He was the Imperial Chamberlain, a senior, high-ranking servant who accompanied the Emperor and managed access to him, relaying his every order and overseeing palace affairs.
But the Emperor of China regularly addressed those close to him without the Imperial Chamberlain present, so his duties usually revolved around overseeing palace affairs.
Witnessing the arrival of a foreign sovereign, he immediately came to the Emperor's side, sensing the solemn atmosphere in the Palace.
Up until now, the Emperor of China hadn't noticed that his most trusted advisor was missing. Overwhelmed by the events unfolding one after another, he paid little attention to anything that wasn't in front of him.
The Emperor of China whispered something into the servant's ear.
The Imperial Chamberlain nodded. He stepped towards the edge of the stairs.
He glanced at the magnificent attire and servants and cleared his throat. Then, he spoke in a loud voice.
"THE EMPEROR OF CHINA WELCOMES YOU TO CHINA!!"
"You may ascend the Imperial stairs. The Emperor is greatly interested in your arrival and wishes to speak with you alone!!"
He took a deep bow, then stepped back.
Below the stairs,
With the magnificent procession he had displayed, Aladdin was confident that the Emperor of China wouldn't turn him away. Even if he wanted to, out of caution about offending a potentially powerful and affluent nation, the most polite thing he could do was have a chat with him and send him on his way.
His lessons on royal etiquette were finally paying off as he remained far more composed than during his meeting with the Sultan of Agrabah.
Aladdin nodded slightly and climbed the stairs.
Two muscular, intimidating guards positioned themselves in front of him. Two at his sides and two more behind him. This was the only security he provided himself as he went to meet with the Emperor of China.
It wasn't that he needed any, as there was nothing he knew of in China that could threaten him unless the ancestral ghosts somehow knew how to cast spells, or had a powerful aged dragon, or an unknown random witch he had yet to encounter dropped by in the Palace.
This was his best way to show the Emperor of China his genuine intentions, further easing the tension in their meeting.
Watching this, the Emperor of China nodded in approval.
'At least he is sensible,' he thought. If Emperor Ali Ababwa had attempted to climb up the stairs with a row of soldiers, he would have had them surrounded and sent away.
Regardless of where Emperor Ali Ababwa came from or who he was, he wasn't about to allow anyone to intimidate him in his own Empire.
Aladdin reached the top of the stairs and finally caught sight of the people gathered beside the Emperor.
Aladdin caught glimpses of General Li, Li Shang, and the Captains staring at him with wide-eyed expressions.
Many of them rubbed their eyes repeatedly, as though they wanted to pull them out, clean them, and put them back in to make sure they weren't seeing things.
Aladdin flashed them a smile before withdrawing his gaze and searching for someone else. He paused, spotting her standing at the rear of the gathering crowd, staring back at him with a dazed expression.
Aladdin gestured at her with a nod.
The moment their gazes met, Mulan snapped out of her daze. Unsure of how to respond to Aladdin's gesture, she turned her gaze away out of embarrassment and shame.
Aladdin maintained his smile as he withdrew his gaze. Now wasn't the time to catch up on what they had been through.
The Emperor of China scrutinised Aladdin's face.
"You are quite young," he remarked in surprise. He had expected to meet an aged man like himself, or perhaps someone in their late 30s or 40s, rather than someone in his early 20s.
This made him even more curious about the Empire of Ababwa.
Aladdin smiled lightly at the Emperor's probing question.
"A man who inherits the throne at a young age and is patient and willing to learn acquires the wisdom to rule it faster," he said.
"True. True. I can already tell that you have the bearing of an Emperor," the Emperor of China responded with an approving nod.
Aladdin maintained his smile.
"I was in the middle of a very important meeting before your arrival, so I'm sorry, but I won't be able to speak with you until I'm done. Give me two hours to conclude my meeting," the Emperor of China added.
Seeing that he had arrived just in time, Aladdin seized the opportunity and asked, "Forgive my interruption, but does this meeting have to do with your battle with the Huns?"
The Emperor of China narrowed his eyes at Aladdin.
"How did you know about it?" he asked, his tone and expression stern.
The Imperial Guards standing beside the Emperor of China had already recovered. Upon hearing Aladdin's words, they quickly grabbed their weapons.
General Li and the Captains remained rooted to their spots, confused about how to react to the unfolding situation.
The tension in the air was stifling.
"It seems that you haven't been briefed yet about what has transpired on the battlefield?" Aladdin replied.
The Emperor of China glanced at General Li and the others as he responded, "Which is?"
"Before I continue, you can also call me Emperor Aladdin Ababwa." Aladdin slightly bowed his head with the grace of an Emperor.
"I see." The Emperor of China nodded with a glint in his eyes.
"I have already been informed of what transpired on the battlefield, but it seems that you are more knowledgeable about the event. Since you are willing, I hope you can join us so we may be enlightened about the events that transpired in the war."
