To the Sky Kingdom

by Tang Qi

  I turned to have a look at the Eastern Sea Emperor, and he immediately picked up that I was watching him. He coughed, and with an awkward smile, he said, “She’s my little sister.” He walked over to Sticky-Rice Dumpling and said, “Are you familiar with my sister, Little Sky Prince?”

  Sticky-Rice Dumpling looked at me, and after some hemming and hawing he said, “Yes, I do know her,” and gave her a vague wave to demonstrate this. “But not very well,” he added, stealing a glance at Father Prince.

  The Eastern Sea Emperor’s sister kept casting anxious looks in Ye Hua’s direction, her eyes eager but calm, full of sorrow and joy.

  Ye Hua’s wine glass froze in his hand, and his expression transformed into that icy one I had seen when we first met.

  What were they singing about? Poor flowers falling from trees and cruel water flowing away? A warmhearted girl meets a coldhearted man and wishes to be like a vine wrapped around a tree, but his heart is cold as iron and her dream is not to be.

  I gave a satisfied nod at their performance. I poured myself another glass of wine and watched with interest, right up until the crescendo when the music came to a screeching halt. The Eastern Sea Water Emperor’s little sister looked at Ye Hua and gave a bow before floating away surrounded by her dancing girls.

  Ye Hua turned to look at me with a faint smile. “Why do you look so disappointed, immortal envoy?” he asked.

  I rubbed my face and gave an awkward laugh. “Disappointed? Do I?”

  I had been forced to put up with so much over the last few hours. Now that the banquet was finally over, I was looking forward to slipping out along with all the other guests. But Ye Hua had other ideas. “Ali wants you to look after him,” he said, shoving Sticky-Rice Dumpling into my arms. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  All the immortals came over cupping their hands and bowing farewell. Ye Hua took advantage of the fact that I was distracted and slipped quietly out of the great hall. I had been weighed down by so many trifling matters for so many hours now, and my befuddled brain was only just starting to clear. Realizing the situation I had gotten myself into, my forehead suddenly started dripping with sweat. Ye Hua could not have been serious when he told Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling he was going to drag me back to the Sky Palace with them, could he?

  The soft Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling in my hands suddenly felt more like a thorn in my side. I strode out of the great hall, intending to find Sticky-Rice Dumpling’s father straightaway and hand his son back over to him.

  I asked a couple of young serving boys if they had seen Prince Ye Hua, but none of them had. Taking a different approach, I asked if they knew where the Eastern Sea Emperor’s little sister was.

  Ye Hua had left in a hurry, but within his aloof manner, I had seen a hint of affection, and within his nonchalance some hidden grace. Based on all the romantic happenings I had witnessed over thousands and thousands of years, it was obvious from this demeanor that he was meeting with some beauty.

  The young serving boys pointed to the end of the path, toward the back garden of the Eastern Sea Water Crystal Palace.

  I took Sticky-Rice Dumpling to the entrance of the garden and gave a defeated sigh.

  I might well stroll into this garden without any trouble, but with my appalling sense of direction, there was no guarantee that I would make it back out again. I deliberated a while, caution advising me to stay waiting by the entrance.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling had other ideas. He forged little fists and became quite fierce. “Mother, if you don’t go back in and pull the two of them apart, Princess Liao Qing is going to steal Father Prince away.” He put one hand on his hip and rubbed his forehead in distress with the other. “Since ancient times, back gardens have been troublesome places. Do you know how many gifted scholars have ended up being bewitched by beautiful women inside them, losing both their souls and their way, eventually leading lives of hardship?”

  I was absolutely astonished. “Wh-wh-who tau-tau-taught you that?” I croaked.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling looked at me in surprise. “Three hundred or so years ago, a little immortal called Cheng Yu ascended to the white sun in the sky. My great-grandfather the Sky Emperor gave him the title Virtuous Monarch. Virtuous Monarch Cheng Yu. He was the one who taught me that. Am I wrong?” he asked, rubbing his head and looking perplexed.

