Crown Prince A-li
Third Prince Duke Lian Song~
Most immortals, even those highly cultivated, would have died or been permanently disabled by half a dozen celestial lightning rods. However, A-li walked away from the punishment platform instead of being carried off. Though birthed from Bai Qian’s mortal body, what can one expect from Ye Hua’s first born?
He is his father’s son.
Nine Heavens isn’t as vast as one would believe. It has been no easy feat staying out of A-li’s attentive gaze, especially when he’s been seeking me out. I have been avoiding him, and he knows it. When I finally visit his chamber, he turns to me as he hears me and frowns, grouchy, but that devilish sly glint in his almond-shaped eyes hasn’t gone.
Lord Puhua has not broken his spirit. Not even the slightest. I understand after receiving his teaching. A-li glared at Lord Puhua with such blatant animosity. The old immortal fled and went deep into seclusion, far in an undisclosed location. This unbroken attitude implies his discipline may have only deepened A-li’s disregard for celestial laws and authority.
Walking into the residence once used by his father during his Crown Prince days, it’s the oddest sensation, because I have been right here before. I am transported back in time. This sight before me is reminiscent of the past when Ye Hua was punished for marrying Susu. His injuries are like Ye Hua’s had been. His upper body is wrapped in bandages, a reminder of the discipline he has endured. Despite the severity of his injuries, he sits upright in bed as his father had done, a testament to his remarkable resilience and lineage.
I think his pride was wounded the most.
Gazing downwards, I carefully observe the sharpness and definition of his changing facial features. This likeness is intensified because A-li is gradually shedding the softness of his baby features he inherited from his mother. He is starting to resemble his father more and more. His marriage will probably cause chaos, as princesses and immortals from every realm will besiege his palace, eager to win his heart.
“The Medicine King prescribed a whole week of bed rest for you, Crown Prince A-li,” I announce, attempting to sound paternal despite not having children, but cannot help but smile at the cute scene when I see the white fur ball curled up in his lap.
He has become close to his younger brother. It’s been wonderful to watch him connect with Yingpei finally, who is now transformed into an adorable white fox cub fast asleep. The cub rests contentedly as A-li strokes his head and scratches behind his ear.
I didn’t ask, but A-li explains. “Yingpei is experiencing frequent nightmares and night terrors without the girls in Nine Heavens. I turned him into a fox for the time being. Now he only dreams of running and chasing butterflies, our sisters, and our mother. And snacks. I didn’t know he loved loquats and tangerines.”
He looks at me instead of his fox sibling. His ever developing voice gains seriousness becoming earnest. He says, “Uncle Lian Song, I know I should be in bed, but I have to go to Kunlun. I feel something is wrong, and my sisters need me there.”
I am bewildered. How can this be? It’s a mystery how he’s gained access to the secret information that only the Elder council, the Kunlun disciples, and I have been privy to. But then, this is the child he’s always been. A-li, ever perceptive. A bit too insightful, if you ask me. He has sensed something is amiss before being told.
It’s in times like these that I see the true extent of Ye Hua and Bai Qian’s children’s dynamic and magical abilities. The children are beautiful, but they can also be frightening. Of these siblings, A-li is the one that scares me most, for he is the tempest none can control or contain.
I motion to the servants, excusing them to leave before speaking. I can’t be prudent enough under these circumstances. “The demon queen. It’s Xian Nu’s demon spirit. She’s suddenly manifested in Mo Yuan’s place of seclusion,” I reveal, then grimace so deeply I feel my brows knot from his nonchalant attitude as my terrifying news prompts the most unexpected response.
He smirks, giving me a roguish grin and dry chuckle as if pleased. His tone is vain and arrogant. “She’s not just appeared. She has been there for ages,” A-li reveals, leaving me intrigued. I probe further, questioning how he could know this.
A-li raises an eyebrow, abruptly resembling his mother, mischief sparkling in his eyes, before confessing without shame or remorse. If anything, he is cocky. “I visited the girls on their birthdays, holidays, or whenever I wanted a glimpse of mother. I used a concealment spell and made myself look like a disciple. With everyone wearing the same clothes, it was easy to slip in and out undetected as I casually strolled around and took leisurely tours of that dull place.”
