The Peaceful Present

The sun was setting throwing a fiery red hue all across the sky. A woman was standing on the wall surrounding the fort palace donning a black and red hanfu. The blowing wind made her long silky hair and the dress dance in its rhythm occasionally. Her hair was neatly put in a semi-up-do with the lower layer left open making it look exceptionally longer than its usual length.

Empress Qi stood with an expression that was a mixture of contempt, and happiness adorned with confidence. Suddenly, she felt two hands embracing her from behind. The whiff of sandalwood swept her olfactory sense and her happy expression soon turned more loving with the faint smile turning into a bright one. Her heart skips a beat, yet strangely stays calm in the presence of this person. She never in her wildest dreams thought of the reality that just unfolded. The person, who was a stranger, whom she ignored and almost killed in sudden single-hand combat just a couple of years ago is now not just her newly wedded husband but the cause of her entire being.

Emperor Huanglong spoke with a voice filled with the same love and contempt, with his lips near her ears, “What are you doing up here alone, jiejie?”

She smiled brightly and said, “You know I like to watch the sunset. Also, the wind today is pleasant and cool so I wanted to spend some time up here. Back home I always watched it with Baba whenever he had the time”.

“Do you miss your family?” the emperor asked with a tinge of concern in his voice.

“Hmmm,” she nodded with a little sadness in her eyes.

The fact that she will never see her parents, the man she called ‘Baba’ and her baby sister ever again, made her heart wrench with pain. All she is left with now is her younger cousin and her family who are the only living family. How can she forget the day of the coup when the minister Ratan Raj along with the Commander Xi of Tianxia slaughtered her parents and took her five-year-old sister away? The treacherous minister of Shrughna in his quest to take over the kingdom from the ruling Vedi royal family planned the coup with the help of Xi. Xi was the Commander of Emperor Haoran, the half-brother of the previous emperor. Haoran wasn’t a tyrant but was a puppet in the hands of Commander Xi who is extremely lecherous, bloodthirsty, and ambitious. All military expeditions were his desire to create one vast realm, with him as its supreme ruler, under the pretext of royal decrees. The emperor himself was put on the throne through a coup in which the previous Emperor Jiaolong was assassinated. Jiaolong’s children Crown Prince Xiao Jun were killed while feeling and protecting his younger brother. But strangely, the General's army found no trace of the younger sibling.

Empress Qi shook off the painful memories for the present happiness that fate finally bestowed on her. The journey wasn’t easy at all with death lurking at every turn for her, but she overcame all those hurdles like wildfire one by one and took the peace she deserved. The emperor her husband, the man she was destined to meet not knowing that fate had chosen them to be together, had to fight his own battles not just for his life but also for the throne which was rightfully his and he finally ascended as Emperor Huanglong.

“Run…Xiang’er and don’t look back”

He never forgot the last words screamed by his elder brother while fighting a dozen imperial army soldiers, arrows piercing his body from all sides. He ran with tears flowing through his eyes. When he finally stopped, he could feel the scourging heat of rage gradually building up in his heart. He nurtured it all this time only for the day when he unleashed them.

But standing now with the one who gradually put out that fire of rage inside his heart by becoming the reason for him to live his life once again, he felt a soothing sensation of peace sweeping over him. Being his lawfully wedded wife, she became the empress consort and was given the Tianxian name of Qi (meaning ‘fine jade’ which symbolizes life force and positive energy). Empress Qi became a beacon of hope for the people of the Tianxia Empire. No one ever in their wildest dreams had thought that a foreign princess would eventually become their salvation. Everyone knew of the ancient prophecy but never imagined that it would be a foreigner and that too a woman who was the missing piece of the puzzle that racked the brains of the most learned and powerful cultivators in the kingdom.

“Yun’er…do you think everything will be alright now? We defeated and vanquished it but somehow, I have a feeling that it’s not over yet. What if something else happens?” Empress Qi asked.

“Yun’er? Really? I am not only your husband but also the emperor and you call me Yun’er? Most importantly that is not even my real name”, the emperor asked his wife in a playful sarcastic way.

She gave him a slight nudge with her shoulders and scoffed, “Huh! So what? I have always called you Yun’er and for the record, you forgot that I am older than you.”

He hugged his wife tight and tickled her ears with his face teasing her.

“Is that so? Ok fine, even I am used to you calling me Yun’er. You can keep the honorifics for the public. But be careful you might blurt out casually calling my name and shock everyone.”

They laughed and chatted for a while, embracing each other’s arms. Suddenly the empress turned round in concern and asked.

“What about Josh?? Did she reach the Borderlands yet?”

“Well, I received news that they will be there in two days. Don’t worry, Jin-ho with her, she’ll be alright.

“But you know her? And for a change, it's Jin-ho I am worried about. Will he be able to manage to keep up with her? She can be a total ass sometimes.” she frowned in annoyance.

The emperor gave out an amusing laugh.

“Jin-ho was one of the chosen ones and Josh is the best all-rounder aura Shrughna has. Don’t underestimate them. He just overpowered the Shadow and she went up against the fiercest army ever created.”

“My cousin is more vicious than the Shadow Ghoul army. You saw that didn’t you all this time? I hope they carry out the mission successfully and come back. And also, I will pay her visits to the Borderlands. Three years is too long given the fact that we just reunited.”

“You never admitted the love you have for your sisters and keep on cursing” the emperor again embraced this time facing her giving a warm smile.

The height difference between the two is quite striking with the empress reaching up to his long slender neck. The emperor traced his fingers on the scar mark on her right forehead which often stays hidden underneath her hairline.

“I am sorry about this. You know you can’t get rid of it for life.”

“It’s ok Yun’er. I don’t want to. It reminds me that I fought and survived.”

Hearing it the emperor went down to kiss his empress, the love of his life, cupping her round face lovingly in his hands. She was the one who thawed his frozen heart and unlocked the emotions he locked away deep into the abyss of his heart. She brought back his old self when he was a child.

The same goes for her as well. It was he who slowly put together the pieces of her broken heart, and soothed the pain that she playfully concealed with a cheerful behavior only for him to see right through it. They both hit it off from the very first time they came face to face with each other while she beat the crap out of him mistaking him to be a spy.

“Hwang-shan, Hwang-hao niangniang!” A eunuch came to call, bowing to them. “The people have gathered in the great hall.”

Medium-built with intelligent eyes; Eunuch Wu is extremely loyal to both of them. His father served the deposed Emperor and was killed by the Commander during the uprising. He was taken as a boy; and was made a eunuch serving the puppet emperor. Without his help in spying and sending them secret information risking his life, defeating the Commander was almost impossible. He is one of the most trusted confidants of the empress, both of whom had saved each other’s lives countless times.

“Let’s go my Empress.” The emperor held her hand

The Empress looked surprised and asked, “Since when calling me ‘jiejie’ changed into ‘my Empress’?

They both chuckled and left hand in hand for the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was filled with people who came to greet the new emperor and empress. Once they entered hand in hand the whole hall fell into a pin-drop silence and with Eunuch Wu announcing their presence everyone bowed on their knees.

“All hail to the Emperor and the Empress” they chanted. The empress felt a strange surge of feeling within her. The great imperial hall, the grand throne with splendor all around, and people bowing down all reminded her of the imperial palace she grew up, her homeland; her birthplace. Her mind drifted back to the time when she was just a kid. The memories are vague and distant yet she remembers them quite well.