Crocodile Tears

Ch. 6: Becoming the Replacement

How foolish I was to think I was needed by the nation when I was only a cheap replacement for the favored daughter. I stood up, tired of listening to her endless exclamations.

"I'm also glad that I'm the one arranged for the alliance. If you went, I doubt the Northern prince would spoil you as our emperor does." I allowed my before-natural smile to slip to match hers, bright but with no temperature nor actual emotion. "Perhaps that is why he thought you unsuitable for such an important marriage. My humble apologies for my lack of manners. By 'he,' I meant Father Emperor." I made sure to emphasize the last two words before exiting the pagoda.

I never saw the expression on her pretty face after I left; for, I never turned back. However, I did hear the crisp sound of porcelain shattering.

As soon as I was a reasonable distance away, I realized my idiocy. This garden seemed never to end, and I was quite certainly lost.

"Sister, Sister!" a boyish cry sounded from behind me. Footsteps and slight panting accompanied the voice. "Your legs are too long for me to catch... up... Wait for me!"

I turned around to see a little figure dash towards me, barely stopping in time before fully crashing into my body. Well, to be more exact, he slid to a halt by the tip of my shoes, and I lent him a steadying hand.

"Little child, what are you doing?" He was adorable, his eyes dazzling with innocence, so I couldn't help but ask as soon as he caught his breath.

He tidied his robes and flashed me a toothless smile. His two front teeth were gone. "Sister, Sister, come with me. Mother has been waiting for you!" He reached for my hand with his chubby one and firmly grasped it, exclaiming, "Sister, your hand is so warm!" I was startled by his immediate intimacy.

Unlike Princess MingZhu's words, his were sincere, making me feel the closest to home since I entered this foreign palace. Somehow, when he called me Sister, I did not doubt that he was my blood kin. We began walking, and the blinding glamor of the garden flowers dulled a bit to become almost similar to the herbs I was used to collecting.

"I'm A'Yu by the way, but there's no need for you to introduce yourself. I've heard all about you. Whenever Mother gets a letter back, I would always be there to read it with her. Though Father Emperor has a lot of children, Mother has just you and me now." He looked at me a bit guiltily and batted his eyelashes. "I know a lot about you that I'm not sure you would want me to know."

But in just a second, his attitude switched for seriousness as the smile on his face disappeared. "I know you're still disturbed by Princess MingZhu, but don't worry, we aren't all like that."

I couldn't help but stare at him. He was at most seven years old? He seemed to sense my discomfort and lowered his voice.

"The truth is, she wasn't the only one to be considered for the alliance. There are three princesses of potential age here, but when the diviners matched all of their fates with that of the Sui prince, the results were all the same. If they were sent to the North, it would spell great doom for the marriage."

Suddenly, his face lit up again, and he began to swing our linked hands back and forth. "Look, there's a butterfly over there!" He pointed to one of the bushes. There was a pair of eyes watching.

"What fun is that? Tell me a bit more about how the pastries were!" I exclaimed loudly in a falsely cheerful voice.

From the corner of my eye, I could see the branches rustle as the person left. The little prince looked at me approvingly as if to congratulate me for passing my introductory lesson to the court before continuing the story.

"That was when the officials remembered your existence. Sure, they doubted that it would work, but guess what? After barring out everyone for a day and analyzing the compatibilities of your tokens and such, the Sui fortune teller read that the marriage will be the best match possible! To think, the other three princesses had all been rejected as soon as he met them."

Though that consoled me, it still didn't explain Princess MingZhu's hostility. Had she sincerely wanted to leave behind her home and marry the prince just for his looks? I voiced my concern.

He suddenly stopped and looked around before motioning me to bend down.

"I heard that Father Emperor called her YouShi once when he was drunk," he whispered. "I knew one of her servants, and he told me that she threw an absolute fit that night, screaming that Father Emperor only doted on her because of you."

But the puzzle pieces wouldn't align. From our moment of interaction, the emperor was so aloof towards me. We continued walking in silence.

An elegant but simple palace stood at the end of the path, but I had no time to examine its architecture. The entirety of me was focused on the woman who waited at its entrance.

"Mother!" A'Yu called out, waving excitedly.