Departure

A month later.....

-Heavenly Jade Princess's Mansion-

"Your Highness, Her Majesty, is taking her last breath," Mama Li rushed into the room where Xuan Cheng was leaning against the window, watching the trees.

"Already?" she turned her head in disbelief, her heart twisted, and she stumbled her way to her grandmother's room.

She was running, bumping into the pillars, staggering and tripping on her toes, and hurting herself several times before she arrived at her grandmother's courtyard.

All the maids and eunuchs were already there, kneeling outside in rows, crowding the entire front of the courtyard. Her colour vanished and her lips fluttered as she made her way into the room.

"Am I the last one to know?" she felt betrayed and asked Mama Li, with her crimson eyes.

"Your Highness fell several times and came here, while the servants and maids hurried to gather here before you. Besides, not all of them are here yet," she convinced her.

Xuan Cheng nodded and turned to her grandmother, her eyebrows curved, "Grandmother...." she muttered her name in a low and lifeless tone. She sat down beside her and clasped her wrinkled hands.

"You can't fight against fate, my dear, my time has come, I have to leave... Don't cry...Cheng'er, don't cry...." she spoke in a wheezy voice, giving out a small smile.

Xuan Cheng couldn't hold it in anymore, big and round tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her pale cheeks, as she broke into a sob, disobediently.

"I know what you have been through...I always wondered what kind of person you would have been if your parents raised you in the Capital City, living among nobles and educated along with other princesses.

And I think you would have been a carefree, spoiled and loved princess, who never had to worry about anything," she spoke in a feeble voice.

"Grandma, I might have been anything but not your granddaughter Xuan Cheng. I have never regretted living here with you, back then, when I was sent to you, I knew nothing.

But when my brother wanted to bring me back when I was eight, I refused, because I could not leave you alone.

If I have a choice again, I would choose you against everyone in this world. I know nobody but you.

Grandma...please don't think of such things..." Xuan Cheng finally managed to speak, sort of breath, she gasped.

"I asked you to cultivate here while you can because if you leave this mansion, you won't be able to do it, since Evil Lord is still on a hunt, I can feel it.

However, I didn't want you to cultivate at all, because it's dangerous especially when you have no guidance.

Even if your breakthrough few limits, you will not be able to face the Evil Lord," she revealed her thoughts, her breathing slowing down.

"I have reached the Tian Limit, grandmother, you don't have to worry, I won't cultivate outside the mansion," she tightened her grip on her hand and responded, leaving the old princess bewildered.

"How? When? Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I followed the guide given by Grandfather and even made cultivation pills to reach this level.

Now that I have passed the Tian Limit of Seven Cultivation, don't worry about me," she replied, smiling at her grandmother's shocked face.

"I am so glad to hear that. I am so proud of you, Cheng'er, why didn't you tell me earlier?

You...promise me that you will go back to the Capital City. However, only on the tenth day of my burial ceremony.

Listen to me carefully, always be healthy and eat properly." she instructed her.

"I got it... Grandma, I will miss you, can you please don't leave me?" Xuan Cheng cried even more painfully, sounding like a child who knew nothing of death.

"Don't talk nonsense, you can't win against fate, you already fought against it when you gave me the antidote of the poison, I was supposed to die that day.

It's already a favour from fate that I lived more and thanks to you that you didn't take me as a burden.

However, don't fight with your father when you go back, don't resent him. He may not be a good father to you, but he was a good son to me," she advised her.

"Grandma, did you really take the poison yourself accidentally?" she asked, at that time she thought it must be because she has many poisonous things with her, it was possible, but it wasn't making any sense.

"Yes..." she replied, but Xuan Cheng looked straight into her eyes and saw a man with a scar on his hand, meeting her grandmother when she was alone, he was laughing and talking to her and presented her fried dates.

Apparently, the dates were the last thing she ate before getting poisoned, and it made her ill and pushed her to the death's palace.

Xuan Cheng tried to see his face, but she couldn't, it was blurry and vague, it must be her grandmother's silver memories wall, preventing her to see clearly.

