Chapter 44
The music was melodious, and the singing and dancing were in full swing. The music in the hall continued to linger, and the dancers changed to a different dance and began to dance in the hall.
The two were locked in a stalemate, and Li Jia could no longer keep up the act.
She lifted her veil, nestled in the woman's arms, and asked, "Your Majesty, how did you recognize me?"
It's strange. She concealed her face and didn't make a sound. How did Hera find her?
The woman pinched the soft flesh under her elbow and sighed, "You've concealed your face, but not your figure. Other dancers have slender shoulders and waists, but you, whom I've kept..."
Hera smiled and said, "Quite charming."
Li Jia: "..."
This isn't a roundabout way of saying she's fat.
She really wanted to spray a mouthful of salt water in her face, but the enemy was strong and she was weak, so she could only bare her teeth and made up her mind to lose weight when she got back this time!
She had to resist Winslow's baked cakes and cookies.
Hera looked at her pouting face, her smile deepening, and she lowered her head to place a light kiss on her forehead.
He whispered in her ear, "What are you thinking about?"
"I want to lose weight."
Li Jia answered without hesitation.
"What should I reduce?"
The woman's hand gently slid along her waistline, and when her fingertips touched her soft belly, she deliberately pinched it: "This is just right, it's warm to hold."
She paused, her gaze meeting Li Jia's eyes, her tone earnest: "Even if you change your appearance, your voice, or even become so thin that you're unrecognizable, I'll still recognize you."
Li Jia looked up at her and met her gaze with those fiery red eyes.
Even if one day you turn to ashes.
Hera gently stroked her chin with her thumb, her voice so soft it almost blended into the music in the hall.
“I can also pick out your speck of dust from a pile of ashes.”
The musicians in the hall lightly plucked the strings, and the melodious music intertwined with the brass instruments, while the dancers' skirts continued to flutter.
Li Jia felt that the music and dance in the hall had become a blurry background, leaving only the warmth of that person's body and the words that fell into her ear, burning her ears red.
After a long pause, Li Jia, considering the principle of leniency for honesty and severity for resistance, hesitated before asking, "Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"
Hera remained calm, using her fingertips to twirl strands of Li Jia's hair around her knuckles: "I don't plan on."
Hera's answer was unexpected by Li Jia. The banquet was coming to an end, and Li Jia began to panic.
If Zeus cannot be made to take the stun pill, Demeter will surely marry him upon their return, ruining the entire plan and wasting the points that the system painstakingly extracted.
Never mind!
Try anything, no matter how desperate!
"elder sister."
Li Jia struggled to find the right words, tugged at her sleeve, and said awkwardly.
"Do me a favor."
"Only you can help me."
only.
Two characters
That's enough.
Hera rested her chin on the top of her head and said calmly, "Speak."
She meant she had agreed, and Li Jia breathed a sigh of relief, then whispered something in her ear.
After hearing this, Hera's previously agitated heart instantly calmed down. It turned out that she didn't mean it that way. However, Hera's hand, which had been resting on her waist, suddenly tightened.
Li Jia could clearly feel the temperature of the other person's palm, and the sudden chill in their aura. It wasn't anger, but more like a stifling feeling of being kept in the dark.
Before she could explain, Hera had already grabbed her small hand and said coldly, "Give me the thing, I'll do it."
There is no other way now that things have come to this.
Li Jia subconsciously handed over the tiny, rice-grain-sized stun pill, which Hera immediately dropped into her wine glass. Li Jia was taken aback and exclaimed softly, "No! This will definitely be discovered!"
Li Jia gripped Hera's wrist, her eyes filled with anxiety. She didn't want to cause Hera any trouble. By handing over the wine, the feud between Hera and Zeus was now firmly established.
Hera raised an eyebrow: "Then tell me, what should we do?"
The dizziness pill has already dissolved into the wine glass. This glass of wine must be handed out. You can't choose what you eat, but you can choose who you are.
Li Jia leaned close to Hera's ear and said, "Then I'll go deliver it. If anything happens, it won't be traced back to you."
"Li Jia, what do you take me for?"
Hera's voice turned somber. She raised her hand and picked up the glass of wine, the drug already dissolved in it. The deep purple liquid shimmered with a fluid light in the glass: "A person who begs me when they need me, and pushes me away when there's risk?"
"Am I so worthless in your eyes that you can share the good times but not the bad?"
"No, I'm not..."
Li Jia was speechless for a moment when asked the question; she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything.
The music and dance inside the hall stopped abruptly, and the master of ceremonies delivered a congratulatory speech, indicating that the banquet was coming to an end.
