Ye Hua could not believe he was related to these people, come to think of it, he wasn't really related to them so that may be the reason why their reasoning did not make sense to him. He tuned them out as they walked towards the entrance to Qing Qiu. He tuned them out and let himself enjoy the beauty around him. The nine heavens was designed to be beautiful and it was but Qing Qiu with its wild, unplanned and unrestricted beauty would rival that of the well planned and built nine heavens any day.
They were received at the gate and escorted to the little receiving room overlooking the river where they were served tea and told Bai Qian would join them shortly. They were early so it wasn't a hassle, they could also see Bai Qian sitting in the middle of the river surrounded by a few river immortals in their fish forms.
"Ye Hua, you're really not interested in marrying Su Jin" second uncle asked
"No" Ye Hua replied, continuing his study of their surroundings rather than turning back to face his uncle as was socially appropriate
"Are you that certain you'll find another woman who loves you as much as she does?"
"I am the next emperor of the nine heavens, are you suggesting I cannot find a woman who would love me?" He replied, fixing the older man with an icy glare that was usually reserved for people outside his family who had wronged him
"No, of course not" The older man offered
"Besides, second uncle married outside grandfather's wishes supposedly for love, is he finding it was not worthwhile?" Ye Hua asked, bringing up his tea to his lips. He was aware he was being borderline rude and that the topic made his uncle very defensive but he also felt defensive, the question had moved very close to his fears. He was not afraid no one would love him like Su Jin, Su Jin's love was the selfish kind he would prefer not to have in his life. However, he was deeply afraid that the woman he loved would not love him back.
"I'm sure second brother did not mean that" Lian Song offered, stepping in to diffuse the situation "he's probably wondering if you had your eyes on another woman but you know he's not good with words"
Ye Hua sighed, his third uncle was too cunny. He looked up as Bai Qian's laughter floated to his ears and fought back a smile, she was much closer than she was when they got here, close to the edge of the river now. He could probably hear them with a little effort but he didn't need to hear them to see their session was more lighthearted than his tended to be. He almost successfully dragged his attention away before he sighed and gave in to the urge and enhanced his hearing with some magic
"...not going to happen" Bai Qian said
"aww come on, it's just small gifts. I'd take them myself but I can't use my legs today as you know"
"Those are the princes of the nine heavens and you are almost as mischievous as Xiao Jiu so I would not put it past you to attempt to enchant one or more of them"
"What's it to you? Tell me which one you like and I won't give them anything"
"Don't care what you do, but you know official visitors are under my protection. I can't stop them from accepting gifts though so you can go up there and try but I won't take it there for you"
"Like you can nullify my enchantments"
"I've been kicking your ass since before I had a human form"
"Only because you're mean and mischievous"
"Excuses, excuses"
"Qian Qian ..."
"this has been fun, you should come with your dad to these meetings more often, now please take me to the edge of the river"
"You won't do me a favor but you won't do me one"
"A-Feng!"
"Fine!"
Ye Hua turned back his face as Bai Qian floated towards them and caught the knowing smile on his third uncle's face through the corner of his eyes. He ignored it, no one could prove anything and he would keep it that way.
"Bai Qian greets the princes of the nine heavens" Bai Qian greeted as she walked towards the seat at the head of the room.
All three stood up and bowed in response. She pretended not to see the pointed way the other two looked at the second prince as they all took their seats once she was seated.
"It is not often that 3 of the 4 princes of heaven come visiting. How can Qing qiu help the Nine heavens today?" She asked
There was a moment of terse silence before the second prince stood up; "This prince apologizes to Bai Qian for his outbursts and rude words. Si Xing was just and effective in protecting her people from enemies who sought to harm her" he concluded with a bow
Bai Qian observed the prince over the top of her cup then smiled "Such charming words from the second prince of the nine heavens. Of course Bai Qian has to accept the apology"
Ye Hua took a sip from his tea to avoid sighing loudly as his uncle straighten up with a smile. Was he the only one that realized she'd twisted her words and was not really accepting the apology as his uncle had twisted his to avoid actually apologizing? He was getting a headache trying to figure it out.
"Now" Bai Qian continued "how can Qing qiu help?"
Ye Hua sighed and proceeded to explain the plans they had made for the attack and the areas they wanted her input on. It soon became a dialogue with questions and ideas bouncing back and forth between him and Bai Qian. He again found himself fascinated with the way her mind worked. Once all the details had been hashed out and decision made, Ye Hua sat back and sipped his now cold tea as his uncles filled the room with platitudes towards Bai Qian.
"Are you planning to lead the attack?" Bai Qian asked. She didn't specify whom she was asking and her focus was on the tea she was pouring but it was pretty clear whom that question would be directed at
"No, but I plan to send a decoy." Ye Hua replied. He had mused over it for a while and the enemy needed to think he was on the field so there had to be someone there who looked and acted like him at least in the beginning of the attack. it would be tough to set up the decoy but he would find a way
"Zhe Yan has a spell that will help someone borrow your face and voice as long as you allow them to but the spell has a backlash on the borrower under certain conditions so he doesn't allow anyone use it without his permission. Your brother knows how to reach him if you want to explore that option" She replied
Ye Hua panicked, she called Mo Yuan his brother rather than shifu, did that mean she had stopped thinking of him as just her shifu and started thinking of him in other ways? Was Mo Yuan making more headway than him? He had to find time to come woo her, he needed to plan it out. He decided then that he would do what he could to get this spell and use the time to plan his approach. He loved his da ge but he was not going to lose here; at least not without trying his best.
