Verse II: Blessing from the Past
by HiImFebby
Three weeks have passed in the Heavenly Realm's time and no one seemed to notice the events from the past weeks that involved Huang Liu.
Due to her excuse of being injured, Heavenly God always visits her residence.
"Are you sure you are okay?" The God asked and Huang Liu nodded in response.
"I am fine, brother. I just exhausted myself from my duties." Huang Liu said and her brother grabbed her hand.
"Rest. I'll just ask the other Earth goddess to fill in for you in the following days." The God said and Huang Liu did not dare to disagree. She might as well also make use of the days to recover her powers from the battle with Yueliang.
"Thank you, big brother." She hugged her dearest brother.
God patted her back, "What for?" He let out a soft laugh. "For letting you slack off for some days?"
Huang Liu smiled. " I'm just... thankful and happy."
And the siblings spent their time like that for a while, talking about simple things and stories about mortals after a hundred years of not being able to properly see each other.
---
"Zhangfu?" The Goddess of Harvest called to her husband.
"Yes, my dear?" Xiang Hu responded after putting down his teacup.
A month has passed and things are the same as usual in the Divine realm. The God and Goddess are busy with their own responsibilities keeping the matters of the world on track.
However, three days from the current time of the Gods, Xiang Hu will have to set off to pacify the rebellion of the Mermaid Clans in the northern Diqiu Lingyu.
Huang Liu went to sit in front of Xiang Hu. "What are you doing?" she asked, and the god gestured at the pile of bamboo scrolls beside him.
"I'm just investigating the cases related to the Mermaid clan for the past decades," he answered. Huang Liu could not think of other things to talk to Xiang Hu and she just remained quiet in her seat.
Deafened by the silence, Xiang Hu decided to speak first.
"Erm, do you have something to say to me?" Xiang Hu asked and the Goddess' face turned red like a ripened apple.
"I...," the Goddess stuttered, too shy to directly speak about her thoughts.
"Yes, my dear Qizi, what is it?" Xiang Hu went to her side and caressed her hand to calm her down.
"Let's do it!" Huang Liu shouted and closed her eyes. Her face was redder than before.
"What are we going to do?" Xiang Hu, the Immortal of Justice stared at the goddess with a puzzled look and was still clueless about what was trying to say.
Xiang Hu patted her hands gently, however, Huang Liu retrieved them and stand up abruptly.
"Let's try once again," Huang Liu looked at the God's eye with determination. "Let me bear your child."
He didn't totally expect that the goddess will take the initiative.
"Ah... yes, of course," Xiang Hu stuttered and because he was shy too, he suddenly turned to scratch the back of his head. "You are my wife so of course, it's you who's gonna bear my child in the future."
Huang Liu crouched in front of Xiang Hu which made him panic, their breaths fanning each other's faces.
"Are you really sure about this, Qizi?" asked Xiang Hu and he tried to distance himself a bit from the Goddess.
Huang Liu nodded and secretly swallowed the Seed of Immortality.
"Hao," Xiang Hu carried his wife to his chambers.
It has also been a while since they were together like this.
The two gods lived separately even though they were married. Huang Liu stayed at her original residence which is the Zhao Lu Palace and the Immortal of Justice in Yueming Palace. , Although their chambers were apart, they can freely visit each other since they are already bound by marriage.
Huang Liu and Xiang Hu's marriage was arranged by their ancestors in ancient times to stabilize the connection between Heaven's Royal Family and Immortal's most powerful fox clan.
At first, they were truly against their complicated relationship, ignoring each other, but as time passed by, they learned to rely on each other and eventually fell in love.
---
The first ray of the sun reached the Yueming Palace and woke the sleeping goddess.
Yet upon opening her eyes, her husband is nowhere to be seen.
The rustling of the maids' footsteps outside made her get up from the chambers. She summoned Bingbing and the nymph appeared in front of her eyes, "High Goddess." Bingbing greeted Huang Liu.
The goddess walked to the side and her vanity table appeared when Bingbing swayed her hands in the air. The maid began combing the goddess' long black hair and Huang Lih started to stare into the vast space of the room.
"Any words from the palace?" Huang Liu asked calmly, but deep inside, the anxiety is eating her.
"Nothing unusual, your Highness," answered Bingbing.
"That is good to hear," she paused to stare at her reflection in the pearl mirror. "Let us go to the Mortal world today."
"Is there any occasion in the mortal world that you want to attend, your Highness?" Bingbing asked and it is now Huang Liu's turn to answer.
