Ai Hua observed the people walking past the teahouse. Nobody looked over. It was as if the teahouse was invisible to them.

"Hm … How strange." She patted her son’s shoulder. "Let’s ask that man over there."

"Mn." Xiao Dong trudged behind her, glancing back at the teahouse. He couldn’t imagine that this was really the place where their king wanted to meet them. Shouldn’t he be at a … better place? He was the king, after all! What was he doing in an empty teahouse? Well, not that he was there right now …

Ai Hua hurried over to the young man that had just wanted to pass by. "Excuse me!" She stopped in front of him and smiled. "Excuse me, kind sir, but may I ask you a short question? I won’t take up much of your time." She didn’t wait for his answer and motioned at the teahouse on the other side of the street. "That teahouse over there … Would you happen to know if it closed? I heard so many good things about it so I wanted to visit today but now it seems that nobody is there."

The man looked at Ai Hua and gulped. Damn. It was true what the people said about the teahouse: It really was a place where women as beautiful as fairies gathered! Just why did they have to get into a conflict with that damned Li Bo? Now he’d lose out on the sight of all the other beauties! Well, if this one married him he wouldn’t mind …

Ai Hua smiled even brighter. "So do you know what might be the issue? Will they open later this day?"

"Er, that … you see the people working there got into trouble with some powerful person so it’s best not to go there anymore, Miss. But if you’re searching for a place to eat at, I —"

Ai Hua’s eyes narrowed. These humans! She had just arrived and this was already starting. Did they have no self-control? She was a married woman! Mn, well, she couldn’t resent him for it. She was a beauty, after all!

Ai Hua suppressed a chuckle. "So it was like that."

"Yes, yes, just like that. So it’s really better not to go there. You might get your family into trouble otherwise. So how about —"

Ai Hua turned to Xiao Dong and smiled. "Did you hear that, son? It’s just some person making trouble. Nothing for us to worry about. Come, son. Let’s go in there and wait for your father." Ai Hua turned and dragged him into the teahouse, not even bothering to thank the man who had told her. Why should she care? The most important thing was that she had to fulfill His Majesty’s wishes! Mn, maybe she could get a good deal for her brother out of this. Yi Zan really had too much to do. He should be treated better!

The young man gazed after her, stupefied. "So … she was married? And her child was that big already?" He tilted his head. Just how was this possible? She had looked so young! She definitely wasn’t older than twenty years of age! The man sighed. "Ah, I don’t mind her age. If only she wasn’t married … Did the other women in the teahouse really look like this? Hmph, that damned Li Bo. If not for him!" The man shook his head and went off. There was nothing he could do about Li Bo and nothing he could do about the beauty either. It was better not to think about it any longer.

Meanwhile, Ai Hua dragged Xiao Dong to one of the tables close to the door. She examined the room and sighed. "This place looks desolate. If I’m not wrong, it should be owned by the family of His Majesty’s beloved. Whoever that 'Li Bo' guy is, he has caused quite the damage to them. We should see if we can do anything about it while we wait for His Majesty to come back."

Xiao Dong nodded and looked back to the street. His eyes narrowed dangerously. He might have looked as if he was only fourteen or fifteen years old but that appearance was misleading. He was a dragon, after all. Even though he wouldn’t count as a grown-up in his race for a long time, he still understood his mother’s meaning. Some mortal had dared to make trouble for their king’s future consort. Since they were here now they couldn’t let this go on. They had to teach that guy a lesson to make sure nobody would dare to disrespect this important person in the future.

Ai Hua glanced around again and leaned over the table. "Xiao Dong, this is your chance to leave His Majesty with a good impression! You have to use it! However ugly the human child that is you’re supposed to seduce, you have to do your best! Do you understand?"

Xiao Dong pressed his lips together. He didn’t want to seduce anyone who was ugly but … this was their king’s order, after all, he’d have to comply. With a bad taste in his mouth, he nodded. Let’s see how ugly that child really is. Maybe he would be lucky and the person turned out to be a beauty instead. Otherwise, why should His Majesty need someone to seduce that person away from his beloved? The Son of Heaven should have very good taste!