"It will be my pleasure," Aladdin responded.
"Splendid! Forging new relationships between empires is often done gradually. Let's get to the root of this discussion," the Emperor of China responded, stroking his beard with a smile.
He was now certain that this foreign Emperor before him bore no evil thoughts about China. And if everything that General Li and the others had told him was true, they were about to gain a formidable ally.
He gestured for Aladdin to follow him as he entered the corridor through the giant door.
The soldiers surrounded them, while maintaining a safe distance.
Aladdin followed behind him with his row of soldiers.
***
The Emperor of China sat on his throne.
General Li, Li Shang, the other Captains, and other official members of the Imperial Palace sat on either side of the rows beside the throne.
Aladdin sat in the centre, facing the Emperor with his guards behind him. A table was before him with a boiling kettle and teacup on it.
Mulan stood beside the wall with the Imperial Guards behind other less notable officials.
The hall was silent as Aladdin explained the reason for his visit to China.
From the Emperor down to the lowest officials, each of them was stunned into silence.
Emperor Aladdin had just informed them that he came from a land of magic and mythical beings, where the supernatural was mundane.
From the Empire of Ababwa, one of the greatest and most prosperous Empires in that land, he was Emperor and a feared magician who had chased down a fearsome coven of witches known as the Witches of the Sand, which had placed a curse on his Empire for more than 1,000 years before he inherited it.
As for the nature of the curse, Aladdin had refused to tell them, insisting that it was a sensitive topic that wrecked his heart to touch on.
Aladdin explained how he had tracked them all the way to China. To prevent his identity from being exposed, he took on the identity of a wealthy merchant from a faraway land.
However, he encountered Mulan during his journey and rescued her, which eventually led to rescuing the Imperial Soldiers from the Huns and becoming involved in the war against them.
And that was the shocking part. After the Huns had arrived at the Mountain Pass, he realised they had been cursed by one of the witches he was chasing.
He had weakened the curse while ensuring that neither his whereabouts nor his identity would be exposed so that he could draw out the culprit, who was presumably the witch.
Unfortunately, even after the Imperial Army defeated the Metal Men, the culprit never made an appearance. This led him to believe that she had fled the scene immediately after wreaking havoc.
Unsure of how China would handle the information about the supernatural world, he quickly made his way over to offer his help and use it as an opportunity to forge a relationship with China.
The level of information revealed was like a sledgehammer slamming into their minds and thunderclaps resounding various times in their ears.
The Emperor of China trembled as he stroked his shaking beard.
"So you are saying that we were under attack not only by the Huns, but also by one of those witches?" he asked, his voice crackling.
He tried his best to maintain a bit of composure and confidence, but anyone with eyes could tell that he was overwhelmed by the revelation Aladdin had just shared with them.
"Yes," Aladdin responded.
The entire hall was blanketed in a solemn atmosphere.
"And that's the reason you had helped our military increase their strength in such a short amount of time?" the Emperor of China asked.
"Yes." Aladdin nodded. "However, even if I was indeed responsible for their increased capabilities, everything remained on their own efforts. It was because of this that they were able to come this far."
The Emperor of China nodded. He glanced at Li Shang, seated with the Captains at the side of the throne, and sighed tiredly. His thoughts had been racing over whether the Imperial Army had colluded with the Huns and an impending battle in the Forbidden City, causing him to fail to test their improved strength.
"I think I have to offer an apology to General Li and the rest of the Imperial Army for doubting their reports," he commented with a tired sigh. Just as he wanted to stand from his throne, General Li and the others immediately exclaimed.
"PLEASE DON'T, YOUR HIGHNESS!!"
They fell to their knees and prostrated themselves before the throne.
"Get up," he said, letting out a tired breath. He understood that continuing any further would only distress them more.
General Li, Li Shang, and the others rose and took their seats.
"There's one more thing that I need to talk to you about," Aladdin said.
"What is it? Please speak without hesitation," the Emperor of China quickly said, afraid that Aladdin might be holding back some information from him.
"During my time with the Imperial Soldiers, I made friends with some of them. And one was named Fa Ping." Aladdin allowed his words to settle as he took a sip from his teacup.
"However, upon getting closer, I discovered that he was actually a 'she,' a woman. And the reason she had hidden her identity was so she could participate in this war. Because according to the laws of this land, women are unfit for battle. So if her identity was ever uncovered, she would face severe punishment that may even bring harm to her family."
He took another sip.
Everyone who knew who and what Aladdin was talking about shifted their attention to Mulan.
Hearing Aladdin's words from the end of the hall, Mulan trembled. The weight of everyone staring at her caused her to shrink her head into her neck, trembling even more. But this time, a smile slowly rose at the corner of her lip, and at the same time tears gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"As you know, the witch I am chasing is a woman who can curse the entire Huns army and still flee. So this… is strange to me…. I have never encountered such laws that barred women from participating in war."