Title: The Life and Times of Lord Shen
Summary: The story of the albino peacock of Gongmen City, from cradle to corruption. Chapter 7. white as snow: In which a young Shen takes to the air, gets into snowball fights, tours a fireworks factory, and celebrates the winter festival. Or, snapshots of a season gone by.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Kung Fu Panda or its sequel(s) and spin-offs, that's all DreamWorks' honor.
Spoilers: Both Kung Fu Panda movies.
A/N: Important!: I revised the last chapter, taking out the very last part with a hint of India. Originally that was meant to be the transition before the time skip, but another idea occurred to me about Shen's very early childhood (roughly infant to five year old) that I wanted to do before time skip, and which I eventually felt would serve as a better transition than the first version. I have a rough idea of where everything is going with this fic, though not every detail is settled upon-thus this revision issue.
After a lot of thought, the summary's been revised. At first, this was meant to be more like how chirpingfish's "Albinism" is turning out to be, like my older Fullmetal Alchemist fic "Mr. Fuzzy Jacket" and Shiruba Neko's Fullmetal Alchemist fic "Behind Red Eyes"-a real collection of stories about the main character, Shen in this case. A collection in that it would be rather nonlinear, and Shen's past was sorta like only one of the topics addressed. But as this went on, I felt like all the parts were connecting chronologically/linearly even just a little bit (i.e. Shen strikes out at another peacock child, next chapter his parents let him train under Master Thundering Rhino to hopefully teach him self-control, same chapter he meets a young Boss Wolf, next chapter Shen gets sick from playing with Boss Wolf, next chapter he's so sick he missed his exact birthday, so now he's celebrating a belated one with the Soothsayer on his first trip outside of the tower to Gongmen City, then he survives his first assassination attempt, next chapter he recovers but is pretty much emotionally scarred...). And it's an order and interconnectedness I don't want to break now, so this will, well, just start officially continuing to go in more of that order with all of the stories still interconnecting as my interpretation of Shen's past is explored and his development from innocence to corruption is tracked and hopefully explained a bit more—and that exploration of how he came to be remains as one of the earlier goals I wanted with this fic.
Thanks again everyone for all the reviews! I always love hearing what people have to say about the fic and knowing they liked it, and what they specifically liked too.
Always, with this fic I want to mix on-screen canon with off-screen materials found online, i.e. "Although they still cared for him, Shen's parents were ashamed of his albino coloring and poor health, so they left him in the care of their advisor, the Soothsayer who raised him like her own. Traces of this can be seen as Shen is never outright cruel to the Soothsayer, such as how he releases her before the launch of his armada, meaning that he still respects her for showing him love" from character page for Kung Fu Panda. So I do want to make this mix of on-screen and off-screen materials as canon-compliant as possible.
I'm gonna try to individually reply to all your kind reviews with 's handy PM feature (except for users not signed in, since that feature's not available with them—those responses are at the bottom here).
Also, I started a new Shen-centric KFP fic, "Change the Fate's Design," if anyone wants to check it out and leave a review. It should be in continuity with this fic (up to a point).
white as snow
"So can I go?"
Master Thundering Rhino shook his head, and instantly the white peacock fell back on his bed.
"The Soothsayer and your parents said you're too young-and frankly, I agree."
Shen huffed, folding his wings. "I'm five years old," he reminded the Kung Fu Master.
Thundering Rhino chuckled. "That's exactly the point."
The boy sighed, mumbling, "It's 'cause I got sick again-"
He perked up, and said more firmly, "But I'd be better by the time you have to go-"
Thundering Rhino gently ruffled the feathers on his head.
"When you're older, you can come to the Winter Feast at the Jade Palace with me," he promised.
Shen sighed. "Okay," he mumbled, still looking put out. Then remembering himself, the prince inclined his head as royally as he could, his best approximation of a bow while lying down, and said more formally and firmly, "Yes, Master."
Thundering Rhino laughed, so infectious it made the boy grin a little. "Always so formal. I suppose I should expect no less from a prince," the Kung Fu Master said fondly.
Then Shen coughed, and the more he tried to restrain himself the harder his coughs became. The rhino gently helped him sit up, pat his back with his giant hoof, and made the boy drink some tea the Soothsayer had made.
"I'll train hard while you're gone, Sir," Shen said afterward, panting and in a small guilty voice.
The rhino smirked; "Yes, you will-Storming Ox and Master Croc will make sure of that. They'll continue your training in my absence." His smirk faded as he reminded the boy, "But remember your limits, my prince."
Shen thanked Master Thundering Rhino and wished him a safe journey.
###
"Bao," and the Gongmen Emperor turned to his wife as the childhood nickname left her beak. "We can't put it off any longer."
Lord Baojia sighed, agreeing.
Then together they watched their son running out into the snow, recovered from his latest bout of sickness and firmly bundled up, under the Soothsayer's watchful eye.
###
Shen had gone out in between lessons to at least walk around in the snow a little bit more. He wanted to play in it again so badly. He curiously watched antelopes set up a large rope net in between trees in the courtyard.
Before the boy could question them, he was called away by his tutor, and he trudged to his etiquette course. He shot the snow longing looks, and reserved curious glances for the net.
Shen learned of the net soon enough. After another lecture on courtly behavior, Shen had bundled up for the snow outside and gone looking for the Soothsayer. The old goat had promised him they'd go into the city again for lunch. It was something he'd been looking forward to, especially with Master Thundering Rhino on his way to the Valley of Peace, and since it would be the first time he'd gone since his birthday celebration and that disastrous night.
"I'm afraid it'll be a late lunch or dinner in the city-your parents have summoned you," the Soothsayer told him once he found her, walking down the tower steps. She quickly inspected him, and deemed he'd bundled himself up for the cold weather adequately enough.
"Aren't we going to the throne room?" Shen asked, trying to be calm and repress the eagerness in his voice.
"No dear, they'll meet you in the courtyard."
The boy blinked. "Is it about the-?"
"The net, yes."
Once they saw his parents by said net, Shen overtook the Soothsayer, starting to run-but then he stumbled, slowing down as he noted their own composure. He halted before them, quickly bowing.
"Father, Mother," he greeted them, hoping it was formal and smooth, but it just came out stiff to his own hearing.
Lord Baojia and Lady Fen bowed to their son. "Prince Shen." They were much more smoothly formal.
The blue peafowl nodded to the Soothsayer, who nodded back and patted Shen's shoulder good-bye. "Good luck, dear."
"With what-?"
