To the Sky Kingdom

by Tang Qi

  Ye Hua and his son’s sudden reappearance had interrupted my renewal of friendship with Shao Xin, a fact that did not entirely displease me. With lifted spirits, I got ready to leave. Before I left the garden, I went over to Shao Xin and placed the broken-cloud fan in her hands. “Shao Xin, I’ll grant you one wish,” I said. “Think carefully about what you want, and when you’ve decided, come to see me in Qingqiu. As long as you are holding this fan, Mystic Gorge won’t block your path.”

  Ye Hua lowered his eyes to Shao Xin and lifted his gaze back up to me. “I thought—” He stopped himself. “You are extremely kindhearted,” he said instead.

  I did not feel that this little gesture warranted such praise. It was a matter between former mistress and servant, and while it cost me nothing to be kind to her, for her it was a huge grace. It was not worth trying to explain this to him. Instead I shrugged it off with the words, “You’re very perceptive. I’ve always had a kind heart.”

  Sticky-Rice Dumpling looked yearningly at the fan in Shao Xin’s hand. “I want one too,” he said indignantly.

  I stroked his head. “You’re a child, what do you need a destructive weapon for?” I took a sugar lump from my sleeve and popped it in his mouth.

  Ye Hua had a startlingly good sense of direction, and soon he had navigated us out of the garden.

  I was not sure that turning up to the Eastern Sea banquet in Ye Hua’s company would be such a wise plan. I lifted my sleeve and was about to bid them farewell, but Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling caught wind of what I was doing and gave me an utterly forlorn look. It placed me in an awkward position, and against my better judgment, I appeased him with the words “I have a few small matters to attend to, but we shall meet again tomorrow.”

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling said nothing, and while he did not seem particularly happy about this, he appeared to understand. He flattened his lips and he held out his pinkie finger to hook with mine, as a guarantee of my word.

  Ye Hua gave a faint smile. “Qian Qian, it couldn’t be that you are scared to arrive at the banquet with us, could it? Are you worried about what people might say?”

  Qian Qian. Hearing that name instinctively gave me shivers. I turned to him. “Prince Ye Hua, you seem to be very fond of larking about,” I said politely.

  He did not reply, but his smile deepened, showing more of that Mo Yuan charm.

  Seeing his smile momentarily lifted my spirits, and before I knew what was happening, he had hold of my hand. “So you knew who I was before, did you, Qian Qian?” he asked quietly. “We’ve been engaged for a while now. There’s no reason to be cowed by wagging tongues.”

  He placed his slender hand casually over mine, a relaxed look on his face and a smile in his eyes. He looked so different from that frosty god who had untied my white silk. It was like looking at a completely different person.

  I was not sure how to feel. Nowadays all young men and women who were betrothed seemed to tease each other and lark about like this. Things were much more relaxed and liberal than when I was young. Coming out so rarely meant that I had completely lost touch with the times. But these were rather unusual circumstances. I could have responded to his flirtation, but I found I was unable to get over the fact that I had been alive for ninety thousand years before Ye Hua had even left the womb. Adopting an intimate manner with him felt like it would have been vulgar of me, despicable even. But I was equally worried that pulling my hand back now might make me look like a prude.

  After a moment’s consideration, I reached out and touched his hair, giving a deep sigh. “When I was engaged to your second uncle, you hadn’t even been born yet. Now you’re all grown up. Time really is fleeting. It moves in twists and turns, and it can be merciless.”

  While he was looking at me in surprise, I quickly pulled back my hand. I gave him a nod and then took my leave.

  I had not moved more than three steps when the Eastern Sea Emperor, the slender man I had seen dressed in purplish red in the great hall earlier, dropped down from above, landing right in front of me like a wooden stake spearing the ground. “Stop right there! Stop right there! Stop right there!” he shouted.

  I took a couple of steps back and gave an admiring sigh. “Water Emperor, you are most agile. Two steps closer and you would have completely flattened me.”

