Through it all (a ten miles of peach blossoms fan fiction)

Chapter 16

Ye Hua  was late getting back. He'd gone straight to the main hall to turn his report in to his grand father and had ended up getting dragged into other matters. He'd found it difficult to keep everything straight in his mind when all he wanted to do was get back to his wife and son. In the end, it was Donghua Dijun who had reminded everyone that Ye Hua was still recovering and needed more rest than usual, thus freeing him to leave. On his way to Xiwu, he'd run into his mother, who had given him a speech about Su Su and Qian Qian and the soul gathering lamp. All he knew was that she was anxious and jittery, he had no idea what he said to her but she seemed calmer when he left.

He found Bai Qian curled up in fox form on the bed with A-Li giggling loudly while he played with her tails. Again he felt the stab of jealousy at his own son, even though they were on the married and she had forgiven him, he found himself unable to get to that level of intimacy with her. The picture in front of him made him want to assume his dragon form and roll around with them.

"Father! You're back" A-Li  running towards him.

Ye Hua picked up the boy and climbed into the bed, the little boy crawled back to his mother's tails. Ye Hua reached out to the fox and she rubbed her head against him. She had fine fur that felt like a pile of clouds, he felt his dragon push towards the surface and pushed down at it with all his might. He was certain he'd been successful and had the little beads of sweat on his face to confirm it so the growl surprised him.

He looked up to see a white dragon entangled in the fox's tails and a smile creeped up his face, his son had the same instincts he'd had and had gone with it. He was happy to see them both like this, they were the same shade and as far as he knew, his son was the only white dragon in existence. He wondered if their next child would be a dragon or a fox and felt the arousal consume him with that thought causing him to frown at the dragon he'd been smiling at.

Later that night, after his lust was satisfied and she was asleep in his arms, he looked around the new hall - Peach palace. She'd suggested calling it the hall of mature beauty but he'd vetoed that immediately. He'd also refused the hall of Anew and hall of forgiveness. He could see why she wanted a hall - other than as part of the plan to get justice for Su Su. The hall showed clear similarities to her fox cave. He'd also been serious when he told her he would move wherever she went. It would take him less than a week to progressively get half of his belongings here and he knew he'd be spending more time in peach palace than in Zichen hall.

His mother's speech came back to him, she had expressed her concern about the depth of his emotions. In the nine heavens, emotions were a sign of weakness and he had been the poster child for strength all his life. He understood that the change was making people nervous but he wasn't interested in doing anything about it. His emotions were what motivated him and they were a source of strength for him but the conversation stayed on his mind.

"When you moved on to the high goddess, I was happy you'd moved on from the mortal but after seeing her face, I wonder. Ye Hua, is it Bai Qian of Qing Qiu you love or the image of the mortal" His mother had said

"Mother, Bai Qian is my wife, I have never though of her as anyone other than who she is" He'd replied

"I ask because it seems to me that you have the same intensity towards her as you did the mortal."

Ye Hua had sighed, of course she'd notice that. "She is my wife" he'd replied

"Yes and she is beautiful, also accomplished. She'll no doubt make a great heavenly empress when the time comes but I worry about you as a mother should. I don't want you throwing away your life like you did with the mortal"

This was where he'd began to lose track. He'd told her something about how Bai Qian was more capable than most of the immortals of the nine heavens but he couldn't be sure exactly what his words were. There had been a time when her worry would have made a difference for him. It was when he'd been studying for 14-hour days. He didn't blame her for that but if his parents had been stronger or if his grandfather wasn't so consumed with raising a perfect successor, he'd have had a better chance at being an emotionally adjusted immortal. He pulled his wife a little closer to him and wondered if anyone would dare fight her when it came to A-Li's education.

"Ye Hua, why are you awake?" The object of his musings asked. He loved the way she called his name when she was half asleep or in the throes of passion.

"Are you cold?" He asked adjusting the blanket around her.

"Why are you still awake?"

"Just thinking about A-Li and how good it'll be if he has another sibling to grow up with" He said. He wanted more children, partly because he wanted A-Li to have company, partly because he enjoyed the process of making them but mostly because his union with Qian Qian was perfect and he wanted the whole world to see and acknowledge it.

She smiled, propped herself up to her elbow and pulled herself up so her face was over his "is that so?"

He pulled her lips down to his for a kiss.

"I want to spend more time focused on just him so when we have another child, I can focus on him too without A-Li feeling left out" She replied as she cozied back into his arm

"Her"

"Huh?"

"You said 'him', we're having a daughter next" he explained.

"Yes, your majesty" she laughed and curled back into his arms.

"Qian Qian, when A-Li is 100 and starts getting tutored ..."

"Why is he getting tutors at 100?" She interrupted

"When should he get tutors?"

"5000?"

"He's a celestial clan prince"

"Yes but he's also the son of the Queen of Qing Qiu"

"Qian Qian ..."

"Ye Hua, you had no childhood and I know you are exceptionally accomplished but there is no reason a child shouldn't be treated as a child especially when it's an immortal child who will be an adult for an extremely long time. A-Li and any other children we have, will have childhoods the way they were supposed to be."

Ye Hua kissed her head "ok"

"That's it? You're not saying ok so I can drop the topic and you'll still plan for tutors?"

"A-Li is lucky to have you as a mother"

The anger that had been rising in her disappeared instantaneously and she wrapped herself around him. She felt his arm relax around her as he fell asleep and wondered what had brought on the conversation.