I have sorted everything I could out and now I face the misunderstandings. Of course I will be sacrificed for the good of the Empire. I am determined I will not go down so easy and use a sword skill I never learned but know well.
* * *
It only takes a month for news of the arrival of He Zhen and his concubine to reach us and then they show up. I have been waiting for an explanation mostly for why he didn't care for our children and instead worried about the vixen on his arm and the children she bore him. I remind myself that she poisoned him first and the first child is from her forcing him.
I greet them and don't allow my sons to wander from my grasp. He Zhen sees them and it's as though he sees his mistake now that I am back alive and he knows the treatment he gave them will be repaid ten fold.
"Ke'er, Tian'er, and my long lost love Mi'er," He Zhen says coming forward to embrace us. Me and my sons shrink from his touch. I step forward standing between my sons and He Zhen.
"You address us as though we have never been abandoned by you. Do you deserve to casually call our names?" I say with conviction. I don't fully understand why He Zhen caused my sons to flinch from his touch.
"Why of course sister these are our children and their father and our husband wants to be intimate, it is quite alright!" Sio Ji pipes in. I notice that He Zhen and Sio Ji also have their children in tow being tended to by a maid.
"You have no right to speak here," I lash out with venom in my voice. Sio Ji smiles with a watch this expression and begins to pout and jumps back to hide behind He Zhen. Sio Ji's black hair covers her face as she cries into He Zhen's side.
"Xing Bai Mi watch yourself she is also my wife!" He Zhen retorts defending Sio Ji. He turns and bathes her in kisses and she clings to his body and they begin to try to make inappropriate love in the middle of the Great Hall that is full of officials.
"I believe you understand the manners of the court then! My father shouts from his throne as he throws a cup at Sio Ji's feet from where he sits. "You dare disrespect my eye sight in my court!" my father commands and suddenly Sio Ji is kneeled down sword to her neck and He Zhen looks confused.
"Why are the rules different for us? If Xing Bai Mi can have sex in public with Sio Huang why can't I have sex with my wife Sio ji in public?" He Zhen says. My father breathes and I flick my wrist and now He Zhen is on his knees.
"Sio Ji and Sio Huang are a plague and have damaged the face of all present Royal Families! If you utter such nonsense in public you will tear down what is left of Royal Dignity! You are lucky a sword isn't pressed to your neck too!" My father's voice booms and I can see even He Zhen feels it's power.
"You abandoned me and our sons for a vixen who masters poisoning people. Then you slander me saying I enjoyed not knowing what was happening to me as I had almost eight years stolen from me?" I ask. Ridiculous! He wants me to return to his harem and left Great Chu without a single true blooded royal. In my anger I grow crimson vines from Sio Ji's flesh. I don't kill her but as He Zhen begins pulling the delicate vines from her skin Sio Ji screams. "I wouldn't do that if I was you. As long as the vines that have grown from her skin are properly left unplucked she won't feel any pain but when you remove a vine from her skin she will feel pain similar to that of a kitsune losing a tail. The vines are quite delicate and fragile. They will grow flowers three times during blue moons and then if they were properly tended to they will grow back into the original form of magic and protect one of her potential children. As long as she has a next child it will be protected but born with the mark of an Eather born. The child will not posses Eather magic even if she finds an Eather man to reproduce with. It isn't a gift or a curse because it cancels itself out," I say and take my children away from the scene. Bowing to my father and leaving the Great Hall.
"Xing bai Mi, Ji'er doesn't deserve your curse! I will make you pay!" A mad He Zhen shouts as I leave causing my father to shout and guards pour into the Great Hall as me and my sons safely leave.
"Mum that was cool," Min'er says. Ke'er shakes his head in agreement. Great I lost my temper and now I am being a bad influence to my children.
"Mum will you teach us to turn people into plants?" Ke'er asks. My sons look up at me with bright faces of wonder and hope.
