Third-person POV   During his one hour of nap, Xue Lang sometimes would


    suddenly scream and sweat a lot. And at the end of his sleep talking, he would


    apologize with such a pitiful tone. Hong er felt a pang on her heart and


    couldn''t leave him alone.   She sat beside the bed and would gently pat his chest to


    calm him down from his nightmare. She also whispered ''It is fine. Mother is


    here to protect you.'' And Xue Lang would fell back into his deep sleep again.   Xue Lang woke up and he didn''t know that he had been sleep


    talking during his sleep. Hong er didn''t ask him any question as she didn''t him


    to remember those frightening memories of him. She pulled him closer to her and


    put on a white tunic that she had embroidered for day and night.   Xue Lang looked at the tunic and didn''t see anything special


    about the tunic. It was indeed beautiful but compared to the embroidery that he


    had seen on the clothes he wore before, it was incomparable.   Hong er: "Mother made this for you. Mother''s embroidery


    skill is not that impressive but still can make some simple animals and


    patterns. What do you think? Do you like it ?"   Knowing that it was personally made by Hong er, his heart


    immediately filled with warmness and love. He nodded his head vigorously and


    clutched the tunic tighter around his body. Hong er smiled gleefully and


    reached out to take off the tunic which earned a reluctance expression from Xue


    Lang.   Hong er: "Mother needs to add a few more decorations. Don''t


    worry, this will be yours."   Xue Lang: "En."   Xue Lang stared at his tunic being taken away with eyes full


    of sadness. Hong er sighed with a smile and ruffled his hair.   Hong er: "Don''t be sad. How about we enjoy the scenery in


    Floating Lotus Pavilion?"   Xue Lang: "En!"   Xue Lang really liked to go to the Floating Lotus Pavilion and sat


    there dazedly together with his beloved mother. But since he got a magical


    weapon as a gift from his father, he needed to practice harder and more


    diligent to master the weapon so his father would praise him and be proud of


    him in front of his subjects.   Hong er sat on the side of the pavilion with her back leaned


    on one of the wooden pillars. Since the pavilion was spacious enough for 4


    people to do training, Xue Lang decided to practice his new weapon in front of


    his mother and ask for her opinion.   Hong er''s eyes stayed on the tunic that she was embroidering


    and hummed the melody that she always hum. Xue Lang swung his ice scythe along


    the happy melody and felt his heart was in peace. Hong er abruptly stopped


    humming and commented without looking up.   Hong er: "Your feet position are wrong, you bent it too


    much."   Xue Lang quickly fixed his position and continued when Hong


    er hummed the melody again. This went until Weisheng came to the pavilion to


    look for them and heard that she was humming to the usual melody. A warm smile


    appeared on his lips and disappeared as fast as it comes.   He approached them and intensely watched Xue Lang''s moves


    which made Xue Lang more nervous. Seeing that Xue Lang was quite tired from the


    previous activity, Weisheng stopped him and told him to sit in front of him.   (A/N: This is not that important but they were sitting on


    the wooden floor with their leg crossed. Typical Asian people. Lol.)   Weisheng: "What do you feel when you use it?"   Xue Lang: "It feels really light and it is very easy to


    control."   Weisheng: "En. Try to control it only with your magic."   Xue Lang: "Yes."   Xue Lang stood up and took a few steps back. He looked fixedly


    at his scythe and released his scythe so now it floats in the air and lightly


    swayed side to side. Xue Lang knitted his brow and th scythe made the same move


    as he previously did.   Weisheng could clearly see that Xue Lang didn''t have the


    agility and creativity in using his magic. He couldn''t show him an example as


    he didn''t have any other element besides dark element. Then he glanced at the


    tranquil woman beside him, he nudged her arm and gave her signals with his


    eyes. Hong er immediately understood what he meant and turned her attention to


    Xue Lang   Hong er: "Xue Lang, you have to be quick and precise in moving


    the Qi in your body. I will give you an example and Huayun will also give


    you an example of how to control your Qi as she had more experience in using ice


    element."   Hong er glanced at Huayun and nodded her head. Then with


    just a little movement of the needle in Hong er''s hand and Huayun''s finger, the


    vast lake behind them was frozen within a second. Xue Lang stared in awe and


    more impressed in how the two women managed to stay expressionless even after


    using such a large amount of Qi.   Xue Lang: "Wow! Imperial Mother, Huayun auntie, how can you


    freeze the lake so precisely without any frost on the wall beside the lake?"   Hong er and Meiyun quickly retracted their magic before the


    flower and fishes in the lake die and Hong er melted the ice with her


    temperature element.   Hong er: "We, Elite forces, have to have keen eyes. Just


    with a glance, one has to remember the anatomy of the place thus one can escape quickly and safely from the place."   Xue Lang: "Hoo~"   Hong er: " And everything in this world has its own Qi,


    however sometimes the Qi is too small that we can''t detect it. We spread the ice''s Qi by following the flow of the water''s Qi. Understand?"   Xue Lang: "En. This son understood."   Huayun silently stepped forward and spoke with her head


    bowed to them.   Huayun: "Your Majesty Empress, the sky had gotten quite dark. It


    will damage your eyes if you continue to embroider."   Weisheng: "En. Continue it tomorrow."   Hong er: "En."   Hong er passed the tunic to Huayun and stood up at the same


    time as the father and son. They went to their room to have their dinner. . . *The next day, in the afternoon   A maid walked up to Hong er and kneeled on one knee.   Maid: "Your Majesty Empress, Miss Ming Yu from Huang family


    came for a visit. What is"   Hong er didn''t reply for a moment and nodded her head.   Hong er: "En. Let her wait in the main hall."   Maid: "Yes, Your Majesty Empress."   Not long after, Ming Yu was guided to the main hall by the


    previous maid. Meiyun and Huayun helped Hong er to comb her hair and changed


    her casual clothes to more formal clothes Then Hong er entered the main hall


    gracefully with the Yun sisters following behind her.   Ming Yu quickly stood up from her seat and greeted Hong er.


    Hong er sat on her throne and told Ming Yu to rise.   Hong er: "On what occasion does Miss Huang have to visit Ben


    Gong?"   Ming Yu nervously pinched her finger and lowered her head.   Ming Yu: "This lowly one wants to thank Your Majesty Empress


    for helping me with the case one month ago. This lowly one couldn''t find a


    reason to meet Your Majesty Empress to give my gratitude. And since Da Qi is


    showered with great news of Your Majesty Empress''s pregnancy, this lowly one


    thought to give Your Majesty Empress a few gifts."   Ming Yu took the basket from the table beside her and handed


    it to Huayun. Huayun unveiled the basket and saw two pairs of baby shoes and two


    set of baby clothes. Hong er smiled when she saw how meaningful the gifts were.   The embroidery on each piece was extremely detailed and


    thoughtful. Since Ming Yu didn''t know what gender the baby would be, therefore


    she made both male and female baby clothes. The thread was not the expensive nor


    rare one, rather it could easily be found in any market and commonly used by


    commoner. However, the magnificent handwork overshadowed the cheap-looking thread.   Hong er: "Ben Gong can see your sincerity from this gift.


    But Ben Gong also can see you have motive behind this."