Aftermath (A series of ELOD one-shots)

XVIII. Sticky Situation

A/N: Because sufferings never end for the poor Lord of the Four Seas. =D

Disclaimer: Photo above not mine, posted merely for reference.

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From the moment he hastened out of Taichen Palace bearing the commands of Donghua Dijun, it took Liansong all of four months before he was able to finally complete his tasks and return to Jiuchongtian.

The first order of business on the day following his return was, of course, to report to Dijun. After a few hours' rest, the Third Prince of the Heavenly Kingdom hastened to Taichen Palace to seek audience with His Majesty.

The first thing he noticed was the lack of ward. He sighed in relief; if the ward is down, it means that Donghua's anger had been appeased, and all the intervention he had done in the South and West Sea kingdoms have not been in vain. Life could now resume its normal flow.

Or at least, what is normal now that Her Majesty Fengjiu Dihou is six months pregnant.

His first clue that things are not quite what they used to be was when Zhonglin led him to the imperial kitchen, instead of the garden or the study which were Dijun's usual haunts. Ever since Fengjiu took position as Mistress of Taichen Palace, Donghua had rarely ever stepped into the kitchen without supervision, by Her Majesty's express orders.

So Liansong was understandably surprised to find Dijun standing in the kitchen, carefully plating a batch of freshly baked pastries. Gungun stood on a stool, holding the plate for his father. A delicate trinket decorated the young prince's neck; from it hung a triple pendant fashioned out of a jiaoren's scale, a xiangliu's fang, and a horn from the head of a Southern Sea royal prince.

The very sight of it made Liansong shudder. With that trinket, Bai Gungun only need to appear anywhere in the Four Seas, and all the kingdoms there will bend over backwards to do anything and everything Dijun's son will say.

Father and son looked up as Liansong entered, identical looks of disinterest on their faces. Gungun, bless his good upbringing, went down from the stool to greet him properly. "Bai Gungun greets Your Third Highness." Then, no thanks to his father's influence, he climbed back up and proceeded to ignore Liansong completely.

Donghua did not even lift his head from his task. Liansong huffed, snapped open his fan and said, "I just came back from a very taxing trip to the Four Seas, and this is how you welcome me?"

Dijun set the now-filled plate to a tray and gestured to Zhonglin, who took it away. Then he moved to another steamer and proceeded to retrieve a different kind of pastry from within, placing the small morsels in a new plate held out by Gungun. Curious, Liansong went over for a closer look.

"You went there to fix an oversight you made as Lord of the Four Seas," Donghua quipped, carefully fixing the cakes on the plate with as much solemnity as if he was crafting a magical instrument. "At the very least, you should be thankful for the chance to salvage your honor, or what little was left of it."

Liansong wanted to cry hearing Donghua's mockery. The last time he came to Taichen, Dijun had been cold and distant, and he honestly thought that things will never be the same again between them. After all, wasn't it ultimately because of his negligence on the Four Seas' matters that Donghua Dijun's family was hurt? Yet now here the ancient deity was, back to bullying him as before.