Zhe Yan sent an official note to the heavenly lord informing him of their proposed visit then insisted she stay in the peach forest for the rest of the day which meant she was stuck in the same hut she'd come to when she'd wanted to forget her son and her love. She didn't want to forget this time, it was difficult to give up a baby but impossible to give up a child who already knows you. She considered sneaking in to see A-Li but knew there'd be increased vigilance around the boy and she did not want to jeopardize their plan. She drank the remaining tea in her cup then stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened her eyes, he was sitting on the bed adjusting the blanket over her.
"Ye Hua" she began
"Are you warm?" He asked
She nodded, reached out and stoked his face. "Are you really here?" He nodded. She held on to his hand as she fell asleep.
She opened her eyes to Zhe Yan's shaking. 'You need to get up if we're going to get to the nine heavens in time."
"Is it morning already?" She asked
"Yes" fourth brother replied "we brought food"
"How long did I sleep? I'm not hungry."
"You'll eat or we're not going anywhere" he replied
When she stepped into the main hall in the nine heavens this time, she was a lot steadier than she had been the previous day. This time the entire family was already in the hall when she came in.
"Bai Qian greets you all" she said. They all responded and greeted her brother and Zhe Yan who both took seats in the hall, Zhe Yan sitting next to Dijun.
"Heavenly lord, I am back as promised"
"Bai Qian, nothing has changed since yesterday"
"A-Li is the son of the queen of Qing Qiu which puts him in line for one or more of Qing Qiu's five thrones. As of this morning, the fox clan has decided that both Feng Jiu and A-Li will inherit the fox thrones with A-Li taking control of the four wildernesses while Xiao Jiu retains her position as the next queen of Qing Qiu"
"A-Li is in line for the celestial throne" Yang Cuo said. It took Bai Qian a while to recognize the voice as she'd had minimal interaction with the man
"That is true, first prince" Fourth brother began "A-Li is fortunate to be born to two royal families. However, unless he's crown prince of the celestial tribe, I believe inheriting from Qing Qiu is a higher rank for him based on the way things are today."
"He's the great grand son of heaven's ruling monarch but the son of Qing Qiu's ruling monarch" Dijun added "it makes sense that he inherits from Qing Qiu not heaven"
Nodding at him, Bai Qian continued "Your majesty, I am not trying to stop any of you from being in A-Li's life or even from making him crown prince down the road. I am simply a mother that wants her son to have the best life and wants to be in her son's life."
"I can refuse you" The heavenly lord said.
But you will not. Bai Qian thought, like the rest of the celestial clan, he cared too much about what people thought. He also would not want to have to full story out in public as it would bring focus on the way Su Su was treated. However, she understood his need to save face so she went to the middle of the hall, bowed to him and remained on her kneed
"Your majesty, A-Li can spend 2 days every week studying about the nine heavens and the expectations of the heavenly throne. As long as he doesn't spend more than 5 hours any day and the tutors are willing to come to Qing Qiu. I will allow it" She suggested
"You will also not name him crown prince of Qing Qiu until we have named a new crown prince" He replied
Bai Qian looked at him and sighed. It didn't really matter to her what title A-Li bore or which territory he governed but keeping him in the running for celestial crown prince meant she could not stop his celestial training or take him out of Qing Qiu without the celestial tribe's blessings. Still the boy would be with her. "Bai Qian agrees" she finally said
"Very well, you can take him with you. Along with some of Ye Hua's staff. Le Xu, fetch the boy and his nanny"
Bai Qian nodded. "Thank you. And as A-Li's family, all and any of you can come visit him anytime you want."
A few minutes later, Le Xu came back with Nai Nai and A-Li. Bai Qian stood up as soon as she saw her son.
"Mother!" A-Li called as he ran to her
She choked back the tears and knelt down to his height in time to catch him as he flung himself on her.
"Mother is here." she replied then pulled away from him slightly to tap his nose. "There are so many high gods and immortals in this room but you did not greet them"
His little eyes widened as he realized where he was. He greeted everyone one by one beginning from the heavenly lord and ending with her brother.
"I thought you had forgotten me" The little boy said through the tears.
"I'm your mother, how can I ever forget you. How would you like to live with me in Qing Qiu?" she asked, they'd had a similar conversation when she came back into his life at the Eastern Sea banquet.
"I can?" He asked looking around.
Bai Qian nodded at him with a smile.
"Can grandma come too? Maybe she can be happy in Qing Qiu like A-Li is happy with mother"
Bai Qia sighed, her son was wise beyond his years and now had to experience loss at such a young age but even with that, he had a big heart.
"Grandma can come visit or stay anytime" she replied him but kept her eyes at Le Xu wanting to assure the woman she meant what she said.
"Yes. Mother, can we leave now? A-Li wants to go to the mushroom market" With a nod, she stood up and took his hand.
"Bai Qian bids you all a good day, we will be off to Qing Qiu. Nai Nai will accompany us" She said bowing again before leaving the hall.
When they got to Qing Qiu, they headed to the mushroom market first where Bai Qian introduced Nai Nai to the immortals at the market. Qing Qiu was a friendly place and she was certain that Nai Nai would adjust on her own but she wanted to show her how commerce worked in Qing Qiu and she wanted the other immortals to feel comfortable with the maid acting on her behalf. They bought items for dinner and fruits.
She felt a sense of déjà vu when she helped A-Li pick loquats, and even found herself looking over her shoulder for Ye Hua. It got worse when they got into the fox den. Her fourth brother's room which Ye Hua and A-Li had used when they lived in Qing Qiu still had some of this things. She found a black cloak beside a stack of paintbrushes and felt the tears fall silently.
"Mother is crying, do you miss father?" A-Li asked
Bai Qian smiled at him through the tears "Yes. I do. Do you miss him?"
A-Li nodded "Yes. But I have to be strong and focus on studying instead of crying everyday so he can be proud of me. I can't be seen crying"
"A-Li, your father is proud of you, I am proud of you. You don't have to focus on studying. It is ok to be sad when you lose someone you love"
"Really?" He asked
"Yes. I'll tell you what" She walked up to the cloak that had triggered the emotions "I'll leave this in the room with you. When you miss your father and you're feeling sad, you can cover yourself with the cloak and cry. Nobody will see you or you can come to me and we'll cry together"
"Can we cry together now?"
She nodded and held him close as more tears streaked from her eyes and he sobbed into her chest.
YOU ARE READING
Between two lifetimes
Fanfiction[completed] A reimagination of the 3 years when Ye Hua was dead. Based on Chinese drama - ten miles of peach blossoms. This story starts at the end of episode 56. Ye Hua is already dead and his body has been claimed by his family. That episode at th...
