Empress Vesper, what did she have to do with this? Staring at the tightly shut doors, I decided to go to the garden for answers.

The mark I made on tree still measured at the same height as the tallest flower. Tudi was right; they did not grow. The thought of the Goddess of Flower being gone forever brought a slight joy to my heart. Though immediately, I felt ashamed.

Tudi emerged dripping wet when I tapped on the ground.

“The storm down under is brutal,” Tudi exclaimed. He peered at me. “Your eyes resemble peach pits. He made you cry again, didn’t he?”

“Tudi, I have a question to ask you.”

“You came to the right person. As the God of Earth, I hear every kind of gossip when people stand upon me,” Tudi smoothed his beard.

“Huayu… he is the son of King Jadeite?” I asked softly.

“Yes, of course!”

“Then why does Empress Vesper hate him? Isn’t she his mother?”

“Aha!” Tudi cried dramatically. “This goes into the juicy, twisting story of royal secrets.” His eyes gleamed in excitement.

“I’m all ears,” I said as I sat down on the grass.

“The throne of Shenjie has traditionally been taken by the most powerful god or goddess, usually the one who cultivated the most chi. Because the children of gods inherit half of each of their parent’s chi, when rulers wanted to keep the throne in the family—”

“They choose a spouse based on chi!” I exclaimed.

“Yes,” Tudi sighed and continued, “So you see how a problem would occur if the ruler has a previous love interest but had to marry someone else. That was the case for the current ruler. Emperor Jadeite did not inherit the throne but became ruler through his own merit. Back then, his majesty was already in love with a minor goddess by the name of Lady Willow, but he had to select the most powerful goddess if he wanted to have a good chance of passing the throne to his offspring. So he selected Empress Vesper. Soon Vesper and Jadeite had a child, Princess Vega. Things appeared fine, until Lady Willow gave birth as well, to Huayu. Vesper was furious. Then Lady Willow suddenly died –“

“How do gods die?” I interrupted.

“Gods don’t die in the sense that mortals die. When mortals die, their body’s rot. Gods don’t have bodies of flesh; death for gods means the destruction of the soul or the depletion of chi. After childbirth, a goddess’s chi is at its most vulnerable. A multitude of things can drain it, leading to death. The culprit, of course, seemed to be Vesper. But there was no proof. Jadeite had Vesper banished to the western most edge of Shenjie. Their relationship has been icy ever since. With Huayu’s talents, he should have been the Supreme Commander of the Shenjie Army long ago… but Empress Vesper wouldn’t allow it. He is the thorn in her eye, the symbol of her broken marriage.”

“It’s not his fault!” I said angrily.

Tudi shrugged. “Old grudges die hard.”

I could never have guessed that under Huayu’s proud exterior, lay such a tragic past.

“Oh I need to return to my duties. Some god is calling me, probably for directions as usual. You will be shocked at how easily they get lost. Sometimes I wonder if they should up the intelligence test, but then again, I probably can’t be a god then.” Tudi waved and disappeared with a pop.

I sat in silence thinking about the tangle of the entire situation. By rejecting Vesper in favor of Huayu at the ceremony, I worsened Empress Vesper’s animosity towards him. That could be the reason for the anger in Huayu’s eyes! I leapt up and headed towards Kunlun Palace with burning fervor. I knew it wasn’t just that stupid poem he cared about.

Twenty incenses and many dragon rides later, I walked to the footsteps of the Kunlun Palace. I smoothed my hair and dress, secretly glad I didn’t wear any accessories. It was probably best if I looked demure.

“Name and intent,” barked the guard before I even got close to the gate. He wasn’t the same guard I had seen last time I came with Shangtian and Barette.

“My name is Ziyan. I’m here to see her majesty,” I answered.

The guard glanced at my insignia-less robe.

“Her majesty only receives gods of the Fifth rank and above,” he said haughtily.

“The matter is important,” I urged.

“You are unimportant,” the guard sneered.

I frowned.

“Look, I know what you want,” the guard next to him said with a look of pity.

I blinked in surprise.

“I’ve seen plenty of little gods like you trying to suck up to her majesty, hoping to reap some benefit. It won’t work.”

I rolled my eyes. Why did men think they knew everything?

“Can I see Shangtian then? She is the Empress’s disciple,” I demanded.

The guard eyed me suspiciously but sent a page for Shangtian. Soon, Shangtian rushed down the steps.

“You are back! How did it go?” She asked excitedly.

I greeted her formally in front of the guard and then whispered, “I’ll tell you inside.”

