It was a slow news day, all that was being talked about in the nation was the space exploration team, what they had found after five years and the impact of their discovery. While it was great, people could not help switching to other TV channels in search of anything that did not have the word space attached to it.
Phoenix news was the first to break the news of the explosion at space pilot Mo Liang's house. The news of the explosion had been reported by neighbors to the police. The police had alerted the royal agents and they had informed the office of the royal secretary and under two minutes, it reached the emperor's ears.
As soon as Emperor Long Junjie was informed, he had just one question for his secretary.
"Where is Mei-Mei?"
The secretary checked her phone for the latest update from a team of two agents whose task was to spy on Mei-Mei.
"She is moving into her house, the one on number three, old ring road."
"Where was she when the explosion happened?" he asked after taking a long deep breath to calm himself.
"In a flying car, moving away from her old house that just exploded. All of her personal belongings and those of her daughter were moved.....so..." She drawled on longer than intended, waiting for Junjie to fill in the rest.
But the emperor could not fill in the rest, he was feeling a hole burning into his stomach, a Mei-Mei shaped explosive hole. He did not need to send a team to investigate the explosion, he knew who had done it and he had a gut feeling that this would not be the last explosion to rock the capital in the days, months or years to come. It would depend on how long it took Mei-Mei to accomplish her goals.
He had grown up with her, he knew that she liked to blow things up when she was angry. If she couldn't blow them up, she would rip them apart with her bare hands. It was a miracle that Mo Liang had managed to get away with all the things he had done to her so far.
Apparently, he did not know his wife well enough because if he did, he never would have cheated in space and ruined the image of the Chinese space team with his extra marital affair which they were all going to suffer for.
He could imagine international press already claiming that while their teams had been planting flags on a new world, one of his space pilots had been planting a different kind of flag in his dead friends widow.
The emperor put his head in his hands and groaned. "This is bad." he croaked out. "Oh this is so bad."
The secretary felt a small dash of pity for the emperor. If he had asked for her opinion, she would have told him candidly to abandon Mo Liang. He could be the face of the Chinese empire's space exploration team. Even the national baby that was trending worldwide needed to be hidden away because when people found out that he was a product of an extra marital affair, it would become ugly.
She looked at her phone and raised her head. "Errr....your highness, reporters are calling to ask about the explosion at Mo Liang's house. We are holding them off for now but they are getting impatient.
The Milky Milky international German chocolate company wants to sign the national baby Mo Hao as an endorser for their chocolates. They have reached out through their embassy. Given all that is going on, I had no idea
Your aunt princess Rize is on the line for you and she does not sound happy. She is on line three, we are still holding her off as well.
Pear Scientific Park which is owned by the Jun family is suddenly making changes in staff and scientists allowed on the grounds. I have been told that most of the people recommended by Crown university and the royal family are on their way out. Lady Chi Lian is looking for excuses to terminate them all.
Also, uhm....the Chi-Chi school for space pilots has been closed down. They wont be training space pilots for the nation anymore. Lady Chi was overheard saying that these are consequences of someone else's making and that someone is at the top of the ladder."
The royal secretary looked at the alerts that were coming in every other five seconds. To her, it seemed Mei-Mei was not the only one on a war path, her mother Lady Chi was fighting her own war. No__, she was retaliating against the emperor for his careless words that he had said before.
Calling Mei-Mei's suffering a consequence of her own actions had not been the emperor's wisest moment.
"Which problem do you want to handle first?" she asked.
"None." The emperor raised his head and bellowed at the ceiling. "Especially not my aunt."
His aunt was married to the prime minister Chi Rui who also happened to be Mei-Mei's uncle and that made the princess Mei-Mei's aunt. It was not hard to guess on whose side she was on in this matter. His aunt was loyal to her husband first and the royal family second.
"Was anyone harmed in the explosion?" he asked.
The secretary shook her head. "The house was devoid of humans at the time of explosion."
"At least she hasn't killed anyone." Emperor Junjie muttered.
"Yet." The secretary pitched in with honesty and continued. "She hasn't killed anyone yet. I don't see Mo Liang sailing off into the sunset by the time this matter culminates. Do you?"
"Of course I don't." Emperor Junjie bit out. "I know that fool is heading off the cliff but I was hoping that to delay it and use him for at least a year. Half a year, minimum." He got up from his throne and started to pace from left to right. "After using him up, I was planning to personally hand him over to aunt Chi to do with as she pleases. Why can't she understand my side?"
"With all due respect emperor, she is a mother. You cannot expect her to choose the nation over her daughter in such a simple matter. You are the one making things difficult for yourself. There are other pilots, pick one and make him the face of the mission. Let the Jun's and the Chi's do with Mo Liang what they will." The secretary advised.
Emperor Junjie winced. "None of the other pilots have a national space baby."
The secretary shrugged, "Yeah well, it will soon be national space bastard, not baby."
The emperor sat down and groaned again, he couldn't let go of such a great chess piece. National space baby was such a great thing for the empire. Why did that baby have to be a product of cheating?
Sobbing sounds came from the mouth of the empire which made the secretary roll her eyes. She knew the emperor was not sobbing, he was just throwing a tantrum.
The emperor shook his head. "Issue a Mei-Mei alert, protect the national space baby. I refuse to surrender just yet."