"Gliding. It's time you started learning," his mother said as the old goat left. Shen looked to her, then his father, who nodded and quickly climbed up one of the trees the net was tied to.
Lady Fen bent down, lifting Shen up. The boy instantly squawked, protesting, "Mama, I can climb up myself!"
The blue peahen blinked, then let go. "Very well, dear." Still, she carefully watched Shen make his way up. Shen clung tight as he climbed and leapt for a new higher grip, but still he slipped a couple of times. It didn't help when he could hear his mother reach forward to help, and he had to remind her he could do it himself. He tried not to look at his father; his calm, impassive stare didn't help either. Both of them watching him climb and waiting didn't help at all, actually.
The boy's small spark of pleasure and relief once he was finally up on his father's branch vanished once his mother was beside him a second later, the ascent taking her no time at all. Shen tried to remind himself the speed and ease was just because she and his father were both grown-ups. A normal and healthy blue peacock child would've climbed up by himself in the same time as Shen too, surely; he wasn't so different after all, he wasn't so much weaker and slower...
But the young prince was soon distracted by watching his father demonstrate and lecture, flaring his wings and noting his train hanging off the branch. The boy had seen him glide before in a flash, but had never noted the process detail by detail before.
Finally at the end of it, Lord Baojia leapt off and glided to one of the trees across from them. Once he'd seen his father land, Shen gulped, a sudden prickle of trepidation settling down his spine.
"Get ready," ordered Lady Fen, and Shen obediently opened his wings.
"I'm going to push you off, all right?" Though there really wasn't a question in his mother's voice.
"Mama-"
She shoved him off firmly, and Shen didn't make a sound in his surprise at the rush of air, this was very different from jumping, especially since he knew the whole point was to glide and he-
Shen bounced in the rope net before coming to a stop. On his back, he blinked up at his mother.
"Come back up, dear," was all Lady Fen said.
Shen tried to climb up the tree quickly, especially since mother expected him to do it by himself now, she believed he could do it-he slipped and fell, the air knocked out of him after passing through the short distance straight to the ground. Before he could get up himself or even assert his independence, his mother had gone down and carried him to the tree's branch in seconds.
"Are you all right? Does anything-?" and Lady Fen quickly checked her son over for anything broken.
"Mama, I'm okay-" Shen avoided his father's eye.
Finally after a few more minutes of Shen protesting and insisting he was fine and convincing his mother to let him continue, Lady Fen nodded her head, pushing him gently toward the edge.
"Get ready now-"
His wings flared, heart pounding, and Lady Fen threw Shen off again. He again tried to copy his father, let the wind flow and keep his wings simultaneously taut and flexible. But that same panic flared up in his chest and up to his head, and he plopped back in the net again, tangling himself in his frustration at the failure and his frenzy to get out.
"Shen," and the boy froze at his father's voice. "Calm yourself."
Swallowing hard, the prince carefully untangled himself, then slowly climbed back up the tree.
Again and again he was thrown off, and again and again he could not glide.
Lady Fen frowned, and Shen tried not to cringe. But his mother just said thoughtfully, "Perhaps we need more air?"
His father nodded, and this time the blue peahen carefully took her son's shoulders in her talons. Shen gave a quiet gasp as his mother took off with him in her hold. He flared out his wings, his tail feathers-this flow of air was nice-gliding was nice-
"Ready now? I'm going to let go."
"Rea-"
She let go, and Shen's confidence burst as he swiftly dropped with air rushing by in a scream. He felt himself spin in free fall, all thought leaving his mind except for that same blinding panic. His wings weren't working, he wasn't working, he was defective, he was too weak and white and weak-
Shen bit his tongue as he felt another set of talons catch him. He was lowered to the snow by the net, and the prince looked up at his father.
"That's enough for today. You must be hungry," Lord Baojia said gently.
Shen choked back his protest, his insistence that they continue. Though gentle, his father's words still sounded final. The boy's eyes watered, and damnably, he started to sniffle.
"Dry your eyes," his father ordered, all gentleness evaporating and replaced by a solid harshness.
The boy scrubbed at his eyes, trying to dry them fast.
"Not so hard, you'll hurt yourself." His father sighed and bent down, removing the boy's scrubbing wings and gently dabbing at his son's eyes with the corner of his sleeve.
Shen swallowed down another sniffle. "I failed," the boy mumbled, admitting defeat.
"All that matters is that you didn't give up," his mother said as she landed softly by them.
"Such determination is a mark of strength," his father added, gently squeezing the boy's shoulder. "We don't expect you to get it so quickly."
"Why not?" The boy sounded indignant, and a little hurt. "Just 'cause I'm-"
"It's not to do with your color or health," his mother gently cut him off.
"No?" Shen grunted, folding his arms and glaring down.
"No," his father repeated, firmly and taking his face and making it look up at him and mother. "It's because you are young, and that's the way it works often enough: practice and patience, not immediacy."
Shen was still uncertain, yet he nodded and quickly hugged his parents; he felt a little better. They were caught off guard, but they eventually returned with a stiff, quick hug of their own.
As the blue peafowl and their white son walked back to the tower, Shen tried to get his nerves back together. He asked, "Bab-Father, Mother, would…would you be able to go with Nana and I to the city today?..."
"I'm sorry, dear, but we only had time for this, we have to-"
Shen's reassuring and understanding smile felt very unwieldy on his face, a false thing he hoped his parents wouldn't comment on as they left him for another meeting. But not before leaving him with safety instructions: mainly, he was not to practice on his own without their supervision.
The next day Shen pretty much disregarded that, though the boy made sure to only practice above the safety net. It was there for a reason-and still there, no one had taken it down, it was just there inviting him to try. And as he hadn't seen his parents at all that day, they wouldn't notice, surely.
But the Soothsayer noticed.
"I'll be careful, Nana, I promise." The old goat looked up at her charge in the tree, her face unreadable. "Please, I have to practice. I want to be gliding the next time my parents can see-"
The Soothsayer shook her head, "My Lord and Lady don't expect you-"
"-to get it so quickly, I know," Shen grumbled, looking away.
Sighing, the old goat shook her head. "You still need supervision."
And so the Soothsayer summoned a goose servant to observe the prince (and to catch him, just in case). The old goat stayed too.
However, the boy felt more awkward and unsure when under the goose's observation. He fumbled more.
Bouncing again in the net, the prince glared at the goose. The servant fidgeted and continued trying to find a balance between not gaping at and keeping a watchful eye on his province's heir.
