Conquering the Emperor

Chapter 213: Back to the Palace

“Well, yes. That’s the general idea...” I mumbled.

While Uncle Gobei was shocked, Auntie seemed to have a very different take on the situation. freёwebnovel.com

“Wow. Wait a second. If you give him a son then you’ll be like a princess and then the next empress of the empire or something like that, right?” Auntie asked excitedly. Clearly, she got the big picture of all of this pinned down already.

“Yes, pretty much. Of course, I’m not interested in becoming the next empress or anything...but I do want to have a family with Ren,” I said truthfully.

“Is that what you’ve decided for yourself?” Uncle Gobei asked as he watched me intently.

“Yes. This is what I have decided. Sorry but I don’t think I can return to our town anymore...” I said before I smiled with a mix of sadness at them.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. When you become the empress, I will make sure to visit you in your fancy palace...haha!” Auntie said cheerfully before she laughed loudly.

I knew that she was doing all this to keep the mood light to balance out the reaction of her husband.

“You should take these herbs regularly. It’ll help with your health. I heard from your...husband...that you’re like a princess of sorts now. You need to take care of your health much better than before,” Uncle Gobei said with concern.

This was probably Uncle Gobei’s way of wishing me well. It would be quite sad not to see them much anymore in the future, but Auntie was right, they could always visit the palace. I’ll ask Ren for permission for them to visit.

“It’s not like we can’t see each other anymore. I’ll ask the crown prince for permission for you to visit the palace. Ren plans to rebuild our town too so hopefully, I can visit more at that time,” I said hopefully.

“Take care of yourself. Worry more about yourself and your happiness. Don’t worry too much about anything else. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine,” Auntie said reassuringly as she took my hands into hers and squeezed it slightly.

“Thank you...” I whispered.

I tried my best to smile without letting the tears of joy fall from my eyes. After exchanging words of farewell, the two left the tent and was escorted by some soldiers back to the town. Uncle Gobei brought me a lot of local herbs which was a great thing because I didn’t see these herbs much in the palace. Perhaps, I could use this to formulate some new medicine and adapt them for other usage. While I was going through the herbs that Uncle Gobei had given me, Ren returned to the tent.

“Oh, Ren. Thank you so much for allowing Uncle and Auntie to see me and for bringing them here. It was really great to see them,” I thanked Ren happily.

“Sorry I couldn’t take you into town to meet them at their clinic. The town is still a little messy after the war and it might not be safe. Also, we don’t have a lot of time, I want to head back to the capital as soon as possible to report to the emperor,” Ren explained.

“Not at all! It was more than enough that I got to see them. Thank you, Ren,” I said as I smiled at him.

That day, we set off on our journey back to the capital. Unlike the trip here where I rode in the wagon with the medical team, Ren arranged for a proper carriage for me to ride in. It was great that I had the privacy of the carriage, but it got lonely quite quickly without companions to share the ride with. The only good thing was that Ren would turn his horse around to ride along my carriage to keep me company regularly.

...

After a few days, we arrived back at the capital. Apparently, the war was a topic for much attention because the town people cheered loudly to congratulate our victorious return to the capital. It was like our arrival back to the capital marked the start of the celebration there. People came out of their houses and shops to line both sides of the street. They threw flower petals on the soldiers and everyone that was either walking or riding by accompanied with loud cheers of congratulations.

It was an atmosphere that I had never experienced before. Undoubtedly this had a very positive effect on the morale of the men. Finally, we were back home, and the men can return to their wives and families. I wondered if Ren was greeted like this every time he came back from war. It was like I was seeing another side of his life that I didn’t know before. This trip had bounded us together much more tightly than before and I felt like I understood Ren and the life that he led much better as well.

Ren had me escorted back to the White Lotus Palace when we arrived back at the palace before heading to report to the emperor along with Shin. Even though he had just gotten back, it seemed like work was already busy for him. Being the crown prince was truly a busy job with no end in sight. As for me, I was thankful to return to the comforts of my palace. For once in a very long while, I enjoyed the pampering attention that Auntie Chen and my team of maids showered on me.

I spent my time soaking in a hot bath to relax my tight and worn-out muscles. Being a field doctor is tough work, that was something that I learnt for sure this time. Ren was extremely busy with work for the next few days, and we hardly had time to meet except for when he came back at night. It was like a repeat of our lives at the camp but without Ren having to go off to the fight on the frontlines. Instead, I knew that he was swamp with pending reports that had been on hold for three months since he was away.

On my end, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that the hospital now had fewer injured patients now that the war had ended. This meant that I could focus on working on other cases related to diseases and other conditions unrelated to injuries and wounds. Life at the palace seemed peaceful and for around a week to follow, Ren and I started adjusted back to our peaceful lives once again.

However, our peaceful days did not last for long...

--To be continued...