The nitty-gritty part of the birthday celebration was over, and it was time for the dance.
The King got up from his seat.
"I invite my son, Beichen, and my lovely daughter-in-law, Yanyue, to the stage!"
Typically, the King would be the one to open up the dance floor on his birthday, but he had stopped dancing for a long time.
Yanyue almost choked in surprise. Her plan to keep a low profile did not work.
Beichen got up and extended his hand over to her.
The two walked to the middle of the floor like a loving couple. Yanyue's only concern was her appearance. She did not want to expose herself and lowered her hat again to cover her face. And much to her discomfort, she stood close to Beichen to avoid being seen too much.
The King let Yanyue dance because the dance was slow, which would not be dangerous to her. He had consulted with the doctor, and it wouldn't put his daughter-in-law or his first grandson's life in danger. He did everything with precision.
The couple were in each other arms. Yanyue wrapped her hands around Beichen's back, and he put one arm around her waist and her shoulder. It was an intimate position from afar because they were hugging each other like a pair of penguins.
"Hold me tighter," Beichen whispered while repositioning her hand to redo their contact.
Yanyue smiled, but her face was gloomy.
Beichen stopped being finicky, and they began moving slowly in an informal waltz around the stage when the music started.
"Have we done this before?" Beichen asked Yanyue out of nowhere.
Yanyue squeezed her hand against his back in reaction to his question. They have danced multiple times like this, but it was all back in Zanaark.
"No."
It was true. She danced with Jun, not Beichen.
Beichen raised one of his eyebrows.
"I didn't know you before. You must have done it with my sister to confuse me with her. We do not look alike at all."
"I don't recall."
It was a short answer, but it was Beichen's true thoughts. He had an excellent memory, so he must not have danced with Wanyue before because he couldn't remember.
Yanyue couldn't believe him because he loved Wanyue so much that she expected that they sure had their sweet moments together before.
"My sister would be sad if she heard you say this."
"She's understandable."
Hence, Beichen could continue to have her on his side without complaints all these years, not accounting for the childhood promise when she saved him.
"That's good. But I'm not. I don't like sharing my stuff with other women."
Yanyue didn't mean to say it like she was proving his points, but it sounded like she was a bitter wife.
"Not that I care," she clarified quickly afterward.
"You harmed her and caused her to have a miscarriage, and you said you didn't care?"
Yanyue glanced up to see the man's chin.
"For the last time, I have never touched her, not even a single strand of hair. You shouldn't trust your mistress with your whole heart. Be careful of heartaches later because I can't help you mend it back."
Yanyue turned her head toward the direction where a man sat.
"Look, I saw someone interesting."
It happened naturally. Beichen moved his head on her command as if he had done it multiple times without doubts. He caught himself and felt conflicted for a second.
Yanyue continued, "Do you know who that man is?"
Beichen asked instead, "A man you played with before?"
Yanyue rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Well, I saw him at the royal banquet for the crown prince. He was with my sister in the garden. But why were they together in the garden, and most importantly, do they know each other?"
Beichen smirked. "His name is Sam. He's the oldest son of a nobleman and businessman, Yuan Gao. They are close friends with the Yang family."
"I have to say, though, that he is quite handsome," Yanyue remarked. "He would make a good toy boy, but I wonder how good his skills are. I bet it won't be... lacking like yours."
As if to prove Yanyue wrong, Beichen's hand glided to the thickness beneath the woman's waist and squeezed it, causing her to fluster unpreparedly.
"We're in public," Yanyue scolded quietly.
Beichen smirked. "Don't test my patience. You should know best whether I'm lacking or not."
"And don't forget who you are now. Whatever and whichever man you had in the past, don't bring them up again."
Yanyue snickered and removed Beichen's hand away from her buttocks.
"Alright, I won't bring up anybody anymore. You are too stingy. I don't even care that your mistress lives rent-free in the Eastern Palace."
"You have challenged my bottom line the moment you inserted yourself into my life in that hotel room. Don't even think that you can escape because I will find you to the ends of the earth," Beichen intimidated.
Yanyue bit her lips. Beichen's words would sound passionate if he loved her, but all Yanyue heard were threats. He reminded her again of that slave contract she signed to save Klotho. Yanyue regretted not waking up in time, and before she knew it, she got involved with this abominable man again.
She questioned herself if she ever owed him in her past life, hence why she couldn't get away and always seemed to fall into his trap. But it was useless to question at this point. Now, she needed to act for a few more months until her baby was due, and then she would escape with her baby back to Zanaark.
The slow waltz ended, and King Tiangong was the first to give his applause, sparking a reaction from the crowds.
Beichen and Yanyue held hands back to their seats like a loving couple again.
"The dance floor is free for all to join. Please enjoy the rest of the evening. The King is tired and will retire for the night."
The King's assistant announced and escorted the King and Queen out the backdoor with the guards.
