warning: characters death. Tissue might be necessary.

Chapter Fourteen : Red Lantern

The gardener wiped his brow and sat up from being hunched over for a long while and seethed in annoyance. Ping looked on bemusedly, and the gardener waved his spear at the other man, "this plants will destroy your garden! It's just growing everywhere!"

Ping knelt down to inspect the new plants that started to pop up in Shang's garden. It bore red leaf like pods that looked like red lanterns. They grew fast and was popping up in every part of the garden in odd places. "Chinese Lantern Plant." He murmured.

"Yes!" The gardener spat with annoyance. "They may be good for other things but not this garden when you want to keep your chrysanthemums safe. They'll steal the water from them and kill them."

Ping looked up, "how did this end up here?"

The gardener shook his head, "I have no idea. Maybe it came in accidentally with the chrysanthemums. Now I have to pull them all out before winter come so they would not grow next year! Hopefully!" He stood and moved to the next spot to start working on the plants.

Standing up, Ping brought a stem of the plant with the red pod-like leaves to the house. Quinmei was standing on the porch watching them. He held it up to her, "symbol of death and life. An omen of a kind." Ping told her.

She looked worried as she took the plant and inspected the red leaves, it was starting to dry up, and she could feel the plump berry within the pod. They were ripe and in the season. "What can we do with them? Now we have so many. They do sell in the marketplace."

Ping nodded and hummed as he thought. "I recall Grandmother saying that the plant is good to ease the pain for pregnant women. Perhaps we should consult the herbalist in town and see what we can use from the plants once the gardener pulls them all out."

Quinmei looked hopeful, her swollen belly was causing her more trouble lately, and she had been struggling to keep up every day. She was constantly fatigued and weak, and Shang had to call the doctor to check on her and was informed that she needed to be on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy but allowed her to walk around once in a while. Ping had taken up to help Quinmei when Shang had to go to work.

"Come on, let's get you back in bed." Ping took her arm and helped her to walk slowly back to her room. They had come out to get some fresh air and Ping noticed the gardener looking frustrated and went to inspect. "The air is getting cold." He commented as he saw Quinmei shiver.

"Yes. It will be a real cold winter." She touched the small red lantern blossom. "I hope it is a good omen."

"I do too."

Months passed, and Quinmei was growing rounder and heavier. Shang worried that he would have a large baby sooner than he thought by the size of Quinmei's belly. His worries were overshadowed by his excitement of the aspect of having a son, or a daughter.

A servant approached him and handed him a scroll, he took it and nodded his thank. He broke the wax seal to read the letter. He read the content and grew pale. He stood up, nearly knocking his desk over and rushed through the house.

Winter has come, and the air was bitter and cold. Snow had barely fallen yet, but the rain made everything miserable. The hot summer had led to a warm fall and turned into bitter wet winter. The street was muddied, and many shops closed up because of the overflowing dirty water. No one wanted to venture out in the freezing rain and get ill. However, fever was spreading like a plague, claiming victims. Several people had died from the illness that was simple to recover. The weather wasn't helping any, and with the cold humidity, people are getting worse, and with limited supplies of nutrients and medicine, it was spreading.

He skidded to the stop and peered into his room to see if Ping was there. He wasn't. He turned and made his way to Quinmei's room. She had ended up on bed rest for the remaining of the pregnancy, her small frame unable to hold the large belly. The doctor was worried about her health and ordered her bed rest. He opened the door quietly and saw Ping in Quinmei's bed, cuddling up to his wife, keeping her warm which he often was apt to do, keeping her company with reading books or playing an instrument for her. He moved to the bed and whispered, "Ping…" He held up a scroll and waved at him to come out.

Quinmei shifted but did not wake as Ping removed from her bed and tucked her in tight to keep the heat in. He moved, and his arm knocked the table beside the bed as he passed, the vase rattled slightly but settled. The dried leaves of the Chinese Lantern Plant shook, and the red pods rattled with the dried fruit inside. One fell and broke on the tabletop, the delicate leaves had shattered, and the fruit inside split into two. He followed Shang out of the room and pulled his robe tight around him. The air was biting, and the house was no warmer than it was outside, but it was dry.

"I got news…" Shang turned to Ping and swallowed hard. He handed the scroll to Ping.

Ping took the scroll, afraid what it would tell him. He opened and read it, he gasped and fell to his knees, tears falling from his eyes. "Grandmother…" He bowed his head and clutched his pendant under his robe.

Shang knelt and gathered the smaller man into his arms and held him. "I am sorry."

