Chapter 3

Qian Qing Gong, Beijing

"Er Kang, explain to me your report regarding Yong Rong's death." The Emperor ordered, in the private sanctuary of his study in Qian Qing Gong.

"Answering Huang Ah Ma, Er chen (儿臣）is still in the midst of investigating. Although there are some hard evidence as written in my report, this entire fiasco is full of doubts that require a more thorough investigation. Forgive me for my honesty Huang Ah Ma, but things don't add up and aren't as straightforward as they seem. Er Chen boldly requests for more time to investigate." Erkang answered.

"Erkang, you do realise that you have a conflict of interest here." Qian Long looked at him long and hard. "Fine, I will take your word that a more thorough investigation is needed. But based on the findings of the report, you can no longer be part of it. I will ask Fu Kang An to take up this case. He is a loyal servant to the throne and will see that justice is done." Qian Long decided.

Internally, Erkang turned pale. Fu Kang An and He Shen were on the same side, and both did not like the Fu Family. No doubt they are loyal to the crown, but it doesn't mean they have no qualms in doing a quick job of disposing the entire Fu Clan. But what else could he say? The evidence he uncovered does indeed show Shi Wu Ah Ge involved in some suspicious activity and behavior, and he had discovered traces of half burnt cryptic notes in his residence. But he couldn't believe Shi Wu Ah Ge is the kind who would kill for the throne. He saw him grow up, under the tender guidance of Ling Gui Fei. It is simply not possible.

"Er Chen obeys." Erkang said reluctantly, and left Qian Long's presence.

Dali, Yunnan

By the time Ai Qi and Jing Nan got home, it was after dinner. Ai Qi sent Jing Nan off to eat and rest, and found the others waiting for him in the study.

"I have something to report." Xiao Jian said, as Ai Qi walked in.

"Me as well." Ai Qi said, receiving the bowl of food Xiaoyanzi had kept for him, giving her a small peck on her cheek.

"So who starts first." Xiaoyanzi asked.

"I'll go first." Xiao Jian said. "An old friend just tried to recruit me into some Qing rebellion group this afternoon. Apparently things are going to happen really soon, and my friend wasn't too pleased I turned down the offer."

Ai Qi almost dropped his bowl of food.

"He couldn't tell me much, as I was non-committal, but apparently whatever their going to do, their going to do it fast, and they have friends in high places,who have set things in motion. And apparently our city of memories is in turmoil because of a death, and they seem to be waiting for this opportune moment to strike." Xiao Jian carried on. "Need I say more?"

"I was saying we better quickly send word to Erkang and Ziwei." Xiaoyanzi said, fiddling with a chopstick, throwing it up and down. Qing-er nodded in agreement.

Ai Qi remained silent, though everyone could tell that wheels were spinning in his head as he digested the information. "Maybe I should tell you of Jing Nan and my encounter, then see what you guys make of it." Ai Qi finally said and proceeded to recount the afternoon's events.

"No way you are going to Kunming alone!" Xiaoyanzi shot up. "I'm going with you!"

"My children's mother, who would look after them if I go?" Ai Qi looked at her fondly.

"Wait, let's get back to the heart of the matter. So our uncle wants you to encourage practically everyone in Yunnan, starting with Dali, to not travel out and not allow people to travel in. But what if people want to escape the epidemic? And he has never been so concerned for the welfare of the people to begin with. Secondly, he is practically threatening your family, meaning that if you don't do as he says, he may harm them." Qing-er slowly said, analysing. "Yong Qi," She also reverted back to his old name. "Do you realise that it can only mean one thing if he intents to seal the borders?"

"I know!" Ai Qi buried his face in his palms. "I was hoping I was thinking too much..."

"But he couldn't even give you symptoms of the sickness, nor have we heard of anything or seen any contagious outbreak, even from travellers. And he was covertly threatening you to obey his orders. It is fishy..." Qing-er trailed off, wringing her hands.

"What are you guys talking about? You are speaking in riddles!" Xiao Jian asked sharply.

Qing-er and Ai Qi glanced at each other first, then both looked at Xiao Jian. Finally, Ai Qi said, "Usually if there is an epidemic, it has to be reported to the Emperor first, and then he will send his commands to the various officials over the provinces to do the necessary. It is not in the purview of a Qin Wang to make such a command. Furthermore, he is not only just sealing a city, but a whole province. It can either mean two things: 1. there really is a very bad epidemic of a very contagious illness where there cannot be more more delays or more people die, or 2." Ai Qi closed his eyes. "My uncle wants to seize the throne, and he is starting by taking over Yunnan province."

Fu Residence

"How did it go with Huang Ah Ma?" Ziwei asked, when Erkang got home.

