Three days had passed since Ying Yue and Jianyu brought in refugees from the kingdom of Shangliang. The dragon palace had more than enough room to house two hundred war refugees. Ying Yue returned to her life after slaying Bai Chun. As much as she was happy it ended; Bai Chun's last words had Ying Yue worried. Junjei was reaching the age in where he could now crawl. With Shen An and Li An busier now, Ying Yue would often find herself daydreaming of the future. Just as Ying Yue was about to head to speak with Wan Zhe, she hears a weak knock on her door.
"Knock Knock."
"Who is it?"
The doors slowly open and in comes walking Jianyu.
"Jianyu? What's wrong?"
Without saying anything Jianyu walks over to where Ying Yue was sitting on the table. He pulls the chair from across the table and moves it next to Ying Yue. Slowly laying his head on her shoulder he deeply sighs.
"Sigh....I need a vacation."
"Ha Ha… I'm sorry. Ever since we took the Shangliang refugees in you've gotten more work from your ministers."
"Tell me about it. Duan Da nags me more than his older brother when he was alive."
"That just means he's doing his job. How are the renovations plans coming along?"
"Well, in two weeks we'll put out a request and offer work. Whoever wants to help and earn some money can sign up."
"That's great! That's a good start. Have you told Wan Zhe and his wife?"
"Not yet. I wanted to see you for a bit before I head off to my next meeting."
Ying Yue lightly chuckles at the tired Jianyu. Feeling rather bad she motions for Jianyu to join her at her bed. Ying Yue quickly sits at the edge of the bed and asks for Jianyu to lay his head on her lap.
"Here, my mother used to do this for me. It always helped me relax as a kid."
Ying Yue runs her hands through Jianyu's hair and massage his scalp. Ying Yue could see Jianyu's tense shoulders relax every time she ran her hand through his hair.
"Ha, you're like a little kid Jianyu."
"Hah? Did you just call me a kid?"
Jianyu sits up quickly and pushes Ying Yue back against the bed. Ying Yue watched as Jianyu hovered over her. Slowly closing her eyes, Ying Yue prepares herself for a kiss. To her surprise Jianyu grabs her cheeks and pulls them apart.
"Ah! What are you doing?!"
Ying Yue slaps Jianyu's hands away as he laughed at Ying Yue's pink cheeks.
"What were you hoping for?"
"That's mean! Forget it, I'm heading out!"
Just as Ying Yue stood up, Jianyu pulls her and hugs her from behind.
"Send Junjei to mother. I will come visit you tonight."
"Wha...what?"
Jianyu chuckles at the blushing Ying Yue and kisses her on the forehead before walking through a portal.
"I... I'm not going to be waiting up!"
"Sure...sure ...sure. See you tonight my empress."
Jianyu quickly disappears as Ying Yue remained still and flustered.
"That pervert. I'm not going to wait for him. Nope!"
Although Ying Yue says no, she knew she was going to end up waiting for Jianyu. Shen An and Li An had just returned with the sleeping Junjei and could see the red face Ying Yue sitting alone on the edge of her bed.
"Your highness, are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine! Help me get ready. We're heading out."
"Out? To where your highness?"
"The rose palace first. It's been three days and I haven't found the time to pay them a visit. I need to see how Wan Zhe and his family is doing."
Shen An and Li An follows Ying Yue's orders as Junjei was asleep. Ying Yue motions for Shen An to dress her in something formal, but not too extreme.
"Red or yellow my lady?"
"Yellow is fine. Red is a bit too much."
Shen An helps Ying Yue slip into a two layered yellow dress with a phoenix embroidery on the sleeves of the dress. Once Ying Yue was dressed, she motioned for the sisters to work on her makeup and hair. Li An helped Ying Yue comb her hair and clipped a portion up with beautiful gold hairpins as Shen An moved onto doing her makeup.
"Something light?"
Yes, that's fine."
Shen An rubs in a tint of light blush onto Ying Yue's cheeks and eyelids to give her some color. Moving on she adds a tint of red to Ying Yue's lips and draws a flower onto her forehead. The pair of sister's motions for Ying Yue to check for satisfaction,
"Good as always. Thanks ladies."
Ying Yue stands up and grabs the bundled up Junjei.
"I'm heading to the rose palace. Take Junjei with you to my mother."
"Will you be alright going to the rose palace alone?"
"I'll be fine. Junjei will spend the night with mother but if anything happens, come look for me."
"Yes, your highness."
The sisters and Ying Yue all headed off in the opposite direction. Ying Yue slowly walks by herself as she watches the scenery change. After walking for ten minutes, Ying Yue stumbles upon Fu Jia ordering his soldiers around. Fu Jia quickly notices Ying Yue and greets her along with his men.
"Greetings your highness! What bring your here?"
"Don't mind me. I'm just looking around. Fu Jia, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Fu Jia dismisses his men and walks towards Ying Yue and greets her again.
"Is there something I can help you with, your highness?"
"Well, how did your last date with Lin An go?"
Fu Jia goes red as Ying Yue puts him on the spot. With his right hand on his waist and his left arm under his chin; he debates to tell Ying Yue the truth or not.
"Err....well..."
"I'm pretty sure she made the first move."
"Your highness, I can't seem to put anything past you."
"Heh Heh, I know everything. So, you might as well tell me."
"Uh...after you introduced us...Lin An and I have met up a few times and have decided to give this relationship a try."
"That's great news! I was worried you might dislike her because she's a human."
"Your highness, I know your first impression of us was not great. I don't blame you after what Zi Tai put you and your friends through that time, but I can assure you not everyone in the dragon kingdom hates human. In fact, I believe that ever since you became empress things have gotten better. The kingdom knows you're the bearer of the divine sword, not to mention you're the mother of the prince. The people have even applauded your work in getting rid of Bai Chun."
