Su Su and Ye Hua: Our Own Fairytale

Part 3

Ye Hua raised A-Li on his own, and he had no choice but to leave Bai Qian to think alone until he was back with A-Li. He could only place trust in Zhe Yan that he wouldn't allow Bai Qian to drink the amnesia potion.

For A-Li to recognise his mother once he saw her, Ye Hua drew a painting of her and hung it in Xiwu Palace. The painting was flawless, capturing every feature of the actual Bai Qian as only Ye Hua could do.

A-Li grew up, Ye Hua being his father and mother. Bai Qian made no move to come and see him, but no matter. It didn't disrupt the plan Ye Hua had made, in hope that A-Li would be able to stop Bai Qian from drinking the amnesia potion.

When A-Li was 300 years old, he knew everything about his mother, that she was a mortal, that she met his father on Mount Junji of the Far East, and that she had been forced to jump off Zhuxian Terrace by the Immortals of Heaven, and he couldn't wait to see her.

Ye Hua decided that it was time to let them meet.

Meanwhile, Bai Qian had managed to refrain from drinking the amnesia potion under Zhe Yan's strict watch, but she was getting impatient. When could she just forget everything?

She didn't want to carry that heartache around anymore.

Finally, one day, she saw Ye Hua and a child get off a cloud and greet Zhe Yan.

She strode over.

"It's been 300 years." Her harsh voice berated Ye Hua. "Give me my amnesia potion. I can't keep up like this."

"A-Li, this is your mother." Ye Hua made no move to reply to Bai Qian's scolding. He beckoned the child to come forward.

"Mother! Mother!" The adorable boy ran to her and hugged her legs, him being too short to stretch higher.

Even Bai Qian was unnerved. A baby didn't matter. But now he was grown, and he called her "Mother". How could she beat to drink the amnesia potion right in front of his eyes?

Well, that was Ye Hua's plan. He couldn't think of any other way to convince her, and A-Li was the only way.

Devious enough? Yep.

Anyway, Bai Qian looked at Zhe Yan pleadingly for help. Zhe Yan merely shrugged.

"Ye Hua, whatever you're doing, it's not working! Stop it now!" Bai Qian yelled at Ye Hua.

"I promised I would never allow you to drink that amnesia potion. Here is your son, and you still want to drink it? Su Su, please. For the sake of A-Li and me. Please don't."

"You let me down. Why can't I forget all that?" Bai Qian's voice was more desperate than angry now.

"It was all my fault." Ye Hua could no longer curb his self-control. He walked towards her and took her hands urgently. "All my fault." He repeated.

A-Li tugged at her hand. "Mother, don't drink it. You'll forget me. I don't want you to forget me."

Ye Hua lifted Bai Qian's chin up, and forced her to look at him. Now that he had all her attention, he put his hands around her waist.

"Su Su, I promise you this. Once I marry you into Xiwu Palace, no one will ever mistreat you again."

Bai Qian stopped resisting. Her tears uncontrollably spilled down her cheeks. First a waterfall, then a stream, and then a trickle. All Ye Hua could do was to hold her close and wait for her to calm down.

Finally Bai Qian calmed down enough to talk. She faced Ye Hua and said, "I'm sorry, but the Heavenly Lord will never allow me to marry into Xiwu Palace."

"Why?" Ye Hua asked. "We do have a political marriage arrangement."

"He has never liked me. He only agreed to this arrangement because the Fox Clan is one of the most wealthy clan. And he has to maintain good relations with other clans. So I'm sorry, but I cannot marry you. I will never face fair judgment in the Celestial Palace."

Ye Hua shook his head. "Your family and my grandfather swore this in front of the whole world. If we were to cancel it again, the Celestial Tribe and Qing Qiu will look bad."

"Try me. I don't care so much about Celestial protocols. I never did. If I won't marry you, no one can make me." Bai Qian's voice was going back to its harshness.

Ye Hua held her hands as he tried to change her mind. "Qian Qian, no one would oppose you once you marry into the Celestial Palace. You are my Princess Consort. No one can oppose you."

"But you will not succeed the position of Heavenly Lord yet. Until then, I will never have a chance to be judged fairly. Your side consort holds a great position in the Heavenly Lord's eyes. She's from the Su Jin Clan, she was once a consort of the Heavenly Lord. She will never allow me to have a peaceful marriage with you." Bai Qian explained.

"Let me go, Ye Hua. As I said before I jumped off Zhuxian Terrace, I will also let you go, and we won't owe each other anything."

"No..." Ye Hua shook his head frantically. This wasn't supposed to happen, he thought. She was supposed to say that she would forgive me.

Bai Qian walked away.

Ye Hua snapped his fingers, and a freak gust of wind blew her back. Ye Hua caught her in his arms.

"One last question." He said, pleading silently that it would work.

"What now, Ye Hua?" Bai Qian sounded weary. "We're over. Don't try to change it."

"Do you love me?" He asked.

Bai Qian's fists clenched. "So what if I do? So what if I don't? It's not going to change anything. It never will!"

"You're wrong, Qian Qian." Ye Hua whispered into her ear. "It changes everything."

"How?" She cried, pushing him away. "Even if I wanted to marry you, I can't. Your grandfather would never allow others to spread good things about me. He would take it all as a fraud."

"I promise this, Qian Qian," Ye Hua tried to keep his voice level and controlled. "I promise I will talk to my family about this. I will make them swear to treat you as family. And if they don't, they'll answer to me."

Bai Qian tried to keep her love for him under control. She wanted to marry him, truly and deeply. She wanted to be the one he loved. She wanted to be the one he held. Most of all, she wanted him. But if she became the Princess Consort of Ye Hua, who knows how the other deities would treat her?

"Ye Hua-"

"Stay with me, Qian Qian." Ye Hua cut across her. "That's all I ever wanted."

Bai Qian tried to exert her self control, say no and walk away, but she had a limit. She ran into Ye Hua's outstretched arms.

Zhe Yan smiled secretly and walked off.

Ye Hua wrapped his hands around her and stroked her back. His dream had come true.

Everything he'd ever wished for ever since meeting Su Su on Mount Junji of the Far East had come to life.