"Bad. I'm taken off the case because of my relation to Shi Wu Ah Ge." Erkang replied, removing his outer coat, changing into his home attire. "Is Shi Wu Ah Ge around?"

Shi Wu Ah Ge, Dong-er and Mian Yi grew up together and were very close. They hung out pretty often at the Fu Residence. Ziwei's 2 other children, daughter and son, Ya Xuan (16) and Xu Ren (14) were younger so didn't hang out much with them. The exception was Ertai and Saiya's eldest daughter Ya Ling, who was 15. She was a bundle of energy like her mother, and hung around the boys very often when they were home. Her younger twin brothers who were 10, were more like Ertai in nature, and stuck to themselves mostly. But all in all, the 6 children made the Fu household a very lively place.

"Dong-er is with him and Mian Yi in the palace. They said they'll be coming to our place for dinner later tonight though." Ziwei replied.

"Good, I need to speak with Yong Yan. How did He Shen's wife's party go?" Erkang asked.

Ziwei smiled. "We...ll, it was just regular ladies gossip on family happenings..."

"And?"

"Interestingly, the ladies were also asking where Yong Yan was." Ziwei laughed. "He is quite the charmer apparently, and many wanted to marry their daughters to him. So, when Liu Ah Ge was still alive, he had frequented He Shen's place pretty often, either alone or together."

"Is that so? But how come we don't know of this? You do go to He Fu Ren's parties too, but I've never heard you mention it?" Erkang was perplexed. He knew Yong Rong and Yong Yan didn't like He Shen, but they were not close either; their age gap was too wide and their sphere of work was different. Yong Yan is just a kid. Yong Rong was training to be a monarch.

"Because I sat with a different crowd today. You know I do hate these parties, so I tend to either keep to myself or mingle with the quieter ones. Today I wormed my way to He Fu Ren's regular crowd and even managed to strike up quite a good conversation with her." Ziwei explained.

Erkang smiled. "I don't suppose I need to guess how you wormed your way in. If you can win over Huang Ah Ma, you can win over anyone."

Ziwei giggled. "Well, they were easily impressed with my rendition of 梦之觉 (Meng Zhi Jue) on the Gu Zheng. And of course, having 2 eligible sons and 1 princess in good favour with the Emperor is good enough for them to want to befriend me."

"And I presume the father of those children was never considered." Erkang pretended to be jealous.

Ziwei smacked him jovially. "What do you think? The nephew of a Gui Fei, and also another favourite official of the Emperor, who is married to his favourite daughter. We are pretty popular you know."

Erkang grinned and pulled her tight. "We are blessed, aren't we."

Ziwei snuggled blissfully into his embrace, and nodded. "Mmhmm".

"On a more serious note, I wonder what Yong Yan was doing at He Shen's place. What was Yong Rong doing there as well? They never told me." Erkang wondered.

Ziwei sighed. "Well, you can ask Yong Yan later. Perhaps we have let our guards down too much, after so much peace and quiet all these years."

"Ziwei, do you ever regret not leaving for Dali, with Yong Qi and the rest? Life would be much simpler." Erkang suddenly asked.

Ziwei shook her head vehemently. "Never. We couldn't leave your Ah Ma and Er Niang in any case. And my father. My place is here. This is my family."

"But sometimes I fear for you. You are so pure and innocent. As much as I try to shelter you here in Xue Shi Fu, as long as you are related to court, you will always be embroiled in the politics." Erkang hugged her tighter.

"We will face things together." Ziwei replied staunchly. "Together, or not at all."

Dali, Yunnan

Xiao Jian and Xiaoyanzi stared at Ai Qi and Qing-er in muted silence, shocked. Then Xiaoyanzi began to laugh. Hysterically.

"Xiaoyanzi! Are you all right?" Ai Qi asked worriedly.

"Don't you see the irony? Here, you guys are worried about the Han people rebelling, my father included. Yet who poses the most dangerous threat? Your own blood relative!" Xiaoyanzi said through spurts of laughter. Even Xiao Jian allowed himself a smile.

Ai Qi also smiled, and sighed. Trust Xiaoyanzi to see humour in such a bleak situation. "Though if it is really the case, we really need to get word to Erkang and Huang Shang."

"Seems like there's many things going on. I wonder if their all linked." Xiao Jian said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it isn't that much of a coincidence that Lao Zhang is in town. So I get recruited to join a Qing rebellion group with contacts in high places. You suspect your uncle of a coup and he wants to use your reputation to his advantage. Are they allies, or working separately? And Liu Ah Ge's death that has thrown the palace in turmoil, with now a lack of heir apparent. It does seem like a good opportunity to strike. Forgive me for saying this but the Emperor is getting old as well."

