Standing face to face with Xian Rong I can feel the headache coming on.

After the ceremony or well, during the ceremony, he asked me to accompany him to the pavilion not too far from the banquet. Looking into his eyes, I can see the anger. It isn’t showing on his face though, I guess from the years of perfecting his mask but so what.

“What did you want to talk about?” I ask him and his brows knit. He turns to face the garden with his back towards me. Staying silent for a while, I wish I knew what he was thinking but unfortunately, us humans can’t read each other’s minds.

Swinging my hands around my back, I clasp them and stalk forward. I’ve had enough of playing nice!

Standing beside him, I put my hand on his shoulder and force him to face me. His eyes widen as he stares at me. “You should stop wasting both of our time and just speak, this suspense is killing me Oraboni, if you don’t, I’ll just leave,” I say and he frowns.

He turns to face me properly. Looking straight into my eyes as if he is staring into my soul, “Rucheng, you, really know how to take us by surprise. I’ve tried to read you but it seems that you are always a step ahead of me.”

“It’s not that I am a step ahead of you Oraboi, I’m years ahead of you, whether you like it or not. And it’s not only you, but it’s also everyone who thinks they are even capable of standing on equal footing with me.” I say and he looks at me knowingly.

“Who is the man that you’ve had children with?” he asks making me smile.

“If you are planning to kill him then you can forget about it. That man is many times stronger than you and he’d go to the ends of the world to make sure that he stays alive because we did promise to be together until death do us part. We also plan on marrying our daughter and son’s off, so you shouldn’t even think of planning his death unless you want to die as well,” I say and he glares at me.

“You dare threaten me?” he says making me laugh.

Waving my hand, “Oh please, if I wanted you dead, my husband would have killed you already for me.”

“You married him?!” he asks in shock.

“Of cause, he isn’t a man that would plant his seed without marriage, you could say that he is someone who worships the ground I walk on so – we’re fated to be together.”

“Since you’ve revealed your family, it seems that you and I aren’t going to get married,” he says while walking up to me, speaking in a low voice.

I nod my head and turn my attention to him, “Of cause, he wasn’t happy with that idea so I changed my plans, but don’t think for a second that I forfeit my title as Empress, no one besides me is fit for that title. We’ll rule the empire together or I could rule it by myself if you have any problems.”

He leans down beside my left ear, “I hope you know that Jilei isn’t the only empire I plan on ruling.”

Looking into his eyes, I place my hands on his cheeks and smile from ear to ear, “Wang Xian Rong, your ambition’s are within expectation – do you understand now why you are still alive and I’m willing to stand by your side?”

He looks down at me with surprise then narrows his eyes, “Why would I keep you by my side?”

“I’m someone who can support you. Unlike you, the Hwabaek doesn’t control me. You need me as much as I need you to survive against the royals, so why won’t you?” I ask him with a smile.

He hums in agreement and pulls my hands off his cheeks, “You have a point but I’m still disappointed that I can’t marry you after dreaming of it for twenty years,” he says making me frown.

“If I wasn’t loyal to my husband then how would you trust me?” I ask him and he shrugs.

“The alliance meeting is in two weeks, what do you have planned?” he asks shoving the conversation we just had to who knows where.

“Let’s talk about that some other time, for now, we have this shitty banquet to attend to,” I say and he chuckles.

We walk side by side back to the hall where the banquet is being held in comfortable silence. It seems that he isn’t that thick-headed but then again, no one can walk all over me.