  What he had been told was correct, but the fact that Virtuous Monarch Cheng Yu had dared to teach Sticky-Rice Dumpling such things right under Ye Hua’s nose and that his words had left such an indelible mark on Dumpling showed that Cheng Yu was an immortal with a certain flair and capability. He was clearly a bright fellow, and if I ever ran into him, I would be certain to make his acquaintance.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling pulled at my sleeve, insistent we should venture into the garden. He was such a tiny thing, and I was scared of putting up any physical resistance. All I could do was try to dissuade him with words. “Father Prince is young and healthy,” I explained, “and Liao Qing, if that’s her name, is young and of marriageable age. Young men and women yearning for each other is completely natural behavior. If they have already become a couple, we won’t be able to spoil their marriage plans. All we’ll be doing is interfering. Surely you don’t hate Princess Liao Qing enough to wish to ruin her marriage plans? You must learn to be more tolerant.”

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling’s mouth flattened, and I realized I might have been too stern. I quickly went to console him, kissing him and stroking him until he calmed down. “She saved my life once,” he said quietly. “And I’ve thanked her profusely. But since then Father Prince has started acting differently. Each time he takes me to Mother’s old home in Junji Mountain, she comes along too. She’s infatuated with him.”

  I felt obliged to have a word. “Gratitude to someone who has saved your life should be deeper than the ocean. It isn’t a matter of just saying thank you.”

  If it were that simple, how much freer and unfettered I would be right now. If it was only the harmonious affection that Mo Yuan and I had shared as master and apprentice that I remembered, I would certainly not have so much guilt and regret trapped inside me.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling reflected on my words for a while before stamping his foot. “She doesn’t understand that she’s crossed the line. She knows full well that Father Prince has a wife, but she wants to ensnare him anyway. She stays in Mother’s room, uses Mother’s cooking utensils, and wants to steal Mother’s husband.”

  I looked up at the sky, and an image of Ye Hua’s face flashed into my mind, looking just like Mo Yuan. Their similarity was astounding.

  I could not blame Liao Qing. I had seen that face for thousands and thousands of years, and even as a goddess I had only just managed to keep my desire in check. Being an ordinary woman before such a face must make it so much more difficult not to cross the line. The bit of the story that puzzled me was the connection to the Eastern Desert’s Junji Mountain. When had Su Jin had a place there?

  I asked Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling about this, and he gave me a rather garbled explanation. Even though I was completely focusing on his words, I could only make out the gist of what he was saying.

  Apparently Sticky-Rice Dumpling’s mother was not Ye Hua’s concubine Su Jin after all, but a mortal. Sticky-Rice Dumpling still kept a painting of his mortal mother on his bedchamber wall. In the picture she was wearing green clothes and had a piece of white silk covering her eyes, just like me. Three hundred years ago, just after giving birth to Sticky-Rice Dumpling, something had made her jump off the immortal punishment platform. I had heard of this immortal punishment platform. If an immortal jumped from it, they lost all their cultivated spiritual energy, but if a mortal jumped, their spirit and soul would fly away and they would disappear altogether. Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling obviously did not understand this part.

  Before she was taken to the Sky Palace, this mortal had been living at Junji Mountain. Prince Ye Hua cherished her memory so much that he had placed
a seal on her old hut to protect it. Each year he would take his son on a pilgrimage to the little hut, where they would spend a week or two.

  I admired Ye Hua’s courage. He had not tried to conceal any of this suffering and sorrow from Dumpling. He was confident that his son could deal with such painful knowledge without it casting a shadow over his young mind.

  Dumpling and Ye Hua had been fated to know Liao Qing for only a hundred years or so.

  Dumpling was in the mountain forest, playing and hunting rabbits once, when his immortal spirit had attracted the attention of a passing snake demon. This snake demon knew who the little boy was and had been just about to eat him to gain the immortal nourishment from his body. Fortunately Princess Liao Qing from the Eastern Sea had been visiting Junji Mountain and had saved his life. Dumpling led her back with him to the little hut on the mountain. The hut had been sealed so it was invisible to outsiders, but Dumpling had been so grateful to her for rescuing him that he had revealed his true identity and taken her inside for tea. The princess had been just about to leave when Ye Hua returned. Princess Liao Qing had been at the age of romantic awakening, and seeing Ye Hua was like being hit by a bolt of lightning. She fell head over heels in love.

