It turned out to be that way...

Before this, Fu Chen had never noticed it. 

Fu Chen's body shook violently. Tears broke free from his eyes, wetting his young and tender face.

"Qing Han, the one whom we loved previously and the one whom we love now are the same person." 

Feng Ruqing was the Ninth Emperor!

Fu Chen had just found out. He should have realized it earlier, but he did not put much thought into this. 

"Brother Fu Chen, I don't get you… the person I loved back then was the Ninth Emperor. The person I love now is Mother. They are not the same person." Qing Han was confused.

'Is Brother Fu Chen so overjoyed that he had lost his mind? There are two persons whom I love. Why is he saying that there is just one?' 

"Hmph! Brother Fu Chen, you have lost your mind. I don't want to talk to you. Mother said that talking to a fool will make me as foolish as he is." Qing Han snorted and turned her head away. When she saw the black dragon, her eyes lit up. 

'Who is the fool now?' Hearing this, Fu Chen was burning with rage.

Buried in the black dragon's embrace, Feng Ruqing could hardly breathe. 

"Fu Chen, take this b.a.s.t.a.r.d away from me!" Feng Ruqing's face darkened.

"No, I won't let you go this time. Once I take my hand off of you, you will leave me alone in this place! You are such a ruthless lady! You promised to stay by my side forever when you took me home but you actually ran away with a man. You had even lost your life after that. You can never leave me after this!"

In her previous life, the black dragon had let go of her. Hence, it stayed and guarded that place for her. It had never broken its promise. As long as it was still alive, it would take good care of her home. However, she did not keep her promise. She had left and never returned since.

She had promised that…

It will never trust her again. If it let her go, she would leave it once again. It would wait for her, all alone. It was a great struggle as it could not live without her. 

"Little Ninth, I know that you don't like the way I look now. As long as you stay by my side, I will change into whatever you like. I can even change into a dog," the black dragon said desperately. It begged her so pitifully. 

"What should I do so you know that you've got the wrong person?" Feng Ruqing said, after being silent for a while. 

"No, you are Little Ninth!" The black dragon raised its voice and then lowered its voice as if afraid that it might frighten her off. 

"Previously, when I've nearly made a breakthrough, I needed to fall into a deep sleep due to a special reason. However, I had a long dream when I was asleep…"

"The time setting in the dream was different from reality. I have been staying there for more than ten years. In my dream, I could choose what I want to transform into again. As you like dogs, I transformed into a dog."

The black dragon was no dragon. It was created from spiritual qi. It could choose its physical appearance. Before it could transform, it saw a dragon by accident. Hence, it had chosen to transform into a dragon during its first transformation. However, it had not met the Ninth Emperor back then…

"You looked extremely weak and pitiful in my dream. You are absolutely different from the person you used to be—the one who could move heaven and earth. However, your naming skill is still as awful as always—Big Black, Big Gray Doggie."小九九 If translated from the pinyin it's Xiao Jiujiu or Little Nine-Nine in English