42 Volume 2: Birthday Parties (1/2)

There was, quite naturally, not much left of Blue Flower Village. Anything made of wood had long since rotted away and much of what was left had been overgrown. Still, the Blue Flowering Trees were still artfully growing along disappearing roads and gardens. Left overs from a time when this place had been alive.

With Little Yan and Little Shi holding each of her hands, Mei Hua walked through the ruins feeling wistful. She'd read about this place in the scrolls so many times when she was younger.

Sometimes it'd been general history, but other times Xuiying had focused on specific people. She'd obsessively write every detail of that one person's life, right up until they died. In some ways, Blue Flower Village was more like her hometown than the place she'd been raised in until the plague hit.

The Villagers built their houses in a circle, with the bottom half of stone and the top half of wood. The stone circles could still be seen, though it was overgrown with grass and vines. There were many round houses, some huge, some small. She walked around inside them, trying to guess about the rooms and what they were used for.

They found the remains of a public bathhouse. It had been circular shaped, with one side for men and the other for women. Now it looked like a huge steaming pond, split straight down the center. When Mei Hua had originally read that they'd bathed communally, she'd been stunned and a bit in disbelief. She'd discussed with Ye the pro's and con's of it. Seeing it in person, she smiled.

And then there were the fountains. There were several spread through out the village. Originally they'd been simple, but as time went by the villagers had made them progressively more elaborate. They'd give each one a design motif: tigers, bears, lions, wolves, and even deers. When asking where a person was, they'd often say something like ”Near Lion Fountain.”

Now they were just round holes in the ground, some empty and some still seeping water. Occasionally they'd find a bit of broken stone statues. She laughed when she found a fountain with an almost completely intact statue. It was of a deer! Had the Emperor done that on purpose?

When it became time to head back, Mei Hua said to her three sons:

”Children, remember this place. People once lived here, loved and cried and died here. It was home to many people and many generations of those people. They'd done nothing wrong, but the unrestrained wrath of one powerful person destroyed everything. And what for? What did they lose everything for? Because that powerful person lost their temper due to jealousy. And in the end, that powerful person didn't get what they wanted, and lost everything that mattered to them just the same. That's what jealousy and rage does to a person, and you must never forget it. It destroys everyone around you and then yourself last of all.”

The twins nodded obediently but Shan Hui lifted his chin slightly.

”What about the Old Man?”

”What about him?”

”He was jealous too and ruined people, but he got you.”

Mei Hua was quiet for a moment.

”My dearest son, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes, sometimes serious ones. Your Father repented of his actions, learned from them, and became a better person for it.” Her brows lowered, slightly troubled. ”But he can't ever escape the consequences of what he did. That he's got to live with until the day he dies. That is punishment enough, I think, and I love him. Why should I add more to his burden?”

Shan Hui looked off into the distance thoughtfully before nodding slightly, his lips quirking ever so slightly upward.

”I suppose that's true.” He finally admitted.

”And anyway, aren't you glad I don't hold it against him? Where would you be if I'd carried on someone else's grudge, hm?”

”The only decision the Old Man ever made that was even half-way decent was loving you, Mother.”

Mei Hua laughed heartily. ”You're so stingy to him, even when you're complimenting!”

Far away, in the distance, exactly where Shan Hui had been looking, stood none other than Huang Jin, Lord of the Mountains, and Fairy Emperor. Currently hiding from his wife. Of course he'd known the moment his sons and Mei had gotten near Blue Flower Village.