A/N-AAAAHHHH! Sorry, I've had a really crappy few weeks. I mean, Spring Break was fun, but band trip was waaaaayyy dramatic, and that's why I haven't updated in the longest time. Hope you'll forgive me. Anywho, here's the next chapter, so enjoy!

Chapter 9

Silence. Then, "WHAT?"

Liao Bao looked down to the ground sheepishly. "I'm willing to marry her!" he cried out miserably. "In fact, I wanna marry her!"

"What the hell's stopping you then?" Shien Chu growled.

Bao hesitated, then replied, "She's already married."

Jeeki stared at his younger brother in utter disbelief. Then his eyes narrowed in anger as he said coldly, "Well, this beats all, Bao. I know that you never had a sense of duty to begin with, but—"

"That's going a bit far, brother." Bao cut him off angrily.

"And now you impregnate a married woman," Jeeki continued. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I love her!" He yelled.

"A fat load of good that's done you!" Shien Chu screamed.

"Stop yelling!" Ming-Su cried. She just walked in, in all her imperial elegance only to find her beloved sons shouting at each other. "You'll never learn to solve anything by shouting."

"Don't worry, mother, we're done," Bao growled as he stalked out of the throne room.

Ming-Su sighed and cried out, "Bao, please…Bao!" And she ran out of the room after him.

Jeeki glared at Shien Chu after they left. "You didn't bother keeping an eye on him?" He accused.

"He's a grown man, Jeeki, he can take care of himself," Shien said with a careless wave of his hand.

"Apparently not!"

"Well excuse me for thinking that Bao was mature enough. Excuse me for thinking that he could look after himself. Excuse me for treating Bao like a person."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You know perfectly well what it means," Shien spat. "I'm going to my room to read." And he walked away with a huff.

Jeeki sighed. Perhaps I jumped to conclusions, he thought to himself. I'll ask for Mulan's advice.

Ming-Su was sitting on the couch in Bao's room, trying to coax the truth out of her reluctant son.

"Bao, you can tell me, I'm your mother," She pleaded desperately.

Liao Bao looked sadly at his mother, then said, "I—"

"Yes?"

"I…I've impregnated someone, mother."

Tears welled up in Ming-Su's old eyes as she asked, "Well what is to happen to her, Bao?"

"I don't know, mother," He said hopelessly. "I tried to ask her to marry me, but…"

"Trying is not good enough!" She yelled.

"Mother, you said it yourself, yelling solves nothing!"

"Sorry," Ming-Su said as she huffed. "It's just…I don't want dishonor to fall upon this household."

"It's always about the stupid family honor!" He screamed. "I can never make a mistake, because I have to be damned well near perfect!"

"You're a royal! Of course you have to be perfect." She walked over to her son and placed her delicate, pale hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you are a prince of Qui Gong. It's the way your life must be."

They sat like that for a few minutes, then she said, "Will you at least tell me who this girl is?"

"You don't know her," Bao explained with a wave of his hand. "But her name is Xian Jade."

Ming-Su gasped and fainted on the floor.

"Mulan!" Jeeki found his bride walking amongst the flowers. He stopped to admire her for a moment, then he continued to walk towards her.

She turned around hoping to see Shang, but instead finding Jeeki rushing towards her. She tried to hide her disappointment however and walked towards her husband with open arms. "Did you see your brothers?" She asked.

"Yes, I did," Jeeki said with a sigh. "Bao has impregnated a married woman."

Mulan blinked, then whispered, "Oh, that's horrible."

"I know. What should I do?"

She thought for a moment, then replied, "The best thing you can do is keep it from the public. It will become a scandal and the royal family cannot tolerate any of that."

He nodded. "Right."

"In the meantime, you find out who Bao impregnated."

"He won't talk to me," Jeeki said sadly.

"He's your brother," Mulan said comfortingly while rubbing his neck. "You're family. Leave him alone for a moment and he'll come to you."

He let out a long sigh and kissed her on the lips. "You're right. Would you like to meet my other brothers?"

Mulan nodded. "I would like that."

Jade was walking down the hallways of the palace as she heard a loud scream. She clutched her stomach and limped toward the sound. In five minutes, she was already panting, straining her ears for that sound. She was not looking where she was going and accidentally bumped into Shang. She let out a small scream as she fell the ground, but was caught from her nasty fall. He caught her and she stared lustfully into his dark brown, chocolate eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Yes."

"What were you doing here?"

"I heard that scream and I was wondering what happened." She explained.

"I heard that scream too." Shang said as he helped her to his feet.

"No!" The two of them looked up to find Ming-Su bursting dramatically out of her suite. "No! This cannot be!"

She turned and spotted them. A rage that Ming-Su had never felt before began to rise within her. "YOU!" She screamed as she ran toward Jade.

Shang, as an instinct, pulled Jade behind him and said calmly, "Your Highness, I think you need to calm down."

"YOU HAVE RUINED TOO MANY LIVES!" Ming-Su yelled, completely disregarding Shang's existence.

"Please, Your Highness, I have no clue of what you're talking about," Jade said meekly.

"YES YOU DO!" She screamed. "FIRST YOU RUIN MULAN AND SHANG'S LIVES AND NOW YOU'VE RUINED MY SON'S!"

Jade's small store of patience ran out. "What do you mean, I've ruined Mulan and Shang's lives? General Li Shang is dead and Mulan has apparently fulfilled her duty to her people. She's living a cushy life here, with a prince and a palace. HER LIFE ISN'T RUINED!"

"Yes it is!" Ming-Su yelled. "Shang lives, you're married to him! Somehow you managed to snatch him with those temptress claws of yours and you don't even have the decency to tell him that that child in your belly is not his!"

Jade gasped and gazed at Ming-Su in horror. She turned to her husband, still standing there with a look of total shock on his face. "You don't believe her, do you?" She asked desperately. "I mean, come on, she's old, she's senile—"

Shang glared at her in disgust. "You're picking on the Empress."

"I—"

"I don't want to hear your petty excuses." Shang held up a hand to show his rising temper. "I don't want to hear any of it. I'm too tired to listen to a lying wife." And with that he walked off.

A/N-HA! So, Shang knows! Let the assumptions fly. And I was surprised at how many of you called it. I just didn't want to tell you that you called it and let you find out for yourself. REVIEW!