Chapter 1 : The Longing...

I wish the moment had come to an end there.

I wish time have avoided our parting

If fate was not on our side,

I wish destiny change those words...

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It felt like millions of needles were stabbing every cell in her body.

The pain had finally crossed its border, where she can't say why and where it hurts anymore.

She was drenched in a cold sweat, unable to open her eyes when she felt someone pick her up and wrap his arms around her lovingly, she was immersed in the warm vibe of him and his sandalwood aroma, she sobbed as she felt him raise her up so she could put her head on his hard as stone chest. His robe's silk stroked over her cheeks. She breathed out a sigh of relief, giving herself a brief respite. Parting her eyes ached, but she did it. She noticed the snow-white strands through her blurry vision. In her suffering, she managed a faint, sweet grin. She raised her hand slowly, curling her fingers in them, to brush through them.

"Dong Hai, you are here,"

"Yes,"

His cool voice caressed across her, and she closed her eyes in bliss.

She whimpered, "Tell me something."

"What?"

"Was it true?"

"Was what true?"

"You, me, in the mortal realm," she said quietly.

"Yes,"

She snuggled up to him, and he tightened his grip on her. She raised her head and stroked his chin.

"I didn't tell you..." Her lips felt parched.

"What?" he inquired.

"Your beard was ridiculous there," She said.

Dong Hai gave out a throaty chuckle, his stone eyes filled with anguish.

"Can I look ridiculous?"

She let out a chuckle that knocked the wind out of her.

"I'm only yanking your chains. You are so handsome that it is impossible for you to appear ridiculous "A tear fell from her eyes.

"However," she laments, "I don't recommend it."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, his voice cracking.

"You loved me so much when we were together in the mortal realm," she sobbed.

He simply pulls her under his chin and closes his eyes.

"How come you can't love me here?" Her voice cracked.

she felt his hand creasing her cheeks.

"Why?" she whispers.

Hong Liu awoke with tears in her eyes and an aching heart. She'd been experiencing this dream since he told her to let him go on the day of her coronation. They were frequent at first, but they now came and went, reminding her of what she couldn't have and her reluctance to let go of unrealistic desires. There hadn't been a night in the last fifteen days when she hadn't dreamed of him. She wished it was a memory, but it was only a dream, a vivid fantasy made by her own unconscious mind at the moment her heart was straining for one more beat. It had been three hundred years since he had told her to let go. If only it were that simple. Hong Liu chuckled and wiped her tears away before standing up and going to her studies. She unfolded the letter, his single present to her on her coronation.

'We all have our own fate, nothing is set in stone, and everything just fades away,'

Those were his final words to her. Despite the fact that those words were a scalpel to her tender heart, they offered her a searing tranquilly. She follows the words he penned after the dreams as if they were the only salve for her broken spirit.

Hong Liu closed her eyes and smiled. She envisioned his brush sliding through it when he wrote it. Hong Liu closed her eyes and smiled. She pictured his brush sliding through it as he wrote it, and she nearly felt as if she were there when he did it. She sometimes wonders why he bothered to write this to her. Is her love for him a fading fad? A minor hiccup in his otherwise leisurely and serene life. It aches to think of him, but she's become accustomed to it.

Mi Gu, a tree spirit and Hong Liu's assistant, discovered her in her study, her head on her study table, the letter in her hand, asleep. Mi Gu worriedly reflected on her dreams once more. He jolted her awake.

"Mi Gu," She says. "What exactly are you doing here?" She inquired, her voice hoarse from sleep.

"Your majesty, little highness"

"Your Majesty, you will be late."

"I'm running late for court!" She stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise. That has never happened in three centuries!

"No, your majesty, there will be no court today," He assured her.

"Keep in mind that you must depart for the Nine Heavens. Today, the great lady is having a pre-wedding bouquet," said Mi Gu

The letter fell from Hong Liu's grasp, revealing the source of Hong Liu's agitation. She had to travel to Nine Heavens to attend her aunt's wedding. She hadn't seen the gates of the Nine Heavens in 300 years, and she hadn't seen him in 300 years. It had gotten to the point where it was unavoidable. She had to stay there from today till her aunt's wedding.

"All right... is everything ready?" She regains her composure.

Mi Gu gave a nod.

"Good," She walked out of the study without saying anything else and enter her chambers

"Hong Liu! Hong Liu! Calm down! "

Her heart was beating too quickly for her liking. You are the Queen of the Green Forest, and you have managed your emotions thus far without causing any concern. You've got this. Furthermore, it is well known that the First Lord will not be present at such an event. He would probably attend the wedding out of politeness. Your chances of encountering him are close to none. You just need to be careful where you go and stay away from the Ocean of Bliss palace. Everything else is going to be alright.