"That would be most useful. I'll ask da ge" he replied, voice steady and showing none of the panic he was feeling
"if you are sending him a message, please let him know I may be a little later than planned today" She added
Ye Hua offered a forced smile and nodded. She was visiting da ge and all he had were tactical or official meetings and even those had been halted by his uncle's childishness. He had to do better.
"I would see you off but I have to head out now. Please finish your tea and take your time." She said with a bow and left
"So, Bai Qian..." Third uncle started as soon as they were alone but Ye Hua was in no mood to be teased.
"I'll head to Kunlun, if we can get the spell today, we can set up the attack in the next few days. If da ge is able to get us permission, one of his disciples will bring the message to third uncle. Bring the Tian Shu, Jia Yun and the two generals we have been considering for the decoy. I'll be leaving" He replied and left witout waiting for a reply.
Ye Hua found Mo Yuan in the main hall of Kunlun, his brother looked more like his old self now. There were scrolls around him but he didn't look like he was in a meditative state.
"Da ge" He greeted as he settled himself beside his brother
Mo Yuan looked at his brother and frowned "what happened? you look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders" he paused then continued "I mean, you are but you usually hide it better"
Ye Hua sighed then told his brother about the plan leaving out the thing that was really bothering him. It wasn't that he didn't want to share with Mo Yuan, it just seemed like it was a petty thing to complain about especially to Mo Yuan. He knew what was at stake, it wan't his brother's fault that he had not made any progress.
"That's easy" Mo Yuan replied before casting a spell Ye Hua assumed was how he kept in communication with the Phoenix god
They chatted a bit longer before Ye Hua went to his room, leaving Mo Yuan to his tasks with a promise to let Ye Hua know as soon as he received a response. His rooms in Kunlun mountain was his favorite place; as a child, he'd spent a lot of time there. it was his safe space, after he'd run away from nine heavens the second time, Mo Yuan had set up the rooms for him. As long as he was in there nobody would come in or make him come out. The rooms had evolved into a full scale living quarters but no one entered without his permission and he'd only ever permitted Mo Yuan in. He needed the quiet to plan his approach and to figure out how to make time to woo Bai Qian.
By the time they had to congregate in the main hall with third uncle, the decoy general, Tian Shu and Jia Yun, he had a passable plan that he was not too unhappy with. Mo Yuan was explaining to all the restrictions of the spell, it would make the general - Li Rong - look and sound like Ye Hua until the spell was lifted. However, if Li Rong did any wrong or hurt anyone - by words or action - while the spell was on, he would receive a severe backlash. The spell unfortunately didn't care if he was in a war or not so Li Rong couldn't fight while the spell was active, he would only be a 'figure head' and would need to be fiercely guarded during the attack. The spell was also disorienting when it was first case, Li Rong would be escorted back to nine heavens to rest for the rest of the day before he would hopefully be back to full mental capacity. Because of all this and the fact that his actions while looking like Ye Hua could be misconstrued as Ye Hua's, it needed consent from both parties to work. The general had agreed immediately even going further to ask for a spell that kept him to telling anyone about the exchange, he was worried about saying something during the period of disorientation that would leak the plan to others.
After all this, they had to wait for Bai Qian who was unaware they were waiting for her. Mo Yuan didn't know the actual spell, only three people knew it in the entire world - Zhe Yan, his husband Bai Zhen and sister-in-law Bai Qian. As the first two were on their honeymoont, it fell to the third who was expected in Kunlun shortly.
"Bai Qian greets shifu ...." Bai Qian began then stopped as she took in the full room. "I can come back next week" She said
"that won't be necessary" Mo Yuan began "they're also waiting for you. Zhe Yan gave his permission for the spell and I've explained the restrictions and impacts. They are both in agreement"
"How is he going to get to nine heavens or is he staying here? He'll be in no state to cloud walk after the spell" She asked
"A carriage has been prepared" Ye Hua replied
Bai Qian shrugged, she wouldn't be the one that had to explain why the 'crown prince' needed a carriage to get home. Closing her eyes, she gathered spiritual energy from within and around her then cast the spell. The general was barely standing when she opened her eyes again but he looked exactly like Ye Hua. He was carried away by Ye Hua's bodyguards and the third prince leaving her alone with Ye Hua and Mo Yuan.
She sat down "Before I forget, Shifu, I need..."
"No" Mo Yuan interrupted
"You haven't even heard what I am asking" Bai Qian pouted
"Zhe Yan told me"
"Silly old phoenix, he won't help but he'll gossip." she muttered "OK then, I'll ask someone else. How are you? Did you get the scrolls you wanted back from the eastern sea?"