A leisurely tour, he calls it. A-li saw snooping around where he was explicitly forbidden to go as a mere tour. It was just like him to twist the truth to fit his own narrative because he’s a manipulative child.
The revelation of A-li’s secret visits to Kunlun Mountain, a place he has been forbidden from setting foot in, adds another layer of complexity to the unfolding situation that’s becoming bleaker with every passing moment.
He continues with an announcement that sends shivers of dread down my spine. “I found her hiding in Uncle Mo Yuan’s cave,” he says. “She was nothing, just powerless shattered soul. So, out of curiosity and boredom, I fed her a single drop of blood.”
A-li describes how he pretended to be a low-level demon, who snuck into the cave to save Xuan Nu to gain knowledge of his mother’s time in the white goddess’s abandoned palace. He tells me she had been eager and elated to share everything with him. He refers to her as a blabbermouth. After getting that he wanted instead of re-shattering her powerless soul as he had originally found it, he left her with not only a drop of his blood but also a hint of his cultivation, to allow her to have a voice, intentionally.
The motivation behind his actions—He wanted them to torment each other endlessly, deeming their shared destiny as intertwined. “Uncle Mo Yuan and Xuan Nu were two sides of the same coin, so it was fitting.” He says. A-li hoped she would taunt Mo Yuan about perishing inside the Eastern Bell, a relic he created or call him, her father-in-law, Ghost Lord Qing Cang’s concubine while he badgered her about his mother still being alive thriving and how Xuan Nu was a failure. She had failed to finish what she had started. “They deserved each other. It was poetic justice.” He chuckles.
He tells me he acted out of curiosity and boredom. Therefore, A-li is volatile and dangerous.
“You did what?!” I need to sit down. The weight of his confession begins to sink in, and I feel my blood drain from my face. This child lacks his father’s reserve. He doesn’t have an iota of Ye Hua’s discipline. A-li’s childish prank has had disastrous consequences that reach far and wide. He lacks the maturity and experience to understand cause and effect. He hasn’t lived long enough to realize how his actions have created ripples, potentially altering everything.
By preserving the demon with his blood and life force, he had unknowingly contributed to the creation of an evil entity that now holds the lives of his twin sisters at its mercy. I fear what could happen to the world if A-li is affected by the demon soul. He could end up like the girls in a coma, or worse, be possessed by dark magic. I don’t even want to imagine what could happen if he got possessed…..I shudder at the what if?
The ‘what if’ could be the end of goodness or worse, undo all his paternal grandfather’s creations and bring about the end to everything?
This demon queen, fueled by her resentment and vile intentions, had not only taken Bai Qian and her miscarried child but also possessed Ye Hua’s blood since he had fathered the child. Now she carried a part of A-li too. She had been lingering, growing stronger, and healing her weak energy through Mo Yuan’s immortal development as he cultivated himself to sire a child with Bai Qian.
She has become a force of pure evil, so vast and terrifying that it defies my comprehension. Zhe Yan and the elders must be told about A-li’s involvement.
“You’ve helped to create a disaster!” In exasperation, I yell at A-li, grounding him to stay in his palace. I holler loud enough to startle Yingpei, who suddenly wakes up to growl at me for disturbing his sleep before falling back into his spell-induced slumber. The steady sound of uniformed marching fills the air when I immediately order celestial guards to surround A-li’s palace, but he smugly tells me they won’t be able to keep him there against his will.
His arrogance infuriates me, but I can’t dispute him. No guard or immortal can prevent him from leaving. No magic can hold him back. “Wait until your father comes back! You’re going to be grounded until you’re one hundred thousand years old.” Trying to calm myself, I snap open my fan and cool myself down.
This child has gotten the best of me, and I can’t fathom how an immortal his age can be so audacious and vain. But then I realize – here comes someone with the same bloodline.
A-li’s uncle, Bai Zhen, strolls in with his white hair ribbons trailing behind him. He speaks aloofly with a lackadaisical expression, warning A-li that he won’t take a single step outside of his palace or Bai Zhen will cut off one of his tail. He points out the consequences of him losing a fox tail and if it happens in A-li’s palace, including a potential strife with Qingqui if Bai Zhen lied and said A-li did it. Not to mention how his mother and grandmother would lament because of A-li.