Suddenly, a silver energy emitted from her grandmother's eyes, and shoved its way inside her. She was taken aback, after a while, she blinked several times and finally got clear of her surroundings.

"Grandma, what was it?" she asked jolted.

"Silver Memory Wall...it will protect you from seeing other's people memories, I didn't know you had cultivated otherwise, I would have given you before, it must be hard on you, unwantedly getting other's memories view.

Your Grandfather made it so that I don't see his memories whenever I look into his eyes," she explained.

"Why? he wanted to keep things secret?" Xuan Cheng asked.

"No, his memories were full of things like blood, beheaded soldiers, dead children and such things, he didn't want me to see all that all over again repeatedly," she smiled and replied.

"Grandma, I hope you will reunite with him," she wished aloud.

"Cheng'er, I know why you poked my mother and the emperor; you wanted me to die more prestigiously than I was born, just like your grandfather wanted.

However, you could have lost your life if anything had gone wrong at their end," she scolded.

"Though I didn't expect Almighty to love so much, I did gamble everything to gain your prestige back, I wanted to avenge all our sufferings," she replied, crying.

"Cheng'er, don't be so vengeful, now let go of my hand, stop injecting your life in me, you are losing yours, my day has come, see the angels are waiting for me," she muttered, pulling her hand away from Xuan Cheng's grip.

"Cheng'er, be happy!" she muttered her last words.

As the servants around them heard, they shuddered, not daring to check the surroundings, to avoid catching the eyes of angels.

However, Xuan Cheng looked around and found nothing, if she had she would have given death stares to angels of death for taking her grandmother away.

Just as she turned her eyes again on her grandmother, she had already closed her eyes, she was not breathing.

"Grandma!!!!!!!" Xuan Cheng yelled and checked her pulse; she was no longer alive.

"Pay respect to Heavenly Jade Princess, Zhao Shu, Her Majesty has departed the world and has entered the nether world," Mama Li announced, breaking into a loud cry and knelt on the ground.

The other servants kneeling, bowed their heads and spoke in synchronizing voices, "Bidding Farewell to Her Majesty, Wish you a peaceful journey to the afterlife."

Their trembling breaths and dripping tears mourned for the death of their master; the atmosphere filled with Xuan Cheng's hated citrus incense became the incense of death.

The birds are assumed to be sleeping in the dark hour of the night, a descanted lament of departure, coordinated harmony and rhythmic words that humans could never know what the birds meant.

However, the emotions were well expressed, the birds and the beasts mourned together for the old princess.

As the dogs and cats, wolves and tigers groaned from the distant mountain, so loud that the people in their houses tightened their doors, and hid themselves in their shelters.

The servants and maids were fluttering as the sounds of different animals and birds synchronized with their feelings, it was a rare moment, and they were part of it. They were scared at first but it didn't take them time to realize that it wasn't too extraordinary, they were a part of the lament.

Xuan Cheng wasn't only suffering from the loss of her grandmother, but she struggled herself, the site of people and nature drowned in the aura of mourning made her disturbed. As if it will take a long time for her to get over her loss.

The darling aura of raven night and grieving living beings made her pain reach the acme, she could not hold it in and cried out loud.

She knew the day would come and it will be hard to pass, her only conflict was if she would live past the days when she must be strong and pull herself together, and get up to walk the rest of her life lonelier than it had ever been.

Her loud whining among the tunes of lament sung by the birds that had gathered in her garden more than a month ago and the beasts in the mountains was like the leading vocalist of an opera.

That very night, stars twinkled bright and clear, bidding farewell to the soul as well, complimenting the lament, watching from above. And the moon? it cried too.

The night cried, the moon cried, the stars cried, fallen leaves cried, budding flowers cried, and they all cried for the Heavenly Jade Princess.

They all mourned and could not stop their tears. Watching their beloved princess Xuan Cheng crying her out without any restraint in front of them, broke their heart too. It was a moment perhaps witness once in a life time. She had never cried like that before, and she may never cry like that ever again.