Youxian took in a deep breath as he placed down the brush. He picked up the parchment he had written on and blew the ink dry. He released a shuddering breath then sighed, ‘I hope he’ll forgive me some day but I can’t just live with this.’

The Wheel of Karma was turning, and Changling was at the centre of it.

His birth was something of a mystery and now, Youxian was sitting with a mystery in his hands.

He looked down at his stomach and rubbed it. When he had gotten the news, he was terrified especially coming from the imperial physician. 

He looked at his hand that was trembling and had nothing to say for it. He was frightened, Changling was a beast and deadly one at that. He had already been punished at his hand so what more could happen?

‘Would he kill me?’ He wondered.

Folding the parchment, he placed it in an envelope then placed it on the tray that was going to the kitchen.

It had been two days since Changling’s marriage to the now Crown Princess of Kim Haeun. From the wedding to the relative ceremony, the ancestral visits, he hadn’t been able to see his lover, but it was for the better.

At least during this time he was able to get his mind cleared and thoughts in order. 

With the family’s now integrating, not even his maids were at his side, those sisters had bigger things to worry about but there was still something he worried about.

Standing up, he made his way to the window and opened it, staring outside at the sky, he asked, “How is the Crown Prince doing?”

The man from before stepped out from his hiding spot and said, “He’s highly annoyed, playing this role isn’t for him.”

Youxian looked at him with a smile and asked, “Has he asked about me?”

He nodded his head, “He has. I told him you are doing fine but still under the weather.”

Youxian sighed, “At least I have you here to keep me company.”

“I’ll tell him you miss him,” he said.

Staring into his eyes, Youxian said, “You never told me your name. I doubt it’s that tyrant’s name.”

The man chuckled, “Of course not but I am not allowed to tell you my name. You already know my identity.”

Youxian frowned, “Well that’s fine I guess. Make sure you keep him safe.”

The man chuckled, “And here I was told to keep you safe.”

Looking back up at the sky, Youxian said, “You must be bored.”

Going back inside, he sat down and arranged the tray that it was covering the letter. He missed having everyone around but this was fine too.

Or was it?

*

“Wulin,” Changling called.

Wulin stood outside the window and bowed to him, “What can I do for you, your highness?”

“How is he?” Changling asked as he rubbed his temples.

Wulin thought of Youxian and what he had been doing recently, “There hasn’t been a change in his habits but he has been eating more. He has the kitchen working overtime instead of cooking for himself like before.”

Changling sighed, “Is he picking up weight?”

“Yes, he is, and he’s been eating more since your coronation ceremony,” he recalled.

Changling sat down in his chair as Wulin jumped through the window. “I’ve been seeing less and less of him recently and it feels deliberate. I wonder why he hasn’t kicked up a fuss yet. I know he misses me. I miss him.”

“Then why not go visit him?” Wulin asked.

Changling glanced at him, saying, “If I could, I would.”

“My lord, I’ve never known you to be so obedient,” Wulin said.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Your highness?”

“Come in,” Changling ordered. Wulin went to hide behind a folding room divider. 

The crown princesses maid-in-waiting walked in and bowed to him.

“What? Has something happened to the princess?” He asked.

“Answering to your highness, the crown princess has fallen ill and was taken to the imperial physician,” she said.

Changling stood up and nodded his head. “I’ll be there soon.”

As she left, he looked at Wulin, who came from behind the divider with a smirk. “I guess you’ll be a father.”

Changling rolled his eyes. “What did I tell you about watching me when I’m naked?”

Wulin shrugged. “I do my job the way you taught me. If I were to do any less, you’d have killed me by now.”

Changling chuckled, “Make sure this news doesn’t reach Youxian.”

“What if he already knows?” Wulin asked.

Changling glared at him. “What do you mean?”

Wulin shrugged then walked towards the window. As he climbed out, he said, “Your lover isn’t as slow as you think he is.”

*

Changling stared at his wife as she bowed her head continuously as she accepted gifts of congratulatory for the announcement of the pregnancy. Chushan sat in the seat beside her and said, “Congratulations Haeun, you’ve made us all proud.”

As she said this, she looked at her son and saw that he couldn’t careless and that fake smile he was showing everyone was getting on her last nerve but she had to endure it just as he did.

“Thank you, Consort Rong,” Haeun said, embarrassed.

Chushan smiled, then looked at her son, saying, “But something is off about this, isn’t it?”

Things suddenly went silent in the room as she continued, “I don’t understand how you could be pregnant two days after marriage.”

Wu Yong in the room had been silent. He couldn’t understand this too. He was going to bring it up, but he didn’t know how to. 

Changling tsked, saying, “Don’t worry about it, it’s mine. I made sure of it.”

Chushan raised a brow. She stood up saying, “Of course it’s yours. That’s why you couldn’t be bothered to be happy.”

Walking up to him, she asked, “When did you do it?”

“When she decided to threaten Youxian, thinking I wouldn’t find out,” he said.

Chushan opened her mouth to say something, then thought about her son-in-law. She turned back to Haeun and looked at her. “Did you threaten him?”

She quickly shook her head.

She glanced at Changling, who frowned, then walked over to Haeun that had her head lowered. She glanced Wu Yong’s way, then looked at the empress beside him. Stopping in front of Haeun, she said, “I know you're in the empress’s pocket.”

She raised Haeun’s cheek to look at her, saying, “But don’t forget, you’re my daughter-in-law. Now tell me, did you threaten Youxian?”

As she looked into Chushan’s eyes, she was reminded of the look Changling gave her when he was inside her on their wedding night. Chushan frightened her as much as Changling did. Why did she have to agree to marrying him?

She nodded her head slowly, making Chushan sighed. Letting her go, she said, “Then you deserved everything you got.”

She folded her arms, saying, “Whatever the case is, as long as the child is his, how it came to be has nothing to do with us.”

She clapped her hands twice and said as she looked at her son, “That’s right, with everything going on, I have yet to see Youxian. Have you spoken to me?”

Changling stared at his mother, then looked at Haeun on the side and saw that she was staring at him. Everyone seemed to eagerly want to know about Youxian as much as he does. Why couldn’t they go visit him?

Why did they have to ask him?

He turned his back to them, saying, “I don’t know,” and left.

“What’s gotten into him?” She asked herself out loud.