LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

"Your family is welcome here anytime", the Water Emperor was emotional as he politely offered.

He has seen the way Xinxin handled everyone - those who welcomed him and those who were doubtful of him. Truly he"s been raised well. The credit entirely belonged to the couple in front of him who raised his son. He would forever be grateful for them. If not for them, especially the Divine Ruler, his wife trusted enough to hand over their son, his son really won"t be here as a fine gentleman and also a revered leader.

Chenglei nodded accepting his grat.i.tude, while Xing didn"t even look at him. She hated him then when he didn"t protect his wife and she hated him more now that he is taking her son.

The Water Emperor didn"t expect any different reaction from her and he stepped back leaving Maomao with Xinxin. They need to say their farewell.

"Remember, your mother will be there for you anytime you need me. If you don"t want to be here, I will get you back. Don"t let anyone bully you for any reason. You are a Crown Prince and also you are MY son", Xing bent to Xinxin"s eye level and said placing her hand on his shoulders.

Chenglei coughed signalling her she missed something and realising that, Xing added, "Your father"s too"

"I know, mother", Xinxin hugged Xing around her shoulders and Xing who was holding back her tears, couldn"t anymore and Chenglei hugged them both. His hug felt like a big, banyan tree that gives shade in harsh sun - comforting and calming.

"Stay warm and eat well"

"Always wear your outer coat. You wouldn"t know when it gets colder"

"Don"t skip meals. Eat on time and know what you are eating"

"You always push away your blanket during sleep. Mother always tuck you in middle of the night. Let me tell that head maid of yours...."

Xing then made Xinxin"s maid take note of his habits for the hundrendth time in the past weeks they stayed here and she took note of it politely too. This woman is respected by their Emperor even. She must not be offended.

"You should always remember I am your mother, okay?"

"You are really smart and a good boy. Like Yukiko, your heart is ruled with love too. Do not let darkness in your heart"

"You are loved by a lot of people. Of course mother loves you the most"

"Write me often"

"Do not forget mother"

Xing really didn"t want to leave him. But she cannot stay here either. She knew her son will cry after she leaves and he is trying to be composed in front of her to spare her from getting sad.

She looked at Chenglei. The cold man he is in front of others was not there but there was just a man who was reluctant to leave his son he carried on his chest and shoulders as he grew up in front of his eyes.

Chenglei hugged Xinxin and it took his everything to pull away from him and he stood straight and seeing the little boy"s lips trembling and ready to cry anytime, he couldn"t bear to stand there anymore. He knew his wife wouldn"t leave if she sees him cry and he picked her up and walked away towards their carriage. They already stayed there for mote than a month.

Xing just buried her face in Chenglei"s chest to stop herself from crying out loud.

Lianlian was calm after the oath they made with each other and picking up Akira, he bowed to the Emperor and gave a emotional smile to Xinxin who already was tearing up as he turned to leave.

Feifei was just neutral and after giving the obligatory bow, he turned to leave too. As he turned, he felt a slight pain in his chest and he patted it not knowing what it was.

As he stood confused, Xinxin gave him a hug, "Take care of mother for me, little brother", he said and a tear already escaped his eyes and he turned and left inside the gates of the Palace.

"This place is what you make of it, Xinxin",his father told him, " It"s all upto you. This place and the people here won"t change. What you could do is to make sure you are happy in your heart. No one can take what"s in your heart away. Be vigilant and trust no one. At the same time, don"t keep people away from you. There is always a balance and find it. You are a good boy and your mother has taught you everything you need to know. You can definitely fit here. If not, our Jin Manor is always open for you"

"I can do it!", he shouted as he ran inside his room and Maomao followed him.

"Maomao, I"ll become the best Emperor in the Water Kingdom and make my father and mother proud", he hugged the little tiger and vowed to himself.

He did keep his promise to himself. He grew up watching the way TongTian Emperor ruled after all. Even as the Crown Prince, he was ruthless where he has to be and gentle where he has to be surprising the officials and more people came to support him.

The Water Emperor could feel his own son not so close with him in heart. He was always polite, obedient and caring but he never addressed him as "Father". He always addressed him as "Imperial Father". But the Water Emperor was not disheartened or angry. He was a bit jealous of Chenglei but he was happy he gets to see his wife"s lovely eyes everyday.

By the time Chenglei and Xing reached their Manor, she was already four months pregnant and she started showing too. Their children always were big and with her carrying twins, she already looked five months pregnant.

This pregnancy was different for Xing and even after four months, her morning sickness didn"t reduce and she couldn"t keep anything in. Chenglei noticed her getting thinner each day and she looked stressed too.

Surely she"d be missing Little Xinxin. She eagerly waited for his letter three times a week and even when a letter gets delayed, she would stress out wondering if something bad happened.

Chenglei tried to change her mood by taking her out, but, she didn"t more like, couldn"t go out like usual.

Just at that time, they received news of Huang Ruyang"s wedding. He is the eldest grandson of the Huang family and is more likely to become the Head of the Huang family after his father. There are even talks that the current head is planning to pa.s.s the mantle directly to his grandson skipping his elder son.

Oddly the girl he is marrying is from an unknown family that is obviously not suitable for the status of Huang family. Then again the Huang family never cared about status and just the character of the girl. She must be lucky to be a part of the Huang family.

Chenglei slept on his plans for bringing his family to the southern province for sometime mainly to change his wife"s mood and at the same time he was worried about the long journey.

