"Don't waste this opportunity."
Mulan sighed, then glanced at Aladdin to ensure that he wasn't paying attention to her conversation with Mushu. Fortunately, he was focusing on the Emperor and the flying Carpet.
'Alright. I will see what I can do. Wish me good luck,' Mulan said with a solemn expression.
'Dat's my girl.' Mushu thrust his fist up in jubilation.
Unbeknownst to Mulan, Aladdin had been aware from the very moment she shifted her attention to Mushu. However, because they didn't speak, he had no idea what they were talking about.
And he didn't want to pry into their private discussion, so he pretended as though he had not noticed anything, focusing only on Emperor Chen.
Mulan withdrew her attention from Mushu and refocused on Aladdin.
"Ahem!" She cleared her throat.
"What is it?" Aladdin glanced at her and asked.
Mulan held her breath and then uttered the words that were in her mind. "Once we are done, I wonder if Emperor Ali could take me back to my village… Carpet is really fast, and with his help, I could return to my family in a day rather than journeying back for a whole month…"
She quickly added as she completed her words. "But if you are too busy, it's fine if you refuse."
"I will take you back after we are done." After pondering it for a moment, Aladdin agreed to help her return home to her family. It wouldn't take him less than half a day to accomplish such a task.
"Thank you," Mulan said gratefully.
"It's nothing, really." Aladdin waved his hand dismissively.
Mulan kept quiet. Lost for words, she didn't know what else to say in a situation like this.
After several minutes had passed, Carpet descended into the courtyard with the Emperor.
The Emperor's clothes and hair were dishevelled. His beard flicked to the side of his neck. However, his eyes were wide open and bright. He smiled widely.
"Good. Good… This was such an amazing experience," the Emperor said, brimming with excitement.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Your Majesty." Aladdin stepped forward to help him off.
"Yes. Yes. It's truly an honour to ride one of these. It's a shame that we can't trade for it, or else I would have bought one for myself and my daughters," the Emperor responded with a nod.
"Your daughters?" Aladdin asked, surprised. He had almost forgotten that in Mulan II, it was shown that the Emperor had three daughters. He hadn't watched it either way and only knew because he had seen it through the trailer and read through some online discussions about it.
"Yes. I have three daughters. Each as beautiful as their mother. Even if she is no longer here with us, I will always cherish her in my heart," Emperor Chen said, his tone tinged with reminiscence as he ended his words.
"I will be happy to meet them sometime in the future. Perhaps they will enjoy the magical and serene atmosphere of Ababwa," Aladdin said, redirecting the conversation.
He dared to say at the moment that Ababwa was one of the safest regions within the Seven Deserts for a common man. He couldn't say the same for Agrabah, due to the location it was built in.
Even the Cave of Wonders was built near it. And the fact that Nasira had almost turned the kingdom into a land of the dead needed no more explanation. It would be a miracle if they went a day without witnessing one magical phenomenon or the other.
"They aren't currently in the Empire. I have delayed their return because of the war against the Huns. But now that the war is over, I will inform them about the current change of events," Emperor Chen replied with a smile.
"I'm sure they will be willing to go. And perhaps, if Emperor Ali is willing, we might be able to tighten our relationship further with another alliance."
Aladdin coughed lightly.
"I think we should focus on solidifying our current relationship first and leave those for the future," he quickly said.
How could he not see what the Emperor was plotting?
He knew that the Emperor's daughters were the love interests of Mulan's three close friends. Although that future was no longer set in stone due to his arrival, Aladdin was not interested in them.
They were pretty, but there were far more beautiful women in the Land of the Seven Deserts for him to fawn over. But he had restrained himself before Mulan, so how could they stir any emotions within him?
"An Emperor's bloodline should be as vast as the ocean. You are still young, so it will take you some time to understand," Emperor Chen said.
'Yet you have only three children. It's no wonder you have lived so long.' Aladdin thought. He knew that if Rakim were present, he would be nodding in agreement with the Emperor.
"But you are right. There's no reason to rush these things now. I look forward to a future with you and the great Empire of Ababwa," Emperor Chen added, bowing with his fist cupped towards Aladdin.
"I look forward to the same with the Empire of China as well." Aladdin reciprocated the gesture with his fist cupped towards him as well.
"Come, join me as I announce Mulan's achievements and our alliance to the people of China," the Emperor of China said, gently tapping Aladdin's shoulder as they walked side by side. He gestured for Mulan to join them.
As they exited the courtyard, seeing that Aladdin hadn't taken over the Magic Carpet, the officials fought over who would take turns next.
"You all should step aside! I'm the eldest in the court. I deserve the next turn after the Emperor!"
"I'm afraid that you might fall from the great height to your death since you are already one foot in the coffin!! You should step aside and let the younger generation enjoy today!!"
"YOU ARE 59 YEARS OLD!! If you are the next generation, then I am your father! Kindly give me some respect and step aside!"