  Not wishing to be indebted to the Eastern Sea Princess, Ye Hua had promised to grant her one wish. And for the last hundred years, Liao Qing had stayed on Junji Mountain, and whenever Ye Hua and Dumpling came to visit, she would wash their clothes, cook, and make them steamed cakes. Ye Hua did not think it was appropriate for a princess to take on such a lowly role, but when he expressed this, she quietly bowed her head and with extreme modesty said, “This is my wish, Prince Ye Hua. Please don’t stand in my way.” Ye Hua had no choice but to submit.

  I was hearing all this solely from Sticky-Rice Dumpling’s point of view. It was clear that Ye Hua was a passionate man, and he might well have found love for this kind and considerate princess in his heart.

  Desolation started creeping in. Ye Hua had been alive for no more than fifty thousand years, during which time he had stirred up so much female interest. It was clearly something he had a talent for.

  What had I been up to when I was fifty thousand?

  Sticky-Rice Dumpling had a strange look on his face. He was regarding me hesitantly, as if there was something he wanted to say, but he was not sure that he should. “As a boy, the worst thing you can do is to appear faltering,” I told him sternly. “You don’t want to end up looking pathetic. If you have something to say, just come out and say it.”

  With tears in his eyes, he pointed at me and said, “Mother, you’re acting as if you just don’t care. Does your heart belong to somebody else now? Is that why you no longer want Ali and Father Prince?”

  I was unable to speak. Ye Hua and I had this engagement agreement, but this was the first time we had ever met. It was hard to talk about, and Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling took a couple of steps back and covered his face. Sounding bitter and aggrieved, he said, “Father Prince will marry my stepmother, and Mother will marry my stepfather, and I will never experience family unity. I will be all on my own. None of you will want me.” He howled so loudly that my heart gave a leap of fear.

  I gave an attentive smile and put my arms around him. “I’m your mother. How could I possibly not want you?” I said.

  “But you don’t want Father Prince,” he accused. “And because you don’t want Father Prince, Father Prince will end up marrying Liao Qing. If Father Prince marries Liao Qing, they’ll have another baby, and they won’t want Ali anymore.” The tears were streaming down his face now.

  I felt a big headache coming on. I did not want to disappoint him, so I pretended to look love struck, and through gritted teeth, I said, “Your father is my heart and my soul. He is my precious, my turtledove. How could I not want him?”

  By the time I had finished saying all this, I felt so nauseated I was shaking.

  Little Dumpling looked delighted. He put his arms around my leg and dragged me into the garden, giving me no choice but to go along. I prayed that Ye Hua was no longer in the garden so that I could avoid the drama of having to cause a rift between the pair.

  We went around the arched gateway, and I saw an exquisite pavilion some way off. Inside, a man in a black cloak was standing with his arms clasped behind his back. Ye Hua. And the young girl sitting next to him dressed in yellow was obviously Princess Liao Qing.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling tugged at my sleeve. “Mother, you need to step in now,” he said. It felt too quick, and I had not had time to prepare. My scalp tingled as I considered how I should launch in. Big Brother was the person I knew well whose life had been most shrouded in peach blossom. What was it my sister-in-law used to do when confronted with Big Brother’s peach blossom nymphs? Oh yes, I remembered. First it was the eyes: they needed to be cold. Give your rival the once-over; look at her as if she were a cabbage. Next it was the voice: she would turn to Big Brother and in an ethereal tone say, “I’ve had a good look at her, and if you like her, husband dear, please take her as a concubine. It is absolutely fine with me, it will be fun, just like having another little sister.” This was known as the withdraw-attack tactic. Despite Big Brother’s many admirers, my sister-in-law’s apparent willingness to accept his future concubines had given him such a sense of gratitude that he had remained unwaveringly devoted to her all these years.

  My present situation was different, though, and this tactic was unlikely to be of use. I was still trying to decide what to do when I saw Sticky-Rice Dumpling scampering over to them and kneeling down in front of his father, saying, “I saw you from over there, Father Prince.”