Li Jia was like an ant on a hot pan. Just as she was about to say something more, Hera grabbed the back of her neck and gently pressed her down into a chair.
"Watch."
Hera's voice fell into her ears, mingling with the music in the palace, creating a somewhat dreamlike and unreal effect.
She rose, wine glass in hand, her velvet skirt sweeping across the floor, leaving an elegant arc.
The firelight fell on her pale skin, making the composure in her eyes even clearer.
She walked unhurriedly toward Zeus, as if she were holding not a potion that could stir up trouble, but just an ordinary cup of fine wine.
Zeus sensed someone approaching him. He looked up and met the red eyes that had haunted his dreams. His heart skipped a beat.
What does she want to do?
Zeus began to tense up, and immediately straightened his previously crooked posture, waiting for her arrival.
Unexpectedly, Hera walked past him and approached Poseidon, who was standing next to him.
Poseidon, still quite tipsy, looked up abruptly and was startled to find Hera standing right in front of his table.
"I haven't yet offered my congratulations at the Sea God's birthday banquet. There was some distance between us before, so I'll take this opportunity to toast you," Hera said with a smile, raising her wine glass.
Poseidon was somewhat surprised. Hera had never taken the initiative to contact anyone. Thinking about what had happened before, he felt that Hera was in the wrong.
He was, after all, the god of the sea. As fellow deities, she harmed herself, and she too accepted divine punishment; neither of them fared well.
After figuring it out, emboldened by the alcohol, he immediately put on airs, wearing a sour face, and said, "Who wants to drink your crazy woman's wine? Who was it? Who gave you the invitation?"
Amphitrite stepped in to smooth things over, apologizing, "It was my idea. The goddess of marriage is among the twelve gods, and I took it upon myself to invite her."
Poseidon's face darkened, and he wanted to lash out at Amphitrite.
Seeing this, Zeus, wanting to show off in front of Hera, got up, took her wine cup, and drank it all in one gulp. The wine, which was mixed with a sedative, was now empty.
Zeus smacked his lips, assuming it was due to the high alcohol content, and smiled as he wiped his lips, looking at the blonde woman with a fawning expression: "Amphitrite meant well, I'll drink this apology wine for him."
Li Jia stared in disbelief from her seat. Did they really drink it like that?
Hera ignored Zeus and said to Amphitrite, "The ocean can have only one queen goddess."
After saying this, he turned around and returned to his original position, leaving behind an enraged Poseidon, a bewildered Zeus, and a thoughtful Amphitrite.
Seeing that Hera got Zeus to drink it so easily, Li Jia began to feel guilty. After much deliberation, she tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, don't you intend to ask me anything?"
For example, why would I do this?
"Or what did you feed him?"
Hera glanced at her, her face expressionless, and said, "I won't ask. I'm not interested."
"If I tell you this on my own initiative, will you blame me?"
"Won't."
Li Jia felt guilty and was tormented. If things were exposed, she would scold or beat herself to vent her anger.
It's precisely this indifferent attitude that's to it.
Li Jia sat obediently on her lap, fidgeting for a long time before finally managing to give a rough account of the situation, omitting the beginning and end.
Of course, it's a simplified version. It says that she and Lina saw it by chance in the Valley of Cthulhu, realized that Zeus had deceived Demeter, and then asked Eria for a pill to expose Zeus's true colors.
“Sister, as the goddess of marriage, are you just going to stand by and watch Demeter be deceived by a bad man?” Li Jia said emphatically.
Hera was both amused and exasperated, thinking, "You risked your life, and I'm supposed to thank you?"
Li Jia said smugly, "That's not necessary. I'm also a member of the Temple of Marriage. It's only right."
"Since the show has already started, let's watch it until it's over before going back."
After saying that, he led Li Jia out of the hall.
With the mission accomplished, everything else fell into place. Li Jia especially missed her little blanket in the deep palace and the soft, sweet potatoes that Winslow baked.
Li Jia took out her phone and contacted Lina, only to learn that Artemis had taken her home. No wonder she hadn't seen her at the banquet.
After a while, Demeter suddenly felt discomfort in her lower abdomen. Today was the sea god's birthday, and it would be inappropriate for her to leave abruptly. She waited and waited, but her husband did not appear, so she could only endure it.
It was Amphitrite who noticed her unusual condition and helped her to rest in the warm pavilion of the Sea God's Palace.
"Thank you for your help."
Demeter lay on her couch and apologized to Amphitrite.
"It's okay, we're all women, I can understand how you're feeling."
“Mom-to-be, your health is the most important thing right now, isn’t it?” Amphitrite said with a smile.
