The anger burning in his veins was equal to the disbelief he felt. Had a peasant woman who should not even be able to lift her head in his presence just challenged him? And worse yet, had he accepted the challenge?

Usually, insolence like this would only be awarded death. He might throw them into the Dungeons to rot at his most lenient. Not … give his word to fulfill their conditions.

He sighed and rubbed his temples. “Wen Qiao.”

A familiar, black-clad guard appeared before him and knelt. “Your Majesty.”

“Send two, no … three of your best men available to keep an eye on the woman and the child. Instruct them to not let them out of their sight at any cost. Bring them to Us once morning court has ended.”

The guard bowed his head and disappeared.

There was a long moment of silence before Han Qin spoke up. “This servant apologizes, Your Majesty. I did not think she would be so….”

“Brazen?” Eunuch Li interrupted. “Insolent? She should have her tongue ripped out!”

“She is only worried for her child.” Han Qin responded immediately.

Well, this was unusual. Han Qin was not one to be swayed easily.

“That is no reason to-” Eunuch Li started but quickly stopped once Huang Yasheng raised his hand.

“Enough.” He said. “Do not bicker like children. We accepted her challenge for the child. It is very clear that the child is very attached to his mother. If We force them, We might as well harm Our firstborn child.”

Yes, for the child.

Huang Yasheng saw that Eunuch Li had a frown marring his face. He tilted his head. “Anything to add, Eunuch Li?”

Eunuch Li seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Your Majesty…. This servant knows that the child's resemblance with Your Majesty is uncanny. But… can we truly trust it? This one has heard of techniques among some Unorthodox Sects that can replicate faces.”

“Faces, Eunuch Li,” Han Qin said, “not qi. It is impossible to replicate one’s qi. Your Majesty must have felt it too.”

He had. The boy’s qi, still a small stream of energy, was almost a complete replica of his. It wasn’t surprising, considering that the mother was a peasant woman with no significant qi. The children he had with his concubines, would always have the spiritual energy of their noble clans mixed in. Noble women were, after all, taught to regulate and maintain their qi in order to produce offspring that would have a strong mixture of the energies of both paternal and maternal clans. Of course, the imperial family’s qi usually overshadowed others, but there would still be a small percentage of the mother’s qi.

This child, however, was the perfect royal offspring, if seen through the perspective of spiritual energy.

He sighed. What a headache.

“Tell me about them.” Even though he wasn’t looking at anyone particularly, they knew whom he was talking to.

“The child is … clever,” Han Qin started. “Quick on his feet. Brave, too, from what I can see. Loves his mother like nothing else. Worships her, almost.”

"And the mother?"

"Very protective of her child. She is… unusual."

Huang Yasheng couldn't help but let out an undignified snort. That was one way to put it.

Han Qin continued, “She was prepared for us. She knew we were coming. She instructed her child to run. If I hadn’t instructed Ah-Long to keep an eye on the child beforehand, he would have escaped underground. It seems… she has some connections down there.”

Huang Yasheng supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Nobody could survive those dark parts of his Empire without toughening themselves up.

“Your Majesty….” Han Qin started but paused, hesitating.

“Speak your mind.”

Han Qin bowed. “This servant apologizes for speaking on Your Majesty’s personal matters. But this one believes that keeping her close would be better than separating her from her child and driving her away. She’s …. Dangerous.”

“Oh?”

“This one believes …. She will not hesitate to make an attempt on Your Majesty’s life if she deems Your Majesty as a threat. She may succeed, or she may not. Either way, it will spell disaster not only for the child but also for the …. current situation.”

The current situation was the lack of a Crown Prince and the appearance of an Imperial Prince out of nowhere.

Excellent. Another day, another headache for him.

“We shall consider your advice. Now, let us leave, the Court awaits.”

Just as he was about to get up, Wen Qiao appeared before him along with another guard, both of them kneeling and chorusing, “Begging Your Majesty’s forgiveness!”

The frown on Huang Yasheng’s face deepened. “What happened?”

The other guard - Yue Yuan, if he remembered correctly -trembled as he replied. "We… have lost them."

His hand tightened around the armrest as the anger he had been suppressing surged once again. The oppressive aura that permeated the room was suffocating.

“Are Our Guards,” his voice was dangerously calm, “so incompetent that they cannot keep track of a single peasant woman and her child?”

Both the guards immediately kowtowed. “Forgive us, Your Majesty!”

“Stop blithering like imbeciles.” He snapped. “And tell Us exactly what happened.”

And they did. Three guards had followed the pair discreetly. Apparently, once they walked a distance, the woman had set the child down and tried to whisper assurances to calm him down. But the child soon burst into hysteria and ran away from her, disappearing into some bushes surrounding the gardens. A scream immediately followed it. The guards were frightened and two of them immediately rushed to the child to ensure he was fine.

