A/N- Last chapter! Ah, this has been fun. If I get enough reviews for this chapter, I might write an epilogue.

Chapter 12

"You…you…" Ming-Su couldn't even find the words to describe her son. He had slept with her nursemaid! She couldn't take it anymore and she collapsed to the floor.

Jeeki rushed to his ailing mother. "Quickly! Call someone, help me with her!"

A manservant that had been walking down the hall at that moment helped him lift her and bring her to her room.

Mulan was standing in shock. Her husband…her husband had slept with the maid! She couldn't help but feel a little…relieved.

However, she immediately ran after them to look after her dear mother-in-law. Hopefully she's fine.

When she had reached the hallway the former Empress lived on. She rushed to Jeeki who was standing outside the door. "Is she alright?"

He didn't want to look her in the eye. "She died."

She gasped and let the shocking news wash over her. She stood there for several moments, and without noticing it, she fell to her knees. "She…she…"

Jeeki didn't comfort her as he normally would have. He merely stalked off, not wanting to look at anyone or anything. He had lost the two most important women in his life: his mother and his wife.

Shang began pacing his room when Thien walked in. "Are you alright?"

Instead of answering, he jumped over to him and hugged him tightly. "I've never been better! He shouted jubilantly."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly and said, "Well, you'd better hide your joy."

"Why?"

"The Empress died."

Shang's jaw dropped. "Mulan!" He cried as he felt his world come out from underneath him.

"No, Ming-Su." Thien quickly amended.

"Oh…that's awful." Shang felt the hole in his stomach widen. He knew that for the past two years, Mulan had grown close to the elderly woman and considered her very much her own mother.

The two men stood silently for a few minutes when Thien added, "Oh, and Jeeki was caught sleeping with one of the maids."

Shang couldn't help but snort. How ironic, he thought. "One of his concubines?"

Thien nodded.

Shang looked up at the ceiling deep in thought. Thien interrupted his thoughts and asked, "Do you love her?"

Shang smiled and said, "Yes."

Thien nodded and said, "Well you don't have much time."

He looked at his brother-in-law in surprise. "What?"

Mulan sang softly to the corpse of her beloved mother-in-law. "Sing on, sing on, sing on, my love, forever shall you live with the beloved of the past, and we shall see each other again, and everyone will love you again…"

She gazed at the stern look of Ming-Su's face and she burst into tears.

She heard the door open behind her. There stood Jeeki in his imperial finery. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "She meant much to me too."

She stood up and hugged him. The held each other for several moments, thinking of Ming-Su.

"It's all my fault…" He whispered. "If I hadn't…if I had just…"

"Shhhh…" Mulan whispered. "You couldn't have prevented it."

"Yes I could have!" He cried as he broke away from her embrace. "If I hadn't slept with that maid, she wouldn't have had that heart attack!"

"It was her time to go," Mulan said soothingly. "Everything happens for a reason."

They stood in silence for a few moments. "What about you?" He asked quietly.

She looked up at him, searching his face. "What do you mean?"

"Are you…are you angry with me?"

She shook her head. "I am not."

"Mulan…I have to…I have to…"

She knew what was coming. He was going to tell her to leave the palace. She could no longer be Empress because of her inability to produce an heir. It had been going around the palace all day that he would finally make this announcement. And surprisingly, Mulan felt no anger. She had come to peace with the decision. She could only hope Jeeki would too. "Jeeki, I know what you're about to say."

"You do?" He asked, puzzled.

"Yes." She bowed to him and whispered, "I am not disappointed. You have a duty to your country, as I did two years ago." She approached him, cupped his face and gently kissed his forehead. "I will always remember the kindness that you showed me."

She was about to leave when he grabbed her arm. "Mulan?" He asked pleadingly. "Do you love me? Truthfully?"

She took a deep breath before answering his question. She looked him straight in the eye and gave him and apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Jeeki. I do not love you. Not in the way you love me."

He hung his head and let go of her arm. She turned around but he stopped her with his resigned, sad voice. "Mulan? Promise…promise you'll never forget me."

She turned to look at him and smiled. "I could never forget you."

And she left the room to look for Shang.

A/N- I hope this emotionally settling for you. If not, it will be in the epilogue.