Inside Zuo Imperial Palace. At a common garden designated for the use and enjoyment of the imperial concubines and other royal blooded women in the Palace;
Under a neatly pruned ginkgo tree, there was a line-up a few handfuls of children standing docilely. They were little girls, ages ranging between five to ten, all lavishly and brightly dressed in their best attires.
These children were young princesses of Zuo, birthed by the many concubines of the current reigning Emperor. Emperor Zuo himself was an Enlightened in his sixty-fifth year, having ascended the throne merely fifteen years ago after the previous Emperor perished due to his old age.
The late Emperor Zuo passed away as an Enlightened in his hundred-thirty-sixth year, having reigned the dynasty for close to a century. Compared to him, the current Emperor was quite late in claiming the throne, and hence his children were still quite young. The current Emperor was one of the late ruler's many sons, proven to be with the highest strength and power, both in cultivation and politics. After long arduous years competing with other Enlightened Princes of his generation, he finally was recognized to be the heir.
The princesses - despite their young ages - stood calmly, with poise and bearing that could only be contributed to their noble upbringing. However, one could not miss the slight twitch of their eyes or the sudden straightening of their bodies every time the Enlightened Ju Huang walked past each and every one of them, scrutinizing them closely.
Sage Zhu Hong sat straight on a stone seat that had been provided by a mama-in-attendance.
"Esteemed Sage," the mama finally urged herself to break the deafening silence,
"These are the princesses with the best innate-talent for cultivation. His Majesty, Emperor Zuo himself made the shortlist to ease esteemed Sage's effort in selecting a disciple."
"Hn." Zhu Hong merely let out a small hum of acknowledgment.
In her opinion, she had found the best disciple she could ever hope for. Whoever that was to be chosen from this group of sub-par talent was none of her concern. Ju Huang would be more than enough to select one to be brought back to Ping sect. Anyone would do.
Thinking of her good luck, she smiled briefly, causing the old mama to break a sweat. The smile was faint but it was the first time ever the older woman saw any shift of expression from the young Sage.
Sage Zhu Hong had always been a peculiar person. The mama still remembered almost a decade ago, when she first met Zhu Hong who was back then still a novice Enlightened. The young woman was accompanying her shifu who had come to the Palace to send off a past disciple.
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The past disciple was Zuo MeiGui (1), commonly called as Mei Zi(2) in Ping Sect. She was previously Zhu Hong's shijie, having been admitted to Ping sect a few years before Zhu Hong herself.
Their shifu loved Mei Zi very much, and initially intended to take her as the former's succeeding disciple. However, the princess' qi was incompatible to learn the more secretive and higher-end form of martial-arts of the sect.
Mei Zi had a harmonious relationship with her shimeis - Zhu Hong and Ju Huang. Although she was reluctant to leave Ping sect, ultimately she knew that she would not be able to advance further in the sect and decided to leave. It was also to allow either Zhu Hong or Ju Huang to be their shifu's succeeding disciple.
Hence the purple rose decided to bloom in the Imperial Palace, making do with what future she still had after her cultivation hit a brick wall that she could not break-through. She left Ping sect as a martial-artist, like many other predecessors of the Imperial Princesses' line before her that was admitted to Ping sect.
She soon was taken in to be one of the many harem residents of Emperor Zuo. The Emperor and herself were distant cousins. Although they had some common blood, the myriad of relationships and marriages between the royal family members and their distant relations -- cousins, in-laws, and even sometimes nephew or nieces -- had diluted the thick blood tie that would usually cause a deformed offspring. The last issue still occurred every once in a while, what with the complicated family tree of the Zuo lineage. However, the deformed babies born from such relationship would always be killed upon birth.
The Imperial Family members must always be outstanding people with perfect appearances.
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Zhu Hong glanced at the little girl standing to her side.
The girl -- Ji YuLan, as she called herself as -- was staring at a distance, towards a specific direction that was obstructed behind the many elegant structures and fake mountains that graced the garden.
Zhu Hong's smile got wider at the slight frown soon forming on the little girl's forehead,
"Do not concern yourself with such matters. Whatever they want to hide is none of our concern."
Although her voice was stern, Zhu Hong still felt pride swelling inside of her.
Just like YuLan, Zhu Hong and Ju Huang had noticed a disturbance in the air at the direction the girl had been focusing at.
Although nothing seemed to be amiss, the sky at that particular area was just slightly distorted, should a discerning eye were to pay attention. For seasoned cultivators, it was practically impossible to miss the fluctuation of qi forming inside the barrier. The air was stagnant and the person who had set up the barrier was definitely doing whatever they could to hide the surging qi inside.
