Drakkon

Chapter Forty-five

Jia gave birth to a beautiful boy who she and Fang named Jun. When I had gone to see her, I saw that she was haggard and spent, but the light in her eyes was the brightest I had ever seen when she looked at her child. Despite having been put through that pain, she could still smile and show her child to Kang, who was wide eyed and jumping around at being an older brother. Fang had been sitting next to the bed looking worse than Jia—stress for his wife and child had tired him out. Bohai had looked at the child and cracked a joke, before getting smacked by Jia. Meilin had held him, and I couldn't help but smile at the awe-struck look on his face. The Peccata had gone wild and crowded the baby, showering him with love. After all, he was Fang's child.

Right now, I was sitting in the garden with Lanfen. She was dressed in finer clothing that Meilin had given to her. As the sister-in-law of the Emperor, Meilin had told me that she was supposed to be showered with gifts. I hadn't known about it earlier, but Lanfen had been hesitant on receiving gifts from Meilin. After talking to me, she had finally agreed to dress in the beautiful clothing meant for a princess.

"Do you think it'll be a girl or boy?" she asked as she placed a hand against my swollen stomach. Her dark eyes were bright and she was giddy with joy. This wasn't the first niece or nephew that she had, but she was nonetheless excited for my first child.

"I don't know," I murmured. I shifted in my seat until I was more comfortable. "Many people are saying that it will be a boy. An heir to the throne."

"Mother of the heir," she said with a grin. "It'll be nice to have twins."

I shook my head with a laugh. "No, I'd rather not have twins. Jia was telling me that the pain of childbirth was enough to take her soul away. Having two is unimaginable, especially for my first."

"That's true, I guess," she said, unconvinced.

"I will be fine with either," I said. "Meilin hasn't specified either, but he hasn't said anything about the child. He's been so busy with cleaning up after Keung's mess that we don't really discuss about the child that often. Politics are hard to understand and he's been telling me a little about them. The gender of the child hasn't come up in conversation. I've speculated but he's always silent when I ramble."

Lanfen nodded. "I would think that he would be more excited."

"He's excited," I countered. "He's looking forward to the child, even more so after Jun was born. Meilin is actually very hard to understand so it's understandable that you think that, but trust me, he's very excited. I can see it in the way he stares at me and holds onto me when we sleep. Sometimes he'll just sit there and rest his head against my stomach and stay that way for the longest time."

"I would've never expected the 'evil' Emperor to be so sweet. Do you remember how torn you were when Heng died? I thought you'd never get over his death. Ai and Dandan and Mother and Father, and everyone, I think, hated the new Emperor. You never once said anything against him, though, only saying that war was war and that no one was to blame for Heng's death except for war. The life of a soldier is difficult."

I nodded. "I'm sure Heng is watching over me and this child," I murmured as I stared up at the soft blue sky. Heng, my childhood friend and first love, who had been the sweetest person in the world. Even after these years I knew that there was no one as generous and kind hearted as him. "I loved him dearly, but I love Meilin as well. I would've never thought that my life would change so drastically."

"I suppose we're all getting used to you being the Empress and being married to the Emperor," she said after a moment. "The Emperor has been giving gifts to Mother and Father, have you heard?"