Nine Tails of Twin Brothers

Sǐ xīng

Bai Qian landed at the gate of heaven with a sigh, she was late but it wasn't really her fault. She'd come as soon as she received the message but she had been away when the message was delivered and Mian Mian said it was at least an hour before she came home. She looked at the note again, it didn't say where to meet but given the urgency, they may have assumed, she'd accompany the messenger.

"Bai Qian of Qing Qiu requests access into the nine heavens" She said to the guards at the gate and her request was granted immediately. Now if only she knew where she was going and which direction would lead her there.

She stood still for a while, pulsing her fox ears till she heard  faint voices coming from her right then she headed that direction; she would ask whoever she met for directions to the main hall. It was unlikely they would give a stranger the location of the crown prince but the main hall was open to all and it was likely she would meet the war planning 

One of the immortals in the group she'd heard at the gate was nice enough to walk her to the main hall but her luck was shabby today. Not only was Ye Hua not in the main hall, none of the other princes were there. Even the heavenly emperor was absent, she considered her options for a while, she could announce herself to the immortals in the hall and they would find one of the princes to receive her but that would take a lot of time and given that it was the celestial tribe, there would be a lot of ceremony around it which she would hate. The only other option apart from accepting defeat and going back to Qing Qiu or wondering around and most likely getting lost was to ask one of the soldiers that guarded the main hall, support the question with a little magic that made them more inclined to give in rather than suspect or question her. She'd just have to make sure that she told someone after she found them so the guard would not be punished. She smiled, she could do that. 

Mind made up, she set out to find an adequate target.

"You" A voice called out behind her

Bai Qian refused to believe the voice was addressing her, even unknown, she had never been faced with such disrespect. She was aware of the amount of power she radiated and the fact that her beauty also gave her preferential treatment. Nevertheless, she stopped walking, deciding to listen to whatever was happening. She however did not turn.

"Lady, my mistress is talking to you" Another voice, shriller and even more annoying than the first said.

Bai Qian realized she was indeed the one being addressed by the two voices as there were no other females in the area. She smiled but refused to turn instead she tapped her fan rhythmically against her palm

"Who are you and what are you doing in the nine heavens" the first voice asked, sounding a lot closer than before

"Is this what the celestial tribe teaches its children these days?" She asked, her voice loud enough to be heard but carrying magical qualities that enabled her to project whatever emotions she wanted the hearer to feel.

"Who are you?" the voice asked again but this time, the fear the owner felt was visible in the voice. 

Bai Qian smiled, "I ..."

"Your majesty, your highness" Tian Shu greeted with a bow then turned to Bai Qian "If your majesty would follow me, I will lead you to the crown prince and the others"

"That would be great" Bai Qian said and started walking with the young man. Her keen hearing alerting her to the fact that the person that was talking to her earlier was following them "Have you been looking for me? I wasn't sure where to head and the note never said"

"Apologies, your majesty. I was supposed to wait with the note but I did not realize at the time so I came back. Tian Shu apologizes for the inconvenience he caused"