  Ye Hua squinted past Sticky-Rice Dumpling to where I was. I plucked up the courage to stride over, and bobbing my head in a vague observation of etiquette, I pulled Sticky-Rice Dumpling up from the ground, patted the dust from his knees, and sat down on the pavilion bench, placing him on my lap.

  Even without looking, I could feel Ye Hua’s eyes on me, making my every movement feel awkward.

  “And you are . . . ?” Princess Liao Qing said in an attempt to initiate conversation.

  I gave her what was quite clearly a fake smile, and stroking Little Dumpling’s face, I said, “The child calls me Mother.” Liao Qing suddenly looked as if she had been struck by lightning. I was starting to feel quite guilty. Princess Liao Qing was a pleasant-looking girl. She was not quite in the same league as Princess Green Sleeves, but she was certainly a beauty. I had no quarrel with her; the way I was behaving was just an act. And besides, I was an elder: if anyone were to find out that I was starting a fight with someone younger, and over some romantic business, I would never be able to show my face in public again.

  I was feeling miserable inside, but I continued to play my role, still with that same fake smile on my face. “These black clouds above our heads make for a good atmosphere. Little Princess, for you, it seems fitting for a tryst, but it puts me in the mood to write poetry.”

  Ye Hua was leaning against the pillar of the pavilion, listening to me spout this nonsense.

  Little Sticky-Rice Dumpling had no idea what I was up to. He just sat there with his head lowered. I pointed at his forehead and gave an angry laugh. “A thriving pine tree, a charming nest, a cuckoo invades to lay her eggs.” Looking again at Princess Liao Qing, I said, “Does that sound fitting, Little Princess?”

  She looked shocked. Two lines of hot tears streamed from her eyes. She slumped to her knees in front of me. “Empress, please don’t be angry . . . I didn’t know who you were just now, or I would never have deigned to be so familiar. I cherish Prince Ye Hua, but I ask nothing of him. I am being pursued by the second prince of the Western Sea. He wishes to marry me and take me out west to live with him. But he is . . . he is a real peacock, always parading himself about. The marriage is drawing near, and I didn’t know what else to do. I found out that Prince Ye Hua would be bringing his son to the Eastern Sea banquet, and I used the dance as an excuse to see him. I am willing to
spend life after life following Prince Ye Hua, acting as his servant and waiting on him. I have no ulterior motive, I promise. I beg of you, Empress, don’t stand in the way of my wish.”

  So that was what it was all about. This girl had genuine affection for Ye Hua. I was moved by the way she spoke. The Sky Palace was so vast, and I did not see a problem with her being given a small corner to stay in. But this was Ye Hua’s own palace affair. If she had not been as genuine and sincere as she was, I would not have seen the harm in causing a rift between them. But after the way she had reacted, I could not bring myself to do it.

  Matters of the heart could not really be spoken of in terms of morals and marked as right and wrong. Sticky-Rice Dumpling was still so young. Later he would need careful guidance. When I realized that I had basically bullied this girl, I gave a sigh. I really could not facilitate such tactics again. I picked up Dumpling and was about to stand and walk off, but he reached out and clung to the pavilion bench, looking very upset.

  “Mother, you just told me that Father Prince was your heart and soul, your precious, your turtledove. How can you let her just steal him away? You were lying before, weren’t you?”

  This ordeal was making my headache even worse.

  Ye Hua had been leaning against the pavilion pillar, staring blankly. Suddenly he gave a smile and took a step forward, blocking my path. He took a lock of my hair between his fingers. “Am I your heart and soul?” he asked slowly.

  I gave an awkward laugh and took a step back.

  He took another step forward. “Your precious?”

  My laughter came out sounding even more forced.

  He trapped me in the corner of the pavilion. “Your turtledove?”

  I was unable to make myself laugh this time. There was a bitter taste in my mouth. What had I done? What had I done? What was this wicked deed that I’d done? I closed my eyes, my heart beating fast, and said, “You terrible creature, you know that’s how I feel. Insisting on hearing me say these things in public really is just bad manners.”