Li Jing took a couple of steps back from Ye Hua. Li Jing suddenly remembered hearing about Crown Prince Ye Hua’s engagement to Bai Qian of Qing Qiu. Li Jing realized the grave error he had just made. He had taken liberties with the future Princess Consort. Li Jing had no choice but to admit to his mistake.
“Forgive me Crown Prince Ye Hua. I’ve made a grave mistake against you and your future Princess Consort. Allow me to beg for your understanding and mercy for getting carried away by the memories of our past.” Li Jing bowed to Ye Hua and Si Yin before leaving Ye Hua and Si Yin alone.
Ye Hua didn’t hear a single word Li Jing said because he didn’t care to listen to such a beast and all Ye Hua could see and hear was Si Yin who was breathing in uneven short breaths from fear.
As soon as Li Jing had gone, Si Yin slid down to the ground against the wall. She was shaking from the confrontation. She covered her face and began to cry. Her cries soon turned into loud sobs. She was angry at herself for allowing herself to get into such a situation. She should have never met Li Jing. What did she expect? She continued to cry.
Ye Hua said nothing but he placed his hand lightly on her shoulder to reassure her that he was still there. Si Yin found comfort in his presence and cried until she started to hiccup. Ye Hua moved his hand off her shoulder, pulled her back from against the wall and gently patted her back to stop her hiccups.
Si Yin stopped crying and looked at the ground and saw Ye Hua’s black robe bunched up on the dirty ground. He was kneeling in front of her. She continued to raise her head until she was looking directly at him. It was too dark for her to see his face until a cloud slowly moved and exposed the hidden moon.
The moonlight caught Ye Hua’s face.
He was looking at her with deep concern in his expressive eyes. Ye Hua’s eyelashes created a shadow on his cheek when he blinked. His full eyebrows furrowed from his worried face and his full lips formed into a tight line. Ye Hua’s long silky hair touched the ground when he tilted his head slightly to look at her.
Si Yin looked at Ye Hua and finally saw him. Ye Hua’s caring eyes, his gentle expression, his tenderness, and his beautiful heart. Si Yin felt her body shiver and her heart skipped a beat. She reached out and caressed Ye Hua’s face. Ye Hua’s expression was one of surprise, followed by one of relief.
He hugged her tightly relieved she wasn’t hurt.
Si Yin pulled away and whispered, “Ye Hua, you are one of the most beautiful men I’ve ever met in my life.”
Ye Hua smiled tenderly and hugged her again.
“You are the perfect man but I’m afraid I can’t love you back as you love me,” Si Yin said looking regretful.
Ye Hua sighed deeply and said, “I know this is a difficult situation but I’m not afraid to love you anymore.”
Si Yin softy held Ye Hua’s face with both her hands and pulled him to her and kissed his cheek and finally told him the truth.
“Ye Hua your bravery is commendable. I wish I could return your courageous and beautiful love but I can’t…… because I’m not a man. I’m a woman.”
Ye Hua looked stunned. He looked at Si Yin as if she was lying to him. Ye Hua slowly stood up and looked down at her. Si Yin could tell by Ye Hua’s expression he was completely overwhelmed and speechless. Ye Hua crossed his arms in front of him and looked up as if in deep thought and looked back down at her again intently.
“But you’re a Kunlun disciple. Kunlun doesn’t allow women disciples,” Ye Hua said still looking at her with the same expression.
“I used a concealing spell. Nobody knows I’m a woman at Kunlun,” Si Yin replied.
Ye Hua took a couple more steps back and looked at Si Yin thoroughly from head to toe.
“Are you telling me this to discourage me?” Ye Hua wasn’t convinced.
“I am a woman. I promise you,” Si Yin said not knowing what else to say.
Ye Hua still didn’t believe Si Yin. He was just saying these things to discourage him. It was impossible. Ye Hua had spent hours with Si Yin. He would have known if Si Yin was a woman. Ye Hua thought about the day when Si Yin attacked him. It was impossible for a woman to fight with that level of skill and strength. Why was Si Yin lying to him? Was Si Yin that uncomfortable with Ye Hua’s love? Was his love a burden for Si Yin? Was he not good enough for Si Yin?
