Six years later, Capital city of Yecheng

The sun shone high in the sky over the city of Yecheng on a warm day in early spring. A soft breeze blew through the market streets bustling with merchants, their voices mingling together as they called out their wares along with the fragrant smells of food vendors cooking their dishes. On the main market street, there sat a large apothecary. Outside the apothecary, a tall cream colored banner flapped in the wind, the characters on the banner advertising free medical services from morning until early afternoon. A long line of citizens already stood waiting outside the apothecary, each with their own hopes that the person inside could cure them of their ailments. Soft murmurs moved along the crowd as the waiting residents chatted.

“Have you ever seen the lady’s face?” One whispered.

“No, all I know is that she typically appears once a month to provide free medical services for all citizens, no matter how little money they have on them.” Another replied, “In fact, she refuses to serve any rich people who appear on that day, no matter how much money they offer her!” The first citizen laughed.

“Serves them right, to think they can buy whatever they want with their money. I’ve heard that the lady inside is a miracle healer! There is no illness she cannot treat!” She exclaimed.

“Just who is this miracle worker?” The second person mused, “Why is she so kind to us commonfolk?”

“Rumors say that she is the queen!” A third person interjected, “That is why she covers half her face with a mask all the time!” The first person laughed.

“There is no way the queen herself would come all the way out here for us.” She protested, “That is pure nonsense.”

“But the queen is a kind and virtuous woman, so even if it was her, that would not be surprising.” The second person added, “She and the current king have had the most stable reign for many years!” Indeed, ever since the young king and queen had taken the throne, Northern Qi had risen in both strength and prosperity, the country entering a golden age that few had seen before. The young king Yixing was intelligent and brave, and his numerous relationships built up from years on the battlefield helped keep other countries from attacking, instead leading to various alliances. The young queen Zhiruo was wise and virtuous, and her medicinal skills had helped the country on more than one occasion already in her short reign. In the tumultuous times they lived in, Northern Qi was a rare oasis of peace. Inside the innermost chambers of the apothecary, a young woman dressed in light green and white silk sat behind a small table, her brow furrowed slightly as she carefully wrapped a cut on a young commoner girl’s knee.

“There, all done.” She declared, “Be careful not to get it wet for the next week and to put the herbs on it as I told you to.” The young girl’s mother smiled in relief.

“I cannot thank you enough, Lady.” The woman said, “You have done so much for our people, and my daughter.” The young woman smiled and gently patted the woman on the hand.

“I am just doing what I should as a physician.” She replied. The little girl grinned up at the young woman.

“Lady, when will the new baby be here?” She piped up, “Will he be able to play with me soon?” The young woman laughed and rested a hand lightly on her rounded stomach.

“It will be some time before this baby will be strong enough to play with you, little one.” She replied, “Nor do I know if it will be a boy or a girl. But when it is old enough, I will certainly bring the child along to play with you.” The girl grinned in delight, then bowed with her mother and left the apothecary. After many more hours of treating the commonfolk who came to her door, the young woman stretched in relief as the last patient finally left the room. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her cheek tiredly, her eyes closing briefly. The sound of footsteps approached, and a voice spoke warmly.

“My Lady, are the patients all gone?” The young woman’s eyes flew open at the familiar sound, and her eyes widened as she saw the figure in front of her.

“Majesty!” She exclaimed, rising to her feet quickly. King Zhang Yixing laughed softly and carefully pushed her back down into her seat.

“No My Lady. Out here, I am only your husband.” He replied with a teasing twinkle in his eye. Shangguan Zhiruo, or Gongsun Rong as she was known to her closest confidantes, smiled in amusement and took her husband’s hands in hers.

“What brings you out here?” She asked, “I thought you were busy today.” Yixing smiled faintly.

“I am busy every day. The petitions are a consistently growing pile that never shrinks.” He replied, “But today is the day you are out here incognito to help the common people. As their ruler, how can I let my queen consort stay out here alone? And besides, you’re not the only one out here.” Zhiruo raised an eyebrow curiously, then followed her husband’s gaze to her stomach.

“Are you more worried about me or the child?” She asked half teasingly, “It is not the first time I’ve been out here while pregnant, and I don’t intend to stop until the seventh month of pregnancy.” Yixing smiled and kissed Zhiruo’s hands lightly.