“That’s blackmail. Fourth uncle is threatening A-li.” A-li gripes bitterly and his uncle replies, “Yes it is and indeed I am threatening you. What rebellious and unruly child you’ve been, Crown Prince nephew.”
High God Bai Zhen scolds his nephew. However, he also praises A-li for his cleverness. A-li used an advanced fox concealment spell to sneak into Kunlun. The Fox King of Northern Qingqui acknowledges A-li’s magic and congratulates his nephew by saying, “Your mother didn’t master that spell until she was 45,000 years old. Well done, A-li.”
When I throw my hands in the air, my fan flies from my grasp. I wonder if everyone has gone insane. Where is rationality when I need it? I can’t believe these incorrigible Qingqui foxes.
Empress Yueli~
He avoids making eye contact with me. Roughly shoving his spoon in his congee. Prince Haoyu noisily hits the sides of his bowl, stirring his breakfast around, playing with his food. He’s still angry at me for not allowing him to keep the jade tiger carving that Noble Consort Shao Wan gave him. That was a month ago, and he’s not forgiven me yet. How he can hold a grudge. Where does he get this stubborn streak from?
“First Prince Haoyu, if you’re finished. You may step away from the table.” I say, and he replies with a spiteful glare that makes me want to giggle. “First Prince must know there are children starving outside the palace as we speak. What you play with others ask of the gods.” I know it sounds like scolding to him but it’s the reality of life.
This is the reality of the dynasty he will one day inherit.
He huffs and puffs while cramming massive spoonfuls of congee into his mouth. His soft baby cheeks bulge out, still full of food as he announces, “I’ve finished and eaten every speck of rice. It’s time for empress mother to apologize and make peace with Haoyu, but in private!” He demands. The snickering servants, without being told, leave the dining chamber one by one until it’s Haoyu, little Min and me.
I swing my body around, positioning myself so he can easily crawl into my waiting embrace. I hold him, rocking him, swaying gently, cooing in his ear. He shoots Little Min an impatient look, signaling he is waiting. His demanding gaze has narrowed on my breasts. Little Min undoes the upper buttons of my dress and undergarment until my bare breasts are exposed. His plump hands are warm and sweaty as they reach out to find his source of solace.
Haoyu, like other imperial children, had nurse maids. At almost four years old, he no longer needs a wet nurse maid, but he still finds comfort in nuzzling. He requires daily skin to skin contact. Occasionally, in public, and when I am not wearing earrings, he fiddles with my earlobes, as he was told. He cannot touch my breasts in front of others, so his second choice is to play with the emperor’s plump ears. Haoyu sits on his uncle-father’s lap, rolling, touching, and flipping the flesh with his little fingers while his royal father reads appeals and memorandums.
I don’t know how Jingyuan can concentrate with his ear being flicked about, but he does.
Today first Prince Haoyu demands my breasts. Like he does with my earlobes, he lightly squeezes the fullest part of my breast and fidgets with my nipples while asking me questions. Haoyu is at that inquisitive age where every sentence starts with “Why?”
He asks, “Why won’t empress mother allow Haoyu keep some presents. Why not just a few? Why does Empress mother love eldest jiejie more than Haoyu? Why mummy why?”
When he’s older, he’ll come to understand. I am kind to Shao Wan’s daughter. I spoil her and the other princesses because they are young and easily persuaded. Their views and feelings are delicate, like a newborn’s fontanelle. I hope my kindness will influence them and prevent them from turning against each other in the future. Their mothers will use them as pawns for leverage and standing in the treacherous imperial harem chess game.
“Empress mother loves everyone the same.” I tell him, though not true. How could I love a child more than the one I carried for nine months? But the things with children this age. They are like parrots and will repeat anything they’ve been told or heard, so I keep my genuine opinions to myself and only say out loud what is safe if passed around in the harem.