Ping nodded into Shang's shoulder, tears soaking up his tunic. "I should go home." He gasped as more tears flowed. He had loved his eccentric grandmother, she was the first who knew from the beginning of his relationship with Shang and supported it. She would write to him and ask how they were and joked if they would ever give her great-grandchildren. She was overjoyed when she heard Quinmei was going to have a baby and claimed the child as her great-grandson. She was so sure the child would be a boy and promised no foolish fortune teller would tell her otherwise.

Shang held his lover for a long while in the hallway, not caring where they were. What mattered was to hold Ping as he grieved. He sorely missed the crazy old woman. She had always ribbed at him every time they visited Ping's family home in the most humorous ways. He recalled the first night he and Ping were caught by her and smiled sadly at the memory.

Ping looked up at Shang and touched his lips, a questioning look in his eyes. Shang shook his head and kissed the fingers on his lips, "I was remembering her. The first night, remember?"

Ping laughed weakly and rested his head on Shang's chest as they moved to sit against the wall. The scroll left untouched on the floor. "I was so scared that night."

"I think I was more scared of her than the Huns," Shang muttered and laughed. "She was a wonderful woman." He moved and stood up, helping Ping to stand. "We should go tomorrow first thing. I'll get the servants to stay with Quinmei and have a horse ready if anything happens."

Ping nodded and allowed Shang to lead him back to their room. Shang placed him in bed and whispered that he would be right back and went to check on Quinmei. She was sleeping comfortably and warm. He called for a servant to sit and watch her through the night. He returned to his room to find Ping asleep in his bed and disrobed and crawled in, pulling the other man close to him and falling asleep.

Ping looked up at the wall of his family's home. The rain had let up but the air was freezing and the sky gloomy with a gray cast. He pushed the thick fur away from his face and urged his horse on. They rode that morning for two hours to get to his hometown. Everything looked the same, but he knew things were different. He unmounted the horse, and a servant approached them, taking the horses reins. He and Shang entered the circular entrance of the Fa property. The garden had been stripped down for winter. It was a sad sight. The creek running through the garden was covered with thin ice, and frost hung on the bare branches of the trees. The willow looked spindly.

"Ping?" He looked up to see his father standing in the doorway, thick robes covering his body. "Ping! Shang! Please come in."

The two men hurried across the path and entered the house. The house was slightly warmer, and they shed their outer coats and followed Zhou into the sitting room. They sat in silence for a long while before Zhou spoke, "I assumed you would not come."

Ping shot his head up, "Why? It is my Grandmother!"

"I know." the old man interjected, "you live two hours away, and the condition is not favorable."

"Favorable or not, for Grandmother, we are here." Shang said. "our horses managed just fine."

"What about your wife, Quinmei? Isn't she ready to give birth anytime soon?"

Shang nodded, "she understands, and I have a servant and a horse on standby if anything. Ping needed me now."

"I am grateful." Zhou turned to his son, "Your mother is in there with your Grandmother. You should go and see her."

Ping nodded and stood up. He patted Shang's shoulder and left. Zhou watched his son gracefully move, almost gliding down the hallway. He shook his head and turned back to Shang, "Thank you. You have been a good friend to Ping all those years. I regret that you both did not grow up together."

"It matters not. We met when we should have. He has been nothing but a good friend to me too, helping me with my wife and her difficult pregnancy. He supported me through difficult times. It is fair I am here for him. I thought of Grandmother as my own grandmother as well. She has been good to me too."

Zhou smiled, "yes. It's the fever. She was already in her prime, and the doctor said there was not much we can do. We thought she might have been able to come out of it but," he shook his head and continued, "she slipped in her sleep, going peacefully. She rejoins her husband."

Shang swallowed. "At least it was peaceful. There are worse ways to die." He thought of the war and suffering in pain. He shook his head and sighed.

Zhou patted Shang's knee and asked, "well, besides that depressing subject. How is everything?"

Shang gave him a small smile, "good. Quinmei and Ping grow close as he helps us. We have asked him to move in because we could not stand the thought of him living alone in the city." He saw Zhou smiling. "He grows more popular every day, getting requests farther and farther out to different towns. When the weather is good, he would go and sometimes is gone for a week at a time. He is always happy to come home."

"That is good. I am proud of both of my sons. Minling's children grow strong and taller, and his wife is handling the business and is managing just fine. Ping was different. I was afraid he would not find his way in the world, but he has, blazing through like a streaking star. Grandmother always said the gods were playing a joke on us. I believe that, but a wonderful joke to teach us the importance of life that we often overlook."

