The Foundling: AU – In the golden years of the Celestial Empire, 16-year old Ying-Fa is a humble foundling raised in the Jade Temple. She is the object of pity and derision because of her lack of magic and her lack of a dowry--which is as good as a curse in the ancient city of Li-Cheng. Will she find answers in the magical manuscripts of Clow?
Disclaimer: CCS is not mine. It belongs to CLAMP.
Chapter 1. The Vision from the Jade God
It caused a big stir in the otherwise serene atmosphere of the Jade Temple. Mistress Cixi revealed that has been receiving "revelations" from the Jade God, or so she claimed. She has never received any visions before and she was not particularly "gifted" in that area but since everyone in the Jade Temple was afraid of her, they just kept their silence.
The imperious Mistress of the Temple was to go on a pilgrimage to the seaside town of Beiba where she was "directed" to go by her visions. Pilgrimages are supposed to be simple and even austere religious trips but Mistress Cixi was never one to hide her praises. She had made sure everyone who mattered in Li-Cheng knew about her "revelations" so a fairly large crowd of people saw her off and ask her to include them in her prayers during her pilgrimage.
Mistress Cixi simply basked in the attention for she believed she deserved every ounce of it. She very slowly and very dramatically ascended into her waiting carriage, sweeping her long and elaborate train behind her. All the adulation reminded her of the time when as a young maiden, she had aspired to become the Li Queen.
The Li King would usually choose his bride from the ladies who were educated in the Jade Temple and Cixi had been very bitterly disappointed when the then Li Prince barely even looked at her. He had chosen the Lady Yelan for his bride. Yelan, from the Wong clan came from the richest and most powerful clan after the Li's and what's more, it was a love match. Cixi's clan the Madoushi's were nothing compared to the Wong's.
There were rumors that the disappointed Cixi tried to place a curse on the Li King and on Yelan but it never worked—the Li's after all were also powerful magicians. Cixi pondered that if she were the Li Queen, she would get much, much more attention than this. It was only through shrewd maneuvering that she was able to secure the post of Mistress of the Jade Temple.
The Li clan has ruled the Southern part of the Celestial Empire since time immemorial. They were near relatives of the Emperor (though detractors often called them the "Bastard Line" or the "Pretenders"). There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the Li clan and the Emperor – for neither intruded in each other's territory. Except for occasional petty wars, there was peace and prosperity under the rule of the Li's.
The pilgrimage formed a long caravan (mostly the Mistress Cixi's luggage). Her attendants formed only a small portion. They all made their way to Beiba without event. Beiba was a seaside city that the Li's also ruled. It was a rich port that had a sweeping harbor. The poets called it the "Fragrant Harbor".
The party reached the seaside Temple in the afternoon of the next day. The servants unloaded the voluminous baggage. The Mistress was expected to stay for at least two weeks in Beiba. The sky was eerily downcast—a storm was brewing, the waves of the sea were slowly increasing in size and in height. It was like a portent that something was about to happen. They had barely settled in the temple when it had started to rain.
Mistress Cixi proceeded directly to the Inner Temple, where a statue of the Jade god was kept and spent a few hours meditating in front of it. She went into a trance and wrote down her "revelations" on a piece of parchment. It said:
"The ruler of the treasure will rise from the sea. The hero yonder would need a hero now."
She came to herself and read what she wrote. It was the same that she had been receiving for 4 weeks now. She wondered what it meant—her arrogant disposition had weakened her ability to interpret signs. The rain was now pouring in torrents and the temple grounds were drenched.
"Oh great Jade god, hear me, please give me a sign—what should I do?" Cixi muttered dramatically for the benefit of her attendants who were kneeling behind her. Thunder rolled and the lightning boomed from outside.
The inclement weather seemed to disappear at dawn—like there was never a storm in the first place. The sea was calm and quiet, the birds were chirping and the grounds were only partially wet so Mistress Cixi decided to take a walk in the beach near the Temple. She was attended by ladies led by the Lady Ziyi. She said she wanted to meditate, but she really believed that the disappearance of the inclement weather was due to her prayers.
This was their routine for nearly two weeks – walk by the sea then meditate in the temple. So far nothing had happened. The Mistress Cixi was starting to get impatient. She thought of all the ridicule she would get if she returned to Li-Cheng empty handed.
On their last day in Beiba, they took their customary walk near the sea. The Mistress was in the foulest of moods and was snapping at everyone. They were about to turn back when they saw a heap on the sand—it looked like a body, but they were not sure if it was dead or alive. Mistress Cixi turned away. "Uggghh….what is that…let us return to the temple."