“Huayu interfered?” Empress Vesper exclaimed. Her eyes widened so much that her brows almost touched the hairline of her exquisite coiffure. I just finished giving her a summary of my mission.

“Without his highness, the mission would have failed,” I said carefully.

“Nonsense,” Empress Vesper scoffed. “If I wanted to ensure success, I wouldn’t have sent—”

She stopped mid-sentence. That was when I realized that Empress Vesper did not expect me to succeed. I stared at the stern, formally-attired Empress Vesper. She seemed to be a firm believer in upholding rules. She couldn’t flat-out refuse her friend when she begged her to help, so she found someone incapable of doing the job. That was why my inexperience made me the perfect candidate. I felt a sense of anger at being tricked.

“Tell me, Ziyan, what were the reasons for your failure?” She asked, avoiding my eyes.

“It’s clear, isn’t it,” I said curtly. “Someone tried to sabotage Sylvestris.”

Empress Vesper choked on her tea. Fairies rushed to her but she waved them aside.

“Why would anyone do such a thing? Sylvestris could not have made enemies outside of Shenjie,” Empress Vesper exclaimed.

“Someone is after her father,” I answered. This time, the teacup fell out of Empress Vesper’s hands.

“How did you—” She sputtered.

“Chila is plotting… I don’t know… something,” I said.

Empress Vesper regained her composure.

“I assure you his majesty has everything under control,” she said calmly.

I shook my head. Not if, by control, he meant sending Huayu to the battlefield. And you made things worse by limiting his military provisions, I thought darkly.

I opened my mouth to speak but a glance at the Empress Vesper told me that now was not the time to bring up the subject of military provisions.

“Your majesty, if you haven’t any more questions about the mission, I would like to ask for my reward for completing this mission,” I said.

“Uh yes, what would you like?” She asked, taking a sip of the new tea that a fairy made her.

“I ask that your majesty to not bear animosity towards his highness, Huayu,” I said slowly.

Empress Vesper threw her teacup on the carpet. The fairies in the hall all dropped to their knees. The nearest one motioned for me to do the same.

“Who do you think you are?” Empress Vesper roared, red in the face.

“Your majesty, I’m sorry I offended your majesty by not selecting you are my shifu,” I continued. “In all honesty, I would have chosen your majesty as shifu, had his highness not saved my life when I was a mortal. I came to Shenjie to find him. Therefore, I beg your majesty to not resent his highness because of my actions.”

Empress Vesper raised her eyebrows.

“You think the reason that I resent Huayu is because you chose him over me?”

I feigned confusion and said, “What other reasons could there be? Your majesty is so kind and gracious and the mother of all living beings.”

Empress Vesper cleared her throat.

“And what if I say no?”

“His highness saved my life. I will do everything I can to repay him,” I replied defiantly.

For a moment, I thought Empress Vesper was going to explode, but then she spoke in a croaky voice.

“Your devotion to Huayu is admirable,” Empress Vesper said, sniffling slightly.

At that moment, Barette entered with a handkerchief.

“Your majesty, if you have trouble agreeing to Ziyan terms of request, whatever it may be, then may I suggest that object that Yuanshi Tianzun gave you? I’m fairly certain Ziyan will be pleased.”

Empress Vesper’s face lit up.

“Not a bad idea,” she praised. Barette retreated. As she passed me, she gave me a wink.

I had no idea what was happening again. Empress Vesper waved her hand, and a tree branch landed in front of me.

“Take this home with you,” she ordered, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief.

“What?”

“Do you know what it does?” Empress Vesper asked impatiently.

“It’s an escort from the Tree of Direction. It guides the user to the desired location,” I recognized.

“Normal escorts guide you to the location of palaces, roads, but this is a special escort.”

She leaned in and lowered her voice. “This escort will give you the whereabouts of the person you desire to see. Simply carve his name upon it, and it will point you in his direction. It’s one of a kind.”

“That’s incredible,” I breathed. My fingers caressed the ordinary-looking branch. If I carved Huayu’s name upon it, then it would be a stalker’s dream come true, aka every Shenjie goddess and fairy’s dream come true. “Your majesty, are you sure you don’t need it?”

“I’ve given up on—” Red crept upon Empress Vesper’s cheeks. She cleared her throat. “I mean, I have no use of it anymore.”

I glanced at Empress Vesper. “Your majesty, does this also mean you will return his highness’s military—”

“Say another word,” Empress Vesper snapped, “then I will take the escort back.”

I immediately hugged the branch to my chest and dashed out of her palace.