Interlude: The Crimson Flower (Patreon)

~~~

He is the Black Dragon’s son.

Lu Mei does not react. She cannot react. That is how big the shock is. Jin has left her utterly speechless.

The Black Dragon is not particularly well-known in the Crimson Cloud Empire, but it is impossible to avoid his name in the Storm Dragon Empire. Soldiers tell horror stories around campfires. Parents use him as a threat to misbehaving children. People going about their day will blame their misfortunes on him.

The Black Dragon is more myth than man at this point. He is a specter. A monster that leaped out of the pages of a storybook and held the entire country between his hands only to vanish.

No matter how much Lu Mei tries, she cannot reconcile her Jin with such a terrifying despot.

And yet…Doesn’t it almost make sense?

A mysterious and powerful cultivator like Jin could not have been born under common circumstances. Normal cultivators do not somehow know Ceaselessly Refining Breath. They do not marry a woman of the Divine Frozen Palace or share any of the countless little oddities that surround Jin like a cloak. However, if she accepts that Jin is the son of a powerful cultivator who went into hiding for some reason, it all begins to make sense.

Previously, he claimed his hometown was destroyed by Murong Bang. Was that a lie?

No, Jin would not lie like that. He is the sort who prefers to lie by omission when he has to lie at all. If he says Murong Bang destroyed the city he grew up in, that is the truth. This revelation merely adds another layer to his motives.

Personal responsibility, perhaps?

A son is not guilty of his father’s actions, but Qing Jin is the sort who would feel the burden regardless. More importantly, if Jin is the Black Dragon’s son, that would make him…

“I know it is hard to believe, but it is the truth,” Qing Jin says. “If this changes your mind in any way…”

Change her mind?

Lu Mei laughs without restraint. It is an undignified display for a proper young lady such as herself, but it is just too funny. Does Jin really think something like this is going to scare her off? Does he think revealing himself to be of royal blood is somehow displeasing?

How silly of him. Does he really not understand?

How can this be anything other than perfect?

Still laughing, Lu Mei pulls him into a hug. She almost feels like dancing around the room. It is not that she does not have questions. Oh no, she has plenty of those, and Jin is going to have to answer every single one of them.

For now, however, she is deliriously happy.

~~~

Lu Mei knocks on Feng Zhi’s door a few days later.

“Hello, cousin!” she says, barging without waiting to be invited. Her reward for doing so is the sight of Feng Zhi and Yi Jiao hastily breaking away from each other, not that they were doing anything interesting. They were just lovingly staring into each other’s eyes.

In Feng Zhi’s case, the apple truly did fall far from the tree.

“You!” Feng Zhi growls as he quickly rises to his feet. “Who are you to enter my room without permission?!”

Once upon a time, the anger of the Young Master of the Eternal Flame Clan would have her cowering. How things have changed. Now, she meets Feng Zhi’s eyes and smiles smugly, confident that she can get away with this. Feng Zhi might have authority over her, but she’s too valuable for him to levy any sort of heavy punishment on her, and they both know it.

“Is it not normal for family to visit each other, cousin?” She asks him sweetly.

“We are not family.” Feng Zhi glares at her. “Don’t call me cousin. Or else.”

He raises his Qi, but that is all he does. It is all he can do, and even then, he cannot afford to raise his Qi too much or else it is Yi Jiao who will be hurt.

“I might not be legally recognized as part of the clan, but we both know the same blood flows through our veins,” Lu Mei says. A gold spark shines in her eyes. “Or would you prefer it if I called you brother?”

A vein starts throbbing on Feng Zhi’s forehead.

“We are not siblings.” Feng Zhi pauses before adding, “I checked. My father was nowhere nearby during the time of your… conception.”

“Really? “What a pity,” Lu Mei says, already aware that Lord Feng Gui is not her father. Like most people who have looked into the matter, Feng Zhi must think her father is Feng Dianzuo, Branch Master of the Soaring Sparks Valley Branch of the Eternal Flame Clan. That suits her fine. “Still, perhaps there is more to the matter than you know. Information is so easily fabricated, after all.”

That gets Feng Zhi interested. The possibility of her being his father’s bastard is not something he can ignore despite how much he has probably investigated the matter to quell his doubts. Feng Zhi is simply too aware of his father’s appetites.

Truly, it is so nice to talk to someone who is so easy to read.

“I would be willing to speak, but…” Her eyes drift over to Yi Jiao. “We would have to be alone, naturally.”

“Absolutely no-”

“Fine.”

Yi Jiao is the one who starts speaking, but Feng Zhi finishes first. His single-word reply completely silences Yi Jiao and leaves her staring at him in disbelief.