"Do you have any advice?" Shen gritted the question out.
The goose stuttered. "I d-do not know, my Prince…geese and peafowl-"
"-are different, right," the boy muttered, allowing his weight to sink further in the net. "You can really fly, while we…can't, really, just glide..." For a moment the boy wondered why, silently going over the explanation his parents had given him.
Shen shook himself, and ordered the goose to take him up and drop him.
"M-my Lord?..."
"My mother thought I needed more air-go up higher to figure out how to-"
"He will not be taking you up," the Soothsayer said, putting her hoof down.
The prince frowned, sitting up and glaring at his nanny. Though embarrassing to admit, he spat out, "I'm small enough for him to carry-"
"-but his webbed feet cannot grip as well as talons."
Shen slumped down, not caring if he pouted.
The goose servant's eyes anxiously darted between the nanny and her charge, before the old goat dismissed him with her thanks, and told him that she would let him know when she needed him to watch Shen again.
The prince stayed in the net, arms folded. But his anger was spent, replaced by the morose bent of his neck.
Then something cold and soft and wet splattered against his face, making him plop back on his back. He got up, and saw the Soothsayer bouncing another snowball in her hoof, smirking.
The young peacock gleefully chased his nanny around with snowballs of his own, and they played in the courtyard until his tutors came calling.
###
To Shen's delight, the snow grew heavier. Consequently he was fussed over more and more when he wanted to go out and play in it. The boy was made to consume more foul-tasting and supposedly preemptive medicinal herbs. He endured experiments in bundling him up more, with various thicker robes and even wrapping his talons tight in different cloths.
Even though the Soothsayer made sure warmer clothes did not constrict his movement and occasionally allowed the boy to bundle himself up pending her final approval, Shen still envied An's and the other wolves' fur coats, even if they too were bundling up more. But then he was puzzled by his parents, who did bundle up but not as much as he.
"They are older, dear-they can handle the cold more, their plumage is more developed."
"Mine's dev-developed enough, I can handle it too."
"Oh, really?" The old goat asked, so playful it annoyed her young charge.
"Yes, really, you guys just never let me try 'cause you wrap me up in everything-"
"Now now, we haven't wrapped you up so that you couldn't even move in a long time-and even then, we had enough sense not to let you out of your room to be laughed at."
The boy huffed, and the only change after that conversation was that the Soothsayer had started to let Shen bundle himself up, as long as she could inspect him and decide whether he could go out, or she'd redress himself in something warmer.
Whether winter or normal garments, Shen had worn white and similar shades before, and actually liked the match to his stupid feathers. He thought it better than anything that contrasted, which seemed to just show off his wrong color, stark and obvious in comparison. But once Shen was bundled up all in white during his fifth winter. That day An, Shen and the rest of the wolf cubs had skipped snowball fights, building figures in the snow, and leaving impressions of their own bodies in the snow in favor of hide-and-seek. An went first, and eventually the only one he couldn't find was his prince.
"Shen?" The wolf cub called out, forgetting the peacock's title in his kin's presence as a steady panic began to seize him. An recalled servants' gossip about Shen being bundled up more than any other person in the tower's vicinity for his own good, so weak and delicate was he; their speculation that it was all due to Lord Baojia and Lady Fen's unspoken but standing, perhaps overprotective, order that he be bundled up so; their theorizing that his parents were this close to confining Shen to the palace for the whole winter; another said the Soothsayer had persuaded them against that, placating them with the promise that he'd be well layered and carefully watched.
An remembered a sick Shen passing out during ball, an injured Shen bedridden and wrapped in bandages that were starting to bleed through again and looking very not alive...
"Do you guys know where he is?" An asked the other cubs, huddled under the tree one of them had carved 'SAFE' into. They shook their heads.
An snarled, "Forget the game, where-?"
"No, we don't really know where he is, right guys?" Jie protested, looking to the rest of her kin under the tree, and again, they all nodded.
An sputtered. "Well, then-c'mon, let's just find him."
An and the rest fanned out, but no matter how hard they looked in the snow they couldn't find Shen.
An's father passed by the searching children, and with his wolf hears overheard their distress.
"You're looking for the prince-" He began, walking over to his cub.
An looked up to his father, worried. "We can't find him, Ba!"
"-in the snow."
"We were only playing hide-and-seek and he wasn't sick this time, and he's all bundled up so he should be fine, and he's really not so weak like everyone says-"
"You're looking for the prince in white snow."
An blinked. Then groaned, remembering the most important thing: that Shen's clothes today matched his plumage. The wolf cub began sniffing for the white peacock's scent.
"You need to keep your head even when you panic," Shang reminded his son, as the other cubs noticed and began following An's lead. Shang merely followed, wanting to see how his son and the other cubs would do tracking the prince down, confident that his future emperor was fine. Shang was more surprised to find that apparently the prince was much more cleverer than he would've thought for one so young.
An followed his nose, straight to…more snow. Mounds of snow. Focusing harder, he nosed the snow mounds. Finally, one twitched and snickered at his touch.
The wolf cub sighed, relieved, then playfully shoved Shen. The younger boy snickered more and picked himself up from the snow, white flakes spilling off.
"You took forever," the prince laughed, then stopped when he saw Shang and the rest of the cubs crowding around.
The boy tilted his head, confused and curious. "I thought only one person's supposed to look?"
An grumbled, "'S' not fair you're white, we couldn't find you in all this snow-"
"You didn't sniff me out from the start?"
An huffed, folding his arms and looking away as his father chuckled and the other cubs shuffled their paws in the snow, embarrassed.
"Look, we're wolves, noses so keen it makes hide-and-seek less fun, so we don't really use it, okay?" An grumbled, his eyes still refusing to look at Shen or anyone else, especially not his father.
Shang then asked his prince, "Did you plan to camouflage yourself with the snow?"
Shen frowned. "C-camo-camowhat-?"
Shang chuckled, and An felt he would die of increased embarrassment; his prince had done it well enough to fool him and the others, and he was still too little to even know that sort of vocabulary! "'Camouflage' is another word for blending in with the environment."
"Oh. Then, yes, I thought I could try it, especially if I covered up the eyespots on my tail feathers with more snow." Shen had a concerned frown then as he looked back to An. "But I didn't think you wouldn't use your nose right away-"
An grumbled something incomprehensible, glaring at his feet.
However, Shang saw an opportunity and seized it.