The next day, as he returned from court, he saw his wife giggling happily seeing a letter and sat by her side getting her teacup.

"Care to share your happiness, wifey?", he looked at the letter that had the seal of the Earth Emperor. Immediately he realised it must be some silly banter among those two women and he almost regretted asking her. They talk about weird topics that sometimes makes him cringe hard.

" Ayane is raging mad that we betrothed our son with Ryuga"s daughter and now she wants a marriage alliance with her son. She wants me to make girl baby to be engaged with her son..", Xing laughed.

"Why can"t she make a daughter to be engaged with our son?", Chenglei asked and there was a gentle smile in his face.

"She wrote she has become barren..", Xing laughed, " Like a banana tree.... ", Xing placed her hand on her belly and laughed hard until her eyes watered.

"You know banana tree can give fruit only once and after that it will never flower? She compared herself to a banana tree", she continued her laugh.

Chenglei laughed along with her, not because he thought it was funny but because he saw his wife"s hearty laugh after a long time.

"Should we attend Ruyang"s wedding, Xing?", he asked and Xing placed the letter down and looked at Chenglei who tried to look casual.

But she knew him more than she knew herself and she knew he was stressed and she was the reason. She tried to be happy these days but she really couldn"t, the pregnancy was difficult for her too and she knew she is worrying him.

"Should we? What do you think?", she asked.

"Your first uncle is asking you to visit your Ancestral home for a long time. Our sons have never been there. Maybe we should take this wedding as a chance and visit there and pay respect to your ancestors. But... Your health... Will you be able to travel that long? Maybe I should send an apology letter for not attending... "

Xing saw the mumbling Chenglei and she could sense he was in a dilemma.

" Let"s go ", Xing said after thinking for a while. We can travel really slow and we can make it. Ruyang, in the past.. You were jealous of him since I rode with him on a horse....", she smiled reminiscing." Let"s see how he turned out. And everyone else, I miss them too", Xing really wanted to attend his wedding.

Xing got medicines from the mountains for her pregnancy and possible problems during labour and her sons were excited to travel too.

It took them twice the travel time to reach the Southern Province and the entire Dajing city decorated in red for Ruyang"s wedding was a beautiful sight to behold.

On the way, Xing received information from Consort Jiang that she might be pregnant and Xing could not control her glee.

"You seem more happy she is pregnant than when you were pregnant for the first time", Chenglei asked seeing his wife almost jumping up and down.

"Yes, Kouki needs to be happy...", her smile became sombre. "He needs to be"

Chenglei knew she still feels guilty for his brother and even though she says she is over that guilty feeling and she would never regret choosing him over his brother, it would come out at times.

She might be the reason he doesn"t have a true love this life but, she is the reason he is still alive. So she has already compensated for it.

"Why do you like that Consort this much anyway?", he didn"t like his wife thinking about another man and feeling guilty for him. He loved his brother but his brother"s loss is his gain and his treasure.

"She is a good woman. Suitable for Kouki. I just want her to be happy too.", Xing leaned on the small bed inside the carriage.

"She suffered a lot and she and him are a perfect match"

"Did you... Check on her?", Chenglei asked Xing. His brother is too much in love with that Consort and even though she seemed honest, she could be dangerous too. He didn"t want his brother get hurt. As far as he investigated, he couldn"t find anything about her. Which is weird since no one would be that perfect.
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"Did you find anything?", Xing asked and he shook his head.

"Actually... I don"t know if your brother knows, but... Her father"s drunkard son tried to "force" her one day during a banquet in the Earth Kingdom. Ayane happened to be there and she saved her before anything happened. Since her father was powerful and wouldn"t want this issue be known to others, he tried to kill her and so Ayane sent Jiang Hanmi here to save her life. I don"t think she ever had a good life back in her kingdom. I"m glad Kouki is there for her now ", Xing sighed. She could only imagine her life there.

In this regard Xing knew she was blessed since she had the best family anyone could get.

" Her father"s son? Her brother? ", Chenglei couldn"t believe Xing"s words.

" Apparently he was "drunk". As if that was an excuse. If I was there, he"d be an eunuch by now even though he failed. But apparently Ayane found another reason to give him capital punishment angering the father. But what can he do? She is the Emperor ",Xing snorted.

" How drunk would one be to not recognise his sister? ", Chenglei sighed. Truly there are abhorrent humans everywhere.

"Hmm", Xing became silent. These things are rare but it happens nonetheless. In the west, a girl complained that her father was abusive towards her and after finding proof that he really was a pig, they publicly executed him. Fathers, brothers... The men in the home being abusive. The place where a woman should feel safe then becomes a nightmare for her. These kind of men shouldn"t be left alive.

They reached the Huang Ancestral Manor and they were welcomed heartily. Many people from the city came to take a peek at the Prince and Princess Consort as they will never have a chance otherwise.

The wedding was a grand affair and everything went well and Xing was really pleased with the bride who was a kind girl at heart.

Meeting her relatives and other new people lifted Xing"s mood and since she was already seven months pregnant, Chenglei decided to let her stay in the Huang Manor till she gives birth. Xing too found it a good idea. Her first uncle was the one who was too happy about it. He always loved her dearly.

Feifei got close with AoTian during the wedding and he packed his bags himself and left with his grandfather without even looking back, the next day of the wedding.

Xing asked Chenglei to leave for the city since he will have a lot of work there, but he insisted on staying with her.

And so Xing"s days pa.s.sed peacefully in the Southern Province, in her Ancestral home.