Empress Of The Lost Kingdom

Li Juan woke up earlier than her usual wake-up time. Since she already slept a lot on the previous day, she couldn't fall asleep. In addition to that, the immense amount of information dumped to her mind has kept her excited and awake.

After doing her morning chores, Li Juan decided to take a stroll in the garden. It was only seven in the morning and the weather appeared cool and refreshing.

Li Juan walked into the garden. It was a contemporary styled garden which constructed to recreate the traditional gardens which had larger natural landscapes. With buildings and pavilions, decorative rock gardens, plants, flowers and trees and ponds which reminds her of the imperial palace gardens. Right behind the garden, there was an open recreational park with walking trails.

"How huge is this place?" Li Juan wondered and walked along the stone path.

A few workers were watering the plants and cleaning the leaf litters along the path. Li Juan walked towards them.

"Good morning, princess," the workers greeted her.

"Good morning, can I water them?" She asked them with a smile.

"Princess, that is!!!" The gardener looked her co-worker in confusion. They have been working in the palace for quite a long time and none of the family members asked such a question.

"Please," Li Juan requested them. 

The gardener gave her the watering hose.

Li Juan took the watering hose and started to water the plants. 

She even had a conversation with the gardener about the flowering plants.

Bai Qi and his eldest son went for a morning stroll in the park and they found Li Juan watering the plants. 

"Good morning," Li Juan greeted them with a smile.

"Good morning, princess."

"It seems like you are an early bird," Bai Zhu commented. 

She is not an early bird, she just messed up her circadian clock. Li Juan didn't correct him.

"Would you like to have a cup of tea with us?" Bai Qi asked her.

"Yes," Li Juan gave back the watering hose to the gardener and went to with her grandfather. 

Three of them sat in the Pavillion in the garden and Bai Qi personally poured a cup of tea for Li Juan.

"We are thinking about conducting your coronation ceremony."

Coronation! Li Juan looked at them dumbfounded. Are they seriously thinking about coronating her as the Queen, that too with a ceremony?

"If you have any objections feel free to share." Bai Qi suggested.

Of course, she has objections.

Li Juan still haven't got out of the shock of realising that she belongs to the Yu clan, to the royal bloodline, to be specific. How can you ask her to become their queen within one night?

"Aren't you afraid that I might be an imposter, who is trying to steal your money?" Li Juan asked childishly. Usually, in movies and dramas, when a rich family finds out about their long lost heir- the first thing they are going to do is a DNA test. How come Bai family haven't done it yet? Li Juan thought in her mind.

"No." It was a clear-cut answer from Bai Qi.

"Yu clan already have a queen, is it necessary to coronate someone young and immature?" Li Juan asked again.

"She is a regent queen, one day or another you should become the queen." Bai Zhu explained.

" What if someone has objections in coronating me as the queen? After all, I am just an outsider." Li Juan asked the question which bugged her so far.

"You are not an outsider." Bai Zhu corrected her.

"But still?" She wasn't satisfied with the answer. What if someone doesn't want her to be the queen?

"Do you have any solid reasons to refuse the crown?" Bai Zhu asked directly. He was a little bit annoyed by Li Juan's questions.

"I have a medical condition. I don't think it is feasible to select someone who is unhealthy." Li Juan reluctantly said. Well, no one would agree to select an amnesiac person to be a queen. Back in ancient times, only healthy individuals are selected as rulers. The King or Queen must not have any defects- they should be perfect in every means.

"You think so?" Bai Qi examined Li Juan's worried face.

"Let's do a checkup then." Bai Qi suggested.

"Yes. That's better." 

There wasn't any visible happiness on Li Juan's face. Her face appeared gloomy.

"Do you find it, troublesome Princess?"

"It is so soon." Li Juan said in a low voice.

"Of course, it is. We can't wait any longer to see with that crown on your head." Bai Qi said in an excited tone.

Well, that's true. They did wait quite a long time for a girl born in their family. Li Juan couldn't help but agree with that. 

"But it won't be too soon, we will give you some time to get familiar with the clan and the rules." Bai Qi suggested. 

"Okay."

"Let's arrange the ceremony next week." Bai Qi instructed his son.

"Next week?" Li Juan looked baffled.

"First, let's get a check-up on your health."

Li Juan nodded in agreement.

"We will do it today itself." Bai Zhu said notified her. "We have a medical team in the palace and they'll take care of it. You don't have to worry about it."

"Okay, eldest uncle."