Beichen naturally attracted people. Officials and entrepreneurs alike could not wait to curry for favors, and all rushed for a chat. Yanyue went to the hors-d'œuvre section with Yanfeng. She had wanted to speak to Jason about the sudden engagement the King "honored" him with, but he was long gone by the time the dance was over. She had a feeling he went to ask the King for an audience.
"The Palace can feed the whole world if it wants to. Look at all this food," Yanfeng expressed bitterly.
"Try this!"
He passed Yanyue a plate of truffle and tarts.
"Oh, I can feel him," Yanyue giggled and patted the baby bump. "He's excited to try these too!"
"My nephew is already so naughty!" Yanfeng also reached down to pat Yanyue's stomach. "Little guy, don't even think about hurting your mommy because you would need to go through me first!"
Yanfeng felt a kick and smiled. "Already so rebellious!" He turned to Yanyue and sulked, "As expected of his son. This little guy is here to be my enemy! I've got to teach him a lesson when he is grown up!"
Yanyue knew that Yanfeng was joking, so she just laughed. She did not doubt that he would love her child as much as she did.
"Thank you, Young Master Yanfeng, but there won't be any pestering you about my child's upbringing. I'm more than capable of doing that. "
Yanyue did not know when Beichen had come over, but he had already taken her waist and snatched her away.
"Ah, if it isn't the second prince of Yinlonguo. I recall that you were accompanying my cousin to the hospital a while ago because she had your child."
Yanfeng waved behind them. "Talking about the devil, and it would show up!"
"Here you are, Ah Chen! I was looking for you all over the place."
Wanyue went to the opposite side of Beichen and held onto his arm. Yanyue saw this and pried herself away from Beichen with disgust.
"As expected, you are here as well, cousin Yanfeng! It's as if you and my sister dote on each other because you are always together!"
Beichen naturally heard Wanyue and didn't like the thought of Yanyue and Yanfeng together because whatever belonged to him could only be his.
"Cousin Wanyue, who may this be?"
Yanfeng was the first to point out that another man was with her.
"Ah Chen, it has been a long time, but you must have met Sam before in high school. His family is a close friend of my grandfather, the Chancellor."
"Prince Beichen doesn't remember a little bug like me. He was the most popular student back then, while I was just on the sideline. I admired him a lot in high school!"
Sam smiled and extended his hand to Beichen.
Beichen looked at him. Yanyue was talking about this man, and now he was here. He found this to be a strange coincidence.
He didn't think more about it and nodded his head to greet the man instead of shaking hands with him.
Sam smiled awkwardly and pulled away his hand in embarrassment.
Wanyue cleared her throat to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"Ah Chen, Sam has started to run his family's business and is seeking advice. I think you would be a great help in this regard."
"Contact my assistant if you have any questions," Beichen cordially replied, but his tone displayed little interest.
"Thank you, for being willing to guide me!" Sam happily expressed.
Yanyue did not see the need to linger in the space any longer.
"I want to use the restroom. Can you take me, Yanfeng?"
"Why don't I take you, sister? I also need to use the restroom myself."
Wanyue did not waste a second and quickly pulled Yanyue away.
The three men were in front of the dessert area, and many girls came over to surround them once the two women left. The aura was not friendly but rather stiff. From afar, it looked like the men were competing with each other to see who was the most powerful.
The two sisters who had left walked into the bathroom area.
Yanyue came out of the toilet and saw Wanyue sitting on the edge of the sink. She looked toward the door, which looked locked.
"I saw the dance," Wanyue said slowly. "He was supposed to dance with me. That was supposed to be our dance. You've taken everything away from me, older sister."
Yanyue frowned. "Don't be delusional. I've never taken anything away from you."
"You took away my unborn child!"
"You took away my pride when you accused my mom of plagiarism!"
Wanyue was slowly getting out of control.
Sensing the danger, Yanyue clutched onto her stomach and tried to calm the woman.
"Little sister, I don't want him anymore. You can have him all to yourself now. I'm going to get going."
Yanyue walked over to the door and tried to open it. She silently cursed. It was locked!
"You can't leave yet!" Wanyue said with force.
Then, she grabbed Yanyue on the wrist and threw her toward the sink, which Yanyue couldn't dodge in time and hit the sink.
"You're crazy! let go!" Yanyue said, still in pain from the impact.
"Beichen has been avoiding me because of you, bitch! And I know he stayed in your room last night!"
Wanyue looked at Yanyue's neck.
"Did he buy this for you as well?"
She snagged the diamond necklace off of Yanyue's neck.
"He betrayed me! I saw this necklace in his office. I didn't ask him because I thought he wanted to surprise me! But he meant to give it to you all along! You are a whore, and you stole my fiance! Give him back to me!"
Wanyue held onto the necklace and towered over Yanyue again.
"Help!" Yanyue yelled.
Then, she used all her strength and twisted the crazy woman's hand away from her wrist and rushed to the door despite the pain in her stomach and her neck. She managed to unlock the door this time and ran out.