Qi ran as the armed forces of Zhao chased after her and her infant son. While her heart pounded hard against her chest, she cried to the sky for mercy. She had been running for what seemed forever. She managed to slip from the guards and hid among some thorns. She tried hard to control her breathing and covered her mouth to muffle it. She could hear her heart screaming. By some miracle, the guards did not seem to want to proceed with the chase.

“Forget her. She’s as good as dead with where she’s heading,” muttered one of the men. With that, they drew their horses back.

With no more strength to carry anything other than herself, she covered her son with the coat she had on. “Forgive me,” she wept and painfully kissed her child goodbye, praying to the gods to spare his life. She ran on but it would be in vain for little did she know she had been bleeding excessively. One of the guards swung his sword at her and she didn’t even notice the pain as she was too focused on saving her own son’s life.

The next morning, another group of armed forces crossed the path where the mother and son were. They were the Qin army on a hunting trip with the Emperor of Qin. The Emperor and his guards heard crying from the thorn bushes the mother left him in, startling them. Huian, the right hand man of The Emperor, approached the direction the crying was coming from. He removed the coat and picked up the infant.

“Huian, what is it?” asked The Emperor.

“A child, your majesty. A boy!” Huian exclaimed.

This peaked The Emperor’s interest and he climbed down from his horse. He extended his arms out and Huian gave him the boy. He took a good long look at him.

The Emperor chuckled, “Why look at this! He is no ordinary child! He is sure to grow up to be strong, especially when he survived this bitter cold. Look at how he clenches his fists! He is a fighter.” He looked at Huian, “He will serve us well. You will teach him to be a strong man, Huian. It must be fate you found him.”

Huian, flattered, bowed to The Emperor, “Your majesty, it was fate WE found him!”

The Emperor smiled and handed the infant to him. He climbed his horse then took a deep breath of satisfaction and looked up to the high risen sun.

“Let’s return home,” he said and whipped his horse. Huian, The Emperor’s men, and the child who was in safe arms followed closely in the golden field that was still wet with dew.

Back at the palace, The Emperor walked with his heavy robe shuffling behind him to The Empress and then held both of her hands in his. Their son, Jiao Long, was by his mother clenching onto her gold embroidered robe.

“My queen, I found something precious today. I feel as though the Gods brought him to us!” He turned and motioned the guards to bring in the infant. The Empress put her hand on her chest, her breathing hardened. The ornaments in her hair jingled as she moved toward the child. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“It’s a boy,” The Emperor exclaimed.

Despite of how dirty the infant was, she took him into her arms. “Your majesty, he is beautiful! Look at that nose. My, he has well defined features!” The little infant opened his eyes and stared boldly into The Empress’s eyes in which she shuffled to The Emperor hurriedly, “Your majesty, look at his eyes! Dark as night! Alert like that of a tiger!”

The Emperor smiled, “He will do Qin good.”

“Where did you find him?” The Empress turned to her husband.

“Among the thorns of the flower terrace,” he answered.

“A flower terrace, huh?” She smiled warmly as she stroked the infant’s head.

Jiao Long jumped up and down wanting to see what all the excitement was. He pulled on his mother’s gold bejeweled robe to see what she was holding. He longed for attention.

The Empress bent down to her three years old son, “Look, Jiao Long. It’s your new brother in arm. He is as old as your baby sister,” she smiled. She stood back up and walked on with the new child in her arms, her robe rippling behind her and her servants following closely after.

After the infant was fed and bathed, The Empress took him to go see her newborn daughter.

“Ying-tai, meet your sister, Xiu Juan,” The Empress said softly, “you guys are about the same age.” Xiu Juan woke up to her mother’s voice. “Well, hello my porcelain doll,” The Empress giggled. Xiu Juan was a very white baby with the reddest lips and darkest brows. “I want you to meet Ying-tai. You two will grow up to be very close.” The Empress held Ying-tai close to her and whispered, “You will protect her. I just know you will be a wonderful bigger brother.”