Chapter 2
The Emperor and Fa Zhou are talking when a knock interrupts their conversation. The Emperor excuses himself and he personally goes to the door and opens it. A servant bows. "I bring news Your Excellency."
"Yes?"
"The Empress has given birth to a healthy son." The Emperor nods and dismisses the servant. The servant closes the door and the Emperor turns around.
"A son! Congratulations my friend!" The Emperor faintly smiles and returns to his seat.
"A son is a blessing indeed, but a daughter would be a priceless treasure." The Emperor sits down and sighs. Fa Zhou gives the Emperor a puzzled look.
"But the family name is passed down through sons, not daughters. You can only hope that she will be matched to a good man who will fed, clothe, and not beat her." The Emperor reaches out for his tea.
"That maybe. But a royal daughter is different. She is cherished, almost as much as a son. A son inherits the throne and kingdom. Of which I have three. A daughter can unite two countries and bring even more honor upon her family. A daughter, I do not have."
…
"Jia Ren! He's so beautiful! What are you going to call him?" Jia Ren smiles at her friend.
"My husband was so sure they baby was going to be a girl…that he only picked girl names." The two women chuckle and afterwards, Jia Ren sighs. "It would be nice to have a girl…not that I'm complaining, but…please don't tell this to anyone…but we have been advised to not have anymore children after this one." Fa Li nods.
…
"In short. The doctors have strongly advised us to not have anymore children." Fa Zhou nods and makes a suggestion.
"You could always take in a girl and raise her as your own. As you know, not many people want girls…they want sons to carry on the family name and to work." The Emperor looks at him.
"I have considered that already…but it would only be possible if plans were made extremely carefully.
…
[1 Year later]
Dear Emperor, I am writing you so you may celebrate with us. Fa Li's pregnancy doing well and we are going to finally be parents! However, I feel a much heaver weight of responsibility upon my shoulders as the economy is not what it was a year ago. Concerning this, and some other things of which I would like to talk to you about in person. I was hoping that you and I could talk and you could give me some advise on what I should do.
Signed,
Fa Zhou.
…
"We know that you will take better care of Hua Ping then we could ever." Fa Li sniffs as she hands her baby over to Jia Ren.
"I know you will love and cherish her, perhaps even more then I might have been able to." The Emperor looks at the Fa family.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart my friends. You have given my wife and I a priceless gift." The Emperor looks at the baby that Fa Zhou is holding. "They can never meet you know." Both Fa Zhou and Fa Li nod and the Emperor continues. "But there is no reason why, from time to time, you can still visit us and see your daughter." Both Fa Zhou and Fa Li bow and thank him. Fa Zhou stands straight.
"We must get going, if it pleases you my friend. I would like to get home before dark." The Emperor gives his consent, and the Fa family leave Hua Ping with the Emperor and take Fa Mulan (Hua Ping's identical twin) home with them. After they leave, the Emperor takes Hua Ping from Jia Ren and holds her.
"From this day on, you will no longer be Hua Ping, you will now be called Ping Yi."
Thank you for showing such interest in this!
BTW…please comment on this as I like to know what I can improve on and what you guys like!