002 The Inescapable Prophecy of Birth

Familiar with the secret passage, I slipped inside and hid the book in my bedchamber. I changed into palace attire and searched the entire room, finally finding A-Fu dozing in a corner. She was already used to my sudden disappearances and no longer grew anxious. As long as there was a place where she could sneak a nap, I could always find her there.

I slapped her shoulder, and she nearly toppled to the ground, barely managing to sit upright. Grumbling, she got to her feet, muttering under her breath.

I reached out and gave her another hearty pat. "Come with me to see Mother."

A-Fu yawned, rubbed her eyes, and followed me listlessly to my mother's chambers.

"Your daughter greets you, Mother."

"Ziyun, you've come," Mother said, placing my little brother Zijun, who had just turned one, into his cradle.

"Has my little brother been good? Has he troubled you? Isn't Father coming?" Usually at this hour, Father would dine with us. He used to say that my brother and I completed his life, and seeing us every day made him feel that nothing was missing.

"The envoy from the Moonlight Kingdom is here, your father is busy. Would you like to see Zijun?" Mother gently rocked the cradle.

I hurried to her side, leaning over my brother's cradle to play with him.

His face was small and tender. I poked it gently, and he smiled, blowing bubbles at me.

Mother stood nearby, watching me. Only many years later, when I had children of my own, did I realize she was trying to capture those rare moments when my face truly blossomed into a smile. And in the years that followed, I often lamented, regretting that I hadn't understood her heart, nor fulfilled such a simple wish.

In this alternate era, I, Huangfu Ziyun, was born anew. My birth was heralded by wondrous omens, with a hundred birds gathering. The whole empire believed a prince had been born, destined for greatness, but it turned out to be a princess. I was grateful that no important ancestral halls collapsed—a sign that though I was a princess, I was spared a servant's fate.

Yet, I could not escape a life foretold by prophecy—or perhaps a curse.

The long-absent Grand Seer of Lingyun appeared at the palace, standing before me while I was still an infant. His deep, inscrutable eyes seemed to pierce right through me, and his hands closed around my throat. Even swaddled, I sensed the danger; I wailed in terror.

My mother, who had just given birth to me, snatched me from his grasp, demanding to know why in a voice torn with anguish. Then, I saw someone enter and wrap both Mother and me in a protective embrace—it was my father.

"You should go where you belong—why have you come here?" the Grand Seer spoke, words cutting to the bone, as if naming me a thousand-year specter. I could only cry louder, the marks of his hands on my infant neck searing into my parents' eyes.

Why have I come here? I, too, wondered if this was ordained by fate. Where did I belong? Where should I go? To hell? To an endless, inescapable hell?

At last, the Grand Seer sighed. "So be it. Since you are here, it is your destiny. Do no harm, and blessings will follow."

He turned to leave, but at the threshold, looked back at my parents and said, "Blessings and calamities are intertwined; life hangs by a thread. If you cannot bear the hardship, end it now."

My father did everything in his power to conceal the prophecy, disregarding the seer's words, cherishing me as a treasure. Thus, I was able to live peacefully, to have the life of a princess.

"Ziyun, you mustn't be so mischievous. Look how the palace staff are searching for you," Mother said, smoothing my brow and taking my hand to wash it clean, pulling me from my reverie.

Just then, Father entered, and the attendants began to set out the evening meal. He swept me up onto his knee, asking if I'd been up to any mischief today...

If I told him I had read "The Governance of All" and chatted with a boy for half the day, I wondered—would Father be angry?