After spending a few more minutes in the garden Li Juan went back to the palace.

At 9 am, every single member in the palace sat in front of the large dining table.

Li Juan looked at them with amusement. How many people are in this family? She did a rough calculation in her mind.

The people who live in the Yu palace are the people who carry the royal blood, the Bai family. Whereas the rest of the Yu clan members stayed in the vicinities of the palace.

Bai Qi and his three sons and their families lived in the palace. 

Due to their work and education purposes, some of them, especially the children stays in other cities. 

Li Juan quietly looked around to observe and found that the male population in the Bai family is quite high, that the dining table looked like all-boys' school cafeteria. 

The eldest Uncle Bai Zhu had a son named Bai Yu. He just finished his studies and started working as an intern in Bai corporation's Jing city branch.

The second uncle Bai Mo had twin sons, Bai Mu Chuan and Bai Mu Xuan. Li Juan looked at them in curiosity. Though they were identical twins, their aura and vibe were totally different. The eldest of the twins, Bai Mu Chuan had a serious intimidating vibe. Whereas Bai Mu Xuan had an easy-going next door guy. They are sophomores in one of the top universities in S city. 

The third Uncle Bai Chen also had two sons, the eldest son, Bai Long was a freshman in the same university with twins and younger son, Bai Ling whom she met yesterday is a high schooler. Currently, only Bai Ling stays at home and other cousins are living far away.

Including Bai Qi, the number of men in the family was nine. If her father was alive, the number of males in the family might have become even more. 

Li Juan always wanted a sibling. Whenever her juniors used to call her sister or tried to act like siblings her mind was filled with unknown happiness. That was the main reason why she became closer to Qiao Chu and Lee Tae Min. From the beginning itself, they treated her as a sister.

She was jealous of people who have relatives. "Having a family" that was the only thing which made her Li Juan jealous of other people. But she never expected that she will have a family who treats her like a princess. 

What is like to have five younger brothers? Are they all going to be like Lee Tae Min- caring and protective? Do they also ask her to pat their hair and pinch the cheeks to show their love like Qiao Chu?

Even a single thought of having brothers left Li Juan in smiles.

"Third brother, why she is smiling?" Bai Long asked one of the twins. "Is she crazy?"

"Shut up and eat this," Bai Mu Chuan shut his brother by feeding him with a meat bun.

Li Juan heard their conversation, pursed her lips and tried to hide her smiles. 

"They are cute."

Since Li Juan was the only girl child in the family, everyone's eyes were upon her.

Getting this much attention was completely new for Li Juan. Even though she appeared calm outside, there was uneasiness in her mind.

"Did you like the food, Princess?" Her second aunt asked Li Juan.

"Yes." Li Juan replied with a smile.

"It looks like princess doesn't like to talk to others," Bai Yu eldest uncle's son commented." Her answers are rather short."

Li Juan sheepishly smiled once again since she doesn't know how to respond to that question. 

"How old are you?" Bai Yu suddenly initiated a conversation with Li Juan.

I will be turning 26, in a couple of months. 

"Oh, I thought you might be younger than me." Bai Yu replied with a smug face.

Li Juan looked at him with a startled look.

"With this kind of clothes you look like a child trying out adult's cloth." Bai Yu casually said.

Li Juan was confused by his comment-Did he says that she looks young or did he mean that she looks ugly in these clothes? Li Juan looked at the simple olive green dress she was wearing.

"Are you working somewhere or looking for a job?" Bai Yu asked again.

"I am a research scholar at Jing University." 

"Yeah, you definitely look like a nerd. What is your major?"

"Archeology. I am doing my PhD in finding a-" Even before Li Juan could elaborate Bai Yu interrupted her again.

"Archaeology, is that even a course?" He asked in mocking tone. 

Wait a minute,

Why do his words sound like he is looking down on her? Li Juan looked at the boy with curious eyes.

Though he doesn't look a spoilt brat, he sure sounds like one. Bai Yu's arrogant and headstrong behaviour reminded Li Juan of the bullies she met during her high school years.

"Only people who get low grades go for such courses," Bai Yu added.

Okay, her little cousin is asking for a beating. Li Juan thought.

"The ring looks really pretty. Where did you buy it, princess?" Sensing the awkward situation, the second aunt immediately tried to change the topic.

"Huh, It was a gift." Li Juan replied.

"Is that jade?" The third aunt looked at the ring on Li Juan's hand. It wasn't just a simple ring, in the centre of it, a solitaire diamond sparkled like a star.

