Eunuch Li led Han Qin and her inside while the two brothers were instructed to remain outside. As they stepped inside, gold was the first thing that caught her eye. More specifically, the two golden pupils that belonged to Manu. Those stunning, breathtaking golden eyes that always mesmerized her. They seemed to stare into her soul.

"You must kneel," Chen Yuming whispered urgently from behind her.

Samaya quickly recovered from her momentary misstep and lowered her eyes to the floor, before she knelt with Manu in her arms, still refusing to let him go. Manu was uncharacteristically quiet, clinging to her tightly as he reverted to his old habit of burying his face into her neck.

"Your Majesty-" Han Qin started but paused as the Emperor raised a hand.

"Is this one mute?" His voice was full of condescension.

Ah. So he was the type of guy who was better off keeping his mouth shut.

Before Han Qin could reply, Samaya spoke up, her eyes stuck to the floor. "This one has a name."

There was a tense pause following her words. She was sure none of them expected her to speak up. She had been told not to speak unless spoken to. Usually, she would do just that. Make a pretense of following the rules and lay low to find an opportune moment to accomplish whatever it was she wanted or needed to accomplish.

However, this was not a matter of what she wanted. This was a matter of what her son needed. And she knew for a fact that if she acted meek and spineless here in front of authority, there was a real possibility she would lose her son and he would be pushed into danger alone. She would never allow that to happen. She had to make sure that she and her child stayed together and that she could protect him, no matter the situation, without negative repercussions. She had to find a way to extract some promises from the Emperor.

“Oh?” The condescension turned into a sort of sharp amusement.

She could hear the warning permeating from that single syllable. She felt the hair on her back stand. It’s been a while since her keen sense of danger had been so triggered. It wasn’t the “fight or flight” sort of danger. This was a man of authority, who knew he held their lives in his hands. One wrong word, one wrong action, and she could risk losing everything.

Well… this should be interesting.

“Samaya,” She said in response, ignoring the warning as she was prone to do. This was a risk she had to take.

She thought there would be another tense silence wherein he would gauge her. But, to her surprise, the man spoke almost immediately, “Raise your head.”

She lifted her head and met his eyes straight on. She had been told not to. But she could not afford to show weakness here.

“So you’re the woman who claims she bore Our child.”

There were so many things wrong with this sentence.

She curled her lips into a bland smile that did not reach her eyes. “To be clear, Your Majesty. I did not claim anything. It was Your Majesty's people that came to m …. my doorstep and claimed that my son was Your Majesty’s.”

“Is not knowing who the father of your child is something to be proud of?”

“It is not, Your Majesty,” she replied softly before she brought out her latent ability to bullshit through a mixture of truths and lies. “ Manu came from a drunken night of lust. I… I am not proud of it. However, I do not…. Cannot bring myself to regret it. After all,” she placed a hand on Manu’s head, “my child is my entire world.”

The Emperor’s eyes flickered to the child in her arms. “Look at Us, child.”

In response, Manu buried his face further into her neck. She finally looked away from the Emperor and turned her eyes to her child. She rubbed his head soothingly. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Come on, look at His Majesty.”

Manu’s grip on her clothes tightened as he lifted his head and turned his head to look at the Emperor. Two pairs of golden orbs met each other. Samaya watched his reaction like a hawk.

The Emperor hid it well, but her trained eyes caught the slight flaring of his nostrils and minute widening of his eyes. She knew what he was seeing.

Himself. In child form.

Even she had been taken aback at how similar they looked, though she had been warned by practically everyone in their entourage. She could only imagine how surprised he was, though he hid it pretty well. She had a feeling that even revealing this much of his emotions was a novel thing for him.

The Emperor spoke after a long moment. “What’s your name, child?”

“.... Manav,” he whispered softly in reply.

“Peculiar names,” the man noted.

Samaya kept quiet, refusing to elaborate.

“Your Majesty,” Han Qin spoke up. “The child has another name, Xu.”

The Emperor’s eyes flicked toward Han Qin for a moment before he looked back at the mother-child pair. “Then why does call himself …. Ma-nav?” He carefully sounded out the word.

Crap. She had no idea why he had been named Xu by his birth mother. Heck, she only knew the name because the child had been old enough to know his name when she found him.

Bullshitting time.

“I named him Xu in hopes that he would have a good life.” She kept her eyes slightly lowered as she spoke, not wanting to trigger any taboo. “However… this incompetent mother was unable to provide properly for her child. It…. did not seem appropriate. And for some reason, Manu did not like it either. So… I gave him the name Manav. It means ‘to be human’. I hope that my child would grow up to be a good human being.”

She could see the Emperor lean back. “Usually, We would order you to prove this claim. However, the similarities between Us and this child are too striking. And neither Han Qin nor my Shadows are ones to be fooled.” A pause. “So? How much do you want?”

Samaya blinked up at him, momentarily losing track of her thoughts. “What?”

"How much do you want in exchange for Our child?"

She couldn't help the disbelieving scoff that left her. "Is… is Your Majesty under the impression that … I am here to sell my child?" She asked, forgetting to speak formally.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you not?" He asked. "Or do you want to become Our concubine?"

