Empress Natsume ✓

XLI

In the darkness of war, light have shined in the state of Ryuu that brightens up the surroundings and their people. Words of Raiden Ryuu's newborn child spread like a wild fire.

Hearing this news, the soldiers who are struggling in the Kingdom of Hoc for almost a year, have a time to drink and celebrate the newborn prince despite of their situation, they drink to their heart's content.

On the other hand, even after three years, the state of Ryuu is still struggling a tug of war from the newly crowned king of Xue, Yuan Kang. Nevertheless, one of the generals, Jing Bao has a time to pay a visit to the queen and the prince at Nagataka. They came back here after a year, while Izumi is more than willing to give the state's matters in her capable hands. Finally, he can step in the battlefield where he belongs, not in this bloody disk and chair or meeting halls.

Natsume's servants are gawking at him. Naturally, they didn't see a man as huge as Jing Bao, he's like a giant. When he entered the hall, he almost filled the door.

Jing Bao's eyes flew to the small petite figure of a girl-- no, a woman now, who's sitting majestically on the dragon throne.

His mouth gaped when he take a look at the Queen. It's almost three years now and Natsume seems like she's radiating like a sun. Her long raven hair is flowing freely like a waterfall on her shoulders, strands of her hair in front of her face are braided and tied behind her head to show her blooming small face, her skin is porcelain white in contrast to her hair and a tint of pink blush on her cheeks. Her eyes are bright and clear, her eyelashes that are framing her eyes are thick and long. Her body is not a body of a girl anymore but a woman now, with all the curves in the right places. And to add with her gorgeous appearance, a Phoenix throne with gems is atop on her head, wearing her majestic red and gold robe.

"I didn't know that a woman can be this quite beautiful after giving birth to a child. If so, I shall get my wife pregnant as soon as possible"

He look at Natsume's bosom for a while, as far as he can remember when he last saw her, her chest is almost flat but now... There's a major improvement.

Natsume's alluring reddish pink lips curved up into a smile, clearly amused of what the general have said about her appearance before she chuckled.

"Just now..."

She paused

"Your eyes are staring in the nasty places, Lord General"

Jing Bao give a sheepish smile, getting on his left knee and bowed. He fisted his right hand on his left palm in front of him.

"General Jing Bao greets her majesty"

He actually forgot his manners, making a comment before greeting her, Natsume is a queen now.

Old habits die hard.

The servants in the hall sneered at him but they quickly stopped when Natsume give them a look.

"Forgive me, your highness. I was just caught in a moment to see a goddess in front of me, it's a sight to behold"

Natsume softly laugh. What a smooth talker.
She wave her sleeve to indicate that she doesn't mind. She got used to these generals brazen attitudes, at first, it appears annoying and insulting to her. As time passed, she actually finds it good and a breath of fresh air to be treated like they were her best buddies, just like how she used to in Takahiro village with her friends.

He stood up and bowed again.

"How are you feeling, your grace? I heard that it took five months before you could stand up on your own two feet"

She nodded. She doesn't know that giving birth is so painful that you would want to be dead to end the suffering, but Natsume did gave birth to her son and she's still alive

"I feel better now. As much as I'm thankful for your visit, I'm also worried about your duties. Is it okay for you to left your duties for a while?"

"It's fine, milady-- your grace, besides, Huang can handle it by himself for now. He said that I'm only useful when it comes to charging directly in the masses of the enemies, I'm quite good with combats but never in the battle of brain that is between Quon and that bastard Yuan"

Natsume wanted to make a remark about him, there's also a good thing about following his intuition, for a manipulative person like King Yuan, there's a lot of possibilities that he cannot read General Jing's move. Unfortunately, before Jing can make his own move, General Quon arrived and stopped Jing. Believing that Yuan is still toying with him.

"I'm curious about this King Yuan, I have heard a lot of things about him"

The General suddenly laugh, his rough laughter echoed in the hall. He stopped laughing after a while and cleared his throat.

"Have you heard about him and his third wife then?"

Her eyebrows furrowed at him in curiosity. If she can get to know this enemy of Ryuu, she can possibly predict his next move.

"What about his third wife?"

"Out of his two gorgeous wives that he married politically to get to the throne and his twenty beautiful concubines, his third wife is said to be the only woman he married out of love and she's the most favored one, he holds her dearly in his heart that a rumour started to spread that he will likely crowned her as his queen this year. Guess what is her name?"

Jing smiled playfully at her with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

How can I possibly know her name?

"Your grace. Her name is, Natsume Nao, same name and age as you"

"We... Have the same name?"

She blink a multiple times.

Having a similar name with someone else is normal, but this IS NOT NORMAL AT ALL. How can two rival kings in Sang with Queens have a similar name? Ridiculous!

But at the moment, she pushed that thought at the back of her mind as an evil plan crossed her mind. Her eyes glint with an untold pernicious plan.

"He holds her dearly in his heart, you say?"

General Jing caught what she's trying to say, though his mind dawdle sometimes. He grins too, expecting what the Queen will say next. After all, she think the same with Yul Feng, their genius strategist.

Natsume took notice that Jing already knows her untold plan, she raised her perfectly arched right brow at him.

"What are you standing here for then? Go and abduct his beloved wife"

The General was right! He laugh so hard until tears started to form at the end of his eyes. Natsume throws him an irritated look and that's when he stopped laughing, he fakes a cough.

"I like the way you think, your highness. Fortunately, your plan is already executed under the order of our second in command General, Yul Feng"

"You don't say?"

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