The Smiling Red Panda 微笑的红熊猫

1. Mo Xiu, Mo Jingtang Lives

"You… let me have a look at you."

This voice was light as if the person whom it belonged to could be blown away by a breeze.

A boy of only five or six knelt beside the large bed, placing his arms over the mattress as his large purple eyes looked up, waiting for more instructions.

Not long after, a hand reached over, neither skinny nor frail, just astonishingly void of colour. It hovered around the boy's face tentatively before resting on his cheek.

"You're my son?"

"Yes, Mother." The boy tried to keep his excitement down, afraid to startle the owner of the voice.

"You have your father's eyes."

The boy didn't know what to say, so he waited again while the thumb of that hand moved to softly caress his eyelids. The thumb trembled ever so slightly, as if it were handling a precious stone but was also cautious of touching it for fear that the skin would be cut by its sharp edges.

Then the hand settled on his head.

"Be obedient, do not anger him." The voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard it clearly and knew who his mother was talking about.

"Mn, Jingtang will be obedient." The boy said nevertheless, "So that mother will not worry, Jingtang will not anger Father Emperor."

"'Jingtang'…?"

He nodded. "Mn, Jing of 'to respect' and Tang of 'cherry apple.'" You could also say his name meant "to offer cherry apples."

Suddenly, with a voice that seemed a little warmer than it had been earlier, his mother spoke. "Haitang… Tang from Haitang."

"Mn, Tang from Haitang."

The voice did not speak for a moment.

"Does Mother not know my birth name as well?"

"No, I… gave you your birth name."

"Mother chose well!" The boy beamed.

Mo Xiu, Mo was the surname of his father and Xiu was the name he was given as an infant. Xiu means "constellation."

"Can I call you Tang?" This voice had genuinely asked for permission, the boy hadn't thought much of it but he nodded his head excitedly.

"Mother can! I will be Tang!" He grinned and giggled so happily.

"Tang'er."

"Yes, Mother!"

"Taizi (crown prince), don't be too noisy." A new voice entered the room, "Your mother shouldn't be disturbed anymore, go out."

"But…" But I haven't even had an hour with my mother… he wanted to say.

"Listen to this venerable one."

Remembering what his mother had just said, he bowed his head and obeyed. "Yes, Father Emperor."

"Good boy."

"Tang'er."

The boy stopped and turned to look behind him and made contact with a pair of dull brown eyes.

The voice wasn't the only thing that caught his attention, the face of his mother was so exceedingly beautiful that even that Empress Song should tremble in shame. His mother had sharp eyes like a phoenix, although the gaze had long gone dull they regarded him with softness, under his mother's eyes the cheeks had sunken but it couldn't do anything to the youthful elegance that the face exuded. Other than that, his mother's lips were slightly ripped, scarred and raw, albeit not dry, it was the feature that really made his mother look ill.