She gave herself a pep talk before getting dressed. The truth was that Hong Liu was unsure of what she want. Is she eager to meet the First Lord? The answer was simple, but she didn't want to see the coldness in his gaze towards her. Did Hong Liu abandon her feelings for him? Never, ever. Even if she's dead or hell freezes over, that won't happen. But she was in the same place she had been three hundred years before. Fate was not on their side, and the First Lord was on fate's side. You couldn't make the First Lord do anything, and she doubted he remembered her at all.

Hong Liu began to go over her mental checklist of everything she needed to do before she went. Then she realises she has forgotten something.

"Mi Gu!"

"Yes, Little Highness"

Hong Liu grins. It's a different kind of joy. Mi Gu still refers to her as "little highness." After her coronation and ascension to high immortality, she is now "your majesty," but Mi Gu still refers to her as "little highness" when they are alone. That always reminds her to be a carefree and troublemaker. She still refuses to grow up, no matter how much time passes, yet she is now responsible. Because she is a queen and is accountable for her subjects, she saw this as growth and required character development.

"I advise you to check the borders before we leave. Those devils who caused havoc last month have vanished, haven't they?"

"Your highness, you taught them a valuable lesson. I haven't seen anything that could cause a commotion, so don't worry."

"All right, wait here for three days to make sure, and then come to Nine Heavens."

"Don't worry, I'll make certain that everything is safe."

"That's reassuring," she said as she went for the Nine Heavens, where her aunt awaited her with impatiently.

High Goddess Bai Changxi was aware of her dear niece's reluctance to visit the Nine Heavens, so she never pushed her, but now that she was on her way, she was both glad and cross. The previous ruler of Heaven and Earth had such a grip on her niece that she wouldn't even consider seeing her aunt, but Bai Changxi was all too familiar with her clan's wounds of love and stubbornness. If she says anything in this area, she will be a hypocrite. That didn't stop Bai Changxi from expressing her dissatisfaction.

"Hmmm, you finally made it to me? How is it treating you to be Queen of the Green Forest?"

Hong Liu embraced her aunt.

"Gugu, I missed you!"

"You should have come earlier," she remarked, moving her gaze away from her niece and resting her elbow on her study table.

Hong Liu was aware of her guilt, but she was still the youngest in her family and understood how to make everyone's heart melt.

"Are you genuinely mad at me?" With those huge milky black eyes, she pouted and gazed at her aunt.

"Look at you, you're still using deception to get out of problems. Come drink a cup of tea with me right now, "scolded her and smiled as she poured tea But Hong Liu knew that she had been pardoned.

"Gugu, I'll make it up to you in seven days," she promised as she sipped her tea.

"Would you like to make amends to me?" Bai Changxi arched her brow.

Hong Liu respectfully nodded.

"Then look after Xiao Li for me,"

Xiao Li, her younger cousin, appeared out of nowhere.

"Hong Liu Je Je! You've arrived! I've missed you!" Xiao Li wrapped his arms around Hong Liu's neck and held her from behind.

"I, too, miss you, my tiny rice ball."

"Would you like to play with me?"

"Of course, that's why I'm here. I will be there for you until the wedding." She smiled as she nodded to Xiao Li.

"And even after that," added Bai Changxi.

She stares at her aunt, then places it on her. Her aunt and uncle, of course, will withdraw into seclusion.

"And after that," she added.

As a result, Xiao Li was ecstatic at the idea of spending time with Hong Liu. He made her chase after him. They went to the Garden of Heaven. Though not everyone in the celestial palace was good. Hong Liu remembered how her aunt was treated when she was transformed into a mortal during her trial, but everything was well between Nine Heaven and Green Forest now. They had some beautiful landscapes. Hong Liu sighs, and Xiao Li begins chasing butterflies.

"Hong Liu Jie Jie, help me catch it!" Xiao Li jumped in, calling out.

"Rice ball, you do it. I'm exhausted." She sat on the grass, surrounded by flowers, and looked up at the clear sky. The eternal day of heaven, the clear blue sky and the soft spring breeze. The best way to unwind. The Celestial Palace has its own charm, even if it pales in comparison to the Green Forest. She has a lot of memories here. She has a lot of memories here. She was so young back then and at that time, silly, but heartbreak surely gives you wisdom. When she heard Xiao Li laughing, she smiled. She rolled across the grass and closed her eyes, wishing she could be as carefree. Her thoughts wandered back to the first time she set foot on the nine heavens.