The Tale of the Lotus Heart

Chapter 18

As much as I liked spending my time with my godparents and Yong, I felt bored only cultivating in my room every day and never leaving the walls of Eternity and Serenity Palace. The culture here was that women barely left the house. They stayed behind to take care of the house and raise the kids as wives. As daughters, they cultivated and practiced being good wives. It was unbecoming of a lady to show her face in public too often, but I was getting restless. I had all this power and no outlet. I knew that staying inside was the best option for me considering what was powering me, but if I only stayed inside all the time, it would be a waste of a life.

"Little Flower! Are you ready?" Tase called for me. Ixia finished by putting Yong's charm in my hair.

"All done," Ixia smiled. I was dressed in a darker pink dress and robe today. We were going to the Heavenly Palace for the Summer Solstice Banquet. All of the higher ranking Immortals were going to be there. It was also serving as a sort of introduction to society for me. It was the first time Tase was taking me out to officially introduce me to everyone as his goddaughter. I stood from in front of the vanity and left my room. Ixia followed behind as Zinnia, Tase and I made our way to the Main Hall in the Heavenly Palace by carriage. I stopped short at the gate when I recognized a familiar face.

"Alexander?" I asked. He was posted in protective armor at the entrance.

"Little Flower, the guards aren't allowed to talk out of turn while posted. You're going to get him in trouble," Tase informed me. The last thing I wanted to do was get Alexander in trouble, but at the moment, I was just happy to see a familiar face. I nodded to him before walking inside. The floor was wide open while seats and tables were set up beyond the pillars.

"Fire Immortal, meet my goddaughter, High Immortal Aivi," Tase began introducing me to the other immortals present. Apparently, my name had been widely known due to my god of gods potiential and all-faction student status at Heavenly Cloud. The atmosphere was lively, and I felt more at ease finally being out in society again.

"The Royal Family arrives!" A servant announced. We all faced the tables set up where the thrones were as we curtsied or bowed respectively.

"Greeting, Heavenly Emperor," we said almost simultaneously. The Emperor and Empress sat in their thrones while Yong sat off to a table a little further down but still at the head of the Hall. There was also another prince beside him I hadn't met yet. Tase offered an arm to Zinnia before we went to take our seats on the other side of the Heavenly Emperor. I sat one table off of my godparents.

"Please everyone, take a seat. As we are celebrating the Summer Solstice today, please enjoy yourselves," the Emperor started the feast.

"Princess, how have you been lately?" The Emperor asked me as the chatter in the Hall picked up again. I was slightly caught off guard. I put my wine cup down before standing to curtsy.

"Replying to great-godfather, I'm well, but honestly... restless," I admitted. He laughed heartily before finally calming down.

"Restless? I guess it's not wise to put a talent like you in seclusion for long," he agreed. "Just say the word, I'll place you wherever you like," he promised. I smiled softly.

"Thank you, great-godfather. But the time I spend at home did give me time to perfect the dance I prepared for you today," I segwayed into my present for the Emperor today. The dance was Tase's idea. We would eventually have to warm up the Emperor and Empress to the idea of marrying me to Yong.

"You're a filial child. Okay. Let's see this dance," the Emperor agreed. I made my way down to the center of the floor and curtsied. The musicians didn't play anything as a stood there.

"What's the problem?" The Emperor asked in irritation.

"Replying to Heavenly Emperor, we're too inferior to play music that would match a dance from the High Immortal Princess," the musician replied. This, of course, was all a part of our plan.

"Let me," Yong offered as he stood. He went to the instrument and began plucking the stings of the zither. I moved easily, letting my hands flow slowly along with my dance. I kept to speed with Yong's tempo. Slowing when he slowed, and speeding up with him. At the end, I used my internal energy to float while spinning. Once I was high enough in the air, I pushed my energy into fireworks through the gap in the roof and into the sky while simultaneously raining down flower petals. I spun down gracefully and finished the dance. My finish was met with thunderous applause.

"Good! Very good!" The Emperor clapped. I curtsied before turning to curtsy to Yong.

"Thank you for your assistance, once again, Crown Prince," I thanked him.

"Princess, your dance deserves only the best music," he smiled easily. I gave a gentle smile back before turning to go back to my seat. The festival continued merrily. Everyone was in high spirits as we ate and drank. It was better than staying inside all day. Everyone present was even gifted a flower with one year of spiritual energy. The Emperor and Empress retired early leaving the rest of us to continue. Yong waved me over discreetly. I walked over and curtsied in front of his table.

"Princess Aivi greets the Crown Prince," I said. He rolled his eyes discreetly before motioning to the other prince.

"You've yet to meet First Prince Atlas. First Brother, this is Second Brother's goddaughter. She's the one who was all-faction at Heavenly Cloud," Yong introduced me. The First Prince nodded once to me before setting his cup of wine down. His stoic face was hard to read.

"I've heard a lot about you. You're even more beautiful in person," he noted before picking his wine cup back up and drinking it dry.

"Crown Prince, you're mother sent me to serve and talk with you," a girl said from behind me. I turned to see a beautiful woman with a tall slender frame in a purple dress. Her hair was adorned with crystals and hairpins. Her high cheekbones and wide, doe-like eyes were prominent on her small face.

"Fox Immortal Enya, it's been a while," Yong replied to her.