Once he had permission from Lord Baojia and Lady Fen, Shang and his wife taught Shen to hide himself in the snow even more effectively, hiding his tracks and such, while An and the other wolf cubs searched for him. They made it even more difficult with special herbal ointments that lessened Shen's scent; the Soothsayer even showed him how to make those himself. The training exercise was essentially a grander hide-and-seek, something Shen, An and the other cubs enjoyed immensely. The grown-ups were satisfied that future guardsmen were improving their tracking skills, and even the prince was learning of another way to deal with any future assassins that hunted for him.
###
One time, An watched Shen practice gliding.
"Don't you need to get higher for-?"
"At the moment, no." For the first time the Soothsayer was short with the wolf cub. Shen and her had just been arguing about that very issue again when An arrived.
Glancing between the peacock and goat that were taut with tension, to the goose that continued to wish he was somewhere else, An quietly trotted back to the guards' barracks. Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Shen, sticking his tongue out at him. The older cub had to choke back the urge to laugh.
###
After training, Shen laid panting between Master Croc and Storming Ox as they sat in the training hall. The snow storm moaned outside.
Ox stared down at the prince, and remarked, "Master Thundering Rhino's right, you are pushing yourself too hard."
The boy frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
Croc waved an expansive claw along Shen's frame.
The boy's frown deepened. "You just gestured to all of me."
"You look burnt out," Ox clarified. "You're five and you're burnt out."
Shen looked half-mutinous, half-dejected.
Croc lightly punched Ox in the shoulder. "What he means is that it seems a bit much for any child your age," Croc elaborated, pointedly glancing at Ox.
"Well, it's not like any other kids are gonna rule this city one day," Shen pointed out.
"Not to mention the whole province," reminded Croc, and this time Ox punched him in the shoulder at the look of anxiety flashing across the boy's face.
The white peacock turned on his side, sighing. He faced Master Croc, and stared at the metal spiked ball on his tail. It wasn't the first time he had watched it with interest. He wished his tail was stiff and strong enough to have such a neat weapon attached to it, but Master Thundering Rhino had told him he had his own strengths, telling him stories of how his father would use his own grand tail feathers to misdirect and confuse his foes.
"Did De make that for you?" Shen finally asked, pointing to the spiked ball.
Croc jerked slightly, then regarded his tail's weapon. There was a distant look in his eyes.
"Nah, it was a friend from my bandit days."
Shen perked up at that, and wished An was here, instead of training with his own pack. He and the wolf cub loved listening to stories of Master Croc's bandit days, though a lot of the grown-ups didn't approve, and even Croc himself would be cagey about the topic, though often enough Storming Ox would just tease him.
Right now Ox was smirking at Croc, who was making a mighty effort to ignore him.
"So how'd you get it?"
Croc laughed at the eager look on the prince's face.
"Sorry to say, there's no great story to that. It was actually Wu's idea, she wanted to experiment-"
"Wu liked her experiments, didn't she?" Ox commented very lightly, as Croc's eyes narrowed at the warrior. Shen's eyes wandered between the two, wondering what was going over his head.
"Yes, she did," Croc said curtly, and Ox laughed.
"Anyway, Wu had never crafted a weapon like this before, and it was an honor to receive something so unique from her."
"It really is cool," Shen agreed, stretching up and carefully touching the spike ball with a wing tip. "I wish I could meet her."
Croc sighed. "I'm afraid she and I haven't spoken to each for quite a long time."
Before Shen could ask why, Storming Ox snapped up and invited Croc to spar with him. The reptile readily agreed.
"Can I stay and watch?"
Ox blinked. "There's no need to ask permission for that. And you never have before."
Croc shot the boy a sly look. "Etiquette lesson next?"
Shen huffed. "I can learn way more from watching you two spar than from listening to that old windbag."
"More fun too," Ox added, grinning when Croc playfully whacked him with his tail, bent so that scales hit him instead of metal.
"As long as we can have deniability-"
"Yeah, no one has to know that you knew I had to go to etiquette next-"
"-then yes, you can watch," Croc finished, catching the agreement in Ox's eye. They figured they could be lenient in this case, and it was the boy's choice.
Shen stayed, transfixed as the kung fu warriors traded blows, right up until the Soothsayer came calling. She was only mildly reproaching, a playful tilt to her whole manner.
"Your tutor's been asking me where you are..."
The prince bowed to Storming Ox and Master Croc, thanking them before he left with the old goat.
###
After the snowfall had left another blanket of white, Storming Ox observed Shen throw himself over the net, only to fall down again.
"You know, I could throw you up, give you more air-"
"That won't be necessary." The Soothsayer's voice was immediate, clipped, low and stone cold.
"Yesma'm." Ox's response just as immediate, the same as his exit.
When the warrior was gone, Shen sat up straight from the net and turned to the old goat. "C'mon Nana, everyone's thinking it-"
"We've had this discussion before."
"What discussion? You ordered me."
"Your parents' order, actually; the only one we're really following to the letter."
Shen rolled his eyes, plopping back down to the net, bouncing slightly. "Like they'll ever show up."
Everything about the Soothsayer's manner became more gentle and sympathetic as she reached out a hoof for her boy. "Dear-"
Shen quickly rolled away from her touch, his back still facing her as he shifted to his side, close to the edge of the net.
"They only ever practiced with me once, how am I ever gonna get it if they never-?"
"Once the workload lightens and they're less busy-"
"They're always busy. I know the city and the whole province needs them-I know, okay? I'm not stupid! But don't they know I need them too? I-"
Shen broke off, snapping his beak, frustrated. A heavy silence fell between the white peacock and the goat, settling in for a few minutes.
Then Shen felt the Soothsayer's hoof on his shoulder-next something rip on his sleeve.
"Hey!" The prince yelped, indignant as the Soothsayer nibbled on the scrap of robe she just tore off.
"Oh, sorry dear," and the old goat offered up her own sleeve, her eyes mischievous.
"Naanaa," Shen whined, elongating her name as he pushed the offered sleeve away, ignoring the smile in her eyes and around her nibbling mouth.
"Huh, I see your tastes have changed. When you were just a small chick, you seemed to find my clothes quite satisfying."
"…I did not." The boy's voice was very small and disbelieving.
"Oh yes you did." The Soothsayer smiled fondly at Shen's indignant and still skeptical squawk.
"I'd eat bits of your clothes even when you were a baby-how could I not, you wear such delicious fabrics. You couldn't fail to notice. One day, you started nibbling on my own sleeves, expecting the same result and thinking it was edible for you too. It was absolutely darling to behold, but of course I kept you from actually swallowing."