"It seems that their new king is about to be born," Huang Liu smiled and she ate one date fruit from the platter in front of her.
---
After putting on her robe and fixing her hair, the Goddess Huang Liu headed to Feng Popo, the goddess of the wind to get her token that serves as her pass to enter or leave any of the three realms at her own will.
"My child, come here," Madame Wind urged Huang Liu to get closer and she slowly caressed the goddess's cheeks.
Huang Liu held the wrinkled hand of Madame Wind and placed it in her lap while she leaned on her shoulders, "How are you these days, Feng Shangshén? I am deeply sorry if I was unable to visit you. Brother told me to focus on recuperating."
Madame Wind got up to scan Huang Liu's body, checking if she was injured. "How did you get hurt, Huang shénnu? Aiya, you should be more careful."
Feng Popo is always a mother figure to Huang Liu. When Huang Di, Huang Liu's brother ascended to the throne, the goddess of the wind served as the master of the house in Zhao Lu Palace until Huang Liu is ready enough to take over the trivial matters as a member of Heaven's royal family and as the Goddess of Birth and Harvest.
"I am fine now Feng Shangshén," Huang Liu turned around so that Madame Wind can scan her, and she sighed with relief.
Huang Liu held Madame Wind's hand and shook it gently, "I am here to get my pass. I have something to do in the Mortal World."
"And that is?" Feng Shangshén eyed her, waiting for Huang Liu's words.
"Not that trivial but just I want to bless the new mortal emperor," Huang Liu smiled. Feng Popo walked towards her chambers to fetch a small gold token.
She urged Huang Liu to follow her and handed her the token from her hands, "Be careful," she smiled after giving the token. Feng Popo watched Huang Liu's figure disappear like a sudden breeze of the wind.
---
Upon descending the land, the joyful atmosphere already embraced the whole Lin Kingdom of the South. Decorations and lanterns were hung in almost all houses and establishments in the kingdom.
"How beautiful," Huang Liu smiled as she stared at the city view from the peak of the Taohua Mountain that serves as the border to the west. She closed her eyes and let the breeze from the mountaintop fan her cheeks.
Today marks the birth of the Crown Prince of the reigning Emperor, the mother or the Empress is of humble origin, a daughter of the Royal Tailor.
The Lin Kingdom is always full of surprises. She snickered at the thought.
Way back then, Huang Liu foresaw that the current emperor will be a tyrant ruler. Mortal time has passed and her prophecy turned out to be false.
Emperor Lin Lihuo became a leader with a strong sense of justice and cared a lot about his subjects. Hundreds of corrupt officials were expelled from the palace during his first years of reign and he only appoints people based on their capabilities. He can also be seen often outside the palace, observing how his people live beyond the palace walls, listening to their stories, and sharing the hard work of labor with them.
The way he ruled the kingdom captivated the heart of the people but those greedy families in the higher society are not happy with it.
"Let's see the royal family," Huang Liu said to Bingbing and they disappeared into thin air.
---
"Hurry up, hurry up. Take these dishes to the Empress." disguised as a court lady in the Empress' chambers, Huang Liu was told to bring the bird's nest soup to the Empress for her recovery.
The Goddess followed the other maids, and after a few turns, she reached the Empress's chambers. There, she saw a beautiful lady, with a little boy wrapped in a white cloth lined with gold threads, he must be the little prince.
A smile escaped from Huang Liu's lips upon seeing the baby in his mother's arms, yet it quickly faded when the thought of having a child of her own came to her mind once again.
She shook her head lightly and curtsied in front of the Empress before putting down the tray on her bedside table. The Empress dismissed all the maids after but Huang Liu remained there.
The Goddess glanced back and met Empress Gao's eyes, "Your son is beautiful," she said. Her eyes glistened and it bewitched the Empress.
Slowly, Huang Liu made her way to the Crown Prince and caress his little head. When the little prince grabbed her fingers, she smiled once again and a tear dropped from her eyes, falling to the prince's cheeks.
It is indeed a joy to have a child... a creature that is made from your own flesh and blood.
The Goddess stared at the child and touched its nape, there, she left a birthmark on the young prince, "May this mark protect you and this Kingdom from all the evil outside the Mortal Realm," she paused and then smiled at the prince. The mark illuminated the room and the fireworks outside began to spread in the open sky, "Crown Prince Lin Licong," Huang Liu whispered and slowly vanished into the shadows.
Huang Liu disappeared from the room that woke the Empress from the illusion that the Goddess has put her into.
The Crown Prince cried in his mother's arms as the fireworks outside continued to light up the night sky.
