Yanyue smiled at the butler opening the door for her to get inside the car.
"Thank you, Uncle Wu."
The butler, who had to be stern, went out of character and reciprocated the smile.
He had assisted the princess consort since her marriage with the second prince. Chaperoning her to places here and there made him see the princess consort in a different light, and he appreciated her even more than before.
She loved the beef intestine by the side of the road, so he would always stop the car a few blocks from the stall and then walk with the princess to buy the fried intestine.
Unlike other royal or rich children, she never pampered herself by spending millions of dollars at the mall or club. She was fair with simpleness and thoughtfulness, and he felt regretful for the prince because he had missed a good woman. But he was only a servant and could only watch the princess get mistreated.
The weird thing, though, was the princess consort did not seem like herself. She was always quiet and timid, but now she seemed more confident and mature. She was lively and often smiled. The butler didn't understand the abrupt change in her personality, but he preferred this side of her. Her youthfulness reminded him of his spunky daughter, who was away studying in another country.
Beichen came out of the mansion and walked down the stairs to the car. Butler Wu sighed as he pondered to himself. No matter how sad he felt for the princess, his other boss was the prince, and he could never openly criticize the royal family for their shortcoming.
The butler bowed, greeted Beichen, and continued his duty as usual.
Beichen never spoke to anyone below him, but he respected his elders and reacted with a nod.
He stepped into the car and caught Yanyue's sour face, which expressively stated from the smothered lips that she did not welcome him. Yanyue had not forgiven him for shamelessly occupying her bed last night and invading her privacy.
Beichen settled across from the woman, brushed her attitude aside, and pulled out his tablet. Yanyue couldn't kick him out of the car, so she looked outside the window and pretended to be invisible. She felt a kick from the restless little bean sprout in her stomach.
"Baby, be good for mommy today, okay?"
Yanyue was gentle when it came to treating her baby. The back-and-forth hand motions on her stomach always worked like magic to appease the little guy. He always understood whenever she was in a bad mood and would move as a way to console her, but how could he know that it hurt instead?
"Mommy is going to your grandpa's birthday. There will be a lot of food. There is also going to be your favorite sweet braised pork. Mommy will make sure to eat a lot!"
Yanyue smiled, and a bright radiant of sunshine encased her. Beichen felt his heart pounding fast, dazzled at first, and then mesmerized.
His sight was on Yanyue the whole time despite not acting like it. He acknowledged the beauty and charms she possessed.
He saw when she ignored him to observe the dull scenery outside. Her mild face became pale, and she looked slightly in pain. But she wasn't mad. Instead, she spoke softly to the life in her belly as if it understood her.
Did she always talk to her baby? He found her action cute, and the corner of his lips ascended.
One time when they had sex, he hovered over the bump and kissed and caressed it like a treasure. They slept together many times, but he didn't understand what made him do that. He later realized that it was due to this thing called parental affection. The woman was carrying his child. Despite not having any feelings toward Yanyue, he felt emotionally attached to that little meatball in her belly. It was no one else's but his own.
His bloodline.
But something stabbed his heart.
Was it guilt? Or was it just some useless emotion called heartache?
He didn't know because he had never felt it before. It was a bipolar sensation. It wavered back and forth like a ship on a journey in inevitable tides. Sometimes it hit rock bottom, and his heart seemed lost. Then, it would jump back right up high toward the cliff, and he would become restless. This guilt plus heartache was like an acquaintance, but he didn't know where or how he would have experienced it.
Since returning from the mission, he felt he had no control over his life. Everything seemed too good to be true. He was heralded as a hero when he came back. But, somewhere in his heart was like a vacuum. All the things he had right now seemed as if he had traded half of his rib to obtain.
Those strange, fluid dreams. Was the whole picture real or just a figment of his imagination?
Behind overbearing character and calculating eyes, Beichen hid his confusion but desperately wished to find out the truth.
In the end, he cleared his throat and calmed the strange yet warm feeling that was starting to crush him.
His eyes darted towards Yanyue again, but this time to her bare neck. It seemed that she didn't listen to him.
"Go back," Beichen ordered Butler Wu, who had already let the driver beside him drive towards the inner palace.
"What games are you playing? We will be late." Yanyue didn't want to linger in the same space with him any longer and wished to hurry up.
"Where is the necklace?" Beichen asked.
Yanyue lifted an eyebrow. She knew but was compelled to cross her arms and then questioned like she had no idea, "What necklace?"
The man looked away from the screen. His eyes showed he was not angry, but his body language revealed an outburst of anger greatly resisted directed at her. It was a look he often had during his company's quarterly meetings.
Once the car stopped at the house again, Butler Wu went inside with haste and had the maid bring the necklace from Yanyue's room. After a short while, the maid brought out the navy jewelry box and handed it to Butler Wu.
"Your Highness, the necklace." Butler Wu was relieved, and his voice returned to normal.
Beichen removed the white diamond necklace from the case and went to the other side where Yanyue was sitting.
"What are you doing?" she asked but was dismissed by the man.