As the old goat reminisced, Shen steadily shrank into himself and desperately wished he could just sink and vanish into the matching white snow that very instant.
###
Eventually Lord Baojia and Lady Fen found time to practice gliding with Shen again. For all the boy's practice beforehand, there was no success. No tears either, though the prince was still very much upset. However, this time his parents stayed after, actually taking him to the fireworks factory for the very first time, a trip that cheered up their son considerably.
Shen took in the sight of the factory eagerly; its smoke stacks, its large, long structure. Even from the outside it bustled with energy, especially with workers going in and out. Inside it was even more chaotic, although his parents told him activity was actually less in the colder weather, and would soon cease for the winter festival, where the production's labor would be enjoyed as the noisemakers frightened away evil spirits.
The boy watched wires dipped into chemical concoctions and baked into sparklers. He observed the gunpowder being mixed. The prince saw the explosive materials wrapped in stiff paper tubes or bamboo casings from the nearby panda village to create the basic body of fireworks. Shen had never seen real live pandas before today. Some had come with extra bamboo supplies, and the boy found them large, like Master Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox and Master Croc. But the pandas were almost as starkly white as he-but for them, it was natural, and balanced out by large patches of black, while he was only thinly lined and dotted in that dark color.
"What do you know of our family's history with fireworks?" Lord Baojia asked his son.
Shen frowned thoughtfully, pulling himself away from watching the artisans decorate the fireworks. "Emperor Sui made them, and, well…not much…like I've heard a bunch of different stories from everyone, though some stuff stays the same in a lot of them…Nana keeps telling me a different version every time I ask," the boy finished with a huff.
Lady Fen chuckled. "And those particular stories of hers don't amuse you?"
"Well, they do," the boy admitted. "At the moment, anyway," Shen added under his breath.
"Then her intention is served," his mother said, smiling. "The origin of fireworks goes far back, even before our family's invention of gunpowder."
The prince blinked. "How can you have fireworks without gunpowder?"
"Well, they were more like firecrackers," his father clarified as Shen followed him and his mother to an observation platform away from the work flow.
"Many years ago in Gongmen Province, there was a panda named Han."
"Nana mentioned him in a bunch of her stories!"
"So she kept that part in, huh?" Lady Fen said, teasing her son, who shyly ducked his head.
"Well, I figured that was true, everyone else mentioned him too…though sometimes he was a pirate, then others said he was a prince; then a warrior, a monk, a sribe, a mystic..."
"He was a merchant and somewhat of a farmer," Lord Baojia said. "On one of his trips selling his wares and crops, Han's camp fire ran low. He had none of his own fuel left; so, instead he took a piece of his dinner that night, a chunk of green bamboo, and gave it to the fire. The fire wasn't just fed-the green rod sizzled and turned black, before finally exploding. Han was terribly frightened, jumping clear into the air and even clinging to a bamboo tree still rooted in the earth."
Baojia and Fen grinned as their son giggled at the image. Shen was amused at picturing such large creatures being so shocked and moving so quick up trees.
"Han was so frightened by the strange new sound, he thought it surely could frighten away ill-meaning spirits, especially Nian, who ate not only the land's crops but also the people," said Lady Fen. "Still Han stuck to his schedule, but was eager to share the discovery at his next stop in Gongmen City, with the second born prince, Lord Sui. He and the panda had long been friends since Sui was a little chick, when Han had sold him toys and showed him card tricks."
Lord Baojia continued, "Han found Sui in his alchemy lab. The panda merchant forgot his own news as he saw large bandages wrapped over his lord's left eye. Alarmed, Han asked Prince Sui what had happened, and the young fowl sighed."
"He started from the beginning, explaining that his parents had boasted that he, their youngest child, so skilled in alchemy and fascinated by chemical mixtures, could find the elixir of life-despite Sui's own doubts that such a thing was possible, let alone should even be attempted."
"Nian, who was a particularly proud spirit and a believer in the utter inferiority of mortals, kidnapped the eldest prince and princess. Nian sneered at the Gongmen Emperor and Empress, promising them that if their youngest son gave him the elixir of life for safekeeping, they would have all their children back. His parents sent their bravest warriors and mystics, but still Sui worked to meet Nian's demands. During his experiments, he had stumbled upon a new mixture and it-"
"What was it made of?" Shen asked, head tilted.
"Honey," and Baojia smiled at his son squawking a little in shock before stifling it, "sulfur, saltpeter and arsenic disulfide."
"Sui had not expected the mixture to ignite so extremely as he cooked it over a fire," Fen picked up. "It turned into its own large flame, burning hot and bright. It burnt Sui's face, and almost his entire lab."
"Yet the youngest prince continued experimenting with the dangerous mix-"
"The gunpowder, right?" Shen asked, no longer content waiting for his parents to come out and say it on their own time.
"Yes, dear. Though at the time Sui called it the 'fire chemical,' and hoped it could be used to save his older brother and sister from Nian," explained Fen. "As he experimented further, he realized that adding more saltpeter made the flame burn faster, more powerful and louder."
"Han then remembered the bursting bamboo, and told Prince Sui," Baojia said. "Han showed him, taking a piece of bamboo from his pack and throwing it over a fire the prince set up. Sui's train flared out once the bamboo burst in a loud explosion. He then asked the panda if he had the bamboo instrument, the valiha, with him for purchase."
"What's a va-?"
"It is a type of string instrument made like a tube and constructed from bamboo, though it came from Madagascar first."
"Did Han go to Madagascar?"
"He did once, yes, and that's where he learned how to make a valiha from bamboo."
"What did Sui want with that?"
"It was the first thing that came to Sui's mind that would be primarily a bamboo tube. He needed it for a quick test."
"With the gunp-er, 'fire chemical?'"
"Yes-Sui put his fire chemical inside the instrumental bamboo tube. After he and Han moved a fire outside the lab and into an empty clearing in the woods, and walked some distance away from it, Sui threw the gunpowder-stuffed bamboo into the fire."
Baojia flared out his own train for effect, and Shen bumped into his mother, who chuckled and smoothed down the crest feathers on his head.
"The bursting bamboo and the fire chemical combined made for a much stronger and louder explosion."
"Along with Sui, a company of his fellow peafowl clan members and a band of wolf guards, Han returned to his village to perfect the 'firecracker' and set a trap for Nian. Sui sent messengers to ask Master Oogway for help and to inform his parents of his intention, but not to call back their forces searching out Nian, lest the spirit began to suspect anything amiss."
