The road is long but I ride in a very steady carriage and manage to sleep through most of the ride. I awake different intervals as I can feel the Eather magic lessens in the flatter terrains near the border of Great Chu.
* * *
I walked back to our quarters and decided to write a message out to my father to let him know I would be gone for a full lunar year instead of two. I needed to think of how I was supposed to tell Wu Koe. We were married and my father only had me and one other daughter so in the line of succession should my father not have sons he was going to leave the throne to me.
About a week later as I was out for a morning stroll in the gardens I saw a glitter of white and red. Mu Mu appeared with a messenger pigeon. As secretive as possible I read the message.
'Daughter, I have been healthy and you have to sharpen you skills. Only after you can protect yourself and get married can I rest assured. Stay well and return when you are ready. Your Father' The elegant scrawl of my father tells that he paused and truly sent me every word.
I let out a sigh of relief but I feel guilty for I married Wu Koe both spiritually and physically to escape political marriage particularly from Great Chu. I did have feelings and love for him. In my mind he is handsome, his beauty follows me, his intelligence is on par with my own, and even though he wasn't a Prince of Sheng, he was still part of the noble families as well as the oldest son of the best silk merchant in Sheng.
I shook my head riding myself of my thoughts. I need to practice like my father reminded me, I tell myself. I chose the peach and bamboo forest located on the far side of the Wu Manor as the place to practice. I played with my sword falling into rhythm with my blade as I thrust and sliced attacking and defending from my imaginary enemy.
I begin using my magic to keep me elevated off the ground using my light as clouds skill, allowing me to remain in the air as I lightly step on the thinnest branches to keep myself air borne. I start using my sword to pick up leaves in the brushes of wind I generate.
I practice until the moon brightens the area. I had made a thick bed of leaves and blossoms while practicing. Now that I finished practicing I feel exhausted and I decided to stay out here and sleep under the stars.
The next morning I arose covered in a thin layer of dew, leaves, and peach blossoms. I headed back to my living quarters to make sure no one missed me but when I arrived a simple note awaited me.
Wu Koe wrote 'I have urgent business. When you left after breakfast a message was delivered. I should be back before dinner. My Love Koe' I was shocked as he wasn't here and when I went to the main hall there was a glum atmosphere.
"Daughter, sit down," Lin Rui said as I came into the hall. I looked at Wu Ruan and He Li Yan. I realized all three of them had red eyes.
"What's wrong?" I ask, not thinking it has anything to do with Wu Koe. They all look at me with fresh sadness spreading on their faces.
"My dear Hai Ming, you need to be calm and listen to us," He Li Yan started. "promise me," she pleads. I look into her face as fresh tears fall from her face. I sit down and shake my head in agreement.
He Li Yan's face twist as though the words she has are a bitter medicine. Wu Ruan who hadn't said anything yet waves He Li Yan to silence. "Wu Koe was captured and killed by a gang from Huai," Wu Ruan finishes with anguish.
"Wu Koe capture killed by gang from Huai," I repeat emptily. These words that cross my lips must be false. This isn't true my mind screams, he can't be dead, we just married! I love him more than I realize. I begin to cry as their words seep in and the contents of the note he left me I become overwhelmed and then I faint.
I awake with an empty feeling. I stare straight up at the wood beamed ceiling. Tears race down and out of my eyes and I roll over to face the wall. A warm hand rests on my shoulder and I turn around thinking it is Wu Koe coming to free me from this nightmare.
I turn and come face to face with He Li Yan instead. Instantly dashing my hopes I begin to weep again. He Li Yan cries too but she dries her tears then hugs me to her.
"Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry," she whispers as she dries my tears. "I have to tell you something," she pauses. "Go inform them that she's awake," He Li Yan says to a servant who had just brought a pot of tea. She brushes back strands of my hair and holds my hands as I calm myself enough to hear her words.
I shudder back my cries trapping them in my throat. "Tell me," I say ready to hear bad news. She looks at me with a sadness but also with the tiniest glimmer of 'it's going to be okay'.
"When you fainted in the hall last month the physician discovered something" He Li Yan begins, leading me but I'm not grasping what she means until she places her hand on my belly. "Wu Koe left you a present," she says with a faint smile spreading on her face. "You must protect your child for both you and for Wu Koe," she says stroking my hair as I dissolve into more tears. "You will have a part of him by your side soon," He Li Yan coaxes me.
It seems that all the staff of the Wu Manor had been gathered and follow Wu Ruan into my room. I wipe away my tears and place my hand on my small belly.
"How long was I out for? Is the baby okay? What happened?" I ask confused. Lin Rui laughes lightly at my questions with misty eyes.
"You asked so many questions, which one should I answer first," Lin Rui jokes. She smiles at my lost but determined face. "You were in shock and exhausted so the doctor said your coma would break after you properly rested," She says. "You are about four months along, so what ever it is you were doing was troubling the fetus but it is alright now," she continues. "You don't need a reminder of anything else, just worry about your child for now," she says as I look down hopelessly wondering why Wu Koe died leaving us alone. "If you find living becomes too hard, live for your child," She offers with a commanding tone.
"I will take care of my child," I say and hold the blanket that covers me. Wu Ruan has many things placed in my room and then everyone leaves. I sit in the silence and consider a choice that will haunt me. I decide I have to leave and return to Great Jin. Without putting the Wu family in jeopardy I should deliver the baby and then return early.
I plot and think and plan but I can't will myself to abandon my child. I decide I must return home and I write a letter explaining my decision to my family. I write a lengthy letter to my father and send Mu Mu to deliver it. I leave the letter on the table with a pendant left to me by my mother. In the next week I slip away from the Wu Manor and I slowly make my way back to Great Jin.