… This fucking bastard.

"Neither," She couldn't help her snappish tone. She paused, calmed herself, and then spoke. "There are many things that I want. But those things include neither Your Majesty's wealth nor the position of Your Majesty's concubine."

She looked at her son, who was looking at her with wide eyes full of worry. She sighed and gently pushed away the hair framing his face.

"All this one wants is to give her son a chance to know his father. And perhaps… a chance at a better, stabler life." She added those last words, half-lie and half-truth. She could provide for her son easily, but this place was a chance to give him a stable life until she found a way back home.

She then frowned and turned her head toward the man. “But now I wonder if that mere chance is worth it,”

“Impudent!” The Eunuch who had been standing quietly behind the King finally snapped back. “How dare a mere peasant woman be so insolent in the presence of His Majesty?”

She flicked her eyes toward the Eunuch and raised an eyebrow. “There have been two attacks on my child before we even entered the Capital, despite the fact that his existence was supposed to be a secret. And now a Prince appears out of nowhere in the Palace.” She turned her eyes toward the Emperor, this time having no qualms about meeting his eyes head-on. “Can Your Majesty guarantee that my child will be safe and out of danger in this treacherous place?”

The Emperor stared back at her for a long moment. He didn’t answer. She knew he couldn’t.

She let out a soft scoff and turned her head toward her child, who was once again hiding his face against her. “This mother wishes for all the luxury and happiness in the world for her child. But never at the risk of losing him.” She tightened her arms around him and buried her face in his hair. “I will not be separated from my child. At any cost.”

Manu let out a soft whimper. And it was as the tears soaked into her clothes that she realized Manu had started to cry. She lifted her head, her eyes widening in panic. But before she could ask what was wrong, Manu started to speak through his tears.

“Don’t … don’t take Mama away from me. I can't live without Mama. Mama… mama…” He broke off and started to sob

There was a stabbing pain in her chest. Her heart felt like it was breaking into pieces. Manu hadn’t cried like this in years, since he stopped having nightmares of being abandoned in the streets.

Her jaw clenched and she turned her glare at the Emperor. If looks could kill, that man would have disintegrated like all those characters in Infinity War.

Several emotions passed through the man’s eyes, too fast to be distinguished. He then sighed. “Very well. You along with your child will be admitted into the Imperial Harem and you shall be given the title of Noble Lady.”

The Eunuch behind the Emperor seemed as if he wanted to speak up. But Samaya beat him to it. “Not so fast,” she said, ignoring the looks of incredulity from all around her. “This mother has conditions.”

The Emperor’s gaze which was cold and almost apathetic until now turned sharp; Samaya could see the rage rising behind those irises.

She smiled. Finally, a proper reaction. “I am unwilling to give up control over myself and my child.”

She watched the man lean forward, his golden eyes narrowed like a predator looking at its prey. She didn’t let her apprehension show on her face as the man spoke in a low, dangerous voice. “Do you realize what you’re saying? You have just defied Our orders. The punishment for that is execution.”

She let her smile widen just a bit. “That is only if Your Majesty can hold us long enough. It is either Your Majesty ensures this mother’s conditions are fulfilled or she and her child disappear. Forever.”

This time, it was the Eunuch who let out a disbelieving scoff. “Disappear? You are at the center of the Imperial Palace, surrounded on all sides by Shadow Guards. Stop making a fool of yourself.”

She raised an eyebrow, the half baked idea she had been nursing until now finally taking form.

“How about a challenge then?” She allowed herself a soft, smug smirk. “I shall walk out of this chamber with my child. And if any of the guards can find us before nightfall, I shall obey the imperial orders without question. However, if they cannot do so, then I request that my conditions be fulfilled.”

This time, Han Qin spoke up. “Samaya, you cannot possibly hide from all the guards in the palace.”

She didn’t reply and instead kept looking at the Emperor. “If His Majesty is confident in the guards, then there is no harm in accepting this harmless challenge against a peasant woman, is there?”

It was bait.

“Fine,” the man clearly spoke through gritted teeth. “We accept your challenge.”

And he bit it, hook, line, and sinker.

“Do I have Your Majesty’s word? In front of these witnesses.”

“An Emperor does not speak empty words.” His voice was almost a growl. “If you win this challenge, this Sovereign shall fulfill your conditions.”

She finally sighed in relief and bowed her head. “Thanking Your Majesty.”

She stood from her kneeling position, once again running her hand through Manu’s hair. “Ready?” She whispered.

Manu nodded.

“Let’s go then.” She said softly and walked out the door she came through.

PRECAP:

Author's Note: Hello! Sorry for the delayed update! Last week was hectic and I got sick on top of that. I was also writing my writathon story. So all of that combined resulted in not being able to update because I had not been able to edit the chapter. I'm so sorry!  I will do my best to make sure this doesn't happen again! 

Thank you for reading! If you see any mistakes or inconsistencies, please do let me know. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Leave your thoughts in a comment! Please subscribe to the story if you liked it. Any like or comment would be highly appreciated.