"I know." Ai Qi said shortly and Xiaoyanzi rubbed his hand. "In any case, these are all speculations that we don't know for sure. We will need to plan and figure out what to tell those in the City of Memories."

"I'm pretty sure Lao Zhang is serious." Xiao Jian said. "It is your epidemic that you need to verify."

Ai Qi nodded. "I agree. Here's what I'm thinking. As instructed, I will encourage my patients in Dali not to leave Yunnan, and also leave word with the official here. I will leave for Kunming in 2-3 days, and take Jing Nan with me. Xiao Jian, Qing-er, may I also have your permission to bring Shan-er along? Once I verify what I believe is a non-existent epidemic, I intent to send both of them to Beijing, while I will stay in Kunming. What do all of you think?"

"Yong Qi, don't think of ever going anywhere without me. And are you out of your mind? Sending Nan-er and Shan-er to Beijing alone?! " Xiaoyanzi glared at him, and he mouthed "Later.", which fortunately managed to appease her.

"You want to send Shan-er and Nan-er to Beijing?" Qing-er asked hesitantly. "Is it necessary? It is a long ways away." Shan-er was Qing-er's first born, and it was a rather hard birth, so it was natural she was reluctant.

"Qing-er, I'm so sorry. But I believe that Nan-er and Shan-er can protect each other. And I wouldn't trust anyone else with a letter. They would be able to sneak out of the borders, though we would need to plan the roadmap for them, and let them know who they can rely on in each town and city." Ai Qi was really apologetic.

"Xiao Jian, I would encourage you to join the society and find out what is happening. We need to know..." Ai Qi went on.

"Ai Qi." Qing-er suddenly spoke up. "You are thinking as part of a ruling family and government. You are Ai Qi now. You are no longer part of royalty." She emphasized. "Do we need to get involved in these things?"

"Qing-er?" Ai Qi could hardly believe Qing-er was saying such things. "Yes, I love my family and want to protect them. But I am not doing this for them. I am doing this for the country. Imagine if our uncle gets on the throne; do you think he will be a good Emperor? If this Qing rebellion thing goes through, would it really ensure peace and stability for the country? Hell, even if we don't do anything, I am now being a puppet under Zheng Qin Wang and I can imagine that he might make me and Jing Nan one of his personal physicians. We will need to leave Dali again, and no longer can I practice medicine and help the people who really need my help." Ai Qi exclaimed passionately. "Qing-er, I know your family is precious to you, I love mine dearly too, that is why I need to do whatever I can to stop an unstable world from ensuing. All that I am doing, and asking them to do, is to ensure peace for their future! Yes I know the risks involved, but I trust our children. I trust in what we have taught them. I love them, and believe me, I am extremely reluctant to resort to this plan, but we have no other choice to ensure the peace Qian Long has established continues!"

The three of them stared at Ai Qi, stunned. Never had they hear him speak so passionately before. Before them was not Ai Qi, but Ai Xin Jue Luo Yong Qi, true Prince and would have been Crown Prince to the throne. He spoke as a ruler with a heart for the people.

"You were born to rule..." Xiaoyanzi whispered, looking at him in new light. For the millionth time again, she wondered if taking away from his duty was a wrong decision.

Silence ensued, as everyone was taken aback by Ai Qi's, no, Yong Qi's outburst.

"We'll think about it." Xiao Jian was the first to break the silence, took a stunned Qing-er's hand and led her out to their quarters.

The room left Ai Qi and Xiaoyanzi.

"You owe me an explanation." Xiaoyanzi placed her fists around her waist, glaring at him.

Ai Qi rubbed his forehead. "Yes I know, I'm sorry for laying out my plans first before consulting you..."

"Stop dragging it Yong Qi! Get to the point."

"I AM sorry. I love Jing Nan to death, and would die for her, but there's much at stake here! Our lives! Even if Zheng Qin Wang is not eyeing the throne, fact is that we have already gotten his attention. We all know the consequences of commoners disobeying orders coming from the nobility, whatever ethnicity is the government..."

Xiaoyanzi finally softened. "Yong Qi," Xiaoyanzi grasped his hand and stared into his eyes. "I understand. I really do. I'm no longer that immature 18 year old girl. I understand your heart, even if others don't. You are doing the very least that you can do, aren't you?"

Nothing needed to be said. Everyone knew that Yong Qi would have been one of the best Emperors if he had taken it up. And he always had a heart of a servant leader. He gave it all up for Xiaoyanzi, and as uneducated as she was, over the years, through various conversations with Qing-er, Xiao Jian, and even the townspeople, she grew to realise what a huge impact Yong Qi would have made if he became Emperor. And the consequences of having a tyrant for an Emperor. The passion he expressed just now, was just but a subset of the burden he had been carrying for his country; to make it a better place.

