23 March 1745
[Fuk'anggan's POV]
Today marks the seventh birthday of the Fifth Prince, son of Emperor Qianlong of the Great Qing Dynasty. Dignitaries and officials, eager to gain imperial favour, lined the main hall of Consort Yu's residence with rare gifts and tributes.
Showing remarkable promise, the Fifth Prince has already mastered the basics of mathematics, calligraphy, and astronomy—skills typically acquired by other capable princes at the age of ten. It is widely speculated that he may be the Emperor's favourite, given His Majesty's well-known admiration for exceptional talent.
Coming from the Fuca clan, a family of generals, I was instructed by Father to enter the palace today and be introduced to the Fifth Prince as his study companion and martial arts sparring partner.
The Emperor himself had issued an imperial edict appointing Father as the Prince's personal martial arts tutor. Father's standing as Chief Grand Counsellor further strengthened the rumours surrounding the Fifth Prince's status as a favourite of His Majesty.
"A boy genius!" exclaimed one of the bootlicking court officials. "Your Grace must be so proud of the Fifth Prince."
"I dare not accept such praise. I am merely basking in His Majesty's grace," Consort Yu replied with restrained dignity.
"Your humble servant offers respects to Consort Yu," Father said, kneeling on one knee to break the awkward silence. "I respectfully present my humble son, Fuk'anggan, and wish Your Grace peace and longevity."
Taking the cue, I dropped to my knees and greeted her with the formal etiquette my tutors had drilled into me. When addressing royalty—especially for the first time—it is always wiser to err on the side of excessive politeness than risk even the slightest offense.
"Right on time, Fuheng, you may rise."
With a subtle smile and a sigh of relief, she signalled for her maidservants to offer us seats and tea, while dismissing the rest of the court officials.
After waiting for Consort Yu to be seated and for Father to take his place, I served tea to Father as custom dictated, following the servants' offering to Consort Yu. Only then did I take my assigned seat.
That small gesture seemed to confirm for Consort Yu what Father already believed—that I would make a fitting companion for the Fifth Prince.
"Come closer and let me take a good look at you"
That sentence sealed the arrangement. Father glanced at me with quiet approval, nodding for me to approach Consort Yu with a formal bow. I knew then that I had lived up to his expectations—and gained her favour.
* * *
[Yongqi's POV]
When I saw Fuk'anggan for the first time, something in me settled. Nothing felt more like a gift than knowing you'd found a friend who would be real with you. It was a refreshing escape from the fake smiles and shallow flattery I received from officials who believed I was the Emperor's rising star.
He stood two inches taller and two years older, but when I looked into his eyes—so earnest—I couldn't help but grin. He thinned his lips nervously, then broke into a sheepish grin.
"Fuk'anggan pays his respects to the Fifth Prince." he said, clasping his hands in formal greeting.
"Hide and seek?" I asked.
"Indeed, I had the same thought," he replied. "I know a perfect place."
"The Southern Imperial Garden!" we both said in unison.
"The last one there is a donkey!"
Laughing, I tossed a pebble at him and bolted toward the walkway.
"Cheat!" Fuk'anggan shouted, sprinting after me.
"Donkey!" I shouted back, cheekily.
The Southern Imperial Garden was filled with carefully manicured foliage, artistically arranged stones, and wooden sculptures—an ideal hiding place. At its center was a pond teeming with a thousand carps, surrounded by blooming lotuses.
To the far right, a small raised platform led to the Pavilion of the Silent Heart—its slate floors supported by red pillars carved with dragons, its bamboo roof laced with golden trims, and mythical beasts carved in pure white marble perched on every corner.
Despite being younger, I wasn't surprised that Fuk'anggan beat me there. I appreciated that he didn't slow down on my account.
Accepting defeat, I agreed to be the seeker while Fuk'anggan hides. Calling for an eunuch to bring water to the pavilion, I turned to him.
"Ready?" he asked.
"On the count of ten," I replied, leaning my forehead against one of the red pillars and closing my eyes. By the count of five, I could no longer hear any trace of K'anggan's movements.
