Wang Zheng feels a light tap on her shoulder. Li Zhang was watching her with a lovely smile on her face. "Your Majesty was sleeping so well, I'm sorry to wake you."
The queen smiled a little awkwardly, she didn't know how long she had been sleeping there with the woman watching her. She arranged her slightly wrinkled clothes and grabbed her purse.
The young rose-scented omega was waiting for her as she held the car door open. She stretched out her hand and offered it as support so the queen could go out more comfortably.
The day was still dawning and it was the first time that Wang Zheng had seen Li Zhang in casual clothes, the omega was wearing only a pink floral dress with white sneakers. Her auburn hair was loose and free to the touch of the wind.
The light scent of flowers was soft and quickly spread around the younger omega. Despite being floral and light, there were no sweet notes. It was a pheromone that closely resembled the scent of the original flower.
They were walking through the undergrowth and they were very close to the mountain peaks of Wang Li, the sky was mixed with shades of blue and orange, it was a truly stunning sight.
After a few steps they reached the top of the small hill and there was a huge balloon waiting for them.
"Will Your Majesty do me the honor of a balloon ride?"
"Of course."
Li Zhang climbed first into the large basket that would carry them and held out her hand to the queen. Wang Zheng could feel her face burning, the other omega was staring at her with eyes as sweet as honey… It was clear that she liked the queen very much.
Wang Zheng felt a little bitter… A little guilt crept into her heart.
She liked Liu Wei, but she was on a date with Li Zhang and the other omega was truly interested in winning her over… It all sounded so strange and confusing.
The queen was counting down the seconds to make her decision… Would Liu Wei accept to be her wife? But what if she just wasn't interested?
Royal life was a huge game of chess where interests prevailed and true love was as rare as flowers in the desert. The queen never had and never would have time to meet and date anyone. She knew the closest she could get to a courtship would be the Bloody Spring and the brief period between the engagement and the organization of the wedding ceremony.
The mere fact that the council of elders requested Bloody Spring already showed the urgency of a marriage and an heir.. Wang Zheng had doubts if Liu Wei would be willing to live a relationship so full of ties and obligations so suddenly.
She sighed in her heart.
Next to Li Zhang and Wang Zheng was a man who would be responsible for piloting the balloon, the man smiled kindly and bowed in respect to the queen.
She smiled in response and soon saw the fire increase in intensity making the balloon start to move.
They were going up.
A few hours had passed and Liu Wei had already finished writing down everything she intended to do. In short, the young princess wanted to make a drastic renovation and needed workers willing to work day and night.
Anna was worried because so many things needed to be done in a short time, it was such an ambitious plan that only Liu Wei would have the courage to try it.
Liu Wei was forbidden by the queen to go out unaccompanied until her foot was completely healed and after the meeting between her and the queen she would have to undergo a series of tests to ensure that there was no problem in her body. But that was a problem for later...
Liu Wei had some experience with architectural projects and her photographic memory helped her make a detailed plan of what she would have to change and even while still in the car on the way to the site she would scribble and research things that might be useful for her project.
Anna was talking animatedly with the same guards who had accompanied them previously, Liu Wei personally asked them to accompany her throughout her stay and after much insistence she managed to get them to loosen up and introduce themselves properly.
Wang's country had many rules involving royalty and the royal guard, everyone was there in the name of the queen and always presented themselves only as humble servants and an extension of the royalty representing their strength and bravery… But for Liu Wei they were a kind of adventure companions, she didn't like to keep them so far apart.
The shy beta was named Chao Hong and the shrewd older beta was named Shi Lian.
Shi Lian happily talked about how the other guards envied her for being personally requested by the Princess of Martana and Chao Hong was a little embarrassed because she only knew how to talk about it since they had left the palace.
Liu Wei listened to the entire conversation and just found it funny.
Chao Hong looked into the back seat and saw the princess concentrated as she stared at some papers on her lap. He felt curious.
"Miss Liu what are the most urgent things to do today?"
She stopped briefly and looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "The electrical part and the woodworking. The electricity is because I need the place to be very well lit at night and as it has been completely abandoned for years this ends up being a challenge, we don't know how damaged the wiring in the house and garden is…"
"... The woodworking is because I want a solid wood table to be made especially for the meeting and orders like this can take weeks to make and I need it in two days."