“I understand Si Yin. I understand what you’re saying. You don’t need to spare my feelings,” Ye Hua said as he looked up at the full moon and sighed.
Ye Hua straightened his robe, turned around and started to walk away. Si Yin chased him and called his name but he didn’t stop. She yelled his name again. Ye Hua kept walking.
“PRINCE LOTUS!” Si Yin yelled at the top of her lungs. Ye Hua stopped. When Ye Hua finally turned around, she used a spell and revealed her true female appearance to him.
Ye Hua froze and stared at her with his mouth open. He stood and stared at her silently for a long time, allowing this new revelation to sink in before Ye Hua came to her. Suddenly his eyes flew open in shock when he recognized her from Ten Miles of Peach Blossom.
“It’s you!” Ye Hua shouted out. “How is this even possible?” He shook his head in disbelief. Ye Hua rubbed his eyes with his open palms and stared at her again.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that you were a woman? That you were the goddess who bit me in Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms,” Ye Hua demanded.
“There wasn’t a need,” Si Yin replied.
“There wasn’t a need!?” Ye Hua was flabbergasted. He put his hands on top of his head and paced back and front. Ye Hua stopped pacing and stared at Si Yin again completely dumbfounded.
“Who would have known you’d fall in love with me in my male form,” Si Yin defended herself.
Ye Hua couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d just seen and heard. Ye Hua looked to his right and spotted a restaurant. He went inside and order wine. Si Yin followed him and sat next to him. She wondered if Ye Hua had the same low tolerance as Shifu. Ye Hua started to drink wine silently. One glass after the other at a fast pace. Ye Hua’s face was flushed and his cheeks were becoming rosy. He finished the bottle and ordered another one. Ye Hua drank the second bottle just as quick. Ye Hua was extremely intoxicated. He looked at Si Yin for the first time since he’d started drinking, pointed at her and started laughing before passing out at the table.
Si Yin moved Ye Hua into a room at the closest inn. Since she couldn’t use her magic to get a room without leaving Ye Hua alone somewhere, she paid a man to carry Ye Hua on his back because she couldn’t. The Inn was full due to the Mid-Autumn Festival so there was only one room for the two of them to share.
Ye Hua laid on the bed, red-faced, his long hair disarray, and snored lightly. This made Si Yin giggle, so she covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. If someone else could see perfect Crown Prince Ye Hua now. It was almost a shame she was the only one to witness such a scene. She sat in the chair across the room while watching Ye Hua sleep and fell asleep with her head on the table.
Si Yin woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t know where she was. She then remembered and giggled again until she felt an arm around her waist. She froze. Si Yin looked around to find Ye Hua in bed, saw the chair she’d fallen asleep in empty across the room and realized she was beside Ye Hua in the same bed. He was behind her with his arm around her waist. Si Yin moved slightly but this caused Ye Hua to hold her tighter. Si Yin held her breath until she heard him snore again and slowly lifted his arm off her waist. She carefully lifted her back off the bed when Ye Hua pulled her back down.
“So I refused you at Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms because I was in love with the other you,” Ye Hua said in an attempt to understand this unbelievable situation. “Does High God Mo Yuan know you are a woman?” Ye Hua asked softly.
Si Yin didn’t know Ye Hua was awake but for some reason, it felt easier talking to him without looking him in the eyes.
“Yes, Shifu has known since the beginning.”
“Yet he allowed to you to stay at Kunlun? Why have you stayed at Kunlun for so long?” Ye Hua asked.
Si Yin just shrugged her shoulders.
“Si Yin aren’t you at the age to get married and have children? Why would you study under High God Mo Yuan for so long?” Si Yin shrugged her shoulders again.
“Are you in love with someone at Kunlun? Is that why you stayed?” Si Yin hesitated and then nodded a ‘yes’.
Ye Hua sat up beside her. “One of the disciples?” Si Yin shrugged. Ye Hua stopped to consider who else it could be and then asked doubtingly, “You’re not in love with High God Mo Yuan, right?”