Clever.
I suspected he had gone west, toward the manicured bushes. That area was strategically risky for both of us: any slight rustling would be impossible to hide, especially with the pond's stillness and the way nearby stone and wooden sculptures absorbed sound.
After reaching ten, I lingered in the stillness, listening. Then I moved—light as shadow—toward the west.
Shhh... shhh...
The faint rustle of leaves came from my left.
I turned instinctively toward the sound. The movement led me toward a narrow passage flanked by hedges that curled inward, like the jaws of a labyrinth.
Shhh... shhh... shhh...
The sound grew louder. He was close. Very close.
Fuk'anggan had picked his hiding place well—dense enough to conceal him, but not quiet enough. He hadn't accounted for the sound trail he left behind. That made him vulnerable.
This felt almost too easy.
After a few turns to my left, a foul scent of sand and stale urine hit my nose. I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
"Ugh! This is unacceptable. The eunuch in charge of this area clearly neglected his duties," I muttered. "I'll report it to Mother Consort. He should be punished for failing to maintain order."
That was when I found myself in an entirely different scene—one I was certain did not belong to this world.
Children, boys and girls perhaps a year or two older than me, were running about in all directions. They wore ridiculous short-sleeved white shirts with a red emblem printed on the back in a foreign script, and matching red shorts that were improper and embarrassing by any standard of decorum.
Each of them also wore an odd, floppy red hat — like a servant's laundry basin turned upside down — shielding their faces from the sun as they darted about.
"Preposterous! Absolutely unacceptable!" I huffed. "Who has allowed these wild children to behave like this?"
Their high-pitched screams and shrill laughter filled the air. They ran wildly around a peculiar play area with an oddly shaped stone slide and a rusted metal swing frame.
Then I saw her.
A girl was sprinting in my direction, with a boy chasing closely behind. Our eyes locked for a few seconds—just long enough—and in that instant, she tripped over a fallen tree branch and fell to her hands and knees.
"Ouch!" she winced, glancing down at her scraped elbows and bleeding knees. Without hesitation, she reached into the side pocket of her red shorts and pulled out what looked like a folded paper packet.
"Elizabeth! I'm going to go get Mrs. Pereira!" the boy called out, in a string of sharp, unfamiliar sounds that made no sense to me.
She nodded, then carefully unfolded the packet and began wiping her hands, pressing some of it onto her bleeding knees with practised ease. I stared at her. No hot water. No powdered herbs or cloth. Just this... pocket-sized miracle she summoned from her clothes.
"Did you perhaps suffer an injury?" I said in Guan Hua, the formal court language, unable to look away.
She looked up at me, wide-eyed in shock.
"You must be badly injured," I said, interpreting her reaction. "I'll summon the Imperial Physician to treat your wounds."
"Fifth Prince! Where are you?" I heard K'anggan's voice cracking with urgency.
"Fifth Prince! Has something befallen the Fifth Prince? This humble servant is growing anxious!" cried the familiar voice of Eunuch Li, Mother Consort's chief steward.
"Wait here. I'll be back soon," I told her.
She didn't look away. Tilting her head slightly, she gave a small nod.
I turned and retraced my steps into the maze, heading toward the voices to reunite with Fuk'anggan and Eunuch Li.
"Fifth Prince! This humble servant is relieved to find you unharmed. Young Master Fuca has been searching for you for over an hour!" Eunuch Li's voice cracked into a high-pitched croak.
"Quick, Fuk'anggan—there's a girl just beyond the hedges, badly injured! We must aid her at once!" I grabbed his arm and broke into a run.
"Fifth Prince!" Eunuch Li's voice rang out, strained and breathless as he stumbled behind us.
But after weaving through the maze for a quarter of an hour, doubt about her whereabouts began to creep in.
"This is impossible!" I exclaimed, breathless with disbelief. "I am never mistaken in my bearings. There ought to be a foul-smelling sandy patch just there... a dragon-shaped structure... and dozens of foreign children."