The Wei Family

Once the two men got outside, Tian Qi refused to leave unless he got an answer from Ming Ru. 

"Why are you here?" Tian Qi asked him and he smiled at Tian Qi 

"I grew up here, right inside the palace with A'Qing and her siblings." Ming Ru said to him and Tian Qi nodded

"How did you end up in the Su Kingdom?" Tian Qi asked him and he nodded

"About that. I was traveling around studying herbs but I heard that A'Qing got married so I wanted to go and congratulate her but when I got there. All that I heard was about how she was stripped of her title and that she was hurt." Ming Ru said to him and Tian Qi shrank back but Ming Ru was also hurt about what Bai Qing had to go through as well.

"A'Qing almost die, if it wasn't a poison that I happened to know the cure of. It wouldn't be just your child that you lost." Ming Ru said to him 

"Thank you, for saving her." Tian Qi said to Ming Ru but Ming Ru shook his head

"It is only natural that I will help her, she's like a sister to me." Ming Ru said to him and motioned for him to take a walk with Ming Ru. The two started walking around the princess's palace

"You see my parents were the doctors of the Wei family but when I was just 7 years old, both of my parents passed away. Master Wei and his wife took me in and raised me like their own." Ming Ru said to him and Tian Qi nodded

"So you were raised with her?" Tian Qi nodded

"That was also the reason why I studied herbs because after the madam and master died, the three of them tended to get sick. I wanted to take care of them and make sure that they can be healthy, so I became motivated to study it more so that I can cure any sickness and detoxicate any poisons." Ming Ru said as he looked at Tian Qi 

"And I'm sure glad that I did, because when she needed it. I was able to help her." Ming Ru said to him and Tian Qi nodded

"How has she been since she came back? How come I was told that she died?" Tian Qi asked him and Ming Ru nodded

"She has been steadily recovering since her return and about the news that you received, I think she can explain better about the news you received." Ming Ru said as he motioned toward a gate, when the gate opened Bai Qing was standing there.

"So you are the prince of the Su Kingdom." Bai Ling said to him and he looked at her for a long while 

"And you must be A'Qing's sister." Tian Qi said to her and she nodded

"Come in." Bai Ling said to him as she headed back into her palace 

"She wanted to meet you." Ming Ru said to Tian Qi and left, Tian Qi walked through the door. Bai Qing's sister was sitting in the courtyard with another person and Tian Qi walked over toward them but once he walked over the young man got up and punched him. 

Wei Ning threw another punch and when he was about to throw another punch, Bai Ling stopped her brother

"A'Ning." Bai Ling said to her brother, her brother was not one to throw punches and Bai Ling didn't even know that her brother could punch anyone. Her brother huffed and puffed but he backed away from Tian Qi after shoving him down onto the ground

"I'm sorry. My brother and I were quite upset when we heard what had happened to our younger sister." Bai Ling said to him and he shakily got up from the floor, he shook his head

"I was deserving of that punch." Tian Qi said to them and her brother turned around 

"AT LEAST YOU KNEW THAT!." Wei Ning said to him and took a seat

"Go bring the tea and snacks." Bai Ling told her maid before she turned her attention back to Tian Qi but she said nothing to him as she took a seat beside her brother, seeing that the two weren't in the mood to invite him to sit with them. Tian Qi just slowly took a seat across from the two of them.

"When the news that you wanted to marry a princess of the Min Kingdom, the king, our distant uncle was adamant that we can just go to war." Bai Ling said to him 

"But A'Qing was stubborn, she didn't want to back down from this offer because she thought of the citizens and the soldiers." Bai Ling said to him and he nodded

"That does sound like my wife." Tian Qi said 

"She's no longer your wife." Wei Ning said to Tian Qi but he said nothing to retort to his brother-in-law

"I was going to marry and Zu'er was in love with the love of her life. So to protect our love life, she offered to marry off to the Su Kingdom." Bai Ling said to him, the whole time her voice was soft but he could tell how fond she was of Bai Qing.

"My sister was always strong-minded and even physically as well but when she returned to us, she was tattered and torn. Do you know how we felt when we heard what had happened to our younger sister?" Bai Ling asked him, even though her voice was still calm he could hear the anger in her voice 

"There is nothing I can say other than I'm sorry. I regretted all that I did to her and I hurt just as much as she did, I would like to take her back with me; she's still my wife." Tian Qi said to the two of them and the two nodded as they looked back at him 

"But my sister is going to Nuwa's temple." Bai Ling said to him 

"Our sister said that she wanted to be there to pray for her child." Wei Ning said to him 

"I can always visit her, I won't stop her from going there." Tian Qi said to them 

"But you see that temple is not simply a temple, it's a temple that was built under my father-in-law's name. It's well known for its strict rules regarding interacting with the nuns and also the highly isolated locations." Bai Ling said to him and he sighs 

"It's because she lost her child that she wants to find peace." Tian Qi said to them 

"Or she wants to raise her child in the temple out of people's eyes." Bai Ling said to him and he looked up at her 

"What?" Tian Qi asked her and she sighed 

"Did you think that my sister would've walked away without causing an uproar if she lost her child?" Bai Ling asked him and he nodded but then reality hit him, his child was still alive but he was going to lose both of them because of how stupid and selfish he was. 

"Can't-Can't you stop her? She-She could raise the baby here, I won't take the child from her." Tian Qi said to the two of them but Wei Ning scoffed at him

"It seems like you don't know our sister at all, once my sister makes up her mind; there is nothing you can do to change her mind." Wei Ning said to him 

"My sister is dead set on leaving." Bai Ling said to him 

"Then why did you ask the ambassador to come to me?" Tian Qi asked her and she sighed 

"I just wanted to give you a chance to see her and say your last words." Bai Ling said to him and she got up from her chair 

"I will hold a farewell party for my sister in two days, that is all I wanted to say to you. A'Ning, we should get going." Bai Ling said to her brother, before they got too far Bai Ling instructed a maid to bring Tian Qi to the guest palace while the two of them headed towards the gate that leads to Bai Qing's palace. 

Tian Qi tried many times to go see her but Bai Qing refused to see him, no matter how many times he went to find her, she always turned him away. Even if he waited outside all day long, she would rather stay inside her palace without taking a single step outside. 

Tian Qi was not used to this, in the past no matter what they argued about she would always forgive him but it has been two days and her sister was going to host her farewell party for her. Tian Qi was at a loss as to what to do when the banquet day rolled around. 

Then she walked into the banquet room, her eyes forward, not straying from her goals. She walked up to the king's throne and she greeted him. 

"Go take a seat." The king said to her and she thanked the king and walked over to the only empty seat left in the banquet hall beside her brother since her sister was sitting with her husband. Her brother sat across from Tian Qi and she sat to the left of her brother yet she never looked up at him. 

"Today we've gathered here to send my daughter off on her serene journey. I hope that my child will find peace." The king said and they all raised their cups and drank but Tian Qi could no longer contain his anger. He stood up 

"I'm sorry to say that I do not agree with this." Tian Qi said to them and the king looked at him 

"And why is that?" the king asked him 

"I am here to bring my wife back." Tain Qi said to them and he turned to look at her 

"And I'm not letting you take our child out of my reach." Tian Qi said to her and she finally looked up at him with a smile