༊ *
Huang Liu and Bingbing went back to Peach Mountain's peak once again to admire Lin's Kingdom landscape. The land was illuminated with red due to the red lanterns all over the kingdom and many other decorations.
While the goddess stares at the distant land, a sharp pain throbs from her lower abdomen. She immediately fell to the ground as the throbbing gets more intense to the point that it is almost unbearable.
"Ahh!" she screamed. The pain made her knelt on the cold hard ground. Bingbing immediately assisted the goddess to get up but her body also began to tense. Huang Liu curled to the ground and squeezed her stomach trying to suppress the pain but it continued until the Goddess lost consciousness.
Bingbing tried all her might and poured all her energy to create the portal that only the Goddess can do.
She managed to open the portal, however, her powers cannot contain it longer than the goddess can. Bingbing used her remaining magic to create a capsule-like barrier for the goddess and threw it in the half-opened portal.
The current of the distorted dimensions made the nymph dizzy but in just a couple of minutes, they reached the gate of the Heaven Realm.
"Quick! Quick!" Bingbing shouted and asked for the assistance of the palace guards in front of her.
"What happened to Her Highness?" Asked the palace guards but Bingbing ignored the question and told them to help her bring the Goddess Huang Liu's body back to Zhao Lu Palace.
The guards immediately summoned a palanquin to carry Huang Liu's unconscious body and one of them called for a crane to send a message to the Heavenly God.
Shortly, a crane landed on Huang Di's shoulder and whispered the message that the palace guards has sent. He was currently meeting in the main hall with Xiang Hu and Xing Ming, the Deity of the Stars, discussing the matters of the Mermaid clan's rebellion.
"Huang Liu is in danger," Huang Di abruptly lose his balance and was assisted by the two deities behind him.
"Let's go," said Huang Di after regaining his balance and vanishing into thin air. Xiang Hu sensed his wife's slow pulse and used it to locate the Goddess' whereabouts.
"Zhao Lu's Palace," he nodded to Xing Ming and they both disappeared in a blink of an eye.
"Meimei," called the Heavenly God and shoved the Imperial Doctor that is currently treating the fainted Goddess. He stood beside Huang Liu and transferred his energy to her.
"Your Highness," the Imperial Doctor tried to interrupt Huang Di but the God eyed him sharply.
"Qizi!" Xiang Hu reached the room with Xing Ming and found her wife lying in bed with a weak pulse. In one corner, he saw Bingbing, crying.
"What happened to your Master?" he asked, trying not to lose his temper.
"Her Highness and just I went to the mortal world to bless the newborn crown prince of the Lin's." While gasping for air, she still tried to explain the whole situation to the Gods in front of her, "We were about to go back but the High Goddess, suddenly fell into the ground and went unconscious."
Bingbing sobs and the nurse that accompanied the Imperial Doctor tried to calm her, "After the Goddess went unconscious, I was panicking because she's the only one who can summon the portal back to Heaven's Realm so I used all of my energy to form a portal and luckily, we made it in one piece," she continued and burst into tears once again after finishing her words.
"Why is Her Highness not waking up?" asked Xing Ming. Huang Liu still doesn't wake up despite the Heavenly God transferring his energy to her.
"Let me check on Her Highness once again," Huang Di stopped giving his energy to his sister and let the Imperial Doctor make his way to check up on Huang Liu. The doctor went to feel her pulse and was confused for a couple of moments. He turned his head in disbelief and tried to examine the Goddess once again.
"My dear wife," called Xiang Hu and held his wife's hand.
"Your Highnesses," the Imperial Doctor got up and kowtowed in front of the Gods. "High Goddess Huang Liu is bearing a child."
Huang Liu's hand fell from Xiang Hu's grip when the Doctor told them the news. Bingbing stopped crying, Huang Di's eyes slowly began to fill with joy, and Xing Ming was left with surprise.
"Say it again," Xiang Nu told the Doctor.
The Imperial Doctor kowtowed once again but in front of Xiang Hu, "Congratulations, My Lord. You are now going to be a father." He paused to get up and pointed to Huang Liu's pulse. "I checked the Goddess' pulse and sensed the other life inside her."
"Mèifu," the Heavenly God tapped Xiang Hu's shoulder, with a smile on his face. "Gōngxǐ nǐ."
And with the happy news, Xing Ming lit up Heaven's sky with shooting stars that can be seen all over the three realms.
---
[DOP: November 27, 2022]
VOCABS:
* GongXiNi- Congratulations
* MeiFu- Younger Sister's husband