Shang smiled softly at the elderly man's words. "Yes. A blessing is often found disguised as a curse."

"Wise word." Zhou stood up, wobbling and Shang helped him. They made their way down the hallway slowly. "I've always seen you and Ping as the yin and yang, a perfect balance of each other. If Ping had been born a girl…" he left that unsaid.

Shang knew what the other man had meant. "Yes. Ping would've been my wife, Mulan, in another lifetime."

Zhou paused and turned to Shang, "your wife is aware of you two?"

Shang nodded, "she does. She is very understanding and comes to love Ping as much she loves me. I…" he swallowed and let out a long exhale, "I still find it amazing that she graciously welcomed Ping into our marriage."

The older man nodded, "you have a special wife there. I have always considered you as my son as well." he squeezed Shang's shoulder and turned to continue down the hallways.

Shang smiled and followed the older man. He turned to the room and saw Ping kneeling beside the bed where Grandmother laid, looking peaceful in her death. Ping's mother was sitting in the chair, crying softly. He almost expected for the old woman to jump up and shout that she had them all fooled and crackle her loud laugh. But as seconds ticked by and the atmosphere became heavy.

The funeral was the next day, and Shang stayed by Ping's side the whole time. No one batted their eyes at the two of them being in constant contact with each other, assuming Ping was drawing support from his long-time friend. Neither did his family did bother when Shang slept in Ping's bed, holding onto him and comforting as Ping cried to sleep.

Several days later, they left to return home and found Quinmei in a high fever.

"Sir! It's Quinmei!" Shang looked up to find the servant he had set to sit by Quinmei and watch over standing in the doorway. She looked tired and pale.

"What? Where are the other servants?" He led his horse to the house and looked about. He was thoroughly confused, and a heavy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach when no servant came to greet them and take the horse.

"I am so sorry! I am the only one left!" the young servant cried, bowing. "The others fell ill and can't come! Quinmei, she has a fever for the past two days!"

"What!?" Shang let go of the horse and flew into the house, Ping was close on his heel. They ran into her room to find her pale and breathing raggedly on the bed. Shang fell to his knees beside Quinmei's bed and held onto her hand, finding her very hot to touch. She was barely breathing. Ping looked on with worry from the end of the bed. He turned to the servant and queried softly, "where are other servants right now?"

The young woman quivered in fear, "they're in the servants quarters. I have been checking on them."

"When was the last time you checked on them?" Ping asked, worried.

"This morning. I came to sit with Lady Quinmei and try to keep her fever down."

"Thank you. Please stay with them." Ping told her and hurried out of the room and swept through the house to the servant quarters on the other side. He entered and gasped, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeves. The air was putrid and stale with the scent of illness, and he could see a couple of the servants had died and placed aside. The rest of them were in bed or sitting, looking pale and weak.

One of them, the stronger one stood up and approached him but keeping his distance. "Forgive us. The illness is moving too fast. It's best if you keep your distance if you don't want to catch it from us."

"How long has this been going on?" Ping asked.

"Those two…" the man gestured to the dead servants in the corner of the room. "about a week. they suddenly could not move from their bed two days ago."

"I'll get a doctor. If you and someone can, bring those bodies out and away from the house. We'll bury them soon." Ping turned and closed the door and grimaced. He made his way back to Quinmei's room.

Shang rested his forehead on the mattress, holding Quinmei's heated hand and silently prayed to the gods for her recovery. He could not lose her and the baby. They've come long enough to get to the point of where they were finally happy in their marriage and grew to love her more.

He heard the door open and close and rose his head, "Ping. What did you find?" He asked, afraid it would be more bad news.

Ping approached him and knelt beside Shang, reaching out and touched Quinmei's arm. He hissed softly under his breath at the heat of her skin, the fever is too high and dangerous. He turned to the servant that was sitting in the chair watching them with a worried look. He saw she looked dead on her feet and knew she would be sick soon. "Fetch the doctor and get some rest when you return. Thank you."

The servant stood and bowed before fleeing the room. Ping allowed his head to drop to the mattress, trying to gather his thoughts. He finally spoke, "All of the servants are sick, two had recently died. I ordered them to bring the body out back. They've locked themselves in the servants quarter, not wanting to spread the illness. But I am afraid we have all already been exposed anyway."

Shang cursed under his breath and stood up to pace around the room. Ping moved to replace Quinmei's damp cloth. She was barely hanging on, breathing raggedly. Ping ran his hand to rest on the belly and rubbed it. The baby moved, kicking and pushing. Ping sighed in relief, the kick was strong, which meant the baby was all right.

