Bai Qian drank some water as she tried to go back to sleep or maybe she tried to wake up, she honestly wasn't sure. She just wanted to be in whatever state allowed her share her time with Ye Hua. The more time she spent in that state, the less real his death felt, so much that she was close to convincing herself she'd dreamed it. She stretched and walked out the door, breaking into a smile as she saw him reading a scroll at the mouth of the fox den. He smiled back and held a hand out to her which she took and leaned into him.
"Qian Qian, I miss A-Li" Ye Hua said after they'd been standing for a while
"So do I" Bai Qian replied
"You're his mother, you should raise him."
She nodded in response with tears in her eyes
"Qian Qian, you need to go get him now" Ye Hua pressed
"I don't want to leave you" she cried
"I'm not going anywhere. You need each other now."
Bai Qian woke up with a start, now certain she had been dreaming and she felt the sadness hug her like a dear friend. She wiped her face and cleaned herself up then proceeded to the nine heavens.
A-Li was not in his Qingyun hall when she went there, Nai Nai informed her the little boy had just started his first full day of studying and was expected to return after sunset. She felt even more despair hit her, A-Li was facing the same 14-hour study session Ye Hua had dealt with even though Ye Hua had refused to let him go through that when he was alive. She wondered how the Ye Hua in her dream knew that and considered that her dreams may not be dreams but her spirit talking to his. She sighed, it made her happier and sadder at the same time.
Knowing that someone was bound to have announced her presence to the royal family, she decided to go to the main hall to pay her respects and ask for her son. She had just greeted the heavenly lord and Donghua Dijun when Ye Hua's parents and uncle came in. Apart from the family, the hall was empty.
"Bai Qian. What brings you here?" Heavenly lord asked.
Bai Qian heard no anger in his voice but if there was sadness it was well concealed. And though she hadn't seen him since she was Su Su, she thought he looked much older. Ye Hua's death weighed on them all. Because she didn't want pride to get in the way and because she was physically weak - she couldn't remember if she'd eaten anything since Ye Hua; she chose the path of humility and dropped to her knees. All she wanted was her son, it didn't matter how she got him. She saw and heard the shock in the room before she spoke
"Heavenly lord, Bai Qian would like for A-Li to live with his mother" She said
"No!" Le Xu screamed, "You took away my son, you can't take away my grandson too!"
"Quiet!" Heavenly lord replied "Ye Hua died in the duties of the crown prince, protecting his people. I will not have his image tarnished"
Le Xu apologized.
"Bai Qian, you are A-Li's mother but someday he may be the heavenly emperor. He needs to be in heaven with the family so we can train him"
Bai Qian looked up at the heavenly lord "Your majesty, you have three sons, five grandchildren, three of whom are male and A-Li is your merely great grandson. My son is only three hundred years old, even if he develops at the same rate as his father, it'll be 50,000 years before he's ready to take the throne. Are you saying that you will rather my son inherits the throne than any of the other older males in your family?"
"It is my duty to make sure the throne goes to the most capable member of my family"
"Your majesty, Bai Qian is not saying A-Li cannot be crown prince or heavenly lord someday. I am saying that my son just lost his father and as his mother I would like to be part of his life"
Heavenly lord sighed "We can send him to Qing Qiu for two weeks every year."
"Bai Qian appreciates your generosity but two weeks a year is a vacation not life experience"
"You and Ye Hua were not married. You do not have any right to live in heaven and act as the mother of the imperial great grandson"
"And that's all he is. Imperial great grandson, not prince, not crown prince not heavenly lord. My marriage or otherwise to Ye Hua has nothing to do with this matter. I gave birth to A-Li. He is mine"
"I know you are sad and that is why I have entertained this conversation for this long but I have to ask you to leave now"
"Very well" Bai Qian replied as she got on her feet. She felt woozy so she closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths "A-Li is the great grandson of the heavenly lord but he is also the son of the Queen of Qing Qiu. I understand that my request came suddenly so I will give you sometime to think about it then I'll be back.
She walked out of the hall and to the gate before cloud jumping to the peach forest where she landed at the door of the hut Zhe Yan kept. When she walked in Zhe Yan and her fourth brother looked up.
"When last did you eat?" Fourth brother asked
"I don't remember. I need your help, they won't let me keep A-Li, they won't let me raise my son" she said and the torrent of tears she'd held at bay while in the nine heavens broke through.
"It's ok, it's ok" fourth brother said as he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry.
When she was finally able to speak, she noticed some food had been laid out on the table.
"Eat" Zhe Yan said "we'll talk after you get something in your system. You look like you're about to fall apart"
She wasn't really hungry but the look on the two faces that watched her left no room for argument. She picked up a peach, bit into it and gave them the highlights of her discussion with the heavenly lord.
"What do you want to do?" Fourth brother asked
"It occurred to me that A-Li has not been named crown prince and I think heavenly lord is reluctant to give him that title so I want you to name him your successor. Xiao Jiu will inherit my throne but there are five thrones in Qing Qiu and only two members in the next generation. If A-Li is officially in line for one of the thrones then he'll have to train in Qing Qiu" She replied laying out the plan that had began to form in her mind while she was in the main hall of the nine heavens.
"What if they make him Crown Prince of the celestial tribe?" Zhe Yan asked
"Then who would keep the mother of the crown prince out of the nine heavens?" Bai Qian asked with a smile.
YOU ARE READING
Between two lifetimes
Fanfiction[completed] A reimagination of the 3 years when Ye Hua was dead. Based on Chinese drama - ten miles of peach blossoms. This story starts at the end of episode 56. Ye Hua is already dead and his body has been claimed by his family. That episode at th...