I use water transportation to get from Sheng to the border villages of Great Jin. I ride a horse back to the inside of Great Jin. Mu Mu returns to me with a message from my father. 'Return soon, I will protect you. Your Father'. At the border inn I find a carriage to take me to the capital city. It took me an entire month to reach the capital.
When I arrive at the palace my father comes out to greet me. We go to the main hall where I explain who I married, why he was competent, and the lengths I went to practice well. A physician gives me a check up and confirms to my father that I am pregnant.
My father asks me a scary question. "If the Crown Prince of Great Chu still wants to marry you will you marry him?" my father asks as both my father and the Emperor of Great Jin.
I take my father's words with shock but I contemplate his request regardless. I think it is weird that the Crown Prince of Great Chu would still want to marry me after I had married another. "Is he willing?" I ask my father.
"Yes, he has wanted your hand in marriage since after the incident with the King of Huai. He doesn't know what you look like and yet he wants to marry you because of an old wives tale," my father explains.
"As long as the Crown Prince can promise me no harm will come to my son and I am able to raise my child I am willing," I say tired of running from this scary marriage.
My father has me draft the altered marital agreement and sends it off to Great Chu. In Great Chu the Crown Prince has only been back for a month and his father is pushing him to select a wife. The Emperor of Great Chu is running out of time and is trying to prepare his son to take power. When there is a Crown Princess by the Crown Prince's side he can rest assured.
The altered marital agreement arrives from Great Jin and Crown Prince of Great Chu agrees because he simply covets the Princess of Great Jin who has great Eather magic. The Crown Prince of Great Chu Tuoba He Zhen has great Nether magic. Nether magic works with none living objects vs Eather that works with living objects.
The Crown Prince sits and wonders who had married the Princess? who was the childs father? and what would happen now that she was accepting his proposal. The Crown Prince's mind wandered to his life as Wu Koe and how he had left telling only Wu Ruan and his aunt that his father was dying and that he needed to leave his life as Wu Koe behind as he took the throne.
A week later while the Crown Prince was lost in his thoughts a messenger pigeon was brought in by his hawk. The message was from Wu Ruan 'Hai Ming is pregnant. Hai Ming Flower Immortal is also Xing Bai Mi the eldest Princess of Great Jin. She fled back to Great Jin to protect the Wu family. She has had a hard pregnancy we have no more news of her.'
The Crown Prince's face lit up and then faded and the brightened again. He had already married his Princess and she was adamant about keeping their child safe even in another marriage. The only problem Tuoba He Zhen could see would be explaining his actions to her.
In Great Jin less than a week after receiving the signed marital agreement between the two Empires, a large and extravagant dowry made it's way to the palace. It was grand even for a future Empress. I was sitting admiring the fine fabrics sent. As I could recognize some fine silks sent were from Sheng my heart throbbed.
I prepared many details personally but as my belly was growing rapidly as I made my way into the last months of the pregnancy, I grew tired easier and my progress wasn't going to meet the Crown Prince's request. The Crown Prince of Great Chu sent a letter with the dowry asking that I live in the palace of Great Chu before I gave birth and before the wedding so that I could feel the Crown Prince's sincerity in agreeing.
I was allowed to bring my personal guards and my father gave me half of the Jade Dragon battalion that was specifically designated to protect the one who sits on the throne.
I refuse them many times but my father is insistent that I if I have them with me to protect me then he will be able to be completely rest assured. I accept them for my father's sake and leave two of them behind to send me verified intelligence.
The road is long but I ride in a very steady carriage and manage to sleep through most of the ride. I awake different intervals as I can feel the Eather magic lessens in the flatter terrains near the border of Great Chu.
When I make it to the capital city it has been six weeks of travel. I am in the last months of my pregnancy and my baby moves as frequently as I do. Many gifts are given to me from the people, I can tell that the information of my pregnancy has been redacted from the public's knowledge.
I finally arrive at the palace and am greeted by the Emperor Tuoba Li Jing and the Crown Prince of Great Chu Tuoba He Zhen. The Crown Prince wears a mask but I find him oddly familiar.
The Emperor smiles at me and greets me as family. He compliments the Crown Prince for his taste and leaves us. The Crown Prince watched the old Emperor depart and turns back to me.
The Crown Prince signals to the servants behind him and suddenly many servants produce Eather and Nether blessed hair pins, amulets, bracelets, necklaces, capes, and other blessed accessories.
The Crown Prince himself says nothing as he selected a fair white cape and drapes it my shoulders, carefully not touching me at all. He gruffly whispers to a maid and walks away.
"The Crown Prince says you look very beautiful. He says pregnancy suits you and he can't wait for you to bear him many more children," The maid says as she passes compliments to me from the Crown Prince.
After she relays her message a drawing cart arrives to lead my existing caravan. Down the corridors we go until it is apparent that I arrive at a smaller palace. I am shown my room for resting and assume the rest of the house is the Crown Prince's. When I ask which room is the Crown Prince's a few giggles escape the servants.
The whole palace I am in is mine. The servants laughed as they thought I would've know. The Crown Prince had the palace built and blessed before my arrival. He prepared this place as a gift to me and I couldn't help but think into it.
What has the Crown Prince done to make him owe me so much? I shrug to myself as I can only of one explanation. He owes me in all his lives but he wants to pay me back as much as possible and right away.
I like the palace I have been bestowed it vaguely registers as familiar and again I brush the familiar feeling away. I close myself off from my memories and begin making my palace my own, I make the space as comfortable as possible on my own.