Si Yin didn’t respond. Ye Hua laid back in bed. “You have terrible taste in men,” Ye Hua mumbled and then added, “Then why did you kiss me and offer yourself to me the other night?” Ye Hua asked confused by Si Yin’s actions at Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms.
“Was it because I looked like Mo Yuan?” Ye Hua asked barely hiding his annoyance.
“No. I didn’t kiss you because you looked like Shifu. I didn’t even know who you were until the other night. I was intrigued by you from our first meeting that’s why I returned in hopes you’d return. Plus, you and Shifu are identical twins. How can you say I have terrible taste in men? Isn’t that insulting yourself?” Si Yin asked.
“So all this time, I’ve told you about meeting the other you while falling in love with the other you,” Ye Hua repeated to himself quietly. “Not even Star Lord Si Ming could come up with something this unbelievable,” Ye Hua said, shaking his head in disbelief.
Ye Hua put his hands behind his head and added. “High God Mo Yuan and I are completely different.”
Si Yin burst out into laughter. Ye Hua looked at her and gave her a little smile. Si Yin poked her fingers into Ye Hua’s dimples and made a funny face. Ye Hua smiled a little wider, stuck out his bottom lip slightly and made a face at her. They laughed at each other before Ye Hua suddenly stopped laughing, looked at Si Yin seriously and asked,
“Si Yin, what about us? What are we now? What are we to each other now?
Si Yin looked at Ye Hua and replied, “I don’t know Ye Hua but couldn’t we go back to being friends?”
Ye Hua thought about Si Yin’s answer. They’d started as friends before his feeling for Si Yin had grown into something deeper. Now that Si Yin was a woman….suddenly Ye Hua had an epiphany. He wasn’t homosexual. Ye Hua’s first love wasn’t a man but a beautiful goddess. He started to laugh because he’d never felt so relieved in his life. Si Yin looked at Ye Hua confused.
Ye Hua was in love with a woman! He closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Si Yin’s beautiful face. She was still in her female appearance and Ye Hua suddenly felt his passion and desire for her rise.
“Yes, we can and always will remain friends but that’s not enough for me. I want much more.” Ye Hua’s expression changed from light-hearted to something more serious.
Si Yin was confused. “Ye Hua, you are homosexual. I can’t be Si Yin forever. I’m not a man,” she said.
Ye Hua’s complexion went ashen as he quickly sat up and stated, “I’m not homosexual!”
Si Yin patted his leg and replied, “There’s no reason for you to hide it from me. I accept you as you are. You are my friend.”
“But I’m not homosexual,” Ye Hua repeated.
Si Yin patted his leg again and understood. Ye Hua was embarrassed about his sexual orientation. She wouldn’t push him to admit something he wasn’t ready to face. Si Yin thought about the weight of his secret and felt sorry for him. Ye Hua had found love only to discover his love wasn’t a man. The shock must have devastated him and now Ye Hua was denial.
“I’ll never repeat your secret. I promise,” Si Yin reassured.
Ye Hua couldn’t believe how things were becoming tangled again. He’d fallen in love with Si Yin. Not Si Yin because Ye Hua thought she was a man but purely Si Yin the person.
“Well at least we’re still friends,” Si Yin said, smiling at Ye Hua.
Ye Hua didn’t know what to say to convince Si Yin of his true feelings but now he knew Si Yin was in love with Mo Yuan. Suddenly he wondered if Si Yin and Mo Yuan had mutual affections for each other.
“Do you have anything else you haven’t told me?” Ye Hua asked hesitantly as his eyes darkened with suspicion. Si Yin’s silence made him nervous. Ye Hua held his breath in anticipation for Si Yin to tell him that she and Mo Yuan were in love with each other.
Si Yin figured since part of the truth was out, it was only fitting to tell Ye Hua everything. She couldn’t look Ye Hua in the eyes so she turned her back to him and said, “There is something else you should know Ye Hua.” She sighed and paused before telling him the complete truth,
“My name is not Si Yin…. My real name is Bai Qian. I’m the future queen of Qing Qiu and your fiancée.”
To be continued…………..