“Does Haoyu favor one sister over the over? No. You love them all the same.” I try to reason with him when he corrects me, “I don’t like the eldest jiejie as much as my other sisters. She is a showoff. She wants to be Empress mother’s favorite, but please, mother. Promise me you’ll never let eldest jiejie touch your yam yams. These are Haoyu’s alone.”
I plant a kiss on the top of his head, inhaling the scent of him and whisper; “I promise, son.” then my throat chokes up and my vision becomes blurry.
It hurts.
I haven’t gotten over it still. It’s possible this is another reason I refrain from serving the emperor. I’m terrified of becoming pregnant out of fear that I might suffer another miscarriage.
It’s remarkable how harem women who have experienced repeated miscarriages can rebound and resume their service to the emperor, seemingly unaffected by their losses. They are of a different breed than me.
Because here isn’t a day that I don’t mourn the death of Haoyu’s twin. He had been so tiny. His little head covered in black wavey hair was no bigger than a crab apple. He was perfect, like Haoyu. His still born death was so unnecessary. He would be here today in my lap with his brother had I not been so damn stupid, careless.
Haoyu’s baby hand moves from my breasts to my face. He moves from his protective embrace, using a soft touch to dry the tears that haven’t fallen. “Empress, mother, don’t be sad anymore. Haoyu has forgiven you for calling me a clumsy boy in front of jiejie, and if you take me with you today outside of the palace to see the new school and pass out treats to the children, I’ll pretend it never happened. Haoyu is magnanimous like royal father, is he not?”
“Thank you, First Prince Haoyu. Empress mother would be honored if you joined me today.” I hand him a minuscule piece of a diced carrot from the congee. “This is for little gray. You must leave him in his cage so he won’t get lost, ok?” He smiles, nodding his head, then slips the bit of carrot into the pocket where he keeps his pet mouse then his attention span befitting his age wanes from my breasts and pet moving on as he notices something new in my palace.
“Oh Empress mother!” he gasps, delighted. He jumps off my lap and runs to the wooden sword. It has a roaring tiger head handle, carved by my father. He made it after hearing about the jade pendant Haoyu couldn’t keep.
“Is this for Haoyu? It’s magnificent!” He waves his new sword in the air, staring at the wood in awe as if it were a gleaming steel blade. “Look! Haoyu’s name is carved on it.” His short fingertips trace the outline of his name. “Grand General grandfather favors Haoyu most!” He declares.
A smile that lights up the entire palace spreads across his dimpled face as he admires the craftsmanship before carefully sliding it into his belt. Standing tall with his hands planted firmly on his hips and his legs set apart, he assumes his warrior stance, exuding confidence and determination.
Abruptly, his voice deepens, resonating with authority. He puffs out his chest. “One day, Haoyu is going to be the greatest in the world!” he announces with unwavering conviction. “I will rise to the ranks of a Grand General, Emperor, the Director of Safety Compliance, and become the strongest warrior in all the sects. And I will outdo eldest sister for I will possess the most splendid mustache, even finer than that of royal father.”
With a theatrical flourish, he pulls his new sword from his belt, as if unsheathing it from an invisible holder. A giddy giggle escapes his lips as he rushes outside, chasing the servants around the courtyard, their laughter echoing through the air. Meanwhile, Little Min attends to me, fastening the buttons of my dress, readying me to leave the palace.
Inquisitively, she asks, “Empress, didn’t the first prince express interest in taking over the position of the imperial astronomer last week? I heard he found the current one unfit because of his one wandering eye. With one eye towards heaven and one on the earth, I understood First Prince was profoundly concerned the reading would be inaccurate.”
I nod and confirm, “Yes, just two weeks ago he wanted to be the new minister of rites. Haoyu noticed Minister Yang wearing two different earrings during the assembly. He argued that someone who overlooks such details is unfit for the role. The week before that, the First Prince asked the emperor to let him take over the Imperial kitchens. He said the meals were saltier than usual because the Master cook’s wife left him, causing the cook to drink more. As a result, his taste buds were not reliable for seasoning the dishes correctly.”
I snicker, finally letting out what I had been holding back all morning, and Little Min joins me because Haoyu has a point.
While I may not have forgiven the fourth prince, he did give me a lovely child with a sweet temperament.