Ye Hua reread the scrolls from his father and grand father; one urged him to bring Bai Qian back to the nine heavens and marry her, the other urged him to pick up more of the duties he'd dropped.
He sighed and decided he needed a break. He looked around the cave but found no signs of mother or son. He cloud jumped the nine heavens.
"Greetings third uncle"
"Ye Hua, I haven't seen you in months. I heard you've been at Qing Qiu and I was surprised. What's going on?" Lian Song asked
He poured himself a cup of tea and stood beside his uncle
"I found Su Su"
"That's amazing ... wait, that's impossible. Are you sure? What will you do now that you're living with Bai Qian"
Ye Hua shook his head. He really had a communication problem. Good thing it never came up in military discussions.
"Qian Qian is Su Su, she was mortal for her ascension trial"
It took three seconds for it to register and the smile on his uncle's face was exactly why he was the only member of the royal family he truly trusted
"This is great news. You can get married now without opposition"
"She doesn't want to, she doesn't want to be a part of this family"
"I can't blame her for that. We didn't give her a good experience the first time but does she want to be with you?"
Ye Hua thought about it for a while. He feared she didn't so he didn't want to know. He wanted to fix it "I honestly do not know the answer to that question."
"Ye Hua, your uncle has an advice for you."
"Please say it"
"Do not bring Bai Qian back to nine heavens before you've found your way back into her heart. The last time a fox stood against the nine heavens, we lost the fox and the dragon it wanted and Si Yin wasn't even a high god or a mistreated woman. You need to make winning her back high priority before my father decides to force the matter of your marriage or you may get caught in the crossfire and you'd lose her forever"
Ye Hua sighed, he's come to the same conclusion himself. He'd come here for confirmation
They were interrupted by a immortal announcing Su Jin
"Crown prince, third prince" she greeted.
Lian Song nodded in acknowledgement while Ye Hua sipped his tea and ignored her, keeping his expression neutral
"Su Jin heard crown prince was back in nine heavens and came to invite him to dinner" she said
Lian Song smiled behind his fan, Su Jin had a network of gossippers across the nine heavens but she still failed to notice that the heart she sought would never be hers. She was allowed to continue as she was only because his father doted on her.
"Su Jin, if you send another emissary to Bai Qian or Qing Qiu I will consider it an act of defiance to the office of the crown prince. Third uncle, I will take my leave now, thank you for the advice"
Ye Hua walked out of the hall and cloud jumped to Qing Qiu. He knew something was off before he entered the cave, he could hear A-Li's cries from outside the cave. His son cried when his mother was unsettled or in danger, he had a sudden flashback of her jumping off Zhuxian terrace and felt his heart stop. He dashed inside in a panic
"Are you OK? What's wrong?" He asked quickly scanning the room
"Where have you been?" Bai Qian asked
It took him a moment to realize that she was worried about him
"Nine heavens"
"No note, no words, not even a message with Mi Gu. Was it an emergency?"
He had a brief sense of déjà vu. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't push him away or struggle. He felt her body begin to relax.
"I am sorry. I thought I'd be back before you and A-Li got back from your walk."
Bai Qian sighed and pulled away from him. She had no idea why she was worried. She'd suspected he'd be in the nine heavens which should have calmed her but she had no idea what was going to change when he got back and nine heavens always changed things between them, mostly for the worse. She told herself it was not worry she felt but fear. It had to be, she refused to dig further into her feelings.
He picked A-Li up from his crib. The infant had stopped wailing but was still miles from being calm.
"Qian Qian, lets go to the mortal realm"
"No"
"It'll be calmer"
"Fox den is calm"
"Please? I need a break and I will only be contacted there if its an emergency. Plus given the way time works there, I can spend more time cultivating my essence and you get more time with A-Li"
She didn't want to go. More time with A-Li was a great incentive but the mortal realm was where she fell in love with him. It'll be harder to remember why she needed to keep him at a distance without constant reminders of the nine heaven
It was snowing when they got to the mortal realm so she blamed her shivers on the cold rather than the unease of being back to the hut for the first time since she was forcibly taken to the nine heavens
"I am a high goddess, one of the few of this generation," she muttered to herself
She held the baby while Ye Hua set up a crib at the head of the bed. Memories of the last time they'd shared the bed flooded her mind and she felt her cheeks burn. She reminded herself that was almost 80 immortal years ago - countless millennia in mortal time.
Ye Hua climbed into the bed and tried to coax her in. She refused to get into the bed with him so she nodded off beside her tea while seated on the table. He waited until he was certain she was asleep and picked her up hoping she slept as deeply as an immortal as she did when she was mortal.
She didn't stir as he settled her on the bed and covered her with the quilt. He traced his knuckles across her face before settling in on his side of the bed. He fell asleep to the rhythm of her breathing and woke up to her thrashing - she was having a nightmare. He started to reach out to her when her words stopped him
You believe me, don't you? ... Ye Hua? ... I didn't push her... No, don't come near me... Please, don't ... Ye Hua don't ....
The words cut deep, he knew the scene she was reliving in her dream and he wanted to wake her up, to take away that memory forever. He felt tears stream down his cheeks of their own accord and watched her thrash around a little longer before casting a spell to give her a dreamless sleep. He couldn't go back to sleep so he went out into the woods, hunting would make him feel better and he'd have something for breakfast that wasn't fruit. He remembered to drop a note this time, leaving it on the baby's blanket before stepping out of the house.
Bai Qian woke up to the aroma of food. She was in bed without any memories of getting there but the aroma was coming from the table so it made sense that Ye Hua would have moved her. She watched him from the bed, baby in one arm, chopsticks in the other having a conversation with the baby who replied with word combinations that barely made sense but managed to get his points across. He looked and sounded like he did when they first met. Suddenly angry with no clear justification, she turned around to face the wall and go back to sleep
He saw her turn around and felt a slight stab in his heart. Previously, she'd join him at the table as soon as she saw he was sitting. He knew she'd never been a morning person like him but she'd tried to accommodate. He brought her here to win her back but his original approach of doing everything he'd done in the past would not work. He needed a new approach.
YOU ARE READING
Through it all (a ten miles of peach blossoms fan fiction)
Fanfiction[Complete] Bai Qian has returned from her mortal trials with her memory and her newly elevated powers. She wants her son, she wants her eyes and she wants justice. This time, she has everything she needs to make it happen I recently watched the Chin...