"Han recruited more pandas, who helped cut down bamboo for the firecrackers. Sui continued experimenting, seeing how far he could go with adding more and more saltpeter before it could be too dangerous for his forces to use, what different shapes of bamboo would do for its power."
"Once Sui could remove the bandages from his face, he was left with an ugly scar. It frightened the panda children of the village. To calm them, the young prince asked if they would teach him how to fly their magnificent kites. The children enjoyed the thought of teaching their province's prince something, and so they eagerly showed Sui how to fly a kite, and were no longer afraid of him. More importantly, the sight of the panda children's kites flying in the sky inspired Sui to try making the firecrackers fly too."
"So then they'd be fireworks!"
"Yes Shen, so they can be fireworks then. Sui carved and fitted bamboo fins for the bamboo tubes to help keep their flight paths straight. He added fuses for more control. He found that certain chemical mixtures gave sparking color to the explosion, and hoped quick variations of that would help confuse and weaken Nian. The youngest prince set off the new firework into the air, to the delight of the panda children who witnessed such a feat. And though this was encouraging, neither Sui or Han or the rest were as enthused as the children, knowing that Nian still awaited them. Master Oogway's arrival lightened their mood though, especially when he was awed as much as the children by the fireworks."
"That spring, the trap was laid: panda farmers worked and waited for Nian to come for their crops and their lives. Sui, Han, Master Oogway and the rest of pandas and peafowl and wolves watched from afar, waiting for one of the farmers' signals. Once Nian finally struck, the farmers managed to light firecrackers to alert the others, and already their noise was rattling Nian. Sui, Han and the rest of their forces set their own fireworks into the sky, even louder and more powerful. Nian writhed at the noise and under their shifting colored light, so bright and sparking it blinded him."
"Master Oogway struck, faster than lightning, and Nian crumpled, Sui and Han and the rest moving forward with an iron net to hold the spirit. In a shout over the fireworks Sui told Nian to let his brother and sister go, and leave Gongmen Province, all of China and the whole world alone, or else the noise would not stop. Sui shouted his ultimatum over the fireworks, not daring to let them stop until the crisis averted, he'd made certain enough was made to keep the spirit at bay and to truly fool him into thinking the noise would go on forever."
"Nian roared, yet it was no match for the noise of the fireworks. Finally Nian agreed, releasing the eldest prince and princess. The iron net came off, and to this day, Nian has never attacked or made trouble again."
"But we keep setting off fireworks," Shen reminded his father.
Baojia nodded his head, smirking. "Just in case. And there are other spirits with an ill will, who've made us no promises of peace."
"Victorious, the fireworks were used for celebration, as the panda children first saw them as. The fireworks were so enjoyed, some were left at the panda village; some went back with Oogway to the Valley of Peace, where he eagerly showed them to the villagers there; of course some went back with Sui to Gongmen City; and eventually the new invention spread all over the province-even all of China-for everyone to celebrate and frighten off dark spirits with."
"Even with Nian defeated and his family reunited, Sui still experimented with fireworks," said Lady Fen. "He improved their design and made them until his dying day."
"And as for Han, along with having a new product to sell and a new renown to enjoy, his village and people are still honored by our clan today, as they honor us."
"Does the bamboo the factory gets now come from Han's village?" Shen asked. His parents nodded.
Shen wasn't done with his questions. "So…Sui never became emperor? Did I make a mistake?"
Baojia shook his head. "No, you did not. His older brother was emperor for a time once their parents passed, but he too died not long after. And as for his older sister, she had grown ill and passed even before her parents did. From there, Sui's line has continued uninterrupted, and now straight to you."
Shen fidgeted at that. His father had specified that Sui's older sister had grown ill and died, but just said his older brother died, leaving the boy with the impression that his ancestor had succumbed to an assassination attempt. If that was so, why couldn't his father come out and say it, he'd survived an attempt after all…though that was still a possibility regarding the truth…but it was so likely...
The white peacock actually tried to broach the subject, but the question evaporated on his tongue when the factory chief approached his parents, with the same manner council members and everyone had when they needed their Emperor and Empress right away.
Shen immediately withdrew. He busied himself with looking down at everyone working, silently going over the story he'd just heard, ignoring how Sui had to lose practically his whole family to eventually become Emperor and his own direct ancestor...
"Son, we'll leave you with the other children while we speak meet with the chief. It shouldn't take long," his father assured him.
"Other kids?"
"Yes, some had to go with their parents to work today-" and Shen followed his mother and father as they led him away.
They left him with a group of children and a frazzled goose worker with her wing in a sling assigned to watch them. The worker seemed more frazzled at the news that the prince would be in her temporary charge, and her eyes kept straying to his white plumage (the kids looked there too).
"We won't be long," Baojia repeated. "Be good."
###
"So, why are you white?"
"My mother ate too much snow," snapped Shen as he rolled his eyes, turning his back on the rabbit child.
A crowd of kids were closer to their temporary caretaker, while Shen was with another crowd that was farther away but still within her sight. They walked by the windows where they could see the city.
Another kid, a sheep, piped up, confused, "You can eat snow?"
"It's water-" Shen said with a scowl, then blinked, scowl gone, "-so, um, I guess you drink it then, actually."
"But if it's just water, then it's not really white, is it? Isn't water blue? And you're, y'know, not, like you're supposed to be."
An antelope snapped, "No, water's all clear and see-through-"
"I thought it was green-"
Shen walked further away from them, his wings folded and growing impatient. These kids were like practically everyone else, just gaping or retreating, and asking him dumb questions about his color or making obnoxiously loud comments about it. He just wanted to go home now and punch the training doll in the kung fu hall.
The white peacock came to an abrupt halt as something flew by him fast, his train fanning out in surprise. They were dark shapes, with glowing gold eyes-he relaxed when he realized it was just some black sheep playing tag. (No assassin would show up here. But he'd thought no assassin would ever be in his room. He actually didn't remember knowing what an assassin was before, he didn't think he'd ever learned before.)
"Can you really fly with this?" A pig child asked Shen, actually touching his tail feathers-only for like a second before the prince snapped them away and whirled around on the idiot, about to shout at him to mind his own dumb business-
He felt his tail smack something, and then a horrible scream squeeze tight around his heart and practically dislodge it.
Shen completed his turn and along with everyone else saw a rabbit child fall from the factory. Apparently he'd been too close to the window, too close to Shen and his train, still apparently big enough and unwieldy enough when fanning out suddenly due to stupid, stupid instinct and emotion; tail feathers that snapped out strong and fast enough to...