"Quinmei?" Ping softly asked as he saw her eyes flutter. She moaned and turned her head toward his voice and struggled to raise her hand. "We're home. You're going to get better, hang in there."

"The baby…" her voice was weak and raspy.

"It is still strong." He comforted her, stroking her bare arm. He turned to see Shang distressed and pacing the room. "Shang…"

"How can we not see this coming?" Shang asked quietly.

Ping shook his head, "we could not."

The doctor came in with the servant. Ping nodded to the young woman, and she left. Ping stood back and watched on as the doctor checked Quinmei. After a few agonizing minutes, the doctor rose and beckoned them to the far corner of the room.

"Doctor?" Shang asked, "What is it?"

The older man rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "I am sorry. Your wife's fever is too high, and I am worried about the baby in her. When is she supposed to be due?"

"Anytime."

"She is very large and ready but not in labor. The baby is strong, but the fever will affect the baby soon if it is not born soon. If we let her recover from the fever, the chances of the child will die in her is too high. If the baby is taken out, she will not be strong enough to recover. Or you lose both."

Ping felt his heart constrict and his throat became tight. He struggled to breathe and felt Shang clench on his arm, barely able to hold himself up. He turned to the other man and held him tight, and they stood there, holding onto each other for a few minutes. Shang gasped softly and turned to the doctor, "How soon must the baby be born?"

"if you truly want to save the baby, tonight."

Shang let go of Ping and went back to Quinmei. Ping turned to the doctor, "let him think about it. Can you look on the servants, they're all ill." The doctor nodded and followed Ping to the servant quarter.

Shang stroked Quinmei's face and saw her flutter her eyes open. She gave a weak smile, "Shang. You're home. I dreamed of you and Ping."

He gave a weak laugh and pushed the damp hair from her face. "Butterfly. I am so sorry for leaving you in the last few days. I am so sorry you're ill."

She shook her head weakly, "no, Shang. Ping needed you to be with him. I only became ill recently."

He grimaced, fighting back the tears. "Quinmei."

"I know I won't make it. I dreamed of my family, my ancestors. They are telling me to come home. I told them to wait so I can see you and Ping one more time." She reached up and touched his face. "Wǒ ài nǐ." She took his hand and drew them down to her swollen belly. "They are waiting to come out. You must save them. Choose them."

"Quinmei! No!"

"Shang." She coughed, and her breathing became wheezing. He held her head up to help her to regain her breath. She looked at him, her skin was pallid, and her lips had a blue tint. He grasped her fingers and realized her body was quickly cooling. Something was wrong.

"Quinmei!"

Ping and the doctor came back. The doctor had quickly seen to the servants and treated the ones who had more chance of survival medicines and arranged a triage. Ping had set up several guest rooms for the servants.

"Shang?" Ping asked as he hurried to his side and saw Quinmei's pallid feature, "What happened?"

The doctor came and checked her temperature and her pulses. "I am sorry, she is fading fast. You must act now."

"Shang, Ping." She whispered softly, and they both grasped her hand. "I love you both. Please take care of the babies."

"What?" Ping looked to Shang, "babies?"

"I don't know. She thinks there is more than one."

"General Li?"

Shang looked up to the doctor and made the heart-wrenching decision. "Yes. Save the baby."

The doctor nodded, "I will need hot water and a clean cloth. Also, this is not going to be pretty, but I will need your help since your servants are not going to be able to. It's too late to get my assistants."

Ping nodded and flew out of the room. Shang bit back a sob and took off his outer robe and rolled up his sleeves. "All right."

The doctor directed Shang to hold her hands and Ping came back with a clean cloth he could find and hot water from the kitchen. He was grateful that the servant he had sent off decided to boil them some water earlier. The doctor stripped the soaked sheet and threw them aside and opened her gown up. He took a vial from his bag and rubbed the opium paste in her mouth to kill her pain. He then turned to Ping and took the water and washed his hands and wiped her belly.

Quinmei turned her head, smiling at Shang. She was already feeling blissful and serene. "Shang…" unknown what was happening to her body as she was beginning to feel blissful and floating away. "Name her Mulan."

Shang looked away from the bloody mess where the doctor had begun to cut on Quinmei's belly and smiled sadly at his wife. He knew he was going to lose her. Tears fell as he heard what she wanted him to name their daughter. He asked, "What of our son?"

"Xinyi. Our joy," She turned her head to Ping and grasped his hand. "Ping, stay with Shang and raise the children."

