The Tale of the Lotus Heart novel Chapter 26

First Prince's letter came only days later. My plan had worked and the demons were effectively sealed off. Most of them died in the explosion, but those who survived couldn't cross over to the Heavenly Realm even if they wanted to. First Prince was back in the Heavenly Palace, awaiting the debrief to the Emperor that I would also have to attend. It was soon. I got dressed in my armor before sighing. Yong watched me wordlessly for a while.

"You're going with First Prince?" He asked. I nodded.

"He should be here to fetch me soon," I replied. Yong stood before placing his protective hairpin at the base of my ponytail.

"I shouldn't need that," I tried to stop him. He sucked his teeth at me before finishing.

"Just in case. I'll be able to see what's going on with this. How are your symptoms today?" He asked. Lately, I'd been nauseous and tired all the time.

"I'm still tired, but I can suck it up for one meeting," I tried to brush it off. A fairy maid came and announced First Prince's arrival. I said goodbye to Yong before going out to meet the First Prince. He smiled gently at me.

"Princess, are you prepared?" He asked. I nodded as I took a deep breath. We set out and arrived at the main hall shortly after. The Emperor and Empress were both seated on their thrones as we bowed to greet them.

"Good. Good. Good job out there with the demons. First Prince, I know I can always count on you when it comes to war, but great-goddaughter... you were a welcomed surprise. Who knew you would also have the brains to back up the talent. You've made me proud today," the Emperor smiled in excitement.

"Thank you great-godfather," I bowed.

"Royal Husband, Princess Aivi has almost cultivated to a Goddess status. I think it's time to start thinking about her marriage. What do you think?" The Empress said cordially. I knew she was just trying to get rid of me as soon as possible. In the Heavenly Realm culture, the women followed their fathers until marriage, then they followed their husbands. If I married, I would be part of the royal family in name alone. My husband’s clan would be the family I would serve daily.

"The Princess is such a renowned figure in our realm, we can't just chose randomly when it comes to her marriage," the Emperor said. I felt nervous. This was exactly the kind of discussion we didn't want to have. I bowed quickly.

"With all due respect Heavenly Emperor, I'd like to contribute more the the Heavenly Realm and my godfather before my marriage discussions start. I’m not even 20,000 years old yet. I wanted to learn from the physician faction next and help immortals before then moving on to help the Floral Goddess with plants and herbs for medicines and remedies," I gave the excuse.

"The physician faction doesn't do much unless there's a war ongoing. Being that you were just in the Northern Territory, you probably already did more there than physicians ever do here. How about going straight to the Floral Goddess? You'll be able to learn more about medicines there under her guidance," the Emperor agreed, quickly forgetting about my marriage talks.