"Amidst the ruins of forgotten dreams, the spider lily blooms, its striking form a stark reminder of what was lost. It embodies the haunting beauty of memories that linger long after their source has faded. Each blossom is a testament to the fragility of life, a reminder that even the most vibrant colors can emerge from the darkest places."
-Haruto Nishimura
For the village of Shengyu Kingdom, it was a great year. Many children were born, filled with great futures and life. In the west coast of the kingdom, an emperor stood outside the door of the Rear Palace. He paced up and down the steps as he heard multiple apothecaries and doctors tending to his wife that was about to give birth.
He hoped this child was a good one, with a good power too at least. But more, he hoped the child will be healthy and alive. It was June 19 and it was the peak of midnight. He paced even more as time ticked by. His name was Emperor Aranthor. The lady who was currently giving birth is named Suki. Consort Suki. She was one of Emperor Aranthor's favorites out of the 5 consorts he had. He had Lady Nari, Lady Yumi, Lady Mei, and Lady Aiko. And even though each of them pleasured the emperor greatly, Suki was his favorite.
His sister was one of the nurses so he didn't worry as much, she would take great care of their little child. But he still had a great creeping feel of anxiety and dread while pacing around the corridors of the palace. After a while he could hear a little baby's cry.
This was the cry of joy, happiness and the joy of everything. Soon after the nurses bundled the child up, they opened the door and showed the child to Aranthor.
He was quite ecstatic when he held the child. What made him more filled with joy was when he saw the mark of the spider lily. Born on the blooming of a spider lily. So rare and powerful that many are killed because of fear if they become corrupted. But this could not be corrupted nor killed as she was in the protection of the kingdom. The Shengyu Kingdom had the greatest security with multiple S rank warriors. They had the best academy to teach as well, the academy was also set inside the palace. The Shengyu Prestigious Academy. All the prestigious and gifted students studied there.
The emperor caressed his child's face. It was a girl child. He brushed some of the girl's white hair. The girl had a few moles on the side of her cheek just like a strawberry. He checked her neck to see what her birthmark was.
What he saw nearly made him drop the child. On the corner of the little child's neck was the flower of a spider lily.
Her fair skin, with the contrast of her pink cheeks would make anyone call her a beauty of the spider lily.
After they transferred Suki to the Inner Court, he reunited with his lady.
"Suki...suki how do you feel?" He asked, still holding the child.
"I feel fine, Aranthor...thanks. Is that her? Our child?" Suki said weakly still after the effects of the numbness medication.
"Yes...she is, what more is that she bears the mark of the spider lily Suki this is what we have been planning for!" Aranthor said, sharing Suki's joy.
"What should we name her?" Suki asks a genuine question.
What should they name the child? The child born on the blooming of a spider lily. One of the strongest ones out there. Her name would be spread across nations, her name will bring her power. What should it be?
Lady Suki marveled at many ideas to name her child, but she felt none suited her. After some thought she said, "What about Hana? For the first name"
"It feels a little too basic for her name doesn't it?" Emperor Aranthor said thinking while running his fingers through the child's hair.
"What about....Xiaomao?" Lady Suki asked, thinking this was the one.
"Xiaomao is a nice one...very cutesy and quite demure. That is exactly how she should turn out to be. And she looks like a little cat too." Aranthor said continuing
"Her last name should be Jiken, to match with her name. And with her family name it will be Xiaomao Lui Jiken" Suki agreed to the name and thus it was set. This little child of the spider lilies is going to be called Xiaomao Lui Jiken.
After choosing the name, the child was given to her auntie, while the parents could rest. The emperor's sister was a low ranked princess of the royalty, her name was Li Shen. Li Shen was a quiet and soft hearted young woman in her 20s. But due to not being a male and not being born first, she wasn't made empress. Because of this Li Shen and Aranthor had this unspoken rivalry.
After Li Shen placed new clean clothes on the child, she placed the child down and started braiding her hair.
Li Shen had a habit of tending to her own aesthetic needs rather than to care for other means, which was also why she wasn't crowned empress, she began to braid her hair and stuck them with floral ornaments. As well she put in little clips that were a bit sharp too, she admired herself through the big glass mirror that stood on her bedroom cabinet.