  His square face was as red and swollen as a piece of coral. He greeted Ye Hua courteously and asked Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling a few deferential questions before turning to glare at me. The tiger eyes in his ragged face looked close to tears. “I’m not sure what I have done to offend you, immortal colleague, for you to come here on our family’s day of celebration and take your anger out on my garden.”

  The mask had come off! He knew what my fan had done. I felt hugely ashamed.

  Ye Hua watched calmly from the side, reaching out every so often and running his hand through Sticky-Rice Dumpling’s smooth and glossy hair.

  I had actually been no more than an accomplice, but since Sticky-Rice Dumpling had taken to calling me Mother, I could not really bring myself to blow the whistle on him. Instead I swallowed the injustice and accepted the blame. I was intrigued by how he had found out it was me who had restyled his garden. I held the question back for a while, but eventually I blurted it out.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor glared and grimaced at me. He pointed at me, his whole body trembling. Eventually he calmed down enough to say, “D-d-do you really think you can deny it? The Coral Spirit in my garden witnessed the whole thing. He said that the wild wind was invoked by a little immortal dressed in green. How can you possibly deny that was you?”

  I looked down at my green robe, and over at Sticky-Rice Dumpling dressed in dark green, and understood his confusion. There was some ambiguity in the Eastern Sea Emperor’s interpretation of the Coral Spirit’s term little immortal. The Coral Spirit had meant little in terms of stature, while the Eastern Sea Emperor had taken it to mean low ranking. Sticky-Rice Dumpling was Ye Hua’s oldest son, and the Sky Emperor’s great-grandson, which meant that his ranking was high, whereas the clothes I was wearing today did not mark me out as a goddess. The mistake was not an unreasonable one.

  I was the one in the wrong. The Eastern Sea Emperor had been waiting for a long time for this precious son and had spared no effort for this one-month banquet. I had accepted his invitation with the best of intentions but had somehow ended up causing mayhem. I had not realized I had done anything wrong, but he thought I was denying it. Even though I knew more than he, I decided it would not be wise to get into an argument with him.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor looked at me with impatience, his eyes so angry they looked fit to burst. “You, my immortal colleague, have destroyed my garden,” he said. “And you don’t seem the slightest bit sorry. How can you treat people like th—”

  “Water Emperor, you are right to reprimand me like this,” I interrupted. I recalled that whenever Phoenix Nine offended me, she would humble herself, fawning and flattering: the exact technique I was going for now. I dropped my head and attempted to look thoughtful. “I was scared and forgot my manners just now,” I explained. “I implore you, Water Emperor, please be kind and forgive me. I spend all my time in the Ten-Mile Peach Grove, and the first thing I do when I leave is cause a catastrophe like this. It was completely unintentional, but I can see I have lost the prince’s favor, and I have brought shame upon Zhe Yan too. I am extremely embarrassed. Please, Water Emperor, reprimand me, rid yourself of anger by punishing me.”

  Ye Hua stole a glance at me, his eyes glittering like sunlight.

  Destroying a person’s garden when you have been invited into their home really was rather shameful behavior. Fortunately for me, Eastern Sea Water Emperor did not seem to recognize who I was, which saved Father and Mother a huge amount of humiliation. Heaping this humiliation on Zhe Yan was a much better option. Back when Fourth Brother and I had been young enough not to know any better, we used to mention Zhe Yan’s name any time we got ourselves into mischief. Even
when we brought shame upon him, all Zhe Yan would do was give a faint smile. If that shame had befallen Father, he would have skinned the fox fur off our backs.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor did a double take. “You mean Zh . . . You mean, you mean the god from the Ten-Mile Peach Grove?” He held his breath, looking solemn and attentive. He had known to honor the custom of not mentioning Zhe Yan by name. This square-faced prince with his wide forehead was actually extremely respectful and observant of hierarchical etiquette, an honorable man.

