The four family members were ready. The had all taken their spots ready to get started at the exquisitely elegant table that the queen had prepared, or rather ordered servants to prepare with enthusiasm.
The king was at the head of the table as was always the king’s allotted position.
The king’s presence surprised and pleased Min Li because the king was so busy that he rarely had the time to find Min Li to speak to her and Min Li never wanted to interrupt the king in case he was doing something very important.
The king also looked absolutely ecstatic to see Min Li though he hid it well. He treated her like a fun uncle and that suited Min Li very well especially as she had seen him deliver punishments to Fenhua always expecting the crown prince to be at his best even at a young age.
The queen was sitting at the left hand of her husband with a bunch of handkerchiefs of all different colours in front of her. Min Li wondered why one would need a dozen or more handkerchiefs just to eat dinner, but the queen could be peculiar at the best of times so Min Li dismissed her thought and looked at the last person on the table.
The crown prince was sitting to the right of the king and next to, on the left of, Min Li.
The two of them had been avoiding eye contact since the dinner had begun, though Fenhua had still been attentive to Min Li’s needs, not waiting for the maids to serve her food and doing it himself.
Min Li had noticed that when Fenhua had piled her plate high with food it had not just been randomly. He had taken care to transport Min Li’s favourite food braised meatball’s, to her plate. Not even the king, or an even more powerful influence, the queen had managed to get one.
The majority of the meal was filled with mindless small talk, with everybody just enjoying each other’s company even though there was a small remnant of awkward tension between Min Li and Fenhua.
It was when everybody had nearly finished with their food that things started to get interesting, and as Rose would say the book worthy moments commenced.
It began with the queen. It had to begin with the queen. Everything began with the queen.
“YOU WERE BOTH DEAD. DEAD TO THE WORLD. DEAD TO ME,” the queen let out a loud wail.
The queen had picked up several of the colourful handkerchiefs and was doing her best to flap them around in sorrow.
That was what the handkerchiefs was for. All the better to make a scene. Min Li noted it down in her mental handbook.
Besides that, since Min Li had been able to hear everything when she was laying in bed, Min Li knew for a fact that neither her or Fenhua had died. And they were both clearly alive and kicking now.
“THEY HAD TO TAKE YOU FROM ME. BOTH MY SON AND DAUGHTER, BIRTHED FROM ME...” The queen stopped for a moment as if realising something that she had said was not factually true.
She looked at Min Li hesitantly for a second and gulped, “well not really, BUT MY SON AND DAUGHTER NONE THE LESS WERE BEING TAKEN FROM ME.”
Min Li sometimes wondered how her majesty was able to transform from elegant queen who had been coddled enough by her husband that she had never gone through any struggles, to best actress who had clearly crawled out of a grave and to the closest town with civilisation and back so fast.
“THE DOCTOR HAD TO SAVE YOU BY SACRIFICING HIMSELF.”
With the amount of emotions that the queen was displaying, Min Li would have bought it if she hadn’t been able to hear nearly everything when she was in her state of darkness.
But, Min Li was also privy to the fact that the old doctor did not sacrifice himself for anyone. He had left the Eastern palace alive and well.
“WITHOUT MY HELP EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE GONE TO PIECES, I WOULD HAVE LOST THE BOTH OF YOU. ONLY A MOTHER LIKE ME WOULD BE ABLE TO FIGHT FOR BOTH HER CHLDREN ON THE CUSP OF DEATH,” the queen banged her chest and fluttered the handkerchiefs all the more.
“I AM STILL AS YOUNG AS I EVER WAS AND I WAS ABOUT TO LOSE A CHILD. AND YET I HAVE NOT EVEN ONE GRANDCHILD. NOT ONE. A YOUNG WOMAN LIKE ME SHOULD NEVER HAVE TO FACE SUCH…AN OLD WOMAN TOO… BUT ESPECIALLY A YOUNG WOMAN LIKE ME. ONLY A MOTHER LIKE ME WHO HAD BIRTHED THE CHILDREN OUT OF HER OWN WOMB… well not really… WOULD HAVE CONTINUED TO FIGHT THE FIGHT THAT I HAD TO FIGHT.”
Min Li wondered exactly what fight the queen was claiming to have fought was.
The queen looked back and forth between the crown prince and Min Li with interest. It seemed that she was finally about to reveal the real reason behind her wailing.