Then for some reason the little child started to cry. Li Shen walked over to the child to quiet her down but it wasn't working. She had no idea what the child wanted. It was getting annoying now.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" Li Shen screamed at the child. Not realizing she had one of the clips still in her hand she tried to pinch the child's little finger to quiet her down. But instead of pinching her finger, the tip of the child's finger was cut off.
Noticing this Li Shen and the child fell into an unusual silence. Both of them stared at the cut finger. They both stayed quiet as they stared at the wound. Feeling different things they decided to do different things . The child felt the utmost anxiety with the presence of Li Shen, and Li Shen felt anxiety on how to hide what she did.
So instead of crying the child kept her silence, as she knew if she cried more no one would try to come and satisfy her, nor would Li Shen control her anger.
To solve this problem Li Shen decided to bring the emperor. She walked out the room and told a lady in waiting to call the emperor.
"Emperor Aranthor… I have just noticed that your child does not have the tip of her pinkie" Li Shen said, feigning sadness and cruelty.
"...What? But that's impossible. The doctors checked everything. They said she was completely healthy." Emperor Aranthor said, bewildered a bit due to shock. He was not thinking correctly at the moment as he was checking his child to see if she had more injuries.
"I'll keep her in the meantime…you've done a lot for now. Take your rest Li Shen." Emperor Aranthor said in a tone.
"Okay, thank you Emperor." Li Shen said, scurrying away from there.
The emperor walked out the outer palace with the child, thinking while he walked
What did that bastard do to my child…
He looked over his sleeping child again, he also remembered that the child didn't cry at all when she was in pain. This worried the emperor as he hoped that his child could feel pain. Not that he wanted her to be hurt, but more as it helps keep her safe.
He walked to the rear palace and came inside, he saw Lady Suki sitting on the couch gazing at frequent people walking around.
"I have news, Lady Suki." He said in a grim tone, sitting next to her after handing her the child. Lady Suki caressed the child, running her fingers through her little hair.
"And what may that be? Emperor?" Lady Suki asked now, looking at the emperor now instead of the window.
"I believe that Princess Li Shen cut our child's finger tip off." He said bluntly, watching Lady Suki's expression.
"She goes this route to sabotage you? What has this child done to her?" Lady Suki said with bits of disgust.
"Everything somehow reminds her of how she doesn't deserve to be an empress. She should have dropped her greed by now. Such childish nonsense is not fit for any royalty. Low or High." the emperor said, sharing his lady's disgust towards his sister.
This truly shows greed has no bounds or limit. Li Shen truly is different. Aranthor thought to himself. He quietly braided Lady Suki's hair, it always felt nice to braid it for her. It was soft and silky. Her hair was quite long with a nice shade of red. It was a deep dark red, which reminded the emperor of the petals of a Hibiscus flower. He marveled at the fact since Lady Suki was born on the bloom of the Hibiscus Flower.
Perhaps we should lull over the fact that different flowers and different birthdays contain different powers and meanings. For example, the people born in the Hibiscus flower blooming period often have the ability or power to have great luck and fame.
Which was one of the reasons Lady Suki was quite famous and rich. As well she was quite the beauty and a model of grace for many. As for one of Lady Suki's abilities, she had the ability to heal others by various ways such as cooking or caring for one. But by all means, each flower had their own ranks too.
There were 4 categories for flower rankings. Healing, Teaching, Strength, and Beauty. As well they had their own substats since it's hard to rank all the flowers by the same thing. This ranking system went back all the way from the start of time, the Flower Nation had ancestors that prayed upon the stars for help to help themselves from the Titans. The stars gave them the powers of the floral nation and therefore now is called the nation of Flowers.
After a few minutes of gazing out the window, Lady Suki broke the silence, "...I think it's best that Princess Li Shen not be near our child don't you think?"
"Yes...but who will take care of our child?" Emperor Aranthor tried to find another way to care for their child.
"My ladies in waiting are always glad to help me. They are quite responsible and helpful, I'm sure they will help." Lady Suki said, giving him a reassuring smile.
"If you say so my lady, that will do. I will give Li Shen a different task to take over." Emperor Aranthor said, twirling his white hair with his fingers.
So while the child was still young, Princess Li Shen was told to do other work to guide her away from the child.
It was all until the child's first birthday. The child's first birthday was a great deal. The whole kingdom was invited to celebrate the first birthday of Xiaomao. The heir to the kingdom.