Chapter 16: Chapter 16
Lord Wen Chang had never been happier ever in his life. Finally, it was the day that his beloved princess and her fiance, Di Qing, met officially. In the past, for some weird reason, every time he proposed a meeting between his prospective son-in-law and Qiwan, he would come up with some strange ailment that Wen Chang had almost suspected he was afraid of meeting his daughter.
Qiwan didn’t seem particularly excited to meet Di Qing, but she accepted his engagement on the spot. This was probably due to the fact Wen Chang had already selected the charming Di Qing as his son-in-law, and whatever qualms Qiwan had before this, didn’t matter now.
They were married immediately, a lot sooner than Wen Chang expected. Whatever the reason for his daughter’s sudden change of heart, it didn’t matter. It seemed that after the voyage with Tang Jing and his new minister Min Yang, she had become a changed person. Wen Chang was delighted to see how his daughter had blossomed into a striking young woman, although she was just hundreds of years of cultivation away from achieving goddess status.
He had known that the trio was going on a trip all along. What Qiwan didn’t know was how Min Yang had persuaded Wen Chang to allow them to head on the journey while imploring Wen Chang to pretend he knew nothing of it. This way, Min Yang promised it would strengthen the relationship between father and daughter, while having a high chance that Qiwan would agree to marry Di Qing. Wen Chang didn’t know where exactly Qiwan would be headed to, but he trusted Min Yang. After their return, he promoted Min Yang to be his minister. Three months later, Min Yang took Tang Jing as his wife.
Even Tang Jing found it extremely unbelievable how Qiwan readily accepted Di Qing. But only Qiwan remembered what had happened that night when Honglie had claimed what was hers.
“I want to rid my heart and soul of Brother Shang,” she told Honglie.
“Within the depths of the Celestial Pharmacy lies Master Taishang’s elixirs and potions. If you can get hold of his amnesia potion, you can erase your feelings for Yingshang from your heart. You won’t even remember him anymore.”
She nodded. “Thank you, My Lady. You have been most kind to me.” She bowed thrice to Honglie, before leaving the room.
After leaving Honglie’s den, she magically reappeared in the boat. Tang Jing and Min Yang were in a trance, as if waiting for her to return. Only when she called out to them, did they acknowledge her existence. The journey home had ended this time surprisingly faster and calmer. Maybe it was because she had already encountered the fiercest of storms that she had safe travels.
For the remnants of her journey, she pondered about the question of using the amnesia potion. She thought of every single memory they had shared, before coming to a conclusion.
No, she wasn’t willing to wash herself of the past. Even when her love story ended in failure and the last bit of fate had been snatched away by Honglie, it didn’t mean she should choose to forget. She was strong, much more than she perceived herself to be. But to move on properly from Yingshang, meant accepting Di Qing.
And from that point onwards, her fate was entwined with the young immortal’s.
“My name is Qiwan.”
“My name is Di Qing.”
She looked hopefully at the young immortal, recognising how identical he appeared to Yingshang’s disguise that day by the pond. She didn’t ask him why he loved ponds, like how she wondered in the past, instead they discussed Tang poetry and their interests in cultivation. Then, it was to her surprise that she discovered their mutual interest. Like Qiwan, Di Qing loved literature, particularly classic novels. They hit it off exceptionally well, and when Di Qing suggested an engagement, she accepted.
Qiwan knew that in order to accept Di Qing appropriately, she had to put down her baggage with Yingshang. Her heart would always have a soft spot for him, but she wouldn’t end with him. So no matter how Yingshang said he had created fate between them or that night how Honglie had demanded to have that bit of fate between them, Qiwan would never believe that it existed in the first place. She was in denial, believing religiously that she had no fate with Yingshang.
But in fact, the bit of fate she had given away to Honglie was the fate that would have brought them together in the end. Qiwan, as intelligent as she was, failed to understand the actual reason why Yingshang was punished to the mortal realm. It was not because of her, but to create an eternity with her. For Yingshang, it was a fair exchange. He was willing to go through so much for her, but she failed to understand.
After a week of their blissful marriage, she found out the implausible truth: that she was pregnant. The symptoms were not new to her, in fact, she knew she had been having them all along. An immortal pregnancy would go on for three years, although it happened much faster than in humans.
Within days of conception, most immortals would have found out of their pregnancies. The fact that Qiwan was neither startled nor excited about her pregnancy struck everyone that she was a wise and calm woman. And indeed, it made Di Qing appreciate her even more. Due to her sudden pregnancy, Di Qing deferred his mortal trial until she had given birth. And that meant three additional years.
But it was Qiwan who had come to Di Qing with her plea that she wanted to visit the mortal realm. She hadn’t asked to see Yingshang, she wanted to go to a different era where she could visit someone she knew. This person was no other than Chu Xinran, someone who she learned from the deity Siming to be connected to her.
One of her father’s acquaintances, the deity Siming was also known by many names such as the Star Dipper, Director of Destinies, the Controller and Master of Fates, the Arbiter of Fate and so on. During Qiwan and Di Qing’s wedding banquet, Qiwan had the honour of exchanging a few toasts with the unsurpassed beauty Siming.
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--Flashback--
The Fate Chamber
Siming had braided her long dark tresses in a high bun above her head. The question of what address should she use for a senior immortal like her, daunted Qiwan, but Siming amiably welcomed her into the chamber.
After all, her father was a high-ranking god in the Nine Heavens, so she shouldn’t humble herself. She had also forgotten that she was of a higher rank, Senior Immortal.
“I’ve been waiting for you a long time indeed,” Siming laughed as she ushered Qiwan into a seat.
“Oh?” Qiwan’s face flushed with embarrassment. Even if they were both female, she couldn’t help but feel bad about how she had kept Siming ‘waiting’. Siming calmly poured a teacup of tieguanyin fragrant tea, offering the cup to Qiwan as they conversed.
“I invited you here today to talk about Chu Xinran.”
The name rang a bell in Qiwan’s head, but try as she might, she couldn’t recall where she had heard the name before.
“You were her maker, Senior Immortal Qiwan.”
“Maker?” Siming’s words sounded implausible to the confused immortal.
“Aha,” Siming chuckled. “You took the amnesia potion once, although you didn’t manage to finish the entire vial. That is why, some of your memories have indeed been erased, yet many of these memories have found their way back to you.”
Amnesia potion? So such a thing did exist, after all… Qiwan pondered deeply. How did she even get hold of it? Wasn’t the amnesia potion a creation of Lord Taishang?
“Senior Immortal, I can’t help you to recall your memories but all I can tell you, Chu Xinran is a clay statue molded in your likeness. She was sent to serve Fang Yiqi and replace you as his lover, before you took the potion.”
Qiwan’s eyes widened. At that time, she had believed so earnestly that it was Fang Yiqi she had loved and it had broken her heart when the mortal carelessly brushed her aside and insisted that he did not know her. While her true love was someone else.
Even if Chu Xinran was just a statue, she now had a form and a soul. Whatever it was, she had to do her best to get them together in the end.
“Where is this Chu Xinran now?”
Siming let out a deep sigh.
“Dead.”