"Qian Qian...you shouldn't be lazing that much."
One and a half years had passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Bai Qian was due any time soon, according to Zhe Yan's prediction. Whether or not the child would be delivered slightly earlier or slightly later depended on fate, Zhe Yan had spoken casually, but it also depended on Bai Qian. Apparently, if Bai Qian did some walking every now and then, it would aid her in better delivery, but when Zhe Yan had said that, Bai Qian didn't take it to heart, and of course, did not do as she was told.
Despite Ye Hua's endless repetition of Zhe Yan's words, Bai Qian still lazed away on her bed, and Feng Jiu was no better as she joined her aunt in reading yet another mortal play. "I'm alright, Ye Hua. I don't feel like walking." Bai Qian glanced at her husband over the top of the scroll, but Ye Hua merely shook his head, "I already pushed back two meetings, Qian Qian. Accompany me for a walk?" "Well..." Bai Qian hesitated, her mortal play script wavering in her hand, but before she could answer, Feng Jiu had already nudged her forward, "Gugu, you should go for a walk with Gufu. After all, the old phoenix did say that you need to do some walking."
"Just a short while, Qian Qian." Ye Hua reached forward, as though to help her up, and with a resigned sigh, Bai Qian let him pull herself up, and even as Ye Hua gently wrapped an arm around the back of her waist, Bai Qian muttered under her breath by his ear in a volume that only he could hear, "Why do we have to do this?" "Because, High God Zhe Yan already said: you have to be more active, Qian Qian." Ye Hua wore a slight smile as he escorted his wife out of Chang Sheng Hall, and Tian Shu shot Jia Yun a glare as the civil assistant was about to catch up with them, "Don't. His Highness only just managed to coax her highness to go for a walk. If you go over with those documents, her Highness will most certainly weasel away from another walk, and I don't promise your head on your neck after that."
"I do miss Riceball, Ye Hua." Bai Qian walked by the lotus ponds slowly, one hand holding her abdomen and the other held by Ye Hua, and a frown flickered over the Crown Prince's features briefly, before Ye Hua nodded, "Da Ge has written to say that Riceball is doing very well, however. Only last week did he already manage to recite a complete mantra from memory." "Did he? I don't remember that..." Bai Qian furrowed her eyebrows, and Ye Hua restrained himself from laughing, "Because you were sleeping, Qian Qian. I was reading it to you, but you fell asleep almost at once."
"I fell asleep? Then why didn't you let me read it later?" Bai Qian questioned indignantly, but Ye Hua merely shook his head, "You put it aside when Xiao Jiu brought you more mortal play scripts." "Did I?" Bai Qian mumbled, her cheeks turning pink as she recalled putting aside a scroll of parchment and Feng Jiu walking in with several bamboo scrolls in hand, and Ye Hua decided to change the topic.
"The peach trees I planted have begun to blossom again. But it's unfortunate that the peaches are nothing like what High God Zhe Yan's." The Crown Prince sighed, and Bai Qian understood that he was saving her from a round of self-blaming. Shoving the thoughts of the previous topic to the back of her mind, Bai Qian wrapped her hands around Ye Hua's arm encouragingly, "Don't worry about them. Give it a few more years, and they will grow better." "Indeed." Ye Hua smiled, "Time always makes things better, doesn't it?"
"These lotus ponds are beautiful. Pity that they lead to the Zhu Xian Terrace, however." Bai Qian ran her fingers over the railings made from stone, brushing her fingers over the rough surface of the handholds, and Ye Hua's smile faded, "I'm so sorry, Qian Qian. I forgot that this path around the ponds leads to the Zhu Xian Terrace as well." "It doesn't matter. I got my eyes back, and Su Jin got her punishment." Bai Qian reassured him almost at once, but her tone was cold and indifferent, and Ye Hua glanced over at her carefully, "Qian Qian...are you mad at me?"
"No. No, I'm not." Bai Qian repeated, and it was true; she was not upset that Ye Hua had forgotten about the path, "But you must be busy, Ye Hua. You are not one to be careless, and even when mistakes were made, they were unforeseen circumstances. Yet you forgot about the path to the Zhu Xian Terrace." "I...time is not quite on my side. I fear the generals and lords might have another word to say about my pushing back of two meetings today." Ye Hua admitted, and Bai Qian reached up to cup a hand around his cheek, "Then why did you still do it?"
"Because if I didn't, you probably would never have stepped out of Chang Sheng Hall." Ye Hua's tone was gentle, but Bai Qian knew that there was a slight accusation beneath the carefully delivered line, and she lowered her guilty gaze, "And you would have been right. I would never have set foot outside Chang Sheng Hall at all." "Thus, Qian Qian, how could I not push the meetings back?" Ye Hua's gentle tone was patient as he reiterated his point, and Bai Qian finally lifted her gaze again, "But you should go, Ye Hua. Lest they come up with a cock and bull story about how you are abandoning your duties and dirty your reputation."
"If I go, you have to promise me that you will finish walking at least one more round around the ponds. Do you promise me, Qian Qian?" Ye Hua found much reason in Bai Qian's word, and combined with his own worry, there was nothing else the Crown Prince could compromise. "I will. I promise you, Ye Hua," Bai Qian gripped his hands in hers, "I will do as I promise." "It is for your own good, Qian Qian. Understood?" Ye Hua still held on hesitantly, unsure if he could trust her promise, but when their eyes met, all the doubt in his gaze vanished, and Ye Hua leaned forwards as he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, "I will be back as soon as I can."