"No I won't, I shouldn't have done that, but it wasn't unjustified. I will teach you how to use leaping cloud skill though," I say hoping they'll accept my compromise. They both shake their heads in agreement and run after a scene of butterflies I create. When they catch the butterflies they turn into peach, cherry, and almond blossoms. My sons bring the flowers together in crowns and give me one big crown and each other two smaller crowns.
"We look beautiful," Min'er compliments as we cross a bridge over a still pond that reflects our image. I don't recognize myself as I have become thinner and my feature have sharpened.
"My sons you are the most handsome," I say to them. We enter my palace and I teach them basic sword skills. The only one who practiced with me as a small child was Ke'er and holds his bamboo sword with grace. Min'er holds his sword with a pose similar to mine. Together me and my sons practice with swords until they turn to fight me and I turn their swords into living shoots.
Exhausted my sons sleep peacefully when I send them to bed. I on the other hand am sought out by He Zhen. I ignore him and send a pigeon to find Mu Mu. Mu Mu makes his presence known as he had always followed me. The Hawks he flies with have added one and lost one. He Zhen's hawk is stuck in Great Chu and their offspring follows Mu Mu and my hawk.
I am happy to see them but saddened at their separation. I have an inkling about something I noticed in the great hall. I had assessed Sio Ji before my magic faded and she carried a suppressed child with no magic presence. When I saw the children of Sio Ji and He Zhen only one of them left a trail of magic. The son wasn't his but the daughter was. I was going to sneak out using my leaping cloud skill to leave but as I made off the roof I see someone leading Sio Huang to my bedroom. I quickly go to my sons and pull them out of my room and hear two men shout.
I take my sons and run towards my father's quarters. I run past the guard house and I see Sio Ji inappropriately draped a guard at his post. I fear the worst and race to my father's palace. When I arrive I go in from the second story balcony and my sons clamber into my father's bed with him and my father is startled awake after he made room for my boys and then he sees me.
"Gods above, Mi'er what's wrong? Why do you sneak my grandsons here?" My father asks me concerned. I create an orb that gives off gentle light so we can see each other but not bright enough for others to see.
"My palace was invaded by Sio Huang, my boys were in danger and I snuck into your room without any resistance?, a guard is busy filling Sio Ji's womb with his Eather born seed, and the palace has been breached. I asses this is the safest place," I say as I look for the Jade Dragon Battalion and find them passed out. I use my magic to heal them and my sons help. Their healing is truly from me as they only have to see with their magic and quickly we revive seventeen of them. The remaining sixteen are healed but left to detoxify where they are as I feel tired and I can't let my sons over exert themselves, they're going to need each other and their magic if a battle in the palace happens.
"Thank you, your highnesses for saving the Jade Dragon Battalion. I am Battalion Commander Sun, Sun YouKun. I took over when you were captive," Commander Sun introduces himself.
"Protect my Royal Father well," I say knowing full and well I will need someone to protect my father and my children.
With the battalion in tow we return and guard my father's palace. I find guards and confirm the trusted guards with the Jade Dragon Battalion. My father hands me the military deployment token.
I focus on protecting my father and send battalions notification to send at least one man to the palace. A thorough sweep of the palace reveals a large part of Huai's defense is lingering in the Palace of Great Jin. With the news I decide my father and my sons should play Go while I play real life go.
I use a strategy to post officers to push the intruders into the center for capture. I station a large portion of troops to protect my sons and my Father. Knowing I have left them safe I jump into my work.
I trace back to where Sio Ji was having an affair with one of the palace guards. They are still being intimate and have made a mess in the area. Disgusted I turn and leave. I am blind sided by a rogue guard and am dragged to Sio Huang. They have also captured Commander Sun, the guard who brings me in tells Sio Huang I was watching his sister have fun with a guard.
A disgusting smile spreads across Sio Huang's face. Me and Commander Sun are taken to an empty bedroom and Sio Huang sets guards to the doors. He takes off his clothes and he removes most of Commander Sun's taking the clothes he swaps them.