There were more screams from the spectators, and their temporary caretaker; Shen stared and stared-then he dashed forward and dove, opening his wings and tail feathers. His voice was dead in his throat, it felt like it ran off, that mental block or whatever it was had returned and Shen felt like he'd never speak again. His eye bugged out, shocked as he actually stayed aloft and glided-they widened more when the rabbit kid just fell faster while he remained up.
Shen immediately shut his wings and he dropped again. Even with the wind screaming all around, he still remained mute, utterly terrified.
Somehow, maybe by some miracle, some luck, he caught up with the rabbit kid and his talons grasped his shirt tight. Shen opened his wings again and straightened out his train and concentrated on every movement of his body to stay aloft. It was working, he was gliding, even with the other child clutched in his talons-sure, he wasn't straight no matter how he tried, he was bobbing up and down, but, but…but he should really decide where he should land, Baba and Mama never said anything about landing, oh gods-
Starting to panic, Shen scanned the rushing horizon and ground and buildings-buildings, building, oh gods, avoid the wall-
Shen and the rabbit child crashed through the open window into some room. They insanely, miraculously landed into a bed piled high with blankets and pillows that softened the blow. And there was a body. Someone jerked beneath them, an old sheep that screamed bloody murder when she got up and saw the two small intruders.
Lord Baojia glided to the window seconds after and calmed the old woman down as his son and the other child lay frozen with eyes wide, shocked.
###
Despite the insanely luckily landing site on the bed, the rabbit child and Shen still had gotten bruises and both twisted their ankles, though Shen had also dislocated his shoulder.
Baojia had dealt with that quickly in one of the empty rooms of the old sheep's house. He tore off part of his robe, tightly wound it into a twisted rope and made Shen bite down on it.
"Stay still now. I'll push it back in place. This will hurt," was all Baojia said. Shen watched his father with wide, baffled eyes as his father held him and took his dislocated wing and shoulder and-
Shen squeezed his eyes shut and screamed into the gag, biting down so hard he thought his beak would break.
"It's done," said Baojia, but Shen still screamed around his gag and ground his beak against it. He caved into his father's shoulder, shivering and crying all over his father's fine robes.
Baojia held him still and stroked his trembling back, almost like Nana.
Fen joined them downstairs, having glided to the building too. She carried the rabbit child, while Baojia carried their son back to the fireworks factory. The old woman was left with some monetary compensation for the unexpected disturbance to her home.
###
"He knocked him down!"
"I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to, it was an accident, I didn't-" Shen broke off his cracking, shaky voice, staring at the accusing pig child and noticing the other kids look at him with that same accusation, that same fear, all of that echoed in their parents, even the rest of the factory workers, infecting the air all around him. For a moment, Shen felt he couldn't breath, and wished he was falling through the rushing air to his possible death again, rather than face this.
His mother had given the rabbit to his relieved parents.
"My Lord and Lady, it's my fault, I should've been watching a-all of them more closely," the temporary factory caretaker said, bowing and prostrating herself on the ground as best she could with her broken wing.
Lord Baojia stared at her long and hard, and finally said he would leave it up to the factory chief to decide what to do with her.
Apparently Baojia felt he only had the right authority over Shen in this context.
"You could've killed someone!" Baojia finally burst out once they were back at home, and Shen shrank back as Nana held him.
Mama-mother had to-the minute they got home a council member said they were ready to start the meeting, as they had planned to do after the factory tour. Shen saw some silent communication pass between his parents, and Lady Fen had gone to the meeting that seemed so ever important, representing her husband as well as herself. So it was just Shen and his father and the Soothsayer in the throne room.
"But it was an accident!" Shen tried to explain, pulling away from the Soothsayer as he instinctively reached out for his father and his understanding. "Baba, please, I didn't mean-"
Baojia swiftly moved back, still blinded by his own fury and frustration. Shen flinched back, falling back against the Soothsayer and trembling even more. He hid his face in her robes, and only heard his father's angry voice.
"You are a growing peacock, Shen, you have to be aware of your train and your surroundings, especially in crowds and at such a height-"
"I didn't know, Baba, I really didn't-!"
"It's common sense, did I have to spell that out for you too?"
As if you're ever around for that! But the thought went nowhere, Shen kept his beak shut, it was all he could do to keep from sobbing as the stupid tears fell all over, soaking the Soothsayer's robes.
"That's enough, my Lord!" Shen couldn't see, but he knew Nana was angry. He couldn't remember ever hearing her so angry before. "He's only a child."
"That's no excuse!" Baojia's voice rang out, and Shen began to breath very heavily.
"He is five, my Lord, you expect too much from him-"
"Indeed I do." Baojia's voice was so low and cold, the implication, the rejection-Shen fought out of the Soothsayer's embrace and ran out of the throne room, not sparing a glance back.
A heavy silence hung about the room between the old goat and the blue peacock.
"He also saved the child, Baojia. He glided when it counted most. Does that mean nothing to you?"
The Gongmen Emperor's eyes held no real expression as the Soothsayer glared at him, but his tail feathers fell back down, his train dragging behind as he went after his son.
###
"Shen."
Any other time, his father calling to him would've sent the boy running to the older peacock's side, eager and thirsty for his attention, but now just the sound of his voice made him hurt all over and his throat choke with anger.
The young prince ran faster, wanting to get away from his father, from everyone; he just wanted to disappear where he didn't have to feel anything ever again...
The boy's eyes were still fuzzy with tears. Approaching the stairs, he slipped and fell. Before he could slam against a step, his father swept forward and held him in his wings. Shen still struggled, hissing and kicking. His father was unaffected as ever, calmly setting him back down on the floor. Shen shoved at his stupidly blue chest for good measure, then began to stomp away. Baojia took a long stride to step before his son.
"Shen."
The boy turned his back on Baojia again. His father gripped his shoulder and spoke before he could roughly pull away.
"You saved that boy. You glided to do it, although you weren't able to before. You did what had to be done." Shen's small frame had gone very still in Baojia's grasp. "I'm sorry I ignored that, son."
Shen furiously scrubbed at his eyes, panting. Giving up on finishing that first, the boy turned to his father, still wiping away the tears from his eyes. "That's okay, Baba." It seemed like the thing to say. When he'd say sorry to Nana or An, they'd usually say it was "all right" afterward.
Something twitched in his father's face, then he swept Shen in a tight and immediate hug. The boy froze in his wings, shocked.
"It is my fault, not yours. I should've prepared you better, your mother and I should not have left you..."