When he got closer and closer, Yanyue shifted to the window, raising the temperature that was already hot.
Beichen had no choice but to pull Yanyue towards him again by wrapping his arm around her waist. His sudden action startled Yanyue, and she pushed him away to no avail.
"If you want to see what I can do, then keep struggling," Beichen whispered, his voice grazing against the woman's ear, prompting hesitation from her. Yanyue had not been with Beichen for just a day, so she didn't dare to take his threats lightly. With how tyrannical this man was, he would destroy her if she didn't listen to him.
A smirk appeared on Beichen's face as he positioned the necklace around Yanyue's neck. The white diamonds stood out against Yanyue's fair and delicate neck, and Beichen felt he made the right choice to get this necklace from an auction he attended while on his business trip.
Even if he hated her, she was his princess consort, so she had to look like her part next to him. Beichen concluded and decided to give the necklace to her when the opportunity arrived and by chance, there was a banquet.
Yanyue pushed Beichen away once he finished putting the necklace around her. She looked down and touched the jewelry, feeling a little skeptical.
"Don't take it off until I say so," Beichen voiced lightly.
"Do you think I can now?"
Yanyue found that she might like the necklace, so she didn't oppose it and resigned to her fate. Seeing the woman sitting obediently, Beichen resumed his work on the tablet.
The Royal Palace was in the heart of the valley. Three mountains to the north helped protect it from invaders and barbarians. A river ran from the mountains to the ocean down the south, creating access to the outside world. With many geographical advantages, the ancient country survived many battles until this day as the number one power in the world. Allies and enemies aspired to become as great as this nation, so even the King's birthday garnered attention from many world leaders. It was the first time Yanyue saw security so tight no one could come in without an escort.
She was wearing a dress specifically designed for pregnant women. It was light with non-toxic material. Grandma Lu had a royal seamstress tailor clothes for her, all paternity-inspired and then delivered. There were two layers to the violet dress. The strapless satin bottom layer hugged her body and exposed the ample form of her baby bump, while the top layer of the dress was loosely transparent and lustrous down to the floor, and the final touch was the cozy violet fur shawl wrapped around her back and arms. Tonight, she had on a rather large netted violet fascinator hat that complimented the dress. It covered half of her face, and one would not be able to tell who she was if they did not manually lift the veil to expose the face hidden behind it.
Beichen wore a matching suit set. Grandma Lu did not miss the detail. She wanted them to look as if they were one. From the corner of Beichen's eyes, he could see a lustrous white diamond necklace on Yanyue's neck and smirked quietly in satisfaction.
They were unknowingly in sync, creating the perfect couple image. Their appearance collected a lot of attention, some good and some mixed with jealousy.
Beichen did not seem to mind the attention, but since entering the venue, Yanyue felt like an object in a museum being observed closely by someone. It wasn't like the admiration glimpses or resentful stares from the audience. This particular one was a chilling and ominous gaze somewhere from the dark. She looked around the crowd but noticed nothing suspicious. She sighed and tugged onto Beichen's arm with a little more force than before. He perceived the slight change and unconsciously pulled her a little closer to him.
The King and Queen had already arrived. Their table was on the plateau.
"We wish you a happy birthday, Your Majesty, Father," Beichen greeted respectfully.
Once acknowledged, Beichen and Yanyue went to their seats below the king and queen's spots. Yanyue sat down, quickly grabbed the water on the table, and gulped it down. An unnerving feeling was creeping up on her, and she needed a glass of water to relax.
"Good evening, Brother Jinchen and sister Suyin."
The crown prince and crown princess showed up right after them. Yanyue and Beichen gave them a simple greeting as the couple also made their way to the seats across from them after giving their wishes to the King.
Yanyue spotted Yanfeng coming in together with Jason. Slightly after that, it was General Shen and Mrs. Shen. She did not see her good "sister" Wanyue, but that girl would show up even without an invitation.
More leaders and officials trickled into the venue. Yanyue kept a keen eye on all the arriving guests.
Next was Gujaha. It was a small but prosperous country to the west. Their source of wealth was the rich petroleum that they produced.
"Emperor Tiangong! As an old friend, nothing would make me happier than seeing you going and well. Happy birthday from this old pal!"
The representative for Gujaha was the ruler himself. He was a burly and bearded middle-aged man with a darker skin tone. One could tell he was handsome during his youth from his sharp features. Old age and weight did not seem to make him less of a presence than before.
His tone was different from the others. He was not one to follow formalities even when the event called for it. He seemed to be the only one in the mood to celebrate, while all the others were here for politics and benefits.
Standing next to him was his daughter, who was the spitting image of her father. She had a darker tone and wavy black hair that reached her ankle. There were shiny, golden, colorful hair clips and jewelry under her pink, translucent shawl. King Chandra had only one child, and he loved and doted on her very much, bringing her to the Yilonguo king's birthday and actualizing the rumors that his daughter was spoiled. The pair followed the escort to the table reserved for them.
"Greetings to Your Majesty from Korsan. We wish you boundless blessings."