"I hear you were enjoying watching my sister take a man's innocence," Sio Huang says with a dangerous edge. "I like to watch as much as you do, so you will fuck Commander Sun until you milk him," Sio Huang says making me feel sick to my stomach. "If you don't do it I can help you," Sio Huang says pulling the fabric that covers me and cutting through it with a dagger. "Make me want you and then I'll save you." Sio Huang orders.
"You disgust me." I spot out as Commander Sun is also stripped. I have to save myself and I close my eyes to think and I react. I use my shredded clothes to choke Sio Huang and I slam him face down into the small tea table causing a stream of red to appear. I injured him too easily! I think as I wrap my remaining clothes around myself and defend against Sio Huang's guards who worry about Sio Huang's limp figure folded over on the ground.
Sio Huang's dagger is now in my hands and Commander Sun has used the clothes off of Sio Huang's body. The guards proceed to attack and are caught by surprise when I dance through them and leave a trail of bodies in my wake. Sober I am terrifying but they did not know that as they had only seen me as a cheap mistress.
With the commotion caused in Sio Huang's room the intruders of the palace rush to defeat us. Me and Commander Sun manage to take turns on point taking out as many guards as possible without killing them all.
I manage to return to my Father and my sons who all look similar in the opposing manner they posses as they stand guarded. I can not go to them completely but I can come before them to show I am still fighting.
I send myself to the top of the seven story palace and observe all that I can and realize that the intruders are slinking away as they realize the Sio twins are no match for Great Jin. I also observe that the Han Battalion is breaking down into the palace interrupting the path out the palace.
The events that follow flow smoothly. I am left with a difficult task as half the monarchy of Great Chu I have abandoned them for years and return after being another man's Queen. I settle myself and acknowledge that I will have to reprove myself to my kingdom and worry my Emperor's follies later.
The ministers all cry out for me to remain deposed unless I gain the Southern territories for Great Chu. It is a sentence to death but I possess enough knowledge of the arts to survive some time in battle. I am given a temporary title of Southern General.
With all the possible things I can do done I accept. I have sorted everything I could out and now I face the misunderstandings. Of course I will be sacrificed for the good of the Empire. I am determined I will not go down so easy and use a sword skill I never learned but know well.
I set out with 10,000 elite troops and 100,000 nominal troops. I am given a sliver of soldiers required and if I ask for back up it is unlikely I will receive any reinforcements until my time is lost or until I am down to the last thousand men.
The kingdom in the south is made of nomadic tribes who have settled the soil with palaces all over but are still reared on the saddles of horses. These strong people do not give any way and when the situation is at it's worst I am called back to the capital of Great Chu as Tuoba He Zhen has been captured and the only monarch left is me.
"Empress, your position is regained as you have diligently fought and gained many lands of the South. Now our Emperor is captured and the Crown Prince has not yet returned." I am written to by the court's ministers. It is true I left my son's in Great Jin with my Father.
I am sent troops to stabilize the Conquered South and brought back with a show. I never think to question who the Crown Prince is until I return and the court shakes the answer out in a slow snail pace.
"Your majesty, If the Emperor isn't returned we must quickly crown the new Emperor even though the Crown Prince is one of the youngest of the Princes, his mother is believed to be a part of the group that captured his majesty." I am informed.
"The Crown Prince of Great Chu was declared as First Prince, my Ke'er, it was decided by the Emperor himself and should not have changed even if I lost my position!" I demand. The court mumbles in agreement but I must approach this carefully.
"The Empress is right and has the only decree but his majesty gave an oral decree when the fourth prince was born that even though his mother is a concubine he is the oldest son of his only remaining wife. He had previously bestowed the Fire Dragon Jade pendant to the first prince with the decree of Crown Prince but demanded that as soon as possible the pendant was to be given to the Fourth Prince. This has not happened and the First Prince is of age to be able to take control under Empress's guidance," The Prime Minister speaks up.
"I agree but this decision can be seen negatively by the people. It will seem that I am out for power as it places me in the seat of Empress Dowager," I speak my concern. It was my son's right to inherit a kingdom as first born. Even if he would have been a daughter I would have seen to it that the Kingdom would belong to Ke'er.