chapter 16
This is the seventh time I have come to the Eastern Palace in recent days.
The Palace Maid looked apologetic.
“His Highness is ill and will see no one.”
Xiao Qi refuses to see me now.
With his sharp mind, it was only a matter of time before he guessed I had meddled.
Such a young child, suddenly losing both his respected teacher and beloved younger brother.
It is only right that he resents me.
I thought for a moment and took out a Jade Seal from my sleeve.
This was the birthday gift I promised to carve for him some days ago.
I pondered many auspicious phrases, and finally engraved “Eternal Joy Without End.”
May his life be filled with endless happiness and perpetual blessings.
I entrusted the Palace Maid to deliver it on my behalf.
Then, after some consideration, I spoke.
“Yunling has no defense and will accept whatever punishment His Highness sees fit.”
I turned to leave, but then I heard a hoarse voice-
“Wait!”
I spun around in surprise.
Xiao Qi, his clothes in disarray, ran out barefoot.
His eyes were red, full of grievance.
“Are you truly not going to say a single word in your own defense to me?”
“If you leave today, do not ever come to the Eastern Palace again!”
He threatened, his words tinged with a nasal tone.
Afraid I would turn and go, his small hand clung tightly to my robe.
My heart nearly broke at the sight.
I knelt down and looked into his slightly swollen eyes.
“If I speak, will Little Highness believe me?”
“If it is you who says it, I will believe anything!”
“But you cannot say nothing at all!”
In the end, I still did not tell him that final, cruel truth.
Malice in this world is a monstrous thing, and he is still so young.
Before this little Phoenix’s wings have fully grown,
All I wish to do is protect him.
So I only told him vaguely-
“Your Highness, I come from your future.”
“But I cannot tell you the details of this matter.”
“As compensation, you may ask me one question, and I will answer without reserve.”
Xiao Qi was stunned.
As if accepting this fact.
After a long while, he tugged at my sleeve and looked up to ask:
“What is the future me like?”
His eyes sparkled, full of hope for what is to come.
He so earnestly looks forward to his life,
Believing, as his Imperial Father, Empress Dowager, and the court historians do, that he will usher in a new golden age.
No one knows.
No one would imagine.
In the not-so-distant future,
He will be deceived, betrayed, and trampled by those he trusts most.
He will suffer from chronic illness, his body broken, never again possessing the lively spirit he once had.
He will become an emperor even he cannot recognize-a madman.
No one will remember the gentle and compassionate Crown Prince.
Never again.
It felt as if my heart had been stabbed, the pain making it hard to breathe.
Yet on my face, I forced a smile.
I said, “The future His Highness will be illustrious for generations, his benevolence blessing all people, and he will become a great sovereign.”
I lied to him.
In the future, he becomes a tyrant reviled by all.
He takes his own life on a snowy night at the age of twenty-seven.
A life of hardship and wandering, never at peace.
Xiao Qi’s brows and eyes were radiant with joy.
“And what about the Goddess?”
“Will the Goddess still be with me?”
My nose tingled with emotion.
“Yes.”
Even if the whole world abandons him,
Yunling will remain by His Highness’s side.
Xiao Qi truly is a sensitive child.
Perhaps he sensed something.
He suddenly asked me, very cautiously,
“Then, will there ever be a day when the Goddess is gone?”
“Shh.”
I pressed my finger to my lips.
“Your Highness, that is a second question.”
“We agreed, only one question.”
If he asked again, I would not be able to hold back my tears.
Xiao Qi, frustrated, wrapped himself in his quilt,
Rolling back and forth, clearly annoyed.
Then, as if remembering something, he poked his head out and asked in a muffled voice,
“Goddess, you won’t leave, will you?”
“Rest assured, Little Highness.”
How could I ever bear to leave you?