Feeling Ill at Heart

"I really want to meet Lord Noctis." Luna Lian sighed, clutching her heart. "I heard he's not only super powerful, but also ridiculously handsome."

"You'll get to see him," Qi Xiaowu said. "His Majesty the Celestial Emperor is celebrating his birthday soon, so he should come with my aunt."

"Wow! That's awesome!" Luna cheered, then her face fell. "But we're stuck in the Palace Guard Barracks, so we can't go out!"

"Hey, we actually can!" Lucia Lu explained how His Majesty the Celestial Emperor said they could have a break. "...But there's a surprise exam—if you pass, you get the day off. Fail, and you're locked in the Instruction Hall to read books!"

"Why can't His Majesty just give us a day off? It's his birthday! He should grant amnesty to all under heaven!" Ryan Lu wailed.

"Amnesty to all under heaven!" Yin Shu laughed. "What, you think we're serving a prison sentence here?"

"You should say, 'Celebrate under heaven!'" Qi Xiaowu shook her head. "Illiterate."

"Hey! You little brat!" Ryan Lu pretended to chase her.

She immediately hid behind Lucia Lu, making faces at her.

Luna Lian then asked Lucia Lu, "Why did the Celestial Empress call you over?"

Lucia Lu's smile faded.

"What's wrong?" Everyone looked at her.

"It's nothing... The Celestial Empress just had Princess Quinn formally apologize to me—about the Darren Xuan incident. And it looks like the princess is coming back soon."

Everyone fell silent.

"You shouldn't go to Returning Rainbow Mountain anymore," Yin Shu said. "If Darren needs help, send him to me or to the Spirit Alliance Elders instead."

Lucia Lu nodded.

"Sister Lucia, are you saying that detestable Quinn Xiao is coming to the Divine Generals’ Camp?" Qi Xiaowu asked.

"Detestable?" Lucia Lu laughed. "What, you have a grudge against her too?"

"A hundred years ago, when His Majesty the Celestial Emperor was celebrating his birthday, I came with my Divine Mother and saw her bullying Fifth Highness—she said some really nasty things! I couldn't help myself and snapped back at her." Qi Xiaowu said. "And last time at the Southern Realm Grand Tournament, she teamed up with Jenna Summers and almost burned me alive with divine fire!"

Everyone shook their heads.

But Lucia Lu just felt awful inside.

She had no idea which of her words had set off the Empress.

"Senior Sister, did Little Five show up at the family banquet today? Did they target him again?" Yin Shu, always worried about Little Five, sent her a sound transmission.

Lucia Lu frowned and replied via sound transmission, "It was especially, brutally direct! I could barely stand it!"

"What! They did that right in front of you, an outsider?" Yin Shu was furious.

Lucia Lu nodded. "He showed up and didn't even have a place to sit. When they finally set up a table for him, it was way off to the side—practically on another planet. And they didn't give him any food or wine, just left him sitting there alone.

His Majesty the Celestial Emperor couldn't stand it, so he gave his own food and wine to Fifth Highness—and that just made his brothers gang up on him..."

Lucia Lu explained what happened and said, "You... better go comfort him. I can tell his mood is really bad."

Yin Shu glanced at her, hesitated, then nodded.

Luna Lian had no idea they were secretly sound-transmitting. She suddenly asked Qi Xiaowu, "Xiaowu, last time you met my sister, why did you ask her when she'd marry Fifth Highness?"

"What?" Ryan Lu yelped. "Marry him? Why?!"

Qi Xiaowu said, "Last time we were in the Heavenly Moon Empire, when the ruler failed his ascension and died, Sister Lucia cried her eyes out—like a heartbroken bride."

Lucia Lu stared at her, completely baffled.

So what was that about?