The young beta looked surprised at how developed and complex her plan was, but smiled in satisfaction. "You can ask us for anything, we will arrange it."
Shi Lian also looked in the rearview mirror and agreed with the other guard. "Yes, we are available."
Liu Wei smiled, she would really need all the help she could get.
Li Zhang and Wang Zheng managed to climb high enough to see a beautiful sunrise, they stared at the horizon while talking about some stories of Wang's ancestors.
Wang Zheng particularly liked how Wang Li chose a mountainous region that was so difficult to access as the place for her palace… Wang's country had so many kings and queens in its history that it was very difficult for any province not to have at least one palace.
Many kings decided to live in the same palace as their parents, but others wanted to build a completely new legacy and building their own home was a big step towards that.
Li Zhang chose Wang Li's hills especially for the romantic tone of that place.
At least 200 years ago, an alpha queen took over Wang's turbulent country, her name was Wang Li.
Wang Li on her wedding day to omega Song Xiu asked where her wife would like to live for her entire life.
Song Xiu didn't care where she would live, she just wanted to live with Wang Li, but jokingly she said that she would like to live as close to heaven as possible so whenever she looked at the horizon she could see Wang Li, even when she was far away.
Li's palace was located on top of the highest mountain and had a beautiful view of the other mountains in the region, and the view from the queen's quarters looked directly onto the huge capital of Wang's country.
Li Zhang knew countless legends and stories involving the royalty of Wang's country, as she was a literature teacher, she studied and interpreted them daily. She truly admired how some kings lived so passionately for their wives and Wang Li was one of the kings who built an empire and a legacy so her omega could smile happily.
Wang Zheng liked how Li Zhang seemed so interested and excited when talking about her ancestors and a curiosity popped into her mind… "Li Zhang, don't you miss your country?"
She looked surprised at the queen's question and was speechless for a few seconds… "Wang's country is now my country… The place where I was born the Li family no longer exists and all their descendants are not welcome… Someday if I going back there will probably have my head ripped off my neck."
The queen could hear the other omega's melancholy tone. "Do you feel comfortable as one of the Wang noble families?"
Within Wang's country, there are two ways to become noble: either by receiving the peerage directly from the king or by purchasing the peerage for a fee.
Li Zhang's family purchased the title of nobility by taking refuge in Wang's country.
Li Zhang already held the title of countess, inherited from her country, but was appointed by the queen a few years ago as a duchess after getting the job as the youngest effective professor at the Royal University.
For the Li family, having a title of nobility was necessary and fundamental to keep them safe and it was also at the time the quickest way to get permanent housing within the country.
Li Zhang might no longer be heir to a throne, but she lived happily and independently. There was nothing missing.
The flower omega briefly stared into Wang Zheng's face and sighed happily. That meeting was a unique moment in her life… She couldn't hide the admiration she had for the other omega, so powerful and delicate. She looked back at the horizon and remembered something.
"Your majesty must be hungry, shall we eat?"
"Sure."
In the huge balloon there was a small table and chairs attached to it, it was specially made for dinners and romantic meals. Li Zhang had prepared some breads and desserts for them during the tour. They sat down in the chairs and the younger omega took a small thermos of tea and poured two glasses.
They would still have some time to contemplate the scenery and to talk, and Li Zhang would enjoy every second.
When Liu Wei arrived at the queen's former house, she met with the cleaning staff and talking to them would be her first activity, she explained them carefully about the places she would use and which ones they should pay special attention to.
There was a lot of dust accumulated inside the house, but the wall that separated the garden from the kitchen had collapsed and there was a huge amount of debris, leaves and vegetation remains… she couldn't care less about that now, her only concern was: leaving the place safe and perfect for a great picnic.
After a long conversation, the cleaning crew started their work and they finished their work a few hours before the time Liu Wei had agreed to meet with Wang Zheng.
The second step was to talk to the woodworkers, she needed to split them into two teams. The first one would take care of the table, they would make a simple garden table, if the princess had more time she would probably have asked for something more elaborate, but there was no time for that so she just accepted a six seater table and two benches that work as the seats.