It was enough to fool Established cultivators and novice Martial-artists, but was a child's play for an Enlightened and a Sage that was Ju Huang and Zhu Hong.
Nevertheless, both women knew when to stick their noses into other people's business, or when to just pretend that nothing had happened.
The Imperial Palace was a place of treachery and many secrets. It was best to not meddle in something that could potentially be troublesome for themselves and Ping sect.
However, it still surprised Zhu Hong that YuLan also noticed the barrier. Nonetheless, she still wanted to make sure if the latter was just observant or if she could also feel the fluctuation of qi hidden by the barrier.
"What do you notice?" She lifted her chin towards the same direction and directed her question towards the little girl.
YuLan was silent for a while before withdrew her gaze to look at Zhu Hong. She tilted her head slightly,
"There is a ... deformed space at the sky above that particular area it encompasses."
Zhu Hong nodded. It was the most plausible explanation from a normal human who had not had any exposure to cultivation. The little girl was observant and smart, and that should be enough for Zhu Hong. As for her pure yin countenance, she would slowly teach YuLan the way to cultivate properly.
"And there is a powerful energy curbed behind the deformed space," YuLan trailed, causing Zhu Hong to be astounded.
The silence that befell them caused the old mama to also look at the direction the pair had looked at earlier. However, the old woman found nothing unusual. In that direction, was just some more courtyards for other concubines.
"Well done, YuLan shizhi!" an astonished voice full of admiration broke Zhu Hong out of her stupor. It was Ju Huang who had just returned to their side, her bright eyes widened in approval,
"There is indeed a peculiar qi - energy like you had just mentioned currently being hidden there," she pursed her lips, glancing at the slightly distorted sky. Her eyebrows were raised in interest,
"I wonder what are they trying to hide... ." Ju Huang muttered, but soon shut her mouth at the glare Zhu Hong threw at her.
"None of it is our business, shimei," Zhu Hong reminded, her tone flat.
"Precisely, shijie." Ju Huang's lips curled into a small pout,
"Our business is to select a princess from the bunch," she gestured towards the line of little girls still standing behind her,
"And you have been idling by, not helping me at all."
Zhu Hong let out a sigh, "Just choose one. Anyone will do."
"But," Ju Huang protested, "The chosen one can well be your succeeding disciple! It is important to justify your position if you want to vie for the leader's seat to replace our shifu!"
Zhu Hong's cold glare that was directed at Ju Huang once again prompted the latter to hold her tongue. But that did not stop the Enlightened cultivator from feeling aggrieved for the injustice she considered herself to have just suffered. She plopped to sit by Zhu Hong's side, crossing her arms across her chest,
"If anyone will do, then why don't we ask YuLan to pick?"
Zhu Hong frowned and was about to admonish her shimei once more. In her opinion, one of the obstacles behind Ju Huang's lack of further progress in her cultivation was because of her childish attitude and her inability to concentrate on a task.
However to her surprise, YuLan stepped forward to get closer to the princesses. The girls started to whisper among each other, some of them showed displeased expression of being scrutinized by a pale-looking little girl not looking older than the youngest of their group.
En-route to the Imperial Palace, Zhu Hong and Ju Huang had shown extensive care and also spared no effort in transferring some of their own qi to strengthen her body. Compared to days ago, YuLan definitely had gained more color in her face and no longer look as sickly as she used to be. Nevertheless, she was still the smallest, compared to the other girls currently standing in front of her.
YuLan soon decisively pointed her finger at a wide-eyed princess, who had been looking at her in earnest, despite the latter's peers' whispers undermining her. The princess was wearing a light purple robe, her cheeks glowing with faint peachy blush. She was not the tallest nor the shortest of the group, but she was the calmest of all.
YuLan had noticed, that even when Ju Huang was studying them and caused unrest with the other princesses, this particular girl was unperturbed and only looked at the ground obediently, as if she was just a background of a scenery that no one should pay attention to.
Ju Huang blinked at the sudden turn of events and looked at Zhu Hong -- partly for her approval, partly because she was concerned by Zhu Hong's reaction to YuLan's impertinence. After all, Zhu Hong had not yet allowed or ordered YuLan to actually pick a princess.
The Sage looked at YuLan and the purple-robed princess for a few breaths, before standing up,
"So be it. From now on, this little one will be a disciple of Ping sect."