"But the point is, you should have discussed it with me first, before stating your plan out to everyone. Jing Nan is MY daughter as well." Xiaoyanzi grumbled.

"Yes yes yes, I am really sorry my dear wife. I should have tried to find a chance to speak to you first, before revealing the plan. Let's not argue over this ok? I promise I won't do it again!" Ai Qi held 3 fingers up in the air, eyeing her playfully, knowing she wasn't truly angry, then pulled her onto his lap. "Please don't be angry with me. Tell me how I can make it up to you..."

Xiaoyanzi pushed away his roving hands and kisses, sitting up straight on his lap and faced him. "Stop distracting me. So now what? What choices to we have?"

There was a long pause, and Xiaoyanzi slowly sunk back into Ai Qi's embrace, holding him tightly.

Ai Qi suddenly chuckled over her head, rubbing his cheek against her soft hair. "Even back then so many years ago, you may have a talent for poem writing just yet. I remember your "horizontal will die, vertical will also die (横也是死，竖也是死) love poem I supposedly wrote for you. We are indeed in such a predicament." he said wryly.

"What do you mean?"

"If I don't do anything, the fact that Zheng Qin Wang has his sights on me means that no matter what I would have to serve him. That is if he doesn't discover my true identity...if he does..." Ai Qi shuddered. "He would blackmail Huang Ah Ma. The solution to that is to leave and live a life of running again, which we can't, for the sake of our children. If we do something and inform Huang Ah Ma, much risk involved as well. But, at least there is some hope that we can maintain the country's stability."

"Then what if this Han leader is good?" Xiaoyanzi asked tentatively, leaving the rest unsaid. Her question implied an overthrowing of a dynasty!

Ai Qi looked up. "Even then, the country would be thrown into turmoil for years, for the Han ruler to establish his reign and authority. Do we really want our children to live through that kind of political climate? Granted, I may be bias and am reluctant to see a dynasty change yet again as a Manchu, but we see the massacres from history that comes from every dynastic change. I'm not thinking of ethnic differences, Xiaoyanzi. I believe that the best person should be ruler. If no one from the Manchu tribe has the right heart, then fine, get a good Han leader. But at what cost? Is this a price worth paying, especially now? There is still Shi-er Ah Ge and Shi-qi Ah Ge. Under Huang Ah Ma and Ling Gui Fei's guidance, I'm sure they have turned out well. We still have hope yet. We can't give up without trying, though..." he left his fears unsaid, hoping that Xiaoyanzi won't think about it though he suspected Qing-er would. They may be successful in maintaining the country's stability, but at the cost of their own lives and their children's. Their children may be the ones instrumental in maintaining the country's peace, but may not live see the stable peaceful future that they want for them.

"And there's still you." Xiaoyanzi said softly.

Ai Qi shook his head, coming out of his reverie. "I gave that up a long time ago. It cannot happen."

"Mom? Dad?" Jing Nan suddenly appeared at the study door. "What's going on? You said you would answer any questions..." And suddenly stopped short, seeing her parents in such a position, and flushed bright red. "Er...ok ok, I will go..."

Xiaoyanzi smiled and swung off Ai Qi's lap. "Nan-er, have you eaten?" She nodded. "Come, we're walk you back to your room. You need rest. It's late, any questions can be asked tomorrow."

A forest in Yunnan

"Grandmaster." a masked man greeted yet another masked man softly in the woods.

"How is the Red Flower Society coming along?"

"It is thriving, Grandmaster. The Young Master is personable and people like him. He is able to win loyalty from many Han people. I believe they would support him. The 14 leaders for the various areas are even more loyal, be it out of revenge or nationalism. They have been a great aid to Young Master."

"Good. How is recruitment here?"

"Still in persuasion of trusted ones who can be of aid during combat. While we have can have support of the people, we need military support."

"Hmm. Yes indeed. Our time runs short. We only have this window of opportunity that our ally is helping to create for us. He estimates that we can strike in 5 months, but we will only know once things are more confirmed on his side. In the meantime, start our supporters outside of Yunnan to move to Beijing. Whoever is in Yunnan must stay here."

"But what if he is of military might, Grandmaster?"

"If he can prove himself useful in Beijing, then yes bring him."

"We can't leave Yunnan now though, Grandmaster. Orders from Zheng Qin Wang."

"Don't worry about that. I will take care of it."

"Yes."

"Take your leave. We cannot be here for long. I will summon you when the time is ripe."

The masked man nodded and took off.