"Mother!" A-Li's squeal could be heard as he came running into the room, and Ye Hua was quick to react as he caught his son in his arms swiftly, stopping him from pouncing onto Bai Qian. "Your mother is sleeping, A-Li." Ye Hua slipped out from under the blanket, once again thankful that he slept on the outside of the bed, but he was too slow. Although A-Li hadn't hit Bai Qian, there was a soft sound of clothes rustling, and Ye Hua felt her slender hands brush by his as she tugged his sleeve, "Is that A-Li?"
"Mother isn't sleeping now." A-Li quipped as he squirmed in Ye Hua's arms, attempting to cross into Bai Qian's arms instead, and Bai Qian gave a gentle laugh as she sat up, spreading her arms in a gesture that invited A-Li over, "I was sleeping, until you promptly woke me up, A-Li." "Are we going back to the Nine Heavens today, Mother?" A-Li wriggled free from Ye Hua's loosened arms and straight into Bai Qian's embrace, and Bai Qian nodded as she pulled his hairpin from his hair, "We will be returning there after breakfast."
"Will Sister Feng Jiu follow us to the Nine Heavens?" A-Li stopped fidgeting as Bai Qian redid his hair, and Bai Qian grinned rather deviously as she stuck A-Li's hairpin back, "Not that she has a choice. I do believe someone might have some intentions of courting her. Besides, her punishment hasn't been lifted yet." "You mean Di Jun." Ye Hua pulled on his outer robe, smiling as he did so, and Bai Qian drawled as she helped him with his other sleeve, "Who else?"
"Gugu!" Feng Jiu, who had been holding a tray of breakfast and stumbled in on their conversation, turned a vivid shade of red rather instantaneously, and Bai Qian beckoned for her niece with a unapologetic grin, "What happened when I was away to Zhe Yan's grove? I heard vaguely from Lian Song about your little meeting with Di Jun in the kitchen." "Di Jun asked for cakes, and nothing else, Gugu!" Feng Jiu set the tray down, huffing as she sat on the floor, "Don't give me that look, Gugu!"
"Alright," Bai Qian kept away her gaze of scepticism, picking up her bowl of congee and adding some sauce into it, "But what cakes did he ask for?" "Green bean." A-Li piped up, and Bai Qian raised an eyebrow, as if in surprise as to how her son knew. In return, A-Li gave her a innocent smile, "I overheard Brother Dong Hua Di Jun praising Sister Feng Jiu's green bean cakes. Plus, he took one from me too." "A-Li, you cannot address Di Jun as 'Brother'..." Ye Hua repeated exasperatedly, but Bai Qian smiled as she fed her son a spoonful of congee from her bowl, "I hardly think he's wrong."
And Ye Hua shook his head, although finding it quite unable to disagree with his wife.
After all, even the blind could see that Dong Hua Di Jun fancied Bai Feng Jiu of Qing Qiu.
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"Crown Prince, Crown Princess, welcome back."
Bai Qian nodded at Jia Yun and Tian Shu, who both bowed in greeting of their return, and even as Ye Hua offered his hand to their son, Bai Qian's keen eyes caught sight of a figure not too far away. "Qian Qian?" Ye Hua looked up from A-Li a little too late, for Bai Qian's knuckles had turned white, and she narrowed her eyes, all traces of friendliness slipping away from her posture, "I don't suppose she caught news that you would return today." "Who? Su Jin?" Ye Hua followed her gaze, and he glanced towards Jia Yun, his eyes no friendlier than his wife's, "What is the Zhao Ren Princess doing here?"
"Your Highness, I'm not sure." Jia Yun replied hesitantly, understanding better than any of the other servants that Ye Hua and Bai Qian were most certainly not pleased to be graced by Su Jin's presence upon their return, but before he could request for one of the maids to lead Su Jin away from the northern gates, of which Bai Qian and Ye Hua had just walked through into the Nine Heavens, Bai Qian had already begun walking, towards the direction of the Zhao Ren Princess.
"Su Jin greets the Crown Princess." Su Jin could tell that Bai Qian stood before her, however blurry her newly crafted eyes were, and Bai Qian, alike Feng Jiu, did not bother to hide her displeasure, "It's been a while, Su Jin. Those eyes...did the Medicine King craft them?" "From those of an animal, yes. But it is incomparable to those made from light itself, as created by High God Zhe Yan for your Highness to use when your eyes were mine." Su Jin gritted her teeth in anger, failing as she tried to sound polite. Even when her eyes had not been eyes, Bai Qian still had almost perfect vision. Whereas she had a pair of eyes that made her life seem mainly foggy. She was still the Zhao Ren Princess, even if all other titles were revoked! She didn't deserve eyes of such terrible quality!
"You needn't resent me so, Su Jin. Had you not been foolish and jealous, so as to frame me, your eyes would not have been blinded in the first place." Bai Qian spoke evenly, reminding Su Jin that she had been the cause of her own blindness, and Su Jin was close to grinding her teeth as she smiled forcefully, "I had underestimated your resistance, even when pregnant. I should've done better." "Not that I had the chance to." Su Jin added under her breath, her tone dripping with bitterness, and Bai Qian, who had heard the not-so-subtle muttering, raised a startled hand to her abdomen.
It was brief, but the sudden motion caught Su Jin's eye, and a familiar look lit up the Zhao Ren Princess's face as she realized exactly where Bai Qian had brought her hand up to. It was her lower abdomen, exactly where the womb was. Could it be? Was Bai Qian...pregnant? Again? With Ye Hua's child? The hatred on Su Jin's face only grew in quantity as she stared at Bai Qian, her gaze moving from Bai Qian's abdomen, then to Bai Qian's face, and finally to A-Li, and Ye Hua moved quickly to shield Bai Qian from Su Jin, having recognised the expression on Su Jin's face. "Jia Yun," Ye Hua interrupted, just before Su Jin could come up with any schemes, "Have the maids escort the Zhao Ren Princess to her old living quarters."