“I worry about both of you.” He replied smoothly, “And I never said you cannot come out here. I am simply a husband here to pick up his wife in order to make sure she makes it home safely.” Zhiruo smirked and squeezed Yixing’s hand lightly.

“Are you trying to make up for deciding to dance with the foreign ambassador’s daughter last night?” She asked, “I still haven’t forgotten that has happened, you know.” Yixing pouted and tugged on Zhiruo’s hands lightly.

“Ruo’er, you know why that happened!” He protested, “I had to dance with someone, and you surely could not have carried out the movements the dance required!”

“And you could have sent Yifan to dance with her instead.” Zhiruo replied calmly, raising an eyebrow. Yixing looked like he wanted to protest again, but sighed and kissed Zhiruo’s fingers lightly.

“Alright, alright, I know I was wrong, okay?” He said, “You’re right, part of the reason I am here is because this wrongdoing husband wants to make up for his wrongs. As for the other part of the reason, I really do just want to protect my one and only love.” Zhiruo gazed at him for long moment before giving in and rising to her feet.

“Before we go back, can we walk around the market for a little while?” She asked, “I am quite starved, and the food outside looks so good.” Yixing chuckled and touched Zhiruo’s stomach lightly. The unborn child stirred under Yixing’s large hand, as if knowing it was its father’s touch.

“Is the little one sapping your strength again?” He  teased, “You are always hungry.” Zhiruo pouted and huffed at her husband.

“Do you intend to keep me hungry?” She asked, “I’m not only eating for myself, you know.” Yixing grinned and looped an arm protectively around Zhiruo’s waist.

“I would never dare, Madam Wife.” He replied, “Today, you can eat as much as you want!” Zhiruo grinned and gave him a soft peck to the cheek.

“That’s more like it.” She commented, satisfied. For the next few hours, the young king and queen roamed the open market under the watchful eye of royal guards hidden along the paths. For the royal couple though, it was as if the guards did not exist. The two of them only cared that the love of their lives was with them at that moment, and besides that, nothing else mattered for those few hours. For those few hours, they could just be a normal couple traversing the streets to explore what the market had to offer. After a few hours, Zhiruo began to grow tired, and so the royal couple boarded a waiting horse carriage and set off to return home to their palace. After returning home, Yixing and Zhiruo went to check on their children. The eldest, six year old Prince Yitai and five year old Princess Yilan were studying poetry with one of the court scholars. The children scampered to their feet as their parents appeared.

“Greetings King Father, Queen Mother.” They said with polite bows.

“Tai’er, Lan’er, have you two been working hard?” Zhiruo asked as she gently lifted her children up from their bows. Yitai nodded eagerly.

“We have been learning poetry about how warriors fight to keep the peace!” He declared. Zhiruo turned and raised an eyebrow at Yixing.

“Our children are young!” She protested. Yixing smiled and patted her hand reassuringly.

“It is never too early to start learning.” He replied calmly. After hearing the children recite their poems, Yixing and Zhiruo took a walk through the royal garden where the younger children were playing. The four year old twin boys, Yihuai and Yixuan sparred clumsily in one of the pagodas while the youngest daughter Yitan played with a doll nearby. The little girl jumped to her feet and ran to Zhiruo as the king and queen approached, and promptly stretched out her arms.

“Mama!” She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in delight at the sight of her mother. Zhiruo looked at her daughter’s cherubic face and knew there was no way she could refuse. She began reaching down to pick up the young princess, but Yixing reached out a hand to stop her.

“You cannot carry heavy things while pregnant.” He warned. Zhiruo frowned.

“Tan’er is not that heavy.” She protested.

“Heavy enough.” Yixing said firmly, and picked up their youngest daughter instead. The little girl squealed in delight as Yixing tickled a kiss again her cheek, and Zhiruo couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. While Yixing was both a king and a warrior, he became an entirely different person when he became a doting father. Yihuai and Yixuan quickly put down their wooden swords and hurried over to Yixing and Zhiruo.

“Mama, Papa.” They greeted. Yixing grinned at his sons.

“Who won the sparring match today?” He asked.

“I did!” Both boys piped up immediately, glared at each other, then proceeded to argue about who had won, their high voices sparring just as much as their wooden swords had been just moments before. Zhiruo laughed and quickly pulled her children apart.

