Aftermath (A series of ELOD one-shots)

XXV. Ancient History

A/N: Dedicated to Gungun fans out there. :)

Inspired by that scene in TPB, Bai Qian's POV, regarding Dijun's decision to close the Jade Pond and use Qingti's matter to force Fengjiu's hand: "xxx Donghua had reached the state of single-mindedness in the nine mental abidings where good and evil were separated but by one thought. What he did was so unkind that perhaps he had lost his balance and was entering straight to the dark side."*

Still mainly fluff, though, especially the last part (which is my personal take on that old joke about DH's life choices.)

Have fun!

Disclaimer: Artwork not mine, credit to the talented artist.

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Ever since Gungun scored a measly five points in his Ancient History exam, Fengjiu made it her personal mission to tutor her son on the subject, of which she could claim a certain degree of mastery. To be successful, she also made it a point to teach him the textbook version of events, and more importantly, ban Donghua from the room whenever it was time for them to study.

Now that she is pregnant and free, in a manner of speaking, from most of her monarchial and imperial duties, Fengjiu had more time to spend discussing ancient history texts with Gungun. She was pleased to find that her son had learned the useful skill of compartmentalizing truth from fiction, and had taken to adjusting his exam answers so as to suit academic requirements.

What she did not expect was to hear a question that she herself never thought of until she was in the higher stages of her schooling.

"Mother, what does it mean that father-lord has reached the state of single-mindedness?"

Fengjiu had a fleeting recollection of the "nine mental abidings" that her Fourth Uncle Bai Zhen rambled about when she came to him with the exact same question. She remembered having a headache after hearing her uncle's answer, so she decided to skip that in favor of a more straightforward explanation. "It means your father had reached the point where it makes no difference whether he is good or evil."

Gungun, per his usual, spent a few moments in thoughtful silence to digest her answer. Then he asked, ever so casual, as if they were not talking about the very same man who sired him, "So is he good, or evil?"

Tough question, Fengjiu thought, considering that even now, it is still debatable whether Donghua is a holy being or not.**

She was so very tempted to give a cavalier answer, but decided to refrain for the sake of her son's education. "Let's put it this way. You are already well versed with the history of your father's birth, correct?" Seeing Gungun nod, she continued, "So, you know for a fact that he started out as neither god or demon, and belonged to no clan. Eventually, however, he chose the ways of the gods and left the demon path."

Again, that thoughtful silence. Fengjiu was still battling with herself on how to best answer when the expected question came.

"But why did he choose the gods over the demons?"