Soon it was the Dragon Queen's birthday banquet.
Ji Zhaoxi had sent some forest specialties over, but she didn't plan to attend the Mother Dragon's birthday feast.
Of course, she couldn't go anyway.
But Lorian seemed to have gone mad, personally inviting her to come.
"Since you're so pitiful, I'll take you along," Lorian said, her New Prince still by her side.
"I'm not going," Ji Zhaoxi replied calmly.
Lorian looked at her in disbelief. "You're not going?! It's Mother's birthday banquet!"
"I'm not going." Ji Zhaoxi sat down on the wool rug.
"Are you still mad about what happened last time?" Lorian sighed in exasperation. "I've already forgotten what it was about, and you're still holding onto it."
"I'm not going." Ji Zhaoxi took off her shoes, ready to lie down.
Lorian quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. "You have to come!"
Ji Zhaoxi's mouth twitched. What would she do there? Watch the other dragons fight? She didn't want to see all that violence and chaos.
Had Lorian lost her mind? Before, she had warned Ji Zhaoxi not to come, and now she was practically begging her to attend.
Ji Zhaoxi's expression suddenly turned serious. Was there some kind of trap here?
"I'll give you ten chests of gemstones!" Lorian held her down.
She needed Ji Zhaoxi to see how much Mother favored her, Lorian.
At the mention of gemstones, Ji Zhaoxi perked up, a smug look on her face. "Ten chests of gemstones? I, Ji Zhaoxi, no longer care about that!"
"Have you seen my gemstone palace? Do I need your ten chests of gemstones?"
Watching Ji Zhaoxi's smug face, Lorian fell silent.
Celeste had really spoiled her appetite. In the past, just two chests of gemstones would have made Ji Zhaoxi overjoyed.
"Ji Zhaoxi, are you refusing to go?" Lorian stared at her calmly.
Ji Zhaoxi snorted. "Yeah, what about it?"
And then Lorian kidnapped her.
She insisted on taking her.
The Mother Dragon's birthday banquet was splendidly arranged, with an abundance of food on the table. But aside from Ji Zhaoxi, no one else ate—everyone else was busy fighting below.
Ji Zhaoxi: ...
If no one was going to eat, then she would.
Lorian was practically undefeated, beating down every dragon until they were a mess.
Ji Zhaoxi munched happily as she watched. Every time Lorian took down a dragon, she would glance at Ji Zhaoxi, constantly flaunting her combat prowess.
After receiving praise from Mother, Lorian looked at Ji Zhaoxi again.
That was her goal today—to make that scheming Ji Zhaoxi finally give up hope. Mother would only ever love her alone.
Ji Zhaoxi met Lorian's gaze and suddenly began to doubt herself.
Logically, if Lorian was this strong, she shouldn't see Ji Zhaoxi as any kind of threat.
But Lorian feared her so much... Did that mean she, Ji Zhaoxi, was actually quite formidable?
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly felt she might be someone truly remarkable.
When Ji Zhaoxi left, Lorian generously gifted her twenty chests of gemstones.
Ji Zhaoxi accepted them, of course. She was a big dragon now.
But even for a big dragon, twenty chests of gemstones were a massive burden...
Ji Zhaoxi flew low the whole way because she simply couldn't lift herself any higher, stopping to rest on treetops whenever she got tired.
The trees with ruined hairstyles: ...
Twenty chests of gemstones were way too heavy. Ji Zhaoxi wobbled homeward when, suddenly, one chest slipped and fell into the forest, spilling gemstones everywhere.
A few of the stones seemed to have hit someone. The little creatures on the ground looked up, their dot eyes going wide as they stared at the Evil Dragon flapping her wings desperately.
"It's Miss Dragon's gemstones! Quick, help Miss Dragon pick them up!" a Dot Eyes creature shouted at the top of its lungs.
The Evil Dragon quickly carried the remaining chests on her back and hurried home.
After putting the gemstones away, she ran straight back to the forest. No small animals had been hit, no grass was crushed—but someone's forehead had been struck, leaving a bump.
"Miss Dragon, we've gathered all the gemstones," Celeste said, holding the chest filled with stones, a bump swelling on his forehead.
The Dot Eyes creature exclaimed righteously, "Miss Dragon, your gemstones hit his forehead!"
Ji Zhaoxi looked at Celeste guiltily. "Sorry, is your forehead okay?"
Celeste didn't think it was a big deal at first, but seeing Ji Zhaoxi's guilty expression, he hesitated for a moment.
"It hurts a little."
Ji Zhaoxi felt even more guilty and pulled him along toward home.
She usually only treated animals, but she figured it should be fine to take care of Celeste for once.
Back at the gemstone palace, Ji Zhaoxi treated his wound.
"Maybe you should go back to your castle... I don't think I'm very good at this," she murmured, gently touching the red, swollen spot on his forehead.
Celeste kissed her hand and smiled. "It's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore. It'll probably be better by tomorrow morning."
That night, after both had bathed, they got back to polishing the gemstones.
Ji Zhaoxi's gaze kept drifting to Celeste's forehead as she worked. She looked and was startled—the lump was bigger than it had been in the afternoon, now darkened to purple...
"Maybe you really should head back," she said anxiously, poking at his wound.
Celeste leaned weakly against her shoulder. "Can Miss Dragon come with me? I can't sleep without her by my side."
"Of course I can!" Ji Zhaoxi said, feeling fiercely loyal.
But then she realized that wasn't quite right either—she was the one who had caused it.
Looking at the droopy Celeste, Ji Zhaoxi mimicked what he had done to her before and planted a kiss on his eye to comfort him.
Celeste froze for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.
Being comforted by Miss Dragon was a wonderful experience. He wondered if he might have more chances to try it in the future.
"It'll be fine... it shouldn't be a problem..."
Ji Zhaoxi's voice grew more uncertain as she spoke.
Celeste was so pitiful. The gemstones hadn't hit any grass, just him.
They continued diligently polishing the gemstones. Halfway through, Ji Zhaoxi grew drowsy, and Celeste carried her to bed before finishing the rest himself.
By the time Celeste had polished every last gemstone, dawn had broken.
He gently lifted the blanket, and Ji Zhaoxi drowsily snuggled into him. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and kissed her dragon horns.
"Keep sleeping..."
If an injury to his forehead could yield such results, then maybe it didn't have to heal right away.
