The pressure on you and Zheng-Shao was great. And day by day, only fuel was added to it. His mother, consort Rong wanted her son to become the crown prince before she finished the Emperor. The current crown prince, Lin-Ying was awfully cunning and the emperor had his eyes on you. And through this mess, your relationship with Zheng-Shao was also a wreck. Consort Rong had tried to replace you multiple times but Zheng-Shao didn’t seem to have his eyes on anyone. That was a relief amongst all this chaos.

However, Zheng-Shao seemed to have changed a little.

Last night you were summoned by the emperor. Everything afterwards was a blur to you. But from then… Zheng-Shao seems to be more determined to become the crown prince. For whatever reason, you don’t know. Honestly, you just wanted a peaceful life away from all the palace drama.

You were taking a walk through the palace gardens with your handmaidens when you saw Zheng-Shao sitting amongst the freshly blossomed Peonies, three kittens in his arms. You dismissed the maids, stepping to him.

Zheng-Shao was a man of few words and cold glances. After your wedding night, he never visited you or spoke to you, nor touched you. He was playing with the kittens, whispering a poem underneath his breath. Today had been stressful for him. He had gone to multiple officials to gain allies and it was in all honestly tiring. The last thing he wanted was to deal with you.

Perhaps your only hope now was to carry a son, as soon as possible.

[Qiang (强): Strong, Powerful] [Zheng (正): Correct, Upright] [Shao (邵): High, Elevated]

Pin the first (this) message, always.