Shen was in shock for a minute before he finally, gratefully sank into his father's embrace.
###
It was the winter festival today, and Shen wondered about Master Thundering Rhino. His teacher had confided in him, with a sly tone, that the feast at the Jade Palace was terribly formal and boring as it strove for perfection.
The boy wondered if it was any better than the mornings of the winter festival for the peacock clan's royal family.
Shen had started on the morning of the holiday last year, sharing even just a little bit in the responsibility of his parents as they took him to the ancestral temple for worship. They'd had him trained for it, and here he was again, sitting still and being quiet, bowed with his forehead pressed against the cool floor along with his mother and father. But they also presented the spirits with food, drink and faux money made of coarse bamboo paper; and they started the burning of incense and candles. Shen found their mingling scent nauseating, unlike the Soothsayer's.
But afterward, even the royals truly celebrated, and from what Master Thundering Rhino said, it was the complete opposite of the Winter Feast at the Jade Palace, even more lively than what the Valley commoners got up to. Shen had once overheard visitors to Gongmen City remark in scandalized tones how raucous they all were when it came to festivities. When he'd shared their remark with An, the older boy had said they were probably country folk and just proudly boasted that Gongmen City knew how to party, what with it being the firework capitol and all (another moniker for his home that Shen had heard before too).
Such celebration was infectious for the royals too, apparently-from them to the most common, dances and games and various foods and lots and lots of firecrackers and sparklers and fireworks swept Gongmen City up in a frenzy. Shen knew of this energy that consumed his entire home, but he'd never actually been to the city himself during such partying. He'd only observed it from the tower's balconies and from within the curtained palanquin that took he and his parents to and from the ancestral temple. The boy thought of requesting to go down, to see and enjoy-but he was already taken by the thought of the festivities at the tower, time with his parents and the Soothsayer.
It was already a dizzying pace of activity there.
Shen added An to his painting of the Soothsayer, Baba and Mama on his new sun lantern, something he proudly showed his parents and Nana, who hung it up to dry and lit the light in it when it was ready. The white peacock learned An made sun lanterns too with his family, and he admired the older boy's rendition of one of their training exercises looking for Shen in the snow. The boys played games, wrestling with the rest of the wolf cubs.
Shen played darts with his parents, while in the same room the Soothsayer played mahjong against one of his parents' other advisors, the rabbit Qin. The boy admired his parents' pinpoint accuracy, and felt his own worth bolstered when he found that he grew steadily better at hitting the target.
And then there was the feast, with dumplings and tangyuan in their soup bowls at the center of the dining table. Gods, Shen loved tangyuan. His parents, the Soothsayer, Storming Ox and Master Croc and Qin and all the other grown-ups of rank in attendance drank fine rice wine. When Shen had snuck to the barracks to share more tangyuan (so delicious!) and dessert with An and his kin, he'd blinked at the difference with the grown-ups and their wine there, more lively and flushed and talking and howling at the top of their lungs, while An and the other cubs played under their feet.
An and Shen slipped away from a game of tag with the other wolf cubs, sneaking into the kitchens. An was seized by the idea that they'd try the fine rice wine Shen spoke of as he commented on how different his parents and the other grown-ups were at their table in one of the tower's grand dining halls. The boys did their best to slip past the cooks and servants kicking back to enjoy the winter feast themselves, but the Soothsayer had poked her head in and called them out.
"Did you know what we were going to do?" An blurted out, none too gracefully.
"Yes I did," the old goat said, not missing a beat, and the older wolf cub looked so disturbed, it made Shen laugh.
"The fireworks will be starting," said the old goat, and soon An's older cousin Jin came calling for the older boy, telling him that same fact. An went with his cousin while Shen ran ahead with his nanny, each of the boys about to watch the show with their own families.
The white peacock and the old goat went to the throne room balcony where his parents were. At this time the Soothsayer would try to withdraw and give Shen more alone time with his mother and father-as ever, it never worked. Before when Shen had been too little and so fussy in Lady Fen's wings, the Soothsayer held him while the fireworks went on and careful to sit close to his parents, the boy even playing and nibbling on their wing tips as he watched the sky light up and crackle, docile as long as he was in the old goat's arms. And even when he started walking, Shen would do as he did now-take the Soothsayer's hoof and pull her ahead with him alongside his parents as the fireworks started (assuming of course he hadn't fallen ill, but even then it was made certain the boy could see from his window, if he was conscious for it).
Between his parents and nanny, Shen leaned against the balcony, quietly and happily watching the fireworks explode. Usually he'd ask question after question about how it all worked and all the different possibilities, but at the moment the young prince couldn't think of any, especially with the disastrous fireworks factory tour not too long ago, something he didn't want to think about, not tonight. He just wanted to watch the sparking lights enfold him away from all troubles, with the presence of the Soothsayer and his father and mother standing solidly and comfortably over him.
For a moment, Shen felt supremely safe and cared for, even completely loved, as the fiery and shifting light washed over his white feathers, for once coloring him and making him unlike a dead, weak thing.
Revised A/N: Next time should be time skip to five years later. Now this is a transition to time skip I'm more satisfied with.
Above were some references to another DreamWorks' film, "How To Train Your Dragon" and again Disney's "Tarzan" and the original animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" if you could catch it.
And another thing being revised-I've changed my mind a little on titles for Gongmen's rulers, since I believe 'Lord' and 'Lady' is too much of a title that can be applied to a lot of others of high rank. And I'm rather missing calling our favorite white peacock 'Lord Shen,' though I think 'Prince Shen' has a nice ring to it stil. I've seen it in some other fic, so I'm going with Shen's parents being the Emperor and Empress of Gongmen City/Province, who are also called Lord Baojia and Lady Fen, as when Prince Shen can still be called Lord Shen. (I may or may not go back to previous chapters to revise this admittedly minor detail.)
There's more young Shen fanart! See Deviantart galleries by Bat-Snake, JoJoLover123, Apofiss, gothicorca1895, mr-oh, MetaKnights1Luver, and Cryssy-miu (also a writer here with neat Lord Shen fic, see my favorites for one of them).
And check out the Devianart gallery by dertar for fanart of Shen's parents.
Found info about Nian, firecrackers, fireworks, valiha, the winter festival (Dong Zhi), and tangyuanonline.
Comrade: Yes, I had been on vacation, and it was a blast! Glad you enjoyed last chapter (and this one too!).
Jazzy Jazz: Thank you!
Thanks again for reading, and please review/comment, I love the feedback!