The Men at Her Feet

The group turned their head towards the entrance of the cottage, only to see the young king standing outside the cottage, hesitating while his personal bodyguards stood nearby.

“Stand, my men, this is a private visit and I do not wish to have my identity revealed,” He commanded nonchalantly after noticing that everyone was seated and no one had the intention of greeting him.

Yan Zhao entered the room quickly, pulling his sister to the side, “Big sis, I need to tell you something, please don’t get angry!” He whispered urgently.

Princess QingLuan nodded.

Xie Zhao took a deep breath, steadying his panic before continuing, “Big sis, a few days ago, the king from the south sent the heir, He YuXiang to ask for your hand, as he realized that his son had been visiting you frequently, and as a father, he thought it was appropriate for him to give his son a boost!” He groaned tiredly, “According to him, if Prince He likes a woman, then he shall take her as his wife, why waste time and effort to acquire her affection?”

“Did you agree?” Princess QingLuan asked, her brows furrowing in a tight knot.

Xie Zhao shook his head, “I didn’t, at first. I told them that the princess already had five husbands and that she was currently away on a honeymoon. And that Prince He should seek for his true love elsewhere.”

“What happened then?” She pressed on.

“Then the South King immediately requested Prince He to return home at once, intending to hear his opinions, but to everyone’s shock, that crazy prince announced that if the princess doesn’t wish to marry into his house, he is willing to come to yours!” Xie Zhao sighed tiredly, “Right after that, the Queen, in fear that her son would be bullied here, insisted that her son must acquire the position of your main husband!”

“Little brother, I do not understand one thing, why must we accept to their terms of letting him marry into our house?” Princess QingLuan stared at her brother in confusion, it was an offer, right? But why was it assumed that they would accept it?

To which Xie Zhao sighed at her apologetically, “Big sis, you might not know this, but He YuXiang’s father is the emperor of the southern parts, while his mother is the Empress of the eastern parts... If we do not agree, our country could be attacked viciously until we accept the marriage proposal...”

“This is obviously a forced marriage!” Princess QingLuan cried out in rage before her eyes shut closed as she fell unconscious.

---

She was already on the way back to the city when she next awakened, while Pei JingZhi was sent to take care of her due to his medical knowledge. Her body was weak from being in shock and stress for many days continuously, which will recover soon as long as she kept her mind calm and relaxed.

She sipped the medicine soup prepared by Pei JingZhi slowly, wondering why the soup tasted oddly familiar before a memory flashed through her mind. In her previous life, during her stay at the temple, she remembered drinking this medicine daily, which was supposed to help her recover her weak body, but it was never known who was the one preparing them for her. So it was him...

All men were honest and steady during the trip home, partly due to her weak body and the fact that Xie Zhao, even though he was powerless to them, was their rightful king in name, and it wasn’t appropriate to bed his sister right in front of him.

Hence, Princess QingLuan enjoyed her few days of peace, though her face withered slowly as she fell into a mild depression.

And perhaps emotional stresses should be cured with its suitable medications, Xie Zhao began to speak to her about things she had not known about.

“Big sis, the reason why the south insisted to force their son on you is because when He YuXiang was born, a powerful master calculated his life and claimed that his soul was the reincarnation of one of the stars from the Big Dipper Constellation. It was foretold that in every reincarnation cycle, all seven stars would fall in love with a single woman, and they must end up together in each cycle, if it fails, the entire cycle would restart itself.” Xie Zhao paused, before continuing on, “And legend has it that this woman was an ancient demon goddess, and she must undergo three successful lifetimes of love with the Big Dipper before she can pass her test and return to the heavens with her lovers.”

Princess QingLuan pondered on her brother’s words in silence, before questioning him once again, “In that case, am I the demon goddess from your story? And did that powerful master ever mention that which cycle are we currently in?”

“Big sis, that’s no the point...” Xie Zhao sighed, “The main point is that you need to complete this cycle successfully no matter what...”

Princess QingLuan hanged her head, deep in thought. Actually, the current number of men, including He YuXiang, was six... But if you think deeper and consider Yan Gui as two men, that makes seven...

And if what Xie Zhao said was true, then she would have no choice but to accept all of these men as her husbands in order to fulfill the prophecy...

But... whose misfortune did this belong to? The goddess or the Big Dipper?

Meanwhile, Xie Zhao had been peeking at his sister, who was deep in thought after listening to his story, sighed in relief as he patted the novel hidden near his chest, Thank the heavens big sis doesn’t read love stories like me!