- Long'Er -

Donned in stunning red bridal gowns, the couple had just exchanged their marriage vows earlier in front of their families and royal subjects. Long'Er stood beside Li Xun – who was now officially her husband – and they raised their wine cups in the air to toast to their family and subordinates.

Everyone was happy for them. There was a rare smile blooming on the Emperor's face and the Empress was beaming at them with glistening eyes. Even Li Xue had a broad grin on her face.

To their utmost surprise, she was the one who had offered her help in the two-month-long preparation of the grand wedding. And for some reason, she was very excited about this marriage.

When she first heard the news about them, she immediately gave them her blessing, but on the condition that Long'Er should only be known as Han Zhi Ruo to everybody else. It was because the girl was still heavily embarrassed about her past attempts at pursuing her when she was a bodyguard.

For now, only four people knew Long'Er's secret — Li Xun, Ling Yao, Li Xue and Minister Han. They all promised to never speak of this and it was safer this way, avoiding any complication in the future. As for the remaining people who worked with Long'Er before, they thought that she had gone home to take care of her frail sister.

It all worked out well.

Minister Han stood at the front of the crowd, alongside his second wife and their son, Han Yi Jun. There were happy tears brimming in his eyes, seeing how his daughter had grown up way too quickly.

As for her half-brother... He was an adorable kid with a toothy grin when they met for the first time. When he found out that he had an older sister, he was overjoyed that he clung to her legs like a baby bear at first sight. Unwilling to let her go.

He would beg her to read to him, take him out for walks and persuade her to prank their father together. Whenever Li Xun appeared to steal her away, the boy would pout and tackle the prince with his tiny body, as if he was protecting his sister.

As for Yi Jun's mother – her step-mother – well, she welcomed Long'Er with open arms. However, there was this giant wall of awkwardness between them that they needed to work on, and that would require some time. At least, she thought, she wasn't being treated unfairly at home. Her grandmother had long passed on and it was futile to hold a grudge against a dead person.

She watched her half-brother squeal in delight along with the other children and played with the flower petals scattered on the floor. A smile bloomed across her face.

The Emperor and Empress rose to their feet then, giving a speech about how grateful they were to everyone for attending this royal wedding. Aside from that, they also took the chance to announce the date of the Royal Coronation Ceremony for the Crown Prince, which would be taking place two weeks later.

Standing right beside her, Li Xun gave her hand a light squeeze. She turned to meet his gaze, and he grinned at her with such a handsome smile that easily took her breath away.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you are looking right now?" he said.

Her lips naturally curved into a sweet smile and she returned the squeeze on his hand. "Too many times that I can't count it on my fingers," she whispered back. "Did I tell you how handsome you are?"

With a broad grin on his face, he was about to say something but frowned when he was interrupted by a loud applause.

"Later," she whispered to his pouting face and their attention returned to the Emperor and Empress. Another toast was made to the newly-wedded couple before the royal banquet commenced. Endless stream of officials approached their table to congratulate them over and over again. Even a drunk-looking General Guo Jie came over to offer Li Xun a cup of wine and started blurting about how the words of wives were the ultimate law.

Throughout the entire time Li Xun was entertaining his subjects, Long'Er couldn't stop sneaking glances at her husband.

His flawless profile looked too good to be real – he was almost like a god himself. The amount of confidence and charisma he exuded was simply alluring, making it hard for people to look away. There was just something about him that pulled people towards him like a magnet – the way he paid attention to every word his subjects were saying, no matter how insignificant, was remarkable.

Long'Er's eyes dropped to his mouth and lingered there for a few moments, watching those full, luscious lips moved–

Li Xun caught her staring and her cheeks flamed immediately. She tore her gaze away quickly, keeping herself busy by smoothing her bridal robes.

Suppressing a knowing smile, he leaned towards her, just close enough to whisper into her ear.

"You know if you keep looking at me like that, I won't be able to maintain calm," he teased.

A rosy glow coloured her cheeks and she wanted to bury herself in sheer embarrassment. "I wasn't staring at you, I was just staring at my brother."

"Hmm, really?" He mused humorously, watching as little Yi Jun played chase with his fellow friends. "So I supposed you are thinking about how many kids we should have?"

"I–" She stumbled over her words, feeling the heat crawling up her neck and ears. "T–that wasn't what I was thinking about!"

He chuckled in amusement, letting his fingers caress her smooth cheek that was dusted in a lovely hue of sunset. "Truthfully, I'm thinking of having two kids but I would like a challenge instead. Maybe we should have five instead."

"You!" Her eyes widened like saucers and she watched him in disbelief. Knowing full well that he just wanted his way with her. "The audacity of you to say that when there are ears everywhere!" she scolded him.

"You still love me anyways." He placed a kiss on her temple, earning loud cheers from their audience. Dropping his voice into a low whisper, he murmured into her ear so that she was the only one who would be able to hear his next few words.

"So about that babies-making mission, shall we start practicing tonight?"

And he was swatted on the arm by his very flustered-looking wife.

*** - Deity Godmother -

Standing in the corner of the room, Long'Er's godmother watched in contentment as the Crown Prince and her goddaughter wedded in front of everyone.

Earlier on, she had altered her appearance slightly and attended the wedding under the pretence of being the bride's friend. Well, a god couldn't simply reveal her true appearance to just anybody. It would be troublesome if people were to find out she didn't age with time.

As she observed the ceremony, her lips curved into a satisfied smile.

Her job was now completed.

Apart from guarding the Celestial Flowers, she had another side job that she had taken up to occupy her time for the past few hundreds of years – by playing the matchmaker. She had saved another pair of soulmates by returning the girl to her rightful place. Ever since the first time she met the child, she always knew that the Crown Prince and Long'Er were always meant to be together, even if they had to take a longer detour in this life to reunite with each other.

Turning away from the couple, she was about to slip away from this place quietly, but was stopped by a young man.

"My-m lady," he greeted nervously. He bit his bottom lip nervously, offering her a cup of rice wine. The deity could tell that it was rare for this man to initiate a conversation with someone, much less a woman.

"Would you like a drink?"

Ever since the wedding ceremony had commenced, Long'Er's godmother sensed that this good-looking man was watching her from a distance away. In such an incredibly short time, he developed an interest in her.

She sighed quietly. This poor human was obviously about to get his heart broken. If he knew that she was way older than him, even older than his great-great grandmother, how would he exactly react?

She should tread carefully on this issue, lest crushing the first love of an innocent boy. Perhaps when the time was right, she would erase his memory of her.

Or maybe...she could simply find him his soulmate instead.

"Thank you, my lord." She accepted his offer with a graceful curtsy, smiling up at him under her eyelashes.

"Allow me to guess - your name is Ling Yao, isn't it?"



A/N: Thank you for showering this book with your love and support! This story means so much to me. 🥺 It's the first book I completed and it made me discover my love for writing! ❤️ I remember the days when this book was just 30k reads, then 100k, 1M and now it's what it is today! To those aspiring writers, don't ever give up! 💪🏻

Btw, there's a short spinoff story happening right after this. Stay tuned for it!