“Alright, alright, that is enough.” She said firmly, “Both of you will be magnificent warriors one day who will protect our country.” At that, the boys immediately stopped their argument and turned to look up at Zhiruo, eyes wide.

“As good as Papa?” They asked eagerly in unison. Zhiruo looked up at Yixing and then grinned in amusement. To her sons, their father was their idol and rolemodel, and it showed in the way the boys spoke and acted.

“Yes, as good as your father.” She said soothingly, “Now run along and don’t fight, okay?” The boys quickly bowed.

“Yes Mama!” They scampered off after that to spar again, and Zhiruo kissed her daughter on the cheek before letting Yitan toddle off to her nursemaid. Yixing took Zhiruo’s hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Let’s just keep to ourselves tonight.” He suggested, “We’ve both been busy lately, and I want to spend some time with you alone.” Zhiruo smiled, her heart growing warm at her husband’s loving gaze.

“Alright.” She agreed.

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Later that night

After dinner, Zhiruo watched as Yixing polished his armor hanging from a rack on the side of their chambers. It had been a long time since Yixing had needed to wear the armor to war, but he still made sure to polish it every day so that it shone in the light.

“Yixing.” She said softly, and her husband turned to look at her curiously.

“Yes, my love?” He asked. Zhiruo rested her head on her fist and tilted her head curiously.

“Do you miss it?” She asked, “Fighting on the battlefield, I mean. You are a born warrior, but now you are always inside dealing with politics at all hours of the day.” Yixing thought for a long moment before smiling wistfully.

“I do miss it.” He agreed, “But at the same time, this was all that I ever fought for. I fought because I wanted our country to obtain peace so our people could live stable lives.” His gaze was warm as he looked at her.

“And besides, I would prefer nothing to the life I have now.” Yixing continued, “To be able to live peacefully with you and our children, that is more than I could ever want. I am satisfied with the way things are now.” He put down his polishing cloth and came to sit next to Zhiruo.

“Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?” He asked. Zhiruo sighed and shook her head.

“I’ve just been thinking about it lately.” She said softly, “You are a warrior meant to be free, but your lifestyle is so different now from the way it used to be.”  Yixing chuckled and poked Zhiruo on the forehead lightly.

“You and your thoughts are going the wrong direction again.” He chided, “You don’t need to worry about any of that. I am happy with the way things are now, really.” Yixing’s gaze was full of love as he gazed at Zhiruo.

“In the past, all that mattered in my life was how to win the next battle and how to keep my men alive.” He said, “But after that day when you ran onto the battlefield, my life received a new purpose.” Yixing tilted Zhiruo’s chin up gently and kissed her sweetly.

“That purpose is to love and protect you.” He said, “To make you happy and help you reach your goals as well. Shangguan Zhiruo, you gave my life a new purpose, and I will never regret falling in love with you that day on the battlefield. And now, having you by my side as my wife and mother to my children...that is priceless to me.” Zhiruo’s eyes grew teary as she listened to his moving words, and she laughed in embarrassment as Yixing reached out and wiped a tear away. She took a deep breath before speaking.

“Zhang Yixing, the road that we have traversed together has been long and difficult.” Zhiruo said softly, “But in the end, everything was worth it, and if I had to choose again, I would still have chosen to run onto the battlefield that day.” A warm smile spread across her lips as she gazed at her husband.

“I love you so much, Zhang Yixing.” She said softly. Yixing’s gaze softened as he pulled her into a hug, and Zhiruo sighed softly in contentment as she rested her head against his chest.

Zhang Yixing, thank you for trusting me all those years ago. Thank you for keeping me by your side, and helping me find out the truth behind my family’s massacre. And finally, thank you for loving me, my Prince of Lanling.

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Author's note: Here it is everyone, the epilogue! I hope you all enjoyed this story from start to finish, and I hope you like the happy ending I wrote. At the rate that I am going with Yixing stories, I think one of my biggest challenges will be thinking of names that start with "Yi" for his children, hahaha. If you enjoy my writing, or just Yixing stories (or both!) please keep an eye on my stories, as there will be at least two more that I write with him as the main character. My next story is going to be "Under a Golden Cage," the sequel to "Under the Deep Blue Sky." Please give it lots of support!