The doctor pulled out a baby and quickly wiped it down and handed it to Shang who immediately wrapped the cloth while the doctor tied the cord and returned to Quinmei's abdomen. Shang smiled down at his son who begun to wail strong and loud. "Quinmei, our son, Xinyi."

The doctor made a noise, and both men turned to see another baby being pulled out. Ping scrambled to get another cloth and took it, wrapping it up while the cord was being tied off. The doctor returned to close Quinmei up. He had given more opium than necessary to her to allow her to feel no pain at all.

Quinmei turned her head and reached up, "Ping. Mulan."

Ping smiled, tears fell from his eyes and grasped her hand, "yes, Mulan." He held the baby to his chest. His eyes met with Shang before they both turned back to Quinmei who gave her last breath smiling. Her hands fell to her side limply.

The doctor sat back and shook his head. "I am so sorry… she was too weak."

Shang looked at his son, and a tear fell down, splashing the baby's cheek. "Thank you for your help. The babies are strong."

"It is still a risk," the doctor warned as he pulled the sheet over Quinmei and followed Ping and Shang out of the room to take the babies to clean them and swaddle them up. "They are still young, and they may get sick. You both will need to find a wet nurse. Your household is in disarray with all of the servants being sick. Have you two been sick yet?" He saw both men shake their heads. "Stay strong, keep those babies warm and clean, that goes the same for you both. I will come back and check tomorrow."

Ping and Shang bowed their heads in thanks and watched as the doctor leaves. The young servant approached them, her face wet with tears, she was Quinmei's personal servant. She had cleaned herself up and changed her clothes while she was away. She bowed and asked, "I will find a wet nurse for the babies right away."

"Thank you. Also if you can, find two more willing servants to work, that have already recovered from the illness or are healthy. We have a lot of work to do. We will bury Quinmei tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." the servant bowed again and left.

"Shang," Ping cradled the small baby in his arm as they went to their room. "I am sorry about Quinmei."

"I know. I am sorry too. We both lost her equally. But she gave us wonderful gifts, and we best be sure to treasure them." Shang looked down to his son in his arm and traced the soft plump cheek, warm and fuzzy. Ping rested his head onto Shang's shoulder as they sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at the two babies.

WhiteMagnoliaPinkChrysanthemum

The perfumes of the magnolia trees filled the cool summer morning, and the pink chrysanthemums swayed in the wind, glistening with the morning dew. Laughers erupted and filled the air as two children sped through the garden, chasing each other with a dog yapping and bumbling after them.

"Come on Little Brother!" The boy shouted as he turned to encourage the puppy to keep up.

"Nay-nah! You can't catch me! I am faster!" The girl in pigtails shouted and ran off.

Shang sat on the edge of the porch of his house overlooking the garden, smiling. He felt an arm creep around his waist and a weight settled on his side. The weight of a head rested on his shoulder. He reached up and touched the other man's cheek, caressing it. "The pink chrysanthemums are in full bloom."

Ping hummed in agreement and asked, "literally or figuratively?"

Shang gave a deep chuckle and turned his head to meet Ping's gaze, seeing the heat smoldering beneath the lids, "you sly fox. I wonder if the gods actually sent me a fox spirit instead."

Ping gave his best fox grin and kissed his lips, "perhaps they did. I was always a joke."

"No, you're my White Magnolia," Shang replied, returning the kiss.

A butterfly with blue and purple wings flittered off a large pink chrysanthemum and flew across the garden, pausing at the white magnolia blossom before taking off to the sky.


The End.


References/Notes for this chapter:

Chinese Lantern Plant: It is an interesting plant. It grows like crazy, can be considered invasive plant. If you wish to grow it, it is best to grow in large pots. It grows berries inside folded red leaves. It can be poisonous unless the berries are ripe. I do not know much about the plant but know just enough that it is used for the decorative purpose during fall and the berries are edible when ripe and the plant itself is used in ancient medicine, such as easing the pain for pregnancy.

Flowers in this story, their meanings:

Magnolia: Purity and nobility. The name Mulan means "wood orchid" which is Magnolia.

Chrysanthemum: optimism and joy. Also, you get the gist for the use of the name for anal sex.

Cherry Blossom: hope and humility. Not often used here in this story, but it made its appearances.

Chinese Lantern Plant: Protection. Omens of death but a good change. I may be wrong here, but this is something I found somewhere.

I hope you like this story. Please do read my other stories. I'd love to hear your feedbacks and critique so I can improve my writing. Thank you for reading.