Chapter Eleven

Warning

The next morning, Yeonhwa woke up alone on the bed, much to her dismay. She wanted to see Yifan the first thing in the morning, but alas, he was busy. She huffed and got off the bed, feeling a bit light-headed. She rubbed her stomach, figuring that she should get used to this feeling since she was, after all, pregnant. A small smile crept on her face as she thought of the life she was carrying in her.
 
“Be good to Mama, okay?” she whispered, rubbing her tummy tenderly.
 
She slowly stood up and called for a maid to prepare a bath. As she got ready, she once again ungracefully vomited whatever she ate the previous night, making her scowl and eager to take a bath.
 After a while, she dried herself off and got dressed then settled in front of the vanity in the chamber. She noticed that none of her maids were in the chamber, which was strange, since they would usually help her get ready for the day. She shrugged it off, not thinking much of it. Besides, she got ready by herself pretty well before she became the Empress of China, surely now would not make any difference.
 As she began brushing her long, dark hair, her thoughts wandered off to the baby. Would it be a girl or a boy? Yifan would probably want a daughter, since despite his cold appearance, he was a giant softy at heart. But Yeonhwa had a feeling that it would be a boy. He would grow up to be as handsome as his father, tall and intimidating too. Even so, Yeonhwa hoped that he would also be as kind as his father, gentle and caring and responsible. As she began to daydream, she did not notice Yifan’s presence in the chamber, just staring at her brush her hair in awe.
 Yifan adored Yeonhwa. She was undeniably beautiful, and seemed to glow more with each and every day. But what threw Yifan off the most was how beautiful her heart is. She was the type of person who would not mind getting hurt in order to protect those dear to her, and Yifan could not believe that the Gods had granted her as his wife. He swore on his life that no matter what happens, she would always, always come first.
 A few moments later, Yeonhwa finally met his eyes through the mirror on her vanity, so she quickly turned around with wide eyes.
 
“How long have you been here?” she asked.
“Long enough to see you smiling and giggling to yourself. What are you thinking about, my love?” he replied, walking behind her and kissing her temple.

Yeonhwa blushed and shook her head. Yifan chuckled at her cuteness and took the hairbrush from her hand and began brushing her hair for her. Yeonhwa was surprised at first, but let him do what he wanted. She enjoyed having him do that anyway.
 
“Where were you this morning?” she asked, looking at him through the mirror.
“Why? Did you miss me?” he smirked.
“Well, I was hoping to wake up with you next to me this morning.” she replied.
 
Yifan smiled at her reply. God, he was so in love with her.
 
“I got you something.” he said, taking something out from his robe.
 
It was a hairstick, with a pink lotus flower made out of jade lined with gold. Yifan raised it for her to see through the mirror before gathering her hair into a half ponytail, before securing it with the hairstick. Yeonhwa simply watched him, slightly open. When he was done, he turned her slightly for her to see it in the mirror. She lightly touched it, admiring at how intricate the carvings of the jade were.
 Yifan watched her, suddenly anxious at her lack of reaction. Did she not like it? Maybe he should have gotten her something else. He began to slightly panic and cursed inwardly. He ruled a country, for goodness’ sake. Only one person could ever make the great Wu Yifan this flustered, and that was his own wife. He started to ramble.
 
“I… I realized that I never got you a wedding gift, and I was contemplating on what to get you since I’m not good at these things. I wanted to get something personal and since your name means lotus I decided…”
 
He never got to finish what he wanted to say as Yeonhwa attacked him with