"Your Majesty, he is hungry," the midwife quickly brought the child to the mother, who sat down on the bed again.
The queen carried him closer to her chest, cradling him in her arms. "You may all go out now. Remember, tell no one of what you have seen today."
The servants nodded their heads as they hastily made their way out. The queen gave a knowing look to her handmaid Plum. Understanding what she meant, Plum made her way out of the room.
"Now it's time for you to eat," she said with the kindest smile he had ever seen.
He cried as he thought of food. He couldn't wait to have his stomach fill up, but what came next was way out of his imagination. 'Damn it, breast milk!' he cried inwardly in disgust as his mother shoved it into his mouth.
'I don't drink that, take it away from me!' He could only cry in desperation, as he couldn't really move his neck. He could only bear the assault of being fed breast milk. His grey eyes glared at his mother, but she only smiled at him, thinking of how cute he looked right now.
But what surprised him most was the fact that he found himself sucking hungrily. 'I hate this, I really hate this.'
Then, just when he was thinking of how kind and loving his mother was, blood-chilling screams echoed from outside their building. The sound of swords piercing and slicing through flesh and bones filled the air. His eyes widened, as he already understood what was going on.
His mother began to sing him a lullaby, gently covering his ears. "You don't have to be the crown prince now, but don't worry, no one is taking what belongs to you… and most importantly, no one will ever know what you really are. You are my child, my only heir," she whispered, her eyes flickered with a terrifying glint.
'Amazing, I can't believe I have been born by a white lotus. Perfect mother. We both suit each other,' he smiled as he focused more on his food.
The door slid open, and his mother snapped over to it.
"Your Majesty, there is no survivor," Plum's voice echoed from the door's entrance.
"Good job. Get rid of their bodies and bring in new servants and midwives. Remember, I haven't given birth yet."
"Yes, Your Majesty…" Plum turned to leave but halted midway. "Your Majesty, are you sure you don't want me to take care of the concubine and her child?"
"Not yet, Plum. Doing that now, we will be exposing ourselves. It is better to be in the dark, Plum. And besides, the concubine is protected secretly and openly by the Emperor's guards," she answered, her eyes fixated on her child.
"Speaking of the Emperor, I heard he has been with the concubine since she had gone into labour, but he didn't even spare you a minute of his time," Plum's fingers clenched tightly around her blade that was dripping with blood.
At the mention of the Majesty, a look of pain flashed across the Empress' eyes.
"It doesn't matter, Plum. What matters now is that I have birthed a son. He is enough for me. I don't need the Emperor."
"But the concubine's son will be made the crown prince," Plum couldn't control her anger, her voice rising slightly higher.
"Not for long, Plum. Now go do what I asked of you," she ordered curtly.
With a hesitant sigh, Plum bowed before heading back to take care of the bodies. Then a heavy rainfall began to fall, washing away the trails of blood in the courtyard.
"Even the heavens are on my side," the Empress muttered before resuming her lullaby again.
However, the baby villain could see the pain in his mother's eyes. From what he could gather from his short arrival in this world, he knew he was born into royalty, and he was born an omen according to a prophecy he didn't quite understand yet. And his mother, who looked peaceful, kind, and charismatic, is actually a white lotus. As much as he hated white lotus women, he could cut his mother the slack. She is the only one who has ever protected him. Even when she knew of his origin, she didn't hesitate to use her energy on him. And he could tell that his mother was not favoured by his supposed father, which makes him also an unfavoured son.
...
Meanwhile, in another courtyard, laughter of celebration filled the air. The Emperor sat beside his concubine, who had long black hair and brown doe eyes. He watched both the concubine and his son with satisfied happiness.
"Here, my gift from me to you for giving me a precious son," he slid a white jade bracelet into her hand.
The concubine smiled happily before resting her head on his chest.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," she smiled shyly at him.
Their little lovey-dovey moment was interrupted when a guard suddenly dashed into the room.
"Your Majesty… Your Majesty," his voice was rasped and filled with urgency.
He immediately fell to his knees when he got inside. "Your Majesty."
"What is it?" the Emperor's voice held a hint of irritation.
"Someone from the Astronomer Academy brought an urgent message and needs to see you right away," he said with a bow.
The Emperor's face turned grim. He gave the concubine a quick peck. "I'll be back before you know it."
With that, he left the room, even before the concubine could utter a word. As the Emperor was about to head out, he saw the sky had turned to the colour of blood, and the prophecy came to his mind.
'Died in the regret of death, he had a wish to burn the world down,
His wish had been nothing but an unfulfilled song in his own ears,
But could he really drown in his own sorrow and ruin?
Heavens and hell have granted him a second chance,
A chance for him to vent out his anger,
He will come, riding on a blooded cloud,
And his snow white hair will dance in the song of doom he shall brings,
He is coming with vengeance, and thirst for blood,
If you see these signs,
Kill him before he spreads his wings….'
Just then, lightning flashed through the sky before the sky began to cry heavily for the sake of the earth.
A servant quickly brought an umbrella over the Emperor's head. The Emperor swallowed, as he could feel dread running down his spine. Whenever the Astronomers bring news, it is either a good one or a bad one—and he doubted this would be a good one.
As he entered his throne room, he saw the servant sent from the Astronomer. Behind the student was a powerful man with long grey hair cascading down his back. His aura spread across the palace hall. It was intimidating and screamed authority.
"Father," the Emperor called with respect as he stared at the frame of his father. When the Patron of the family appears, things are bound to be difficult for him, and he doesn't come to court if there isn't a dire situation.
The Patron hmmphed in response to his son, but he didn't turn around, nor did he spare him a glance.
The student fell to his knees. "Your Majesty," he greeted.
The Emperor swallowed before regaining his composure again. "What brings you here?" he curtly said as he walked towards his father—the man he could never amount to, no matter how hard he had tried.
His jaw tightened as he elegantly sat on his throne, sparing his father a side-eye before returning his focus back to the student.
"My master told me to pass you some very important news. The star of doom has appeared in your home. He told me to tell you to nip it in the bud before it blooms."
"So you are saying the doom star was born today?" The Emperor's voice hardened, as he thought about his precious child that was born today.
The student nodded. "It appeared between 10:15 to 10:30. Any child who was born within this time must be killed."