PROVOCATION

The heavenly king smiled at the fairy that was before him. Until the late heavenly queen, he had never seen such a beautiful woman. His harem was full of countless of women from across the three realms but not one of them could compare to Jiu Bao. First daughter and successor of the mortal king.

His heart and head were at odds which each other. His head reasoned that it was not logical for him to get involved with the mortal king's daughter. The mortal king was known to be an ambitious and selfish man. Many emotions that came with the disadvantages of being a mortal. But not this beautiful woman. She seemed like a fairy that had fallen from the sky.

"Rise. Please lady Jiu Bao." The heavenly king said helping her up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. The maid that brought me here said that you sent for me. Is there anything I can do for you?" Jiu Bao asked feeling shy.

"Nothing. I saw you earlier at the banquet. The girl who was with you was yours sister, right? The both of you are very beautiful." The heavenly king said smiling which made Jiu Bao feel awkward.

"Thank you Your Majesty. I am very honoured that you think that of us" Jiu Bao said shyly looking at the door where she cane from.

"Don't feel awkward. I only wanted to let you that I am very interested in building the relationship between the mortal and the heavenly realm. That's all" The heavenly king said watching as a smile appeared on Jiu Bao's face.

Happy and overwhelmed by what the heavenly king said, Jiu Bao knelt down folding her hands in front of her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty" Jiu Bao said.

Su Ying stood outside getting bored as time went by. The heavenly realm was the best place she had been to in a while. Unfortunately, the memory of the argument she had with Fengge suddenly came back making her unhappy.

Bending down by the shinning blue shinny plant she saw, she sighed to herself. Ever since she was little, she had admired the crown prince of the heavenly realm. Why didn't she not recognize him when she saw him in the mortal realm? If she had done so earlier, maybe they would have been in good terms.

"Where is my sister?" Su Ying asked.

"She is still inside with the heavenly king. Miss, you want to wait in the garden?" The maid asked.

"Okay. And where is the garden?" Su Ying asked.

"Over there." The maid said giving directions.

"Okay. No need to worry. I will go by myself" Su Ying said walking away.

Unfortunately, Su Ying got lost again looking for the so called garden. While she was looking for the garden, she came across even a more beautiful one. This garden was just spectacular. Even though there were common flowers that could be found in the mortal realm, the flowers practically shined. It was a whole room full of flowers.

Fengge suddenly started missing his mother. He had never met her but he missed her as if he had known her all his life. Why? He didn't know. Being the crown prince of the heavenly realm meant that he had to be constantly square with everything. He must act dignified in front of everyone and never show his emotions.

Entering inside, he smiled at the lights that were shinning through. His mother's garden has still been taken care of even after she died. Years later and the garden was still the same. Walking by the long bench by the side of the garden, he was about to sit when he spots someone lying on the bench. It seemed like a woman and she was all curled up even in her sleep.

Walking to her, Fengge immediately recognized her as Su Ying. The second daughter of the mortal king. What was she doing here? And how did she even get here? Lifting her into his arms, Fengge carried her. Pausing to take a look at her, he watched as she struggled in her sleep.

Laying her back down on the bench, Fengge used a spell on her watching as she calmed down. Seemed like there was no way he could carry her anywhere. Using his powers, he conjured up a table with his pot of favorite tea.

"Look at her. She seems peaceful now" Fengge said smiling as he sipped his tea.

"You really have such a kind heart. Allowing someone you don't know to enter your mother's garden. Are you not afraid that your mother will be turning in her grave?" The ice god asked taking a seat.

"She is just a lowly mortal. She fell asleep here. There is no need to wake her. I think it must be due to mother's peace lily" Fengge said using his powers to cause the flowers to produce a nice smell.

"Princess! Princess!" They heard someone shouting.

"Looks like they have come for her." The ice god said picking up his cup.

Few minutes later, some maids passed by us. My mother's garden was in a room so although the door was wide open, it seems they did not see us. Just as I am about to call out for the maids, the ice god stopped me creating a small ice ball. The second time they pass by us, the ice god throws the ice ball at them making the both of us laugh.

Meanwhile in the mortal realm, the mortal king paced about eagerly. Months had passed and they still had no clue on where the Orane flower was. Lord Chaos had been seriously hot on his trail over the last few weeks. The only person who could save him right now was the heavenly king.

"The first princess arrives!"

Jiu Bao entered inside dressed beautifully. She was far better dressed than she usually was in the lotus sect. Here she was the crown princess of the mortal realm. The mortal king's daughter. And for the sake of the father, she had to protect him from the dark realm and any other demon that wants to harm him.

"Greetings Father" Jiu Bao said.

"Jiu Bao. You are here. I am very happy to see you." The mortal king said.

"And me? Are you happy to see your favorite fourth daughter?" Su Ying asked entering inside.

"Did you have to bring her here? Was it necessary?" The mortal king asked sighing.

Su Ying laughed at her father's expression. He seems to have a heartache whenever he saw her and she enjoyed it. If it was up to her, she would stay here to torment him everyday but there was one person she just couldn't stand.

"The mortal queen arrives!"

A woman dressed in black with fair skin walked in. She had beautiful sparkling milk skin and her lips were painted in beautiful shade of red. The fairy mortal queen. She was a real demon. The demon that the dark realm had imposed on her father.

"Greetings mortal queen" Jiu Bao said.

"Mortal? Nah. Isn't she a demon? How can she be a mortal?" Su Ying asked smiling.

Watching as the mortal queen passed by her sister, Su Ying took her seat before the queen did showing no respect. Jiu Bao cast a glance at Su Ying reprimanding her.

"What are you doing here, Empress?" The mortal king asked pretending to smile.

"I heard the crown princess came back home so I came to see her." The mortal queen said.

"Thank you for personally coming to see me, Your Highness" Jiu Bao said.

"Did you come to see first sister or to spy on us?" Su Ying asked.

"Su Ying! Be respectful!" The mortal king said.

"Fine. I will be quiet. For now." Su Ying said

"Here. I made some desserts. I know there are your favorite." The mortal queen said.

Jiu Bao pretended to smile as she accepted the plate of desserts. They were indeed her favorites but because of who made them, she suddenly felt like puking instead. Smiling at them, she lifted a piece of cake wanting to eat when Su Ying hit the cake out of her hand causing all of them to gasp in shock.

"What? She can't eat that. The demon queen gave her. Ah! I mean mortal queen." Su Ying said making Jiu Bao smile.

"You sassy.....!" The mortal queen stopped remembering the maids around.

Looking at Su Ying in the eyes, the mortal queen sat down angrily. Su Ying laughed at the expression on the mortal queen's face happy to have made her loose her composure. Too bad the mortal king wasn't finding it funny. The mortal queen saw her opportunity and started sobbing.

"Su Ying! I have had enough of your bad behavior towards your royal mother. She has raised you all these years and one should never be unfilial." The mortal king said.

"No. No. Your Majesty, your subjects and servants are around. You should not be lying in front of them" Su Ying said.

"What do you mean?" The mortal king asked.

"Her Highness didn't raise me or my first sister. She was mean to us and made things hard for us so I have no reason to be filial to her. Also, stop pretending. We all know that she is pretending" Su Ying said smiling.

"That's enough! I am leaving, Your Majesty. I can no longer stand fourth princess's rudeness." The mortal queen said standing up.

Su Ying stood up specifically wishing her safe journey as she left. She could see the anger in her eyes but she didn't care. After the mortal queen left, Su Ying burst out laughing.

"Su Ying!" Jiu Bao said.

"What? I helped you. The witch is no longer here, is she? Now, we can talk" Su Ying said smiling as she watched the mortal king shake his head.