The next day, Fengjiu awoke alone in the bed, where she had laid with Dong Hua. She chuckled, shaking her head, thinking of how stubborn they had both been. She sat in the tea room alone and sipped on cup after cup, until Si Ming came.
"I think you will have a very busy day today." He told her and she raised her eyebrows in shock.
"Really, why?" She asked, not being able to fathom what kind of business she would have.
"I believe people are stepping over one another to come and greet you." He nodded out to the gates of the palace.
"Greet me?" She repeated and he nodded.
"You are the saviour of all the realms, you have become a very valuable friend." He told her and she pouted down at her cup of tea.
"Now tell me why you would be sad about that?" He asked and she huffed.
"I just want an easy life with Dijun. I don't want to have to face any of the politics he deals with."
"And you won't." Dong Hua told her as he entered the tea room, sitting beside her.
"I told the guards to not let anyone you don't know through the gates." He stated, brushing her hair over her shoulder.
"Thank you." She smiled up at him and he nodded.
"But slowly, you will have to begin to greet people. You will be the wife of the Dijun, it is a very powerful role." He told her and she nodded.
"I can start today. I want to be a good wife." She spoke with determination and he chuckled with Si Ming.
"You are a lucky man, Dijun." Si Ming noted and he nodded.
"Yes, I believe so."
Dong Hua sat beside her the whole morning, telling her who people were as they introduced themselves. They all laid themselves on the floor in a bow of thanks and she would immediately ask them to stand. Ye Hua's Mother took her hands and kissed her fingers.
"I will never be able to repay you." She told her, guilt in her voice.
"There is nothing to repay. Seeing Ye Hua and Gugu happy is enough for me." She told her and she looked up at her with adoration.
"You are such a good girl." She told her and Fengjiu smiled down to her.
"I hope we can be friends in the future." She smiled and she nodded.
"It would be my honour."
Dong Hua was in awe of Fengjiu as she spent the day greeting people and accepting gifts.
"You bring light to the heavens." Zhe Yan stated as his familiar face graced the tea room.
"Why are you here? You didn't have to come all this way!" She cried out and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"And miss out on the most shocking engagement in all of history? Never." He smiled to Si Ming, who understood his thirst for drama.
"You do love to gossip." She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Thank you for the trees." She stated, nodding out to the courtyard.
"You are more than deserving of them." He told her and she blushed from his compliments.
"You grew most of them from saplings, so if anything they are more yours than mine." He explained and she thought back to all of the times she planted a new tree in the peach forest.
"I suppose you are right."
In the end, it was Dong Hua who called off the greetings.
"I am tired of this." He told her and she chuckled.
"Do you not do this every day?" She asked and he laughed loudly.
"No, I thank the heavens this has never happened to me before. I am sure I would have grown very tired of it all if people revered me as they do you now." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead.
"Even half listening to them all has made me tired." He told her and she placed a hand on his arm.
"Perhaps you should go and rest, I can do the remaining on my own." She told him and he cocked his head to the side.
"Are you sure?" He asked and she giggled.
"I am Queen of Qin Qiu, I know how to listen to people all day, it is my job." She reminded him and she nodded, smiling down to her.
"I will go and study for a while. Call for me if you need anything." He told her and she nodded, watching him leave for his quarters.
Si Ming decided to stay with the little princess as the adoring fans kept filing into the palace.
"You really want to please him, don't you?" He asked, shocked by her dedication.
"You know me, it is in my nature to want to please him." She told him and he nodded in agreement, remembering all of the times she had hatched plans to make him smile even for a moment.
"I am sure you will be a good wife." He told her and she blushed a deep shade of pink.
"But I think you will have to teach Dijun how to be a good husband. He is still made of stone." He told her and she sighed, thinking of her husband to be.
"I think he is doing a fine job at the moment, but I am sure you are right, there will be times when being alone would be easier than being with me." She stated and he sat back and thought about her clarity.
Fengjiu walked in the water lilly garden when she was done with her greetings.
"Little Jiu!" She heard from behind her and when she turned she saw Ye Hua running to catch up to her.
"I haven't spoken to you in so long." He stated as he stood beside her. Fengjiu was still a little frustrated that he told all of the heavens that she was the one who saved him.
"You have been very busy." She acknowledged and he nodded.
"Yes, but I should have made the time." He insisted and she shrugged her shoulders.
Despite being frustrated, Fengjiu knew what Ye Hua had done for her.
"Thank you, for helping Dong Hua." She thanked him and he shook his head.
"No no, it is I who should be thanking you. Fengjiu, without you I would still be laying in my coffin." He told her and she smiled over to him.
"And yet here we are. I think everything turned out just as it should." She smiled and he nodded.
"I don't think the Dijun had any idea any of this could happen." He thought aloud and she chuckled.
"Yes, I suppose it all comes as quite a shock. I want to be patient with him." She told him and he nodded.
"You are so different from Qian Qian." He noted and she nodded.
"Gugu is far more brave than I am." She thought and he cocked his head to the side.
"I don't think I would say that. You are just different." He told her and she smiled down to her shoes.
"Is there anything else I can do?" He asked, wanting to repay an unpayable debt.
"There is no debt. Being with Dong Hua is all I ever wanted." She told him, before leaving him alone in the lily garden.
She was tired after a long day of talking and listening and she realised maybe she had underestimated the work those in heaven did on a day to day basis. She smiled when she saw Dong Hua in his study, reading a script, eyebrows furrowed in thought. She watched him for a moment. He had no knowledge that she was there, until he looked up from his scroll and double took his gaze, noticing her.
"Come her, Jiuer." He ordered her, extending a hand. She padded over to him and sat beside him.