General Li and a few Imperial Captains stood at the side, conflicted about who would enter the Magic Carpet next as well. But seeing Emperor Chen and Aladdin walking away, they reined in their emotions and followed after them.
Hidden behind a wooden pillar, Mushu and Cri-Kee waved at Carpet, who waved back stealthily. Then, Mushu flew quietly into the air and followed Aladdin and the others from above.
***
An hour later,
At the grand entrance of the Forbidden City,
The Emperor of China personally gave a speech explaining Mulan's achievements, as well as announcing his new alliance with Emperor Ali Ababwa.
However, as planned, he didn't reveal the information about their discovery of the magical world to them. That was a matter that needed to be handled delicately.
The people, who had all been waiting ever since the arrival of the Imperial Soldiers and had multiplied in great numbers after Emperor Ali Aladdin's entrance, listened attentively to the Emperor's words and were shocked to their marrow.
A woman had provided significant aid in the war against the Huns, to the point that all their achievements during the war could be credited to her. And not only that, but she had also joined the Imperial Council, becoming not only the first woman in all of China to accomplish such a feat but also the youngest ever.
While the alliance with an Empire that seemed to rival that of China on the very day they won the war against the Huns could be seen as luck shining down on them from the heavens, the revelations about Mulan were like the heavens shattering before their gaze.
Incredible!!
It was so incredible that none of them could believe their ears!!
"Mulan!! Mulan!!"
No one knew who started it. But Mulan's name suddenly turned into a chant that reverberated across the Forbidden City.
"MULAN!! MULAN!!"
"MULAN!! MULAN!!"
The chorus of chants was endless, like morning bells singing the arrival of a brand-new day. Those who were even more excited were the women.
There was a famous saying, 'A journey of a thousand li begins with one step.' Who was brave enough to take that step also mattered because it also entailed that the journey shapes a man just as the man shapes the journey.
What if the one to take that step was a woman?
It lightened the path for the others, showing them that if Mulan could do it, then they could accomplish something like that as well.
Even if she had lied and deceived everybody to become a member of the Imperial Army, so what?
Hadn't it been because her father was unfit for war? Wouldn't they have died if she had taken such a risk?
Would the path that none of them had dared to attempt ever be lit up?
The men who showed their grievances about Mulan being appointed as an Imperial Council member were quickly shut down by their wives. And because the Emperor had already decreed it, there was nothing they could do any longer except swallow their grievances.
Among the Imperial Soldiers, Mulan's teammates were the most shocked by the revelation.
They had just learnt that the Lieutenant of their division, the person who had rescued them from the Huns, whom they had trained with and shared several months with, even revealing some of their most personal secrets, was a woman.
The most stunned of all were Mulan's three closest friends, Ling, Chien-Po, and Yao. They glanced at each other, wide-eyed in a mixture of shock and surprise.
"It's not bad. Maybe she had already forgotten everything we told her," Ling said.
"We invited her to bathe in the river. How could she forget?" Yao replied irritably.
"…I think we should meet Pin… Mulan later on and get to know her better this time," Chien-Po chimed in.
"Do you think she would still want to meet us?" Ling snapped at him.
"Yes. We are comrades. There's no way she will hold grudges against us," Chien-Po responded calmly, as though it was the most natural thing to say.
"Don't hold your hopes up, Chien-Po. There's a chance that she might not even look at us. What's a handsome woman like her got to do with three stragglers like us?" Yao added.
"We will see," Chien-Po said with a smile.
To him, regardless of what happened, Mulan would never choose to abandon or ignore them. They were friends, after all.
Meanwhile, Mulan observed the scene in a daze. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. She hadn't expected many reactions, but she hadn't expected to witness such a scene.
It touched her heart and soul!
Even if it didn't matter initially, these were truly people whom she had sacrificed her life to protect.
"You deserve it," Aladdin leaned in and whispered into her ear.
Mulan nodded. Seeing her comrades staring at her, she forced a smile through her joyful tears and winked at them.
"Did you see that? She winked at us!" Ling exclaimed.
"I saw it! Ping… Mulan still considers us friends!" Yao said excitedly.
"She still considers us as friends!" Ling repeated. They both hugged each other and spun around in a circle.
"See? I told you that she wouldn't hold a grudge against us. We are comrades," Chien-Po said, wrapping his arms around both of them, joining in on the hug.
From today onwards, she was a hero… the Heroine of the nation!
Sitting atop a roof, Mushu watched the scene with a teary gaze.
"You see that, Cri-Kee?! That's our girl!! She did it!! She fought the bad guys and saved China!!" Mushu said, blowing his nose into his handkerchief.
Cri-Kee nodded, blowing into his handkerchief emotionally as well.
He followed the others in their chant, but all that came out were barely audible squeaky sounds that could only be understood by the dragon beside him.
"That's right! MULAN!! MULAN!!" Mushu joined in the cheers, thrusting his fist into the sky.