The queen sniffed whatever was left of the emotion that she could conjure up away and said, “Seriously, I am so happy. You two also look as though you are doing alright. It is me that is carrying a great burden on my back in worry for the kingdom. How can the kingdom have no heir.”
Min Li looked at Fenhua up and down. The heir of the kingdom looked perfectly alright in her mind. On the other hand, the queen appeared to be out of her mind.
“You know, I would do it myself but I am not young, I am far too old.” That was a far cry from what the queen was claiming less than a minute ago. There had to be a good reason why the queen was sacrificing her own self-image.
“You two have been galivanting across the palace whilst knowing that there is no one left if you happen to fall,” the queen continued.
“Yes, I have heard a piece of news about the two of you too,” the king boomed looking at Fenhua and Min Li.
Her majesty looked at his majesty clearly annoyed. She had been setting herself up to introduce her true motives, but here the king was butting in and ruining the flow of her complaint.
The king was not deterred by the queen’s stares. He hardly seemed to notice as he appeared to be heavily invested in his own train of thought.
“I heard that you Min Li were moved by my son into the room for the princess consort.”
The king leaned forwards as if asking for answers on the topic.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Min Li wondered how a man who knew all the affairs of the country, could be so out of tune with the affairs of his own family. Her room arrangements had been set so long ago that she had forgotten that it was a bit of a problem.
Both Min Li and her partner in crime in the matter, Fenhua, moved about uncomfortably in their seats not being able to tell whether the king was annoyed or not by the whole room saga.
On the contrary, the queen’s eyes lit up as if the king had unknowingly played into her evil plan.
With Min Li and the crown prince not willing to answer the king, the queen took her stage again.
“Well,” the queen started slowly looking between Fenhua and Min Li, “you two are not biological siblings. You are not even cousins... though that could actually turn out a bit better, know the family you are marrying into and all that jazz... And you never really acted like you were related either. You were raised separately but together, but more separately than together.”
The queen quickly looked directly into the eyes of Min Li and Fenhua as if trying to find encouragement. But alas, she found none. Neither Fenhua nor Min Li appeared to be trying to buy any of what the queen was selling.
“You two...would be perfect together as a couple. I can just imagine a grand wedding day with everywhere in the palace decorated with blue...”
The queen sighed lovingly as she tailed off.
Fenhua remained tense besides Min Li. Min Li tried her best to emulate his posture. But in her heart, Min Li was loving what the queen was saying and nodding along with the queen. She too was giving thought to her in a blue dress with gold embellishments walking down to the crown prince on their wedding day.
Then she thought about concubines. Nope that would never happen. She tried to think about the fact that the king didn’t take a concubine even when he was pressured to and the crown prince taking after his father in many ways.
Turning to the king, Min Li noticed that he looked utterly shocked at what the queen was saying. But that didn’t stop his wife, she wasn’t done.
“And we all know about Min Li’s little crush on you Fenhua for all these years.”
Min Li’s jaw dropped open in shock and embarrassment. She can’t believe that two minutes ago she had been agreeing with a woman who had thrown her into the wolves, just to attain a little thing like another heir to the throne.
Min Li could hear Fenhua chuckling besides her as she tried to sink as deep as she could into her seat.
Fortunately for Min Li the queen seemed to hear Fenhua’s chuckles too.
“And Fenhua you never seemed to mind either. Even now you are giggling at her crush on you. I must say it is not all that becoming for a man to giggle, but since this is a matter about you two getting together to produce my grandchildren, I will kindly grant you a pass.”
Min Li coughed a little.
The crown prince just stayed physically still.
The eyes of the king, who was by far the most familiar with the queen’s antics, bulged out of his head.
Since no one appeared to be outwardly rallying behind the queen, the queen reiterated her point.
“Grandkids would be nice you now. I am getting older. Don’t just focus on my outward covering, I am not still in my early twenties.”
“But earlier you said-,” Min Li tried to remind the queen of the youth that she had always been adamant that she possessed.
“Quiet child. I NEED GRANDKIDS AND I NEED THEM NOW. OR ELSE WHO WILL SECURE THE FUTURE OF XILIN.”
Min Li was still slightly on the queen’s side due to her love of Fenhua, but the queen had nearly completely lost her with that statement.
The queen was missing steps, she was.