"And there are diamonds too!!!! Is that an engagement ring, princess?" Wu Xuan Yi asked in a surprised tone. "Are you engaged?"

Everyone's attention has shifted towards the ring and Li Juan's uneasiness made them believe that she has a boyfriend.

Other than a boyfriend who will buy a custom-made Jade ring decorated with a princess cut solitaire diamond which costs a hefty price.

Bai Qi looked at Zhang Zi Zhong and Lin Li-Hui in silent question.

Zhang Zi Zhong nodded his head in agreement.

Li Juan's boyfriend is the CEO of Tang Corporations and who never cared about the price tag but made sure to buy his girlfriend's favourite gemstone.

Li Juan was speechless. She was cursing the moment when she decided to not to throw away the ring. The moment she left the team, she gave the ring to Han Guang to return it to Tang Wei Sheng. But when she woke up in Zhang Zi Zhong's house the next day, the ring was back on her finger.

It must have been done by Tang Wei Sheng.

She tried to remove it numerous times, but it was stuck on her index finger.

After a few tries, Li Juan realized that Tang Wei Sheng purposefully put the ring on her index finger, so that she won't be able to remove it.

"No. It was a gift from one of my friends." Li Juan lied to their face. Zhang Zi Zhong glanced at Li Juan. She tried to avoid his eyes. 

"Friend or boyfriend? " the Third aunt asked her again.

"Just a friend, he knew that I like jade, so bought me one." Li Juan tried to give a vague but a longer explanation so that there won't be any further questions.

"Is that's so?" Bai Yu said with a fake excited tone. "Then I hope the princess might not be aware of the possible symbolisation behind the ring?" You know it is rare to see Jade with diamonds. Bai Yu asked her with a snigger.

Jade represents heart connection and longevity, which made it a prominent gem among the couples.

Li Juan knew about it, so she simply kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to say another word about the ring.

Bai Yu noticed her pale face.

"Its okay Princess, if you don't want to talk about your boyfriend." Bai Yu tried to pacify her. "Anyway, you must warn your boyfriend that it is not going to be easy to overpower Big brother and Young master Guan when they fight for their-"

"Bai Yu," Bai Zhu called his son's name in a warning.

"Oh, it seems like a have blabbered about something which I am not supposed to say. Oops, sorry." Bai Yu apologized in a casual way.

Li Juan looked at him with confusion. The situation was turning awkward.

"Didn't you tell her, grandpa? Bai Yu shifted his eyes at Bai Qi.

"She needs to know. Anyway, you are treating her like Li Jun Jie, so it won't be a problem for you to-"

"Enough," Bai Zhu raised his voice in order to stop his son.

"Princess, I apologize for his rude behaviour." Bai Zhu looked at Li Juan and bowed his head.

"Bai Yu, never repeat this again. She is your sister and the princess of the Yu clan." Bai Su Ya declared.

"Are you sure about it? What if she is an imposter who wants to steal our money?"

Li Juan felt like laughing. It was the same question she asked Bai Qi, a few minutes ago

" Bai Yu, it is true that the princess looks like," Bai Su Ya tried to explain.

"She doesn't look like Li Jun Jie." Bai Zhu yelled in objection. "Please stop comparing these two. Li Jun Jie was like real gold, but look at her," Bai Yu pointed at Li Juan.

"The way she talks, the way she dresses up- even her name, everything is the same as Li Jun Jie. You can treat her like a princess, but for me, she will always remain a low imitation." Bai Yu said with a scornful face.

"Uncle Zhang, I thought you loved your daughter. But I think it was a mistake. If you really loved your daughter, you wouldn't have brought this fake woman in this household." Bai Yu turned to look at Wu Xuan Yi. "Didn't you used to say that you won't allow anyone to wear the dresses that you've designed for Li Jun Jie?" Bai Yu sniggered.

"All of you are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites,"

Bai Yu said shouted and walked out of the dining room. The moment Bai Yu left the room, the boys who remained in the dining room, followed their elder brother except for Bai Mu Chuan.

"Aren't you following your brothers, Bai Mu Chuan?" Bai Qi who silently watched everything asked his grandson.

" No, I am hungry," Bai Mu Chuan replied casually and continued to eat.

Everyone's eyes shifted to Li Juan who remained unbothered and stuffing her mouth with meat buns.

It Looks like she is not welcomed by all, so it is better to leave this place immediately. Li Juan decided in her mind.