The old mama was about to open her mouth to congratulate the Sage, but Zhu Hong merely waved her sleeves and turned to leave the garden,
"We will wait outside the garden. Let the princess be ready before the sun is down and meet us by the gate. We shall take leave immediately then."
"Shimei has not changed at all." A melodious voice was suddenly heard. From a path to their right, a group of beautiful women walked closer, all dressed in colorful exquisite robes.
The little princess -- that YuLan had just picked on Zhu Hong and Ju Huang's behalf -- ran towards one of the women in the group. The woman was dressed in a similar purple color as the little princess' own attire. In fact, anyone could tell that they shared the same blood, with more than a few similar features between the two. The little princess was practically a mini version of the beautiful woman.
Zhu Hong could not help but to smile at the woman's eyes that were full of mirth and genuine tenderness,
"Mei Zi shijie!!" Ju Huang was the first one to exclaim out loud and greet the beautiful woman.
"How I have missed that way of calling... ." Lady Zuo MeiGui smiled at them, then patted the head of her daughter who had latched onto her leg,
"Ping-er," she gestured at her maid-in-attendance, "Please bring the princess to prepare for her journey with her new shifu and shishu."
The maid named Ping bowed lightly and herded the little princess towards the inner-courtyard. When they were out of sight, and the other concubines and their daughters also left the garden, Lady MeiGui let out a relieved sigh,
"Isn't this fate? I used to belong in Ping sect... . And now, my little purple rose will also be admitted into the sect."
"I have missed shifu, and the both of you. But this is my life now. I could not let myself be coddled in Ping sect forever, not with my limited talent... ."
Zhu Hong looked at her former shijie. Lady MeiGui was in her early forties, barely a few years older than Zhu Hong herself. However, due to her inability to cultivate further beyond the level of a Martial-Artist, age had started to show their marks on her beautiful face. There were fine lines around her eyes and lips which had been concealed by make-up.
Compared to Zhu Hong and Ju Huang, who still looked in their early twenties, Lady MeiGui's current look could almost pass as their mother.
Zhu Hong's heart grew slightly sour when she noticed the sadness in Lady MeiGui's eyes. However, she could not say anything. The cultivation world was ruthless. Talent was everything, natural countenance was a blessing that no one could hope to attain through hard work alone.
Zhu Hong glanced at YuLan who walked just slightly behind the three of them.
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"So us, the mothers, are not allowed to accompany our children, when they are being chosen by a representative of Ping sect." Lady MeiGui shrugged as she explained the reasoning behind her absence when the princesses were being lined up,
"It is to avoid any in-cahoots between former and current Ping sect's disciples. After all, quite a few women in the Palace are former disciples of Ping sect."
Lady MeiGui walked briskly. She had insisted to accompany her former sect's sisters to the front-yard.
"Hn~." Zhu Hong nodded, agreeing with the older woman,
"It has always been that way. Ping sect and the line of princesses of Zuo Dynasty went a few generations back, returning many Martial-Artist cultivators back to the Imperial Family after their training in Ping sect ended."
Lady MeiGui chuckled, "Yes. Just like me."
"Anyway, never mind that. I am truly happy that you actually picked my daughter," she laughed and stretched her body. Even in her forties and after giving birth to a child, her figure was still graceful and alluring. But in this flower garden called the Imperial Harem, alluring women might as well be as common as the stars in the night sky. And there was only one man who could sniff and pluck them all to his satisfaction -- the Emperor.
Zhu Hong could not help but feel disgusted at the blatant prejudice against the fairer sex in the society.
She was always a stout believer that whatever men could do, women could do better. Ping sect proved her view further, being one of the top three sects in the continent, despite being an all-female sect.
Therefore, having found a pure yin maiden -- for the benefit of the sect, to show their worth further and cement their status as a force not to be trifled with -- was a blessed incident.
When she turned her head to look at YuLan, she noticed the girl was looking at a particular distance -- where the discordance in the sky could still be felt.
Zhu Hong frowned and also could not help to ask Lady MeiGui,
"Shijie, that courtyard behind the fake mountains and the water pond. Who lives there?"
Lady MeiGui glanced towards the direction Zhu Hong had gestured at and shrugged,
"That is Ying Tao Palace. Lady Shuan lives there." Her eyes brightened,
"Zhu Hong should also know Shuan Bing. She is the late Wu Shan(3) sect's Sage's only daughter."
Wu Shan sect -- most commonly known as Wu sect -- was another of the top three most powerful sects in the continent. Zhu Hong was surprised,
"Shuan Bing ... is an Enlightened, isn't she? What is she doing in the Imperial Palace?"