"One more." Bai Qian could not resist as her husband pulled away slightly, and Ye Hua grinned, before he moved closer, his hand moving to the back of her neck, before he lowered his head, and she lifted hers to meet his lips.
The kiss was sweet as it lasted, and Bai Qian let go of him with a satisfied smile. "Now go. And be back soon. I'll be waiting for you back at the Hall of Beautiful Youths." Bai Qian whispered, her cheeks rosy from the kiss, and Ye Hua gave her a final glance, before he turned around, and Bai Qian watched as his figure disappeared into the distance, his silky black cloak flapping behind him as he walked off briskly towards the Great Hall, where his subjects awaited for him impatiently.
And even as Bai Qian turned away, her footsteps a soft patting sound as she began to walk towards the main lotus pond, the clouds above begun to darken slightly, and the birds of the Nine Heavens began to chirp quietly a tune, a harmony that was both melodious and disconcerting...
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"Uncle Mo Yuan...how much longer will I have to stay here?"
A-Li wore pure white robes, a smaller version of those that the Kun Lun disciples did, and Mo Yuan opened his eyes to gaze at his nephew, before he answered, "Not much longer, I daresay. I assume you find Kun Lun stifling?" "It is boring, Uncle Mo Yuan." Bai Chen answered in full earnesty, and Mo Yuan leaned forward in what seemed like curiosity, "Do tell me more, A-Li. What is it that you find boring?"
"Nothing." A-Li bowed his head, not wanting to sound too impolite, but Mo Yuan merely rose from his seat and walked over to the little boy's side, before he repeated calmly, "A-Li, what is it that you find boring?" "The mantras. What is the point of memorising the mantras, Uncle Mo Yuan?" A-Li blew his parchment lightly, watching as the ink of the words began to dry slowly, and Mo Yuan merely returned him a question, "What do you think they're for, A-Li? Or are they just useless to you?"
"They are for enlightenment. But why would we need to remember them? They are already written down for us." A-Li mumbled, but he continued to write the next line of the mantra he had memorised, and Mo Yuan smiled. "If they are such useless items, why still copy it, A-Li? Because I asked you to?" Mo Yuan held the end of A-Li's brush, preventing A-Li from writing further, "Then you may as well not write it."
"But..." A-Li was afraid to set the brush down, but he was no match for Mo Yuan; the brush was plucked from his fingers effortlessly by the God of War, and Mo Yuan let the brush rest on its stand, "If you do not understand the meaning behind copying and memorizing mantras, why even do it? It will be meaningless." "Then what is the meaning behind it, Uncle Mo Yuan?" A-Li asked at once, and Mo Yuan was not in any hurry to answer him, "As you said, A-Li: Enlightenment."
"...?" A-Li's face was filled with confusion, and Mo Yuan glanced briefly at the characters that A-Li had written, before he turned his tranquil gaze on A-Li and spoke with that patient tone A-Li had come to recognise as the tone of teaching, "A-Li...imagine a set of rules. They are there to teach you to comply. Now, you've read them, and they're there for you to read at any time. But does that mean you don't remember or memorise them?" "No...of course not!" A-Li thought about his uncle's question carefully, "I would have to memorise them all, like the rules of the Nine Heavens...and I would have to be familiar with them."
"Mantras are just like rules, A-Li. They're just as strict as rules. They're there for your enlightenment, and memorising them is to help yourself remember that you should comply by it, like you would comply to rules." Mo Yuan ended his analogy simply, and even as he watched A-Li's jaw drop with the comprehension of what Mo Yuan had just explained, Die Feng came rushing into the room in a hurry.
"Shifu..." The first disciple spoke, before he paused, a guilty expression upon his face for having interrupted Mo Yuan, but yet he was unsure if he should further disrupt his mentor's conversation with the information he knew. Tilting his head, Mo Yuan glanced up at his eldest disciple. Die Feng was always the most respectful disciple, and never did he interrupt Mo Yuan before. And yet, if there was something that could force the respectful disciple to interject Mo Yuan's conversation, it must be awfully important.
"What is it, Die Feng?" Mo Yuan asked at once, and Die Feng did not hesitate any longer, now that he was asked directly by his mentor.
"Shifu...it's about Seventeenth."
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A/N: So...some moments between Ye Hua and Bai Qian, then Mo Yuan and A-Li :D which was what someone requested, I remember...
Regarding the next chapter...I always feel a sort of fear and anxiety when writing such chapters. I'm not sure if it'll be overboard, and I don't want to make it too, uhm, tensed.
You're probably wondering what kind of chapter it is, and the clue is in the last line of this chapter...
I feel like this story will definitely be past 70 chapters, because I'm definitely not stopping after next chapter just yet.
So...that's about it. Maybe I'll manage to upload on the 9th, since I'm going to get my hair cut and I ain't got anything to do anyway...(NOOOOOOOO i don't like my hair short :/ but my mum says I gotta cut it so :/)
xoxo,
Z, out.