No one noticed the mother disappearing as they focused on the child. None of them felt or heard anything. All they felt were stabbing pains in their necks and a dizzying sensation before they passed out. It hadn’t taken them long to come to. They were trained, after all. The problem was that they shouldn’t have been knocked out in the first place. The Emperor’s Shadow Guards were the best of the best. A mere woman with no qi should not be able to get the jump on them.

Han Qin was right. This woman was dangerous.

Huang Yasheng took a moment to rein in his anger. He then looked at the two guards. “Except for the ones guarding Us, every Guard in the Palace shall search for them. Bring them to Us before nightfall!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

And they disappeared.

Huang Yasheng sighed and stood. While he would like nothing more than to sit back and take a moment to ponder on the situation, the life of an Emperor did not allow such luxuries, unfortunately.

“Let us depart!”

It was almost laughably easy to get away, She knew she would be underestimated but even she was surprised at how little they thought of her. They all focused on Manu when he distracted them. It was easy to sneak up behind them and knock them out with a karate chop to their necks.

Manu had been perfect. Every signal and code she had taught him was worth it. When she had patted his back thrice and whispered, “Disappear,” into his ears, he had taken a shuddering breath and nodded against her shoulder. Once she had been sure she was at a distance where the commotion wouldn’t immediately attract the Emperor’s attention, she had set him down and pretended to try and calm him down. In response, he started to cry loudly and ran into the bushes.

The ensuing scream had attracted two of the guards. And she could easily locate the third guard. Perhaps because she didn’t have any. It was easy for her to detect this strange energy that the martial artists of this world used once she started to recognize it. It was like a raging pool of storm, kept tightly bound in their bodies. She, on the other hand, had none of that. That was what made it easy for her to sneak about.

She knocked out the one in hiding first. And the ones trying to disentangle her child from the bushes were next. She then quickly grabbed Manu and bolted, moving as fast as she could until she found a secluded place.

Then she had set him down again and this time truly reassured him and calmed him down. She held him close and whispered in his ear. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. Do you trust mama?”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

She pulled back and smiled. “Good. Listen to me, remember the hide-and-seek game we played with Ah-Liu?”

Manu apparently had a significant amount of spiritual energy for a child. Siwang had always said it had to be because of his father. He’d been right. And when Siwang told her it was common for street children who had this kind of energy to be kidnapped and forcefully trained to be lackeys of Unorthodox Sects (and boy, hadn’t that been an entire conversation), she had asked him to help her hide it.

So, Siwang had given her a bracelet with a nondescript white stone in the middle. Once you pressed on it and channeled a bit of your energy into it, it turned black. Which meant your spiritual energy would be completely hidden and masked.

She had made Manu play hide and seek with Ah-Liu wearing that bracelet, teaching him how to hide and blend in with his surroundings and keep himself hidden. It wasn’t like he had become a master at it in the past year and a half but he could hide himself for a while.

“Will… will I be alone, mama?” He asked in a small voice.

Samaya gave a soft smile at him and shook her head. “No. Ah-Liu is here.” She snapped her fingers and the teen immediately appeared behind her.

“Did you have any trouble following us, Ah-Liu?” She asked softly as she turned to look at him. He shook his head and Samaya breathed out in relief. “Good. Keep yourself hidden and keep an eye on Manu.”

“What about you?”

“I can’t be together with him. They will be looking for the two of us together.”

“Will you be alright?”

“When am I not? You worry too much.”

She turned towards Manu and smiled. “You have to hide in plain sight. Can you do that?” Manu was worrying his bottom lip but nodded at her nonetheless. She ruffled his hair. “Good boy.”

She then stood and took Ah-Liu’s hands in hers. “Keep an eye on him. Protect him. And hide him if needed. Alright?’

Ah-Liu ducked his head and nodded. She let a grateful smile peek through. “Thank you.” He squeezed his hands and then let go. “Bring him to the Emperor’s Study after the sun has set. Keep yourselves hidden until I give the signal. Don’t come out in front of them. Just send Manu, alright?”

“Okay,” he replied. She nodded and took a deep breath before turning to Manu. “Go now. Find the best place to blend in and hide in plain sight. You will be back with Mama before you know it.”

Manu sniffled and nodded. He tugged at her sleeve and she let herself bend down. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek before stepping back and running the other way.

A moment later, she felt Ah-Liu disappear from behind her.

She watched until Manu disappeared and she could no longer feel Ah-Liu’s energy before she cracked her neck.

“Now,” a smirk curled her lips unbidden, a rarely excited glint in her eyes, “let’s start, shall we?”

Author's Note: I am so ashamed and embarrassed. I can't believe I forgot to keep up with the update schedule here on Tapas. Right after I said it wouldn't happen again too! UGH! I realised halfway through the week that I had not. I'm sorry! This week is a double update! Please let this make up for my idiocy and incompetence. *bows*

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.