  I pulled the pumpkin-sized night pearl from my sleeve with glee, followed by the wine I had bottled for him. I placed both these items into his hands and gave an earnest sigh. “Does the Water Emperor not believe me? It’s no wonder. The god I work for hasn’t paid courtesy to another immortal household for tens of thousands of years. Goddess Bai Qian of Qingqiu Kingdom . . .” I gave an unintentional splutter here. “She went to visit the peach grove, but sadly she was feeling unwell. She had already accepted your invitation and didn’t want to let Your Highness down, so she sent me to offer congratulations in her place.” I pointed to the night pearl and said, “This is a pearl plucked from the moon. It is a celebratory gift from Bai Qian. And this is the peach blossom wine prepared by our household prince’s own hands.” I gave a doleful bow. “Water Emperor, please accept these two gifts as a token of our good wishes. I hope they will brighten your mood. I didn’t intend to make any trouble. I am really, really so—”

  I was about to shed a tear, but the Eastern Sea Emperor rushed to console me before my eyes had the chance to well up. “Don’t talk like that, little immortal. You have come such a long way to be here. It’s my fault for not giving you a personal welcome. It is just a garden, and you’ve made it far brighter anyway.” He cupped his hands together in front of his chest and bowed respectfully in the direction of the peach grove. “My son will be eternally grateful to these two gods for showing such concern and giving such generous gifts.” He waved his hand. “You must be tired after your long journey, immortal envoy. Please go through to the great hall and revive yourself with a glass of wine.”

  I offered a hundred excuses, which he countered with a thousand insistences. Ye Hua came over and took my hand as if it were a completely natural thing for him to do. “It’s only a glass of wine. There is no need to be so polite, immortal envoy.”

  My brow was pouring with sweat. “I am actually a boy. I’m simply dressed as a girl today,” I explained to the Eastern Sea Emperor, pointing at my right hand, which was firmly encased in Ye Hua’s.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor recovered from his surprise and mumbled, “Oh, you two must be in a homosexual relationship in that case. And clearly a very serious one.”

  I had assumed that pretending we were both men would make us less conspicuous, not more so! I had not counted on how enlightened and liberal today’s immortals were. All I had done was make matters worse. Alas, I was done for now.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The Eastern Sea Emperor walked ahead leading the way, Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling tottered along in the middle, and Ye Hua and I brought up the rear, my hand still tightly encased in his.

  I had told only one small lie, which had been to protect his little son, really. He could have just turned a blind eye, but instead he decided to make things difficult for me.

  I lost patience, and no longer caring about maintaining my goddess dignity, I cast a magic spell to break away from him. Ye Hua gave a gentle smile and blocked my spell with one of his own.

  We battled on like this the whole way, Ye Hua gaining the upper hand because he did not care who saw, while I was trying not to rouse the attention of the Eastern Sea Emperor. Eventually I was forced to admit defeat.

  Recently Fourth Brother had dismayed me by telling me how much things had deteriorated since the good old days of the ancient gods. This current generation of immortals was so laid-back and lazy, apparently, and their magic was ailing and their Taoist practice weak. I had believed him. But the spells that Prince Ye Hua was casting in front of me right now were so sophisticated and skillful that it made his grandfather’s magic look ailing and his grandmother’s Taoist practice look weak.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor turned and gave me a weak smile. With his eyes fixed on our joined hands, he said, “Prince. Immortal envoy. We have arrived at the great hall.”

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling gave a yelp of joy and scampered over to grab my free hand. He adopted a solemn and dignified expression, befitting his position as the Sky Clan’s great-grandson.

  If it had been Ye Hua’s head concubine walking in with him, such ostentation would have been all good and proper. But instead, here I was, racking my poor brains to try and make sense of it all. Yes, I was connected to Ye Hua, but not yet in any formal way, and I did not understand what he was thinking dragging me into the banquet with him like this.

  The palace door was before us with its gold engravings and jade inlay. I started to feel a dull ache in my head.