“Please leave us, Yi Jiao,” Feng Zhi says while glaring at Lu Mei. He tries to make his voice soft when talking to Yi Jiao but failing to look at her when speaking costs him lots of points.

To her credit, Yi Jiao knows better than to start a scene. The girl walks out of the room with her head held high, only stopping to throw a dirty glare at Lu Mei before slamming the door shut.

“Oh, Young Master.” Lu Mei shakes her head. “You truly need to learn how to treat women better.”

“I do not need to hear of relationships from you,” Feng Zhi says, forcing himself to take a deep breath to calm himself down. “Well?”

Lu Mei blinks innocently. “Well, what?”

“Is it true?” He snaps at her. “Are we really… related?”

“Oh, that.” She laughs and waves her hand. “Rest assured, we do not share a father, cousin. I merely wanted to talk to you alone.”

This time, Feng Zhi lets his Qi flare angrily around him. Unfortunately for him, his heat is not all that bothersome for someone who can wield the Eternal Flame.

“Have you come here just to mock me? Get out!” He points towards the door. “Get out of here right now!”

“I am here to talk about Qing Jin,” she says while taking a seat. Feng Zhi throws his hands into the air.

“Of course, it’d be him who sent you.”

“Not at all, Young Master. He has no idea I am here,” Lu Mei says, and that seems to pique his interest.

“Oh? Worried now that you know he is tied to the witches of the Divine Frozen Palace?” He asks, clearly trying to taunt her.

“A proper lady does not jump at shadows,” Lu Mei says primly, folding her hands over her lap. “I would have thought a good man would be the same, but judging by Young Master’s attitude, that is clearly not the case.”

“You dare accuse me of jumping at shadows when it’s clear Qing Jin has been connected to the Divine Frozen Palace all this time?”

“That business is nothing more than an arranged marriage that happened well before his wife joined the Divine Frozen Palace,” Lu Mei says as if bored by the subject. “It is hardly something to be concerned about.”

“That business,” Feng Zhi says, stressing the last word, “was important enough for a disciple of one of the Five Fairies to help him out and express a clear interest in him.”

“And because of it, you are playing right into her hands, Young Master.”

That puts him off-balance.

“What?”

She looks at him pityingly.

“Qing Jin is a Core Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. He is favored by Elder Xue. He is liked by your brother. He is respected by countless Outer and Inner Disciples. Even Elder Xun’s disciple likes him. It’s almost guaranteed he’ll marry a girl of Feng blood. His children will almost certainly be eligible to marry into the Feng Clan. Qing Jin might even become an Elder in a century or so.”

She explains all of this to him slowly, making sure to impress each individual fact on him.

“What can the Divine Frozen Palace offer in return? Nothing. Their arts are not suitable for males, so he will not flourish there. In a few decades, he’ll be nothing more than the husband of one of their disciples. Perhaps even one of many husbands.”

Lu Mei smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “There is no point of comparison. The only reason he’d pick the Divine Frozen Palace is…”

“If he was forced to,” Feng Zhi finishes. “Is that what you are saying? Rather than worry about him being a traitor or not, I should learn to make the better offer?”

Lu Mei bows her head gracefully. “Young Master is a man of keen insight.“

Feng Zhi lets out a harsh laugh.

“And I suppose you say this all for my benefit and not because of what you stand to gain if Qing Jin stays with the Eternal Flame Clan. A girl of Feng blood? Just say what you mean! If he stays with us, you’ll be his wife and eventually be recognized as part of the Feng Clan.”

She smiles guiltily, allowing him to think he has seen through her.

While the possibility of being officially recognized by the Feng Clan does hold some appeal to her, she is simply clearing Jin’s path.

Qing Jin is planning on taking over the Storm Dragon Empire. He might not have realized. He might not want to rule, but that is essentially what he is doing. That he has a claim to the throne only makes the possible fallout of his actions more complex. When the time comes, it is better if both the Divine Frozen Palace and the Eternal Flame Clan are amenable to negotiation, and part of making that happen is taking care of Feng Zhi’s attitude.

And if she happens to benefit from that due to her closeness with Jin, well, that’s just as well, isn’t it?

A rising tide lifts all ships.

”Ultimately, Jin truly cares about the success of this mission,” Lu Mei says. “There is nothing sinister about that. Qing Jin is not the type who can betray anyone. Young Master must have realized this simple truth already. Qing Jin will never become a threat unless the Young Master goes out of his way to make him one.”

A few days later, Feng Zhi goes to meet Qing Jin, and Lu Mei congratulates herself on a job well done.

~~~