying Yue, I'll be having you stay in the rose palace."
"Rose palace? What is that? And surely you're kidding. Don't treat me like I belong to you."
"Whether you like it or not, your life is not just yours alone. If you want to be well taken care of during your pregnancy, I suggest you start listening."
Ying Yue bites back at her lips. She decided she was not going to sit around this time and wait to be saved. Sucking in her pride, Ying Yue convinces herself that this was not the end.
"I will keep that in mind, crown prince. But why are you so determined to wed me? It's obvious I am unfit to wed a crown prince."
"Do you see that sword tied to your waist? There's a story to it."
"What story?"
"If you want to know, then join me tomorrow morning for some tea. I'll tell you all you need to know about your sword."
"Growl."
in the midst of everything, Ying Yue's stomach had to growl. Catching her off guard, Ying Yue couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. She had forgotten that she hadn't eaten all day. She couldn't even remember the last time she had something. The crown prince breaks into laughter before motioning for maids to tend to Ying Yue.
"Ha Ha! You truly are amusing, woman. Maids take her to the rose palace and make sure she is taken care of."
Although reluctant to, Ying Yue knows that in her current state she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. Not only was she tired, but even her stomach was growling.