"So.....new has always spread about that. Fu Jia can you do me a favor?"
"Of course, simply ask me anything."
"I need you to find out more information on the crown prince of Xinjing."
"The crown prince of Xinjing?"
"Bai Chun said something to me before he died. He said the prince wasn't human. I'm worried he might be plotting something."
"Very well, I will ask for Tao Chen to help me look into it."
"Once you find out something, report it to me."
"Yes, your highness."
Ying Yue quickly leaves the premises after dismissing Fu Jia. She continues heading out towards the rose palace. After walking for another fifteen minutes, Ying Yue was now standing in front of the rose palace. Wan Zhe who was outside in the courtyard with his little family quickly notices Ying Yue as she walked in. With his hands clasped together and his waist slowly bent, he greets Ying Yue first.
"Ah! Greetings your highness."
"There's no need for formalities. You're royalty yourself Wan Zhe."
"Thank you for your kindness. I think it's only proper to greet my savior. Not only did you and his majesty save me, but you also kindly saved my people."
"Think nothing of it. I'm glad to see you all looking better."
"Yes! Everyone is attentive and taking good care of us."
"That's great. I know most of your people are resting at the jade palace since it's the baggiest palace, but have you heard anything from them?"
"Not at all. Quite the opposite actually. Everyone seems to be enjoying the treatment. The food is also great. So, I'm sure they have no complaints."
Ying Yue then turns to face Shao Jiang and her baby girl.
"How about you Shao Jiang? I had the high priest check on you two days ago. Did she say anything?"
"Nothing at all your highness. She just said I was malnourished and that once I gained some weight, I would start producing milk again for my daughter."
"I see. Looks like everything is going well. I did speak to his majesty earlier and he did inform me of the plans on rebuilding Shangliang. In two weeks, we'll put out job postings in the kingdoms main market. I wanted to see if you and your people would be willing to help us rebuild Shangliang."
"Of course! My people and I will be the firsts to volunteer! It's our kingdom, so it's our responsibility!"
Ying Yue ends up spending the next few hours talking to the couple and didn't realize the sun was already setting.
"Oh, I've overstayed. I will be taking my leave. You two enjoy the rest of your day then."
"Thank you, your highness. Please do come visit us again."
"Of course."
Ying Yue quickly heads out of the rose palace and makes her way back to her residence. With her maids staying with her mother, Ying Yue knew she was alone and on her own for the rest of the day. Quickly changing out of her clothes; Ying Yue goes on to undoing her hair and removing her makeup.
"Sigh, now I can breathe."
She moves onto lay on her bed as she waits for Jianyu. After tossing and turning for another hour; Ying Yue moves out of her bed and walks to her window. Slowly propping it open, Ying Yue grabs a chair from her table and drags it to the window. Sitting under the moonlight with the autumn breeze in her face; made her tired. Ying Yue ends up leaning on the wall near the window and dozes off.
Jianyu finally finishes his work and visits Ying Yue in the middle of the night. Quickly teleporting himself to Ying Yue's residence, he knocks on her bedroom door.
"Knock Knock."
"Ying Yue?"
After no answer, Jianyu decided to check for himself. He props the doors open and finds Ying Yue sleeping near the window.
"Is this woman trying to get a cold or something?"
He walks over to the sleeping Ying Yue and carries her back to her bed. Jianyu slowly lays Ying Yue towards the wall as he sleeps towards the edge. Ying Yue unconsciously moves and tries to grab her blanket, without realizing she was pulling on Jianyu's shirt.
"Hey, are you trying to strip me or something?"
Ying Yue quickly opens her eyes and sits up When she did, she sees Jianyu lying next to her.
"Jianyu? When did you get here?"
"Just now. I found you sleeping by the window and brought you back here."
"Ahhh….I fell asleep waiting for you."
Ying Yue yawns and lays back on her back. Jianyu smirks and moves on to hovering over Ying Yue.
"What're you doing?"
"Nothing, I just think it'd be great if we gave Junjei a sibling."
"How can you say something so embarrassing with a straight face?"
"Heh Heh."
Jianyu slowly strips Ying Yue of her night robe. Using his own body heat he warms up the cold Ying Yue. As much as Ying Yue was embarrassed to always be dragged along, she couldn't resist Jianyu's charm and advances. Ying Yue had always been an only child; therefore, she knew she wanted a large family of her own someday. After a long passionate night, Ying Yue wakes up to find Jianyu curled up and hugging her from behind.
As the sun peeked into the room through the window, Ying Yue knew the twins were going to return soon with Junjei.
"Jianyu! Wake up!"
"Wai…t let me sleep some more."
"No, you have to wake up. Your morning meetings are starting soon and my maids are going to come back soon with Junjei. Wake up and get dress before they come."
Ying Yue climbs out of bed and grabs her robe as she goes on to grab Jianyu's clothing that was scattered all over the floor. Jianyu finally moves out of bed and dresses himself with Ying Yue's help. Just as Ying Yue finished tying Jianyu's sash, she hears a knock.
"knock knock."
"Your highness, we're back!"
Shen An barges in with Li An who was carrying Junjei. They quickly notice the disheveled Ying Yue and Jianyu.
"Oh, looks like we came at a bad time. We will come back later your highness."
"No! It's fine! His majesty was just leaving!"
Ying Yue motions for Jianyu to quickly leave. Jianyu grins and could see Ying Yue's embarrassed face. He lightly places a kiss on Ying Yue's forehead and moves onto grabbing his son from Li An.
"Be good my little Junjei and don't cause your mother too much trouble."
Jianyu places on kiss on Junjei's forehead and hands him back to Ying Yue, before creating a portal back to his residence.