Chapter CV - The First Cry
The news arrived on a perfectly ordinary morning.
Which, in hindsight, should have been suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Because life-changing events rarely announced themselves properly.
—
Shen Li discovered it first.
Naturally.
Because she was the sensible one.
—
For several days she had felt different.
Not ill.
Not exactly tired.
Just...
different.
—
Then Lady Shen noticed.
Immediately.
Of course she did.
Because mothers possessed terrifying abilities.
—
One look.
One glance.
One moment.
—
Then:
"Oh."
—
Silence.
—
Shen Li looked up.
—
"Mother?"
—
Lady Shen sat down.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
—
Then:
"We should call the physician."
—
Interesting.
Very interesting.
—
The physician arrived.
Examined.
Questioned.
Checked again.
Then checked a third time.
—
The old man suddenly looked nervous.
—
A terrible sign.
Absolutely terrible.
—
Then he stood.
Bowed.
And smiled.
—
A dangerous sign.
Very dangerous.
—
Then:
"Congratulations, Princess Rui."
—
Silence.
—
Absolute silence.
—
Because suddenly—
the world stopped.
—
Then:
"You are expecting."
—
The room froze.
—
Lady Shen burst into tears.
Immediately.
—
Shen Li simply sat there.
Stunned.
Speechless.
Happy.
Terrified.
Wonderful.
Terrified.
—
Then came the difficult question.
—
Who would tell Prince Rui?
—
Interesting.
Very interesting.
—
Because Prince Rui was currently attending military consultations.
—
Which meant he was discussing:
logistics,
troop rotations,
border security,
and other serious matters.
—
Unfortunately—
none of those things would survive the next ten minutes.
—
The messenger arrived quickly.
Whispered something into Prince Rui's ear.
—
And froze.
Because the expression that followed was unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
—
The Winter General.
The Hero of the North.
The Man Who Defeated the Keepers.
—
Went completely blank.
—
Silence.
—
Then:
"Repeat that."
—
The messenger repeated it.
—
Prince Rui stood.
—
Then sat down.
—
Then stood again.
—
General Han watched in fascination.
Scientific fascination.
—
Because he had witnessed:
wars,
coups,
rebellions,
military disasters.
—
Yet nothing compared to this.
—
Then Prince Rui asked:
"Are you certain?"
—
The messenger nodded.
—
Then:
"Completely certain, Your Highness."
—
Silence.
—
Then Prince Rui left.
—
Immediately.
—
The meeting ended.
No one objected.
For survival purposes.
—
He arrived at the residence in record time.
Possibly violating several laws of physics.
—
Then stopped outside the room.
—
Suddenly motionless.
—
Interesting.
Very interesting.
—
Because for perhaps the first time in years—
Prince Rui looked afraid.
—
Not of enemies.
Not of failure.
—
Of happiness.
—
Then the door opened.
And Shen Li looked up.
—
Their eyes met.
—
Silence.
—
Then Prince Rui crossed the room.
Quickly.
Stopped in front of her.
—
And for several seconds—
said absolutely nothing.
—
Which terrified everyone.
—
Because Prince Rui always had something to say.
—
Then finally:
"Really?"
—
Shen Li laughed.
Softly.
—
Then nodded.
—
And suddenly—
the man who faced armies without fear looked completely overwhelmed.
—
Hopeless.
Absolutely hopeless.
—
Then very carefully—
as though she might break—
he knelt beside her.
Took her hand.
Held it tightly.
—
And smiled.
—
A real smile.
The kind seen only a handful of times in an entire lifetime.
—
Then quietly:
"This prince doesn't know what to say."
—
A historic event.
—
Truly historic.
—
Then Shen Li squeezed his hand.
—
"You don't have to say anything."
—
Silence.
Warm silence.
Happy silence.
—
Then Prince Rui looked up.
—
"This prince would like to say many things."
—
Fair.
Very fair.
—
Then:
"Most of them are panic."
—
The laughter that followed echoed through the entire residence.
—
By evening—
the Emperor knew.
—
A catastrophe.
—
Because the Emperor immediately canceled three meetings.
Held four celebrations.
And ordered gifts.
Many gifts.
Far too many gifts.
—
The Crown Prince nearly fell down a staircase after hearing the news.
—
General Han looked unbearably pleased.
—
The capital somehow learned by sunset.
Nobody knew how.
Nobody wanted to know.
—
And throughout the empire—
people celebrated.
Because after everything:
the war,
the conspiracies,
the losses,
the years of waiting,
something wonderful had finally arrived.
—
That night—
Prince Rui sat beside Shen Li long after everyone else left.
The room quiet.
The world peaceful.
—
Then softly—
almost to himself—
he said:
"A child."
—
As though testing the words.
Learning them.
Loving them.
—
Then he looked toward Shen Li.
Home.
Always home.
—
And for the first time since the story began—
the future no longer felt uncertain.
It felt larger.
Brighter.
Filled with possibilities.
—
Outside—
summer stars shone above the sleeping capital.
And somewhere ahead—
waiting patiently—
was the first cry of a new generation.