"You have had a long day." He told her and she nodded.
"Sitting and talking is more exhausting than I thought." She thought aloud.
"You can rest now." He smiled softly to her and she nodded, placing her head in his lap.
"What are you reading?" She asked him in a small, tired voice. He placed a hand on her hair and looked down at the script.
"You would find it dull. Sleep now, I will wake you when it is time to eat." She nodded and curled up, feeling so comfortable with the Dijun, just as she had when she was a fox.
Dong Hua could not remember a time that he had been more blissfully happy. He had conquered the world, accomplished more than most could imagine. But being here, with Fengjiu asleep in his lap, he felt his life finally had meaning. He chuckled quietly as he read through the ancient scripture concerning marital life. He had never dared glance at them before, but now, he felt they held immense power.
As he learnt about the importance of always noticing changes in your wife, his head snapped up. He was met with Hua De bursting into his quarters. He caught his eye and placed a finger to his lip. He smirked as Hao De's eyes grew wide when he spotted Bai Fengjiu. He stood for a moment, until Dong Hua summoned him.
It was extraordinary to watch Dong Hua Dijun run a hand over her hair. Hao De had never even seen him give any woman a second glance, and yet now, he was doting on the girl.
"I am in shock." He whispered, not wanting to wake the Queen.
"Is it really so shocking that I could love a woman?" He asked and Hao De raised his eyebrows and nodded.
"Well, yes. In all my centuries of knowing you, I have never seen anyone have this effect on you." He gestured to the slumbering girl.
"I feel very fortunate." Dong Hua smiled down at her.
"She is so young, how can she entertain you?" He asked and Dong Hua chuckled lightly.
"Experience does not always make one entertaining." He challenged him and Hao De supposed he was right.
"She has more spirit and wisdom than anyone I have met." He enlightened him.
"I cannot believe she would erase her name for Ye Hua." He shook his head in disbelief and Dong Hua sighed.
"She suffered for so long, knowing we could not be together, that she would have to marry someone else. I think it was easier for her, to know that she did not have to lie to another." He explained and Hao De furrowed his brows.
"Lie?" He asked.
"Foxtails love for life. Once little Jiu had decided I was the only man she could ever marry, she was doomed." He reminisced and Hao De sat back and sighed.
"How did I not meet this girl? She is so impressive." He marveled at her, soundly sleeping.
"She has been tucked away in the Fox Den for three hundred years." He noted and Hao De grunted in understanding.
"I have seen everything now." He chuckled, still surprised by the suddenness of it all.
"Now, I can experience the simple pleasures of a man that I have missed out on for so long." He thought aloud, his gaze wandering. Hao De's cheeks burned a deep shade of red as he let out a small gasp.
"To have a wife, someone to care for me." He explained and Hao De nodded, pulling his mind from the gutter.
"You should ask Bai Fengjiu what day she would like the wedding. It shall be the finest the heavens have ever seen." He whispered to him. Dong Hua nodded down to her.
"I shall pick a date with her." He confirmed and Hao De stood, looking down at the pair.
"I am very happy for you both." He beamed, his joy visible.
"Thank you." He whispered and watched as he walked himself out.
Fengiu's eyes fluttered open as Dong Hua gently pinched her cheek.
"Did I snore?" She asked, scared she had embarrassed herself. He chuckled, shaking his head.
"You were silent." He informed her and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Fengjiu, when do you want to be married?" He asked and she didn't hesitate.
"Right now." She beamed, throwing her arms around his neck, pushing him to the ground.
"So soon?" He submitted to her, letting her lay over him, her hair covering his chest.
"Dong Hua Dijun, I have waited over three hundred years to be your wife." She reminded him and he let out a light laugh, nodding.
"I know, but don't you want to wait for an auspicious date?" He asked and she wrinkled her nose, shaking her head.
"Dijun, it was fate who put us together. Why would we need a special day?" She asked and he wondered if she was right.
"You truly want to be married so soon?" He asked and she leant down, to whisper in his ear.
"If I had it my way we would be married tomorrow, and you would whisk me away to Kunlun mountain for a romantic honeymoon." She whispered and she cried out when he wrapped his arms around her back.
"Will you not let me decide anything?!" He growled into her ear teasingly.
"You can decide the food and wine." She told him and he laughed, wide eyed.
"How very generous of you." He scoffed and she smiled down at him.
"I am feeling charitable." She mocked back to him and he cocked an eyebrow.
"You want to get married tomorrow? Then we will get married tomorrow." He promised her and she shook her head.
"We cannot, it would not be proper." She sighed and he ran a hand through her hair.
"I am the Dijun, whatever I say is proper is proper." He told her and she blushed.
"I like when you talk like the Dijun." She giggled and he acted on impulse, pulling her to the floor, taking her position above.
"I can make a habit of it if my wife wishes it." He promised and she placed her hand on his cheek.
"She does." She smiled teasingly and he let out a heavy breath, shaking his head, wondering how he could be so in love.
He pulled her off of the floor and took her hand.
"You go and eat with Si Ming, I will get the preparations underway." He told her and she trotted along, happier than she could have ever imagined.
"Can we really get married tomorrow?" She asked him and he stopped, pulling her close to him.
"Jiuer, I have waited too long already. I won't wait another week for you to be my wife." He told her and she had never seen him so adamant before.
Si Ming chuckled as the Dijun dropped off the little princess.
"Ensure she eats well." He ordered him, before leaving.
"Is the Dijun not eating with us?" He asked and she giggled, shaking her head.
"He has other matters to attend to." She told him.
"Other matters?" He asked, confused.
"It is so exciting." She cried out and Si Ming decided to let the little princess have her secrets and wait to see what would unfold.