It felt like death. Or so Po thought he would feel like that. The air was like killed. No word, no sound, no nothing around him. He just dared to give a single sound: "Huh?"
Like under a spell, he watched the two birds, which still didn't move or spoke. They stood there like stones. Xia like frozen, and Shen – Po didn't know – like he had heard nothing.
The panda didn't dare to ask a question, until like sun melted the ice in the room.
Shen began to move his beak lips. Po thought, he would say a word, but instead, the lord started with a chuckle.
"You are joking, don't you?"
Po opened his mouth in surprise. He had expected the lord would ask, how and why. Was the master of his special martial art irritated?
But the panda kept silent and paid his full attention back to Xia. But the peahen didn't say a word. She was still like stone. She just looked at the lord without to break the eye contact.
Meanwhile, Shen smirked quietly. "No. Right?"
Xia still stared at him.