First, comes love. Then, comes marriage. Then, comes a baby. Min Li was still trying to figure out whether or not Fenhua was harbouring the same feelings of love towards her that she felt towards him. She didn’t want to scare the poor man away.
At once as if realising the severity of the situation, Fenhua, Min Li and the king worked together to get the queen off the topic.
The prince called a servant towards the table and started ordering more food that he insisted would be necessary, even though Min Li was sure that everyone was already fully stuffed.
“We are still famished. Could you please tell the kitchen to prepare more food for us?”
The king started whispering to the queen just how youthful, beautiful and intelligent she was and how she had all the chance in the future to get the grandchildren that she desired.
“Who is more youthful than you? There is no need for you to stress over such. You have plenty of time before you need to start worrying about grandkids.”
The queen had stopped wailing and looked at her whole family in complete misery as if wondering who on earth would make her have to be the one to socialise with such fiends.
For Min Li’s own contribution, she had decided to copy the queen’s influence that she had noted down in her mental notebook and was now crying hysterically in other, unused, colourful handkerchiefs that she had borrowed from the queen that she was too young to get married.
“That would be child marriage. I have just left the comfort of your arms as a baby suckling on your bosom, and you are already throwing me out to the world full of wolves.”
Now would be the right time to say that Min Li was not hand reared by the queen or anyone in the palace from what she could remember. It just made Min Li’s point more exciting than it formerly was.
Min Li suddenly remembered something else that could cheer the queen up.
“I think Kit is a good option.”
At once, everyone at the table stopped talking. The king and Fenhua looked at Min Li.
The real target, the queen, stopped staring emptily between the three and focused all her attention on Min Li looking visibly brighter.
“Are you sure?” The queen asked gleefully.
“Yep.”
What Min Li was sure about was that she didn’t want to get married.
The crown prince had noticeably tensed up even further besides Min Li. He let out a noise of dissatisfaction, plainly not trying to hide the dissatisfaction that he felt. You and me both, Min Li thought.
But Min Li was happy that she now had the queen on the hook.
“Yes. Yes. Before you force little old me to get married to the prince, there is one thing you should know. There appears to be great sparks flying between Kit of the South...” Min Li checked that the queen was waiting eagerly which by the nod of her head in enthusiasm she could tell the queen was, “and Jess of the West.”
The queen clapped happily for a couple seconds. Then she appeared to realise what Min Li had actually said and returned to her frowning state.
“But they were the perfect back-ups I was preparing in case you two don’t work,” the queen murmured lowly.
Fenhua, whose shoulders had lost their tightness, and the king managed to steer the conversation away from marriage, and as if suddenly realising that her three family members were working against her, the queen looked between the three sulking in disgust.
Anytime she would make eye contact with one of them she would glare at them for a little while before turning her head in displeasure. Not that it mattered though, by the time the queen had decided to turn her head Min Li had already decided that something off in the distance was a lot more interesting than seeing what the queen would do next.
The king was the only one who held eye contact long enough to see the queen cutting him with her eyes and looking away. Min Li was sure that the only reason that he held eye contact was to make sure that he was still the leader of the country and that his pride would not lead him to do otherwise.
“How did you end up in the accident anyway?” the king asked.
Min Li didn’t herself exactly know how she had gotten off the tree, so she looked forwards to Fenhua divulging more information.
Fenhua didn’t say anything and rather started twisting his neck as if he was uncomfortable.
The king didn’t back down he stared between Min Li and Fenhua waiting for one of them to give an answer.
Min Li tried to avoid the palpable tension by leaning forward trying to get a cake for herself that the maids had brought to the table.
It turned out that the crown prince was trying to do the same thing.
Their hands met softly and neither of the two pulled away from each other.
Min Li was too captivated by the sensation to pull away and from the expression on the crown prince’s face, Min Li gathered that he felt much of the same way.
It seemed that their bond was getting stronger. Not only did a flow of absolute pleasure seem to flow from Min Li’s neck, but sparks were also flying up her arm. It was to the point that Min Li just had to wonder whether this was something that she should summon the old doctor for.
It was now the king’s turn to look back and forth between people on the table. And the two people on the table that he was keenly observing happened to be Min Li and Fenhua.
“Oh, I see”
The king looked at his wife and as quick as a whistle and said, “Carry on darling. I was blind to the situation but now I see.”
It was now Min Li’s turn to look between two people on the table suspiciously. It seemed that the two elders were plotting against her and Fenhua.