"Yes, your Highness." Jia Yun bowed, and Ye Hua spared his adopted sister a final cold gaze, before he turned on his heel, holding Bai Qian's hand as he led his family away from the vile woman who tried to have it torn apart.
And even as they left, Feng Jiu stayed behind, baring her half-transformed canines at the Zhao Ren Princess as she whispered at a volume that only Su Jin could hear, "Princess Su Jin, I know it's impossible for leopards to change their spots. But here's a consideration before you do anything again: if you dare touch even a single hair of my Gugu, I, Bai Feng Jiu, will personally escort you to a life like a living hell."
And with that, Feng Jiu dusted her hands, giving Su Jin a big, reassuring smile, and ran off after her aunt, leaving the Princess of the Su Jin Clan alone and clenching her fists like a child about to throw a tantrum.
"Madam..." Xin Nu, who had remained loyal all this while, touched Su Jin's upper arm consolingly, only to have her hands flung as Su Jin fumed, keeping her voice in measured tones as part of her nobility upbringing even as she swore, to the skies above her that listened in very keenly on her vow.
"I will get my revenge, Bai Qian! This rivalry between you and me... it's not over yet! It's not over yet!!!"
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"Your Majesty, my Lord, there's been a...uh....a letter." A Ghost Soldier ran into the spa room, interrupting Li Jing's bath with three giggling ladies, and Li Jing's eyebrow raised into a perfect arc, "A letter? Where from?" "It's rather peculiar, my Lord...it's from the Nine Heavens, and it's addressed to...her Majesty." The soldier swallowed as he daren't call Xuan Nü by her title, and something in Li Jing's gaze hardened — annoyance. "Who is it from?" Li Jing dismissed the ladies with a flick of his hand, the rose petals swirling as the giggling ladies left the hot pool, and the soldier was rather confused as he read, "The Zhao Ren Princess, my Lord."
"Su Jin?" Li Jing's eyebrows relaxed slightly, although confusion seeped into his voice. He hardly knew the Zhao Ren Princess, but last he checked, she didn't go by that title. Nevertheless, what danger would there be for Xuan Nü to receive a letter from Su Jin? The Zhao Ren Princess was rather much harmless, as far as Li Jing knew, and with a careless wave of his hand, he shooed the guard away, "Give it to Xuan Nü. If she wishes to reply, let her. She's rotting in her prison cell anyway."
"Yes, your Majesty." The soldier bowed at once, and even as he backed out from the room, Li Jing still frowned, wondering what Su Jin might have to do with Xuan Nü.
But he couldn't think of a single reason at all, and he splashed at the water in frustration, before he gave a deep sigh.
"Give me my robes, I'm going out for a while."
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"Your Majesty, here's a letter." The guard thrusted a letter at Xuan Nü, who had just kicked a tray at the cell of the door in anger, and Xuan Nü whipped around, her voice brisk as she snapped at him, "What now? Hand it over then!" "Y-yes, your Majesty." The guard stammered, stretching his arm through the cage hesitantly, and Xuan Nü snatched the scroll out from his hands. "Who's this from?" Xuan Nü asked impatiently, her anger growing as she unrolled the scroll, and the guard stuttered in fear that she would lash at him like she lashed at the tray, "The Zhao Ren Princess, Princess Su Jin."
"Why would she seek my correspondence?" Xuan Nü muttered, nonetheless still reading the letter, and the contents of it shocked her rather greatly.
To her Majesty, the Ghost Queen:
I have heard rumours, and if the rumours are true, then allow me, your Majesty, to say, that we have a common enemy: Bai Qian of Qing Qiu.
I'm sure your Majesty can understand where this is headed; thus, I shall not beat around the bush. My objective is very simple: I wish to get rid of that woman, who has put a damper on my plans one time too many. I wish to get rid of her by a painful means, which, after some thought, I concluded that the East Emperor Bell would be the greatest defeat of her. I need your help, of course, your Majesty, for I know nothing of the bell. If you are willing to help me, do reply to me with a letter. If not, I'm sorry to have disturbed your Majesty, and I would like to ask your Majesty to not disclose this plan.
Most sincerely,
Celestial Zhao Ren Princess of the Nine Heavens, Su Jin
"Would...would your Majesty like to reply to the letter?" A second guard stood where the previous one had been, parchment, brush and ink plate on the tray he held, and Xuan Nü gave it some thought, before she reached through the cell door, taking the parchment, brush and ink plate from the guard before sitting down by the makeshift table she had, staring at the blank parchment.
Then she picked up the brush, lifting her wrist from the table, and the brush tip connected with the parchment as Xuan Nü made up her mind.
She was writing a return letter to Su Jin.
She agreed to help.
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A/N: Welp, I broke my own record. 10 days of not updating. Sorry about that, I really had not much inspiration...but it's slowly coming to me, how the story will go now :) Really sorry for the long pause between chapters, just wanted to say, I'll try to upload as soon as I can, always.
Anyway, about the story...HEHEHEHEHWJWH what do you think is gonna happen? 😏😏😏 I brought Li Jing back, as well as both of the two antagonists; and now Su Jin is colluding with Xuan Nü! Hehehehe...
Oh, and I have put this story on Archive Of Our Own as well, and it's the only story up there as I think that this is my best work by far. I will be very grateful if you guys could support me there as well! Thank you so so much!
Here's some stuff I made for fun because I thought about it for quite a while and just made it anyway:
Thanks for reading this chapter!
xoxo,
Z, out.