Seeing that Amphitrite had not left, Demeter had her sit on the edge of the bed and chatted with her for a while.
"I've already sent people to look for your husband, and he should be here soon."
Seeing Demeter gently stroking her belly, radiating maternal warmth, Amphitrite looked at her and said, "The thought of a child as beautiful as you calling you 'Mom' soon melts my heart."
"God of Agriculture, do you prefer boys or girls?"
"Fitrite asked."
Female deities possess the ability to give birth to other deities, including the ability to choose the sex of the deity; this is a right bestowed upon them by the creator god.
Even for ordinary women, this begins from the moment they start menstruating.
They became the gods who created life.
As for whether or not to create something, that's up to them.
Men are the natural second sex because they cannot pass on their own bloodline and therefore need to rely on women's wombs.
“During the time I was pregnant with her, I kept having the same dream: a red-eyed silver snake covered in blood was carrying a beautiful baby girl on its back, wandering around the Poirot wheat field, as if it was waiting for someone.”
"Later in my dream, I took the baby girl away, and that cold snake never appeared in my dream again."
“I think this must be the guidance of the sacred mountain.”
Demeter laughed and said, "And I really like girls."
This statement already foreshadows the imminent birth of a powerful yet gentle female deity in the fields of Polo.
"Children are both armor and vulnerability."
Fetrie sighed, and the two mothers exchanged a glance, then suddenly smiled at each other.
“If Poseidon doesn’t cherish you and you’re truly suffering, why don’t you ask the Temple of Marriage for a divorce?”
"Hera has always been fair and impartial. She treats all beings equally, whether they are gods or humans. She will help you."
At the banquet, Poseidon embraced two beautiful sea nymphs, with Fate sitting to his right, maintaining the divine authority and dignity of the sea queen, neither happy nor sad, utterly calm.
Everyone says that Fethithecus is tolerant and generous, and a competent queen goddess.
"I used to think he loved me, but in the end I found out he loved himself more."
Fitterti's voice was calm: "He's not important."
As for why the marriage contract wasn't dissolved...
“Demeter, I am no longer an innocent girl, but someone’s wife, a goddess who rules over the entire sea. I must be a lioness who can protect her cubs.”
"Husband's character is unimportant. What matters is that I am the only goddess in the history of marriage, and the children I give birth to will be the future masters of the ocean from the day they are born. You want me to give up all of this for so-called love? That's just foolish."
“Demeter, you will find out later that love is the most elusive thing, and that love requires conditions.” Amphitrite said with a wry smile, “Do you think I’m a vain woman?”
Demeter held Amphitrite's hand, her eyes filled with heartache, and finally said, "I understand whatever you do, and I respect whatever you do."
...
Zeus embraced the sea nymph beside him and kissed her lips. Poseidon, seeing that Amphitrite had not returned for a long time, whispered a reminder to Zeus not to give himself away.
Women should be coaxed; showing concern and care costs very little, so just remember it and don't forget.
Zeus, still reluctant to leave those two round, solid objects, took two deep breaths of their fragrance and then got up to depart with a heavy heart.
The ecstasy pill has a mild aphrodisiac effect, but as long as the user's subjective will is not strong, they can control and resist it.
Zeus, disguised as a man, followed the guards Amphitrite had arranged to search for him into the warm chamber.
Upon seeing the man arrive, Amphitrite tactfully withdrew.
The two stayed together in the warm chamber. Zeus stroked Demeter's cheek, lowered his head and kissed her red lips, finding that place where they were entangled.
Demeter's eyes widened. She didn't mean it that way. She tried to push the man away from her kiss, but he gripped her neck tightly, making her unable to move.
Demeter sobbed incoherently, clenching her fists and pounding hard on the man's chest, trying to make him stop.
Enraged by Demeter's resistance, the man reached down to explore further, but Demeter stopped him: "I don't want to."
He added, "It will hurt the child."
Hearing her say she didn't want to, the man laughed instead, saying with a grin, "It's okay, we can do it, we'll just be careful."
"We haven't done this in so long, are you really going to let me put up with it? Aren't you afraid I'll go find another woman?"
The man teased, "Help me, my dear wife. You have to fulfill your duties as a wife, don't you?"
Demeter's face turned pale instantly, and her voice was as cold as ice: "I said I don't want to, it will hurt the child."
"That's not up to you."
Fueled by alcohol, the man prepared to force himself on Demeter, but she was pregnant and in great discomfort, unable to exert any strength.
"Hello?"
"Didn't you hear? She said she didn't want to."
The little dancer, hands on her hips, burst in with a gust of wind.
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