Lady MeiGui sighed. There was a trace of mockery in her tone, as well as a hint of melancholy,
"What else would she be doing in this particular area designated for concubines of His Majesty's harem? She is one of the Dragon's beloved concubines."
"But!" This time Ju Huang also blurted out, "She is an Enlightened! She could continue cultivating and try to attain for Sage-ism. Wu sect would not wrong her in their resources for cultivation. Why would she enter the harem?"
Lady MeiGui snorted and rolled her eyes,
"For love. What else?"
Zhu Hong and Ju Huang visibly frowned deeper at the word, as if it was the most offensive way of cursing someone.
"I have long given up on trying to obtain His Majesty's love." She added with a whisper, "Besides, I love Ping sect, shifu, and the both of you more than this dynasty."
"In this golden cage, I have been living for my daughter. And soon, I don't even have to worry about her as she will be safe with you all."
"This place... is full of treachery. It is more cruel than a battlefield. Fellow women would have no qualms to stab each other in the back, just to covet for a little bit of the Dragon's love, to bear his children."
She took a long breath. Zhu Hong and Ju Huang stayed silent.
"Anyway, Lady Shuan is giving birth. Only her trusted aides are there. None of us really want to know what is happening though. We are all too busy living, too occupied in looking after ourselves. His Majesty himself has not visited her chamber ever since she started to be in labor." Lady MeiGui snorted in disdain,
"So much for giving up everything for love."
"Even now, she has to hide behind some barrier to protect herself and her unborn baby."
Clearly, although merely a cultivator of a Martial-Artist level, Lady MeiGui could also sense the barrier. She was not a novice cultivator. Only her innate qi countenance prevented her to break through thin line separating her and the Enlightened level. However, as Martial-Artist, she could be said to have reached the pinnacle.
"Shuan Bing. You are a foolish woman. I am a foolish woman." Lady MeiGui sighed once again, before turning her head away.
Zhu Hong took a final glance at the direction of Ying Tai Palace, and the distorted sky above it. She recalled her memory of a woman, standing straight and proud on a mountain summit, at that time with other accomplished cultivators of Wu sect.
Zhu Hong was just a Martial-Artist at the time, and she had admired Shuan Bing and the latter's prowess. Who knew this was the path that Shuan Bing had chosen to take in the end -- to be just another stalk of flower in one man's garden.
Shuan Bing's Sage father would be turning in his grave.
"Perhaps, the fluctuation of qi is from Shuan Bing? It has a distinct feel though... . It is different from the qi I have felt from Shuan Bing many years ago... ."
"And... who is setting up the barrier? What for?"
Finally Zhu Hong withdrew her gaze and urged YuLan to also walk faster.
The sooner they left this place that always caused a bitter taste in her tongue, the better.
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"The energy... is familiar. But it is so faint and muddled behind an impenetrable barrier that I cannot quite pinpoint the familiarity."
YuLan finally gave up. Neither her current qi or cultivation level was sufficient to discern the puzzling feeling she had been having ever since she sensed the distortion.
There was only one way to proceed, and that was to follow Zhu Hong back to Ping sect. She would become a disciple of the sect and cultivate diligently until she was strong enough to roam the world by herself.
Never again would she put herself in a helpless predicament that almost claimed her little life back in the forsaken village.
Only when she was strong, then she could search for him.
If Jing - or Yue as he had called himself - was not just a pointless dream, then YuLan would wait. Whatever Yue had bestowed onto her in that dream had tuned her senses to be sharper. There was also a constant flow of pure energy surging inside of her, she could feel it nourishing her body.
She had really received an incredible advantage in this bizarre world she had been reborn into, and she knew that dream was the cause. If that was a cheat, she would greedily accept it without reservation.
After all, Yue owed her that much.
She would bide her time, get stronger, venture the world, search for him, find him.
She clenched her small fists, her melancholic eyes showing resoluteness.
"This time, I will wait."
"This time, it is my turn to wait."
"So please, please just let me find you."
"Please, be there when I find you."
"When I do, please, tell me that you are still mine."
"That I still exist, perhaps not in your memory, but etched in your very soul."
"Like you have been deeply engraved in mine, lingering like a beguiling illness I will gladly bear and succumb to."
"Because, I will search all the corners of this world, and wait until the end of days. For you."
"Because, this world will always be wretched without you."
"And then, I will always, forever, bloom. For you."
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Notes:
(1) MeiGui = Rose
(2) Mei Zi = Purple beauty
(3) Wu Shan = Mist Mountain