Lady Ziyi ignored the mistress and rushed forward and saw that the heap was moving—and it was not a body—but bodies. It was a very weak woman clutching an infant in her arms. The woman had many wounds and was bleeding all over. There was a large bruise on her temple.
"…I beg you…save my child….please….please…." The woman was saying. Blood came out of her nose. She held out a jade pendant with a gold key. "Take this…."
Ziyi took the item and hid it in her robes. Mistress Cixi was too busy showing her disgust at the sight to notice. Ziyi nodded to reassure the woman and took the sleeping infant from the woman's arms. Without a second thought she instructed the servants to carry the woman to the temple. The Mistress was too stunned to react.
The servants did as they were told. They had summoned an apothecary to look at the woman but were told that she was beyond saving. Lady Ziyi and the apothecary stood near the sleeping woman's bed. The woman opened her tear-filled eyes. "I beg you, please…my child...we escaped...ship was wrecked….had to leave my husband and son…beg you…save her." It seemed as if the woman wanted to use her dying breath to tell them this.
The woman then lost consciousness and died a few minutes later. Lady Ziyi looked at the infant…who was indeed a girl. The infant was sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the adults looking at her.
The Mistress Cixi entered the room with a handkerchief drenched with perfume. There was a look of revulsion on her face that made her wrinkles all the more obvious despite the very thick white powder she had on her face. "I came all the way here for this?" She spat arrogantly. By "this" she meant the sleeping infant girl wrapped in the soiled robes of her deceased mother. "Leave that…that thing….I have no use for 'it'…"
Lady Ziyi, who was carrying the infant, moved forward. She had been very troubled by how the Mistress described the child. "My Mistress, please have mercy on the child—we cannot just leave her here…" Ziyi's gentle heart did not enable her to say 'to the wild animals.'
"That thing is a foundling…she is as good as dead—no connections, no dowry…even if she grows to maidenhood, no suitor would ever press a claim for her…she has no money, no means to earn a living. Unless she…she sells herself…like a….a…" Mistress Cixi could not bring herself to say "prostitute"—she looked down on the "vagrants" and considered them no better than vermin. She even had the prostitutes severely scolded when they did so little as set foot in the Temple grounds. For Cixi, any prayers that prostitutes would ever think of saying would never reach the ears of the Jade god so they were just wasting their time.
Lady Ziyi kneeled. "Please be merciful, mistress." Ziyi added the last thought desperately.
"You are the one who's being cruel Ziyi. You know that the infant would have no future. If she will not marry honorably, then she will not have children honorably. Having no children is a curse."
Lady Ziyi winced at the harsh words. All her children had been stillborn. But still she had borne children, in their culture it was the foremost duty of a woman second to pleasing her husband. "Mistress, she can work at the temple without pay—we could use an extra hand. I'm sure the Li's would be able to take her in as a servant girl if it gets too crowded in the Temple." Ziyi felt that she was losing the argument so she had to use the words that the Mistress responded to: money, usefulness and praise.
Mistress Cixi considered for a moment. "Very well, I will permit it—but if that foundling would ever cause trouble in the temple, I will throw her to the streets where she belongs."
"Yes, Mistress. I will raise her myself." Ziyi bowed and knelt lower.
"See that you do well in that." Cixi imperiously swept off the room. "I will take a bath, that woman smelt."
Ziyi uttered a silent prayer in her heart –thanking the Jade god. She was not able to save the poor mother, but at least the infant was safe. She believed that the Jade god was merciful and very far from how Cixi portrayed him. She was startled when she heard somebody cooing. She looked at the tiny infant she was holding. The baby was looking at her with innocently eyes, as if congratulating her for her efforts.
"Ah…you're awake my pretty…." The kind lady smiled down at the baby. The infant smiled and laughed and reached out to her face with a round, pudgy hand. "Oh my little pink angel—I will protect you from the Mistress. Hmmm…but what shall I call you, hmm?"
The infant's eyes were a lovely deep jade color and she was wearing the pink robes that her deceased mother had wrapped her in. There were delicate cherry blossoms embroidered on the cloth. Ziyi had an inspiration. "I'll call you Ying-fa, huh, little sweetie?"
Little Ying Fa laughed again, which Ziyi would like to think is the infant's way of saying yes to her question.
The foundling grew into a healthy and lovely maiden under the kind eyes of the Lady Ziyi.
