No Light: 3 Lives, 3 Worlds , Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms AU

Part 3: Her Peach Blossom Scent

Crown Prince Ye Hua moved up the stairs, his steps slowly and steady. His eyes stared ahead as he walked towards the Heavenly Lord's chambers. Although his face was expressionless, his mind was already focusing on the purpose of his upcoming meeting, wondering what his grandfather needed at this time.

Coming to a stop outside the doors, he waited for the attendants to announce his presence.

"Crown Prince Ye Hua is seeking an audience, Heavenly Lord," the maid closest to the doors called out, bowing gracefully to the floor. All the other maids silently bowed along with her.

"Enter!" his grandfather called from inside, sounding more impatient than anything. Since that was the Heavenly Emperor's usual state, it provided no clues as to what he might want of Ye Hua this time.

Ye Hua walked inside, waiting for the doors to close before turning to greet his grandfather and query about the reason for the summons.

His grandfather silently motioned for him to take a seat. "Ye Hua," he began, but then stopped, going no further.

"Yes, Heavenly Lord," Ye Hua prompted as the silence seemed to go on.

"I have called you here to talk to you about your upcoming nuptials."

Ye Hua tilted his head in silent query, a momentary expression of surprise flitting across his face.

"As you know, I have finally convinced the Fox Clan to go forward with the wedding," his grandfather stated. "They were hesitant to continue with the engagement after your second uncle ran off with that snake spirit," he said on a growl, his anger still strong at his once beloved son's betrayal. "I promised them that I would make it up to them and declared the engagement of Qing Qiu's Bai Qian to the Crown Prince of the Celestial Clan. Ever since you were crowned the heir to this throne, I have been pushing for the wedding to move forward."

Ye Hua nodded his head, wondering at the recitation of a history already well known to him. From birth, he had known the Fox Clan's Bai Qian was engaged to the future Crown Prince. He had also known that she would most likely become his future bride, since his destiny had always been to be the Crown Prince of his clan. His grandfather's expectations had made nothing else an option.

"Ye Hua," his grandfather said ponderously, "I am charging you with the duty of keeping the Fox Clan happy. We need them; we need this alliance. The Foxes of Qing Qiu are very mercurial. They believe in love, and marry only for love." His tone exhibited shocked disgust at such emotional reasons for marriage.

'Then why did they agree to this arranged match,' Ye Hua silently wondered to himself.

"Once a fox loves, you have her loyalty for life," the Heavenly Emperor asserted. He leaned closer, motioning for his grandson to come closer to hear his next words. "Ye Hua. Make her fall in love with you, and we'll have the fox clan in the palm of our hands."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ye Hua."

He turned at his name, his eyes meeting third uncle's eyes. He raised a silent brow at the unexpected interruption.

"You've been sitting here for quite some time. Is something on your mind?" Lian Song's manner was stiff, as if he was unsure of his welcome.

Ye Hua had spent his entire life avoiding being close to anyone. Harsh lessons learned in childhood, through separation from his mother, his choices taken away one after the other, he had closed himself off from any attachments, including from family. Third Uncle had always been a presence, but Ye Hua's aloofness had prevented any closeness.

He had spent the past 70,000 years living a lonely life, working towards the day that he could gain power over his own life, earning the right to make his own decisions. But at this point today, he was completely lost. How could he do what the Heavenly Emperor wanted? He didn't even know how to love, let alone getting someone to fall in love with him. That hadn't been part of grueling training.