  All the immortals inside the great hall had been waiting impatiently for the banquet to start, and as soon as Ye Hua appeared, they knelt down in two lines, forming an aisle that led straight to the host’s table. As soon as the three of us were seated, they gave praise and sat down in their places. The banquet had begun.

  The immortal sitting nearest us came over to give a toast. He raised his glass to Ye Hua before turning to me. “How lucky I am to have the honor of meeting Empress Su Jin,” he said with deference. “What good fortune, what good fortune indeed . . .”

  Ye Hua stood to the side with his wine cup in his hand, watching impassively as I was forced to deal with this awkward situation.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor turned pale and was winking desperately in the direction of the immortal lavishing us with praise. I could no longer bear to watch. I gave a simpering smile and said, “I am actually Ye Hua’s long-lost little sister. I am here today as Zhe Yan’s envoy.”

  Ye Hua stopped drinking, and a few drops of wine splashed from his glass. The Eastern Sea Emperor turned and looked at me in bewilderment. The immortal holding out his glass to toast me looked completely mortified. He was not in the position to continue with his toast, nor lower his glass. “I am so sorry,” he stuttered, following an awkward silence. “My eyesight is terrible. I will drink this down in penance.” I smiled kindly, unoffended, and drank a glass along with him.

  After this everyone began toasting each other.

  Fox ears are sharp, and between all the clinking of glasses, I could make out the gist of a discussion held between two people at another table.

  “It’s such a shame Her Highness isn’t here today,” one said. “Although seeing Zhe Yan’s immortal envoy almost makes up for it. Do you think she found out that both Ye Hua and the Northern Sea Emperor would be here for the banquet and that’s why she decided not to att—”

  “You may well be right, my immortal friend,” the other replied. “Her Highness’s failure to show up and Zhe Yan sending this envoy to the banquet, it seems as if there is more than meets the eye. Everyone knows that the Eastern Sea Water Emperor didn’t send Zhe Yan an invitation on account of his strange temperament.”

  “That’s true,” the first one said. “And another strange thing, Zhe Yan’s envoy is none other than Ye Hua’s little sister.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” the other said. “I’ve served loyally in the Sky Palace for many years, and I have never heard any mention of Ye Hua having a sister.”

  “Immortal friend, did you not just see Prince Ye Hua holding that immortal envoy’s hand? They looked like siblings to me.”

  If the Eastern Sea Emperor had announced that the banquet was over at that point, I was certain that these two immortals would have been dancing with glee. There was nothing they wanted more than to find a nice, quiet corner and continue discussing these juicy matters. Instead they had to put up with the bitter frustration of sitting on the stage and stealing the occasional whisper.

  I listened for a
long time, but heard nothing else of interest, so I lifted my glass and drank alone. Ye Hua removed the wine bottle from the table with a frown. “You may have a high alcohol tolerance, but don’t drink too much. We don’t want you getting drunk again.”

  The Eastern Sea Emperor’s wine was seen as the jade nectar of the immortals, but it could have been water compared with Zhe Yan’s wine. I was not worried about the quality of what I was drinking, however. I was knocking it back to drown out the sound of people saying humiliating things about me left, right, and center.

  The banquet was halfway through now, and I was starting to feel restless. I wanted the meal to be over so that I could return to the foxhole. But at that moment, the Eastern Sea Emperor clapped his hands together three times.

  I sat up straight and watched as a group of delicate, slender, and scantily clad dancing girls spiraled into the hall with silk fans in their hands. I was slightly bemused as to why the Eastern Sea Water Emperor was providing entertainment like this for his son’s one-month celebration.

  I glanced over at Ye Hua, who wore a bored look on his face. Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling gave a sharp sigh when he saw the dancers. “Oh, it’s her!” he said. I followed his gaze into the middle of the hall where the dancers in white were arranging themselves into the petals of a lotus flower. The girl he was looking at was in the center dressed in yellow. At first glance I could see nothing special about this girl, although she had a similar physique to the Eastern Sea Emperor.