The second team of carpenters was the most important, they would be responsible for a support structure to prevent the house from collapsing, despite the rustic and different appearance Liu Wei would not accept putting the queen in danger just for an encounter. They would make some pilasters and fix them in the most affected area and an arch structure would guarantee greater rigidity in the place where the wall was.
In little more than an hour you could hear the chaotic sound of wood being cut, hammers and vacuum cleaners. All of them would work exhaustively for whatever time was available to them.
When the electricians arrived at the site, they did a major inspection and concluded that the wiring, despite being old, was in good condition, so only a little maintenance would be necessary and this information made Liu Wei very happy, after all it was one less problem to solve.
The young princess arranged with the electricians a structure that could adequately light the external environment and that would be what would take up the most of their time.
The day went by fast and Liu Wei didn't show insecurity or tiredness, she followed the plan as planned and made sure everyone else did the same.
The omega watched the cleaning removing the plants and dead branches scattered around the garden and she could already imagine how the final result would look… It would be perfect. She smiled in her heart.
"Anna, provide food for everyone, we are working long hours and it should be dark soon."
The first day on the job was exhausting and the days ahead would be worse, but she was going to make sure everything turned out perfect.
It was late at night when Wang Zheng returned to the palace, and after her pleasant walk with Li Zhang, she had to rush to help an urgent patient who had been admitted to the royal hospital.
After a few hours, the patient finally had stable glands and her baby was born healthy.
The queen felt exhausted and urgently needed to eat and sleep.
Arriving home as usual, she was greeted by her secretary, he escorted her to her room and kept her updated on everything that had happened during her absence.
It was after the second dusk when she was finally ready to lie down and go to sleep, but not hearing from Liu Wei made her a little uneasy.
"Huan Yang, send this medicine to Miss Liu"
The young alpha no longer had much to do and just needed the queen to dismiss him so he could go to his room and rest. He quickly agreed, but soon hesitated to take the medicine the queen held in her hands.
"I believe Miss Liu Wei has not returned to the palace yet…"
The queen felt a little worried, the young princess had barely had time to rest from her fall… Would she try too hard? Did she have time to rest?
Wang Zheng was worried for the first time about someone in particular… Liu Wei really was special.
"Is she accompanied?"
"Yes, with Anna and two royal guards."
Huan Yang could see the relief in the queen's posture, laughed in his heart. The queen looked like a teenager in love.
Really amazing.
"I see... Keep me informed if you know anything... If you don't find Anna today, deliver this medicine to Liu Wei tomorrow morning."
"Certainly."
"You can go and rest."
The young alpha started walking towards the exit of the room and stopped briefly to say one last thing to the queen.
"Okay, tomorrow your majesty should wake up early for your meeting with Yang Fan…"
"It's all right."
Wang Zheng sighed wearily… Waking up early… Again.
Huan Yang quickly left the room, if the queen had to wake up at 7 he would have to wake up at 6 so it was an exhausting routine for both of them.
The queen watched as her door was softly closed and finally lay down on her bed. She looked at her open window and could see the starry sky, sighed and closed her eyes.
The next day would be really tiring. She would wake up early and go to the airport to catch a flight to Yang Fan's country… They were going to have their date miles away somewhere in the middle of the ocean, the queen needed to rest to face another day of this series of dates.
Liu Wei could feel her legs weak from fatigue, the day had been exhausting and she smelled like dust. Next to her Anna and the guards were completely exhausted, she felt a little guilt in her heart, they were like that for accompanying her, but she knew it was something necessary... She would make sure that when all that was over she could compensate them properly... Maybe with some duck.
When they arrived in front of the palace, the guards stopped the car and Liu Wei asked them to continue on their way and not accompany her. They were so tired that they ended up accepting the proposal.
Anna and the princess were walking in a dragging way to the room where she was staying. But there wasn't the energy to do much, they needed sleep.
"Anna, just prepare my pajamas, I'm going to take a shower and lie down, don't wait for me…go rest."
Anna kindly accepted. She grabbed a clean change of clothes while the princess went to the bathroom and then left.
Liu Wei couldn't have taken more than half an hour to be completely ready and she was so tired that she slept without drying her hair properly. She didn't care if your hair was a little damp, she couldn't bear to keep her eyes open anymore.
Her last gesture before completely surrendering to sleep was to check the time. It was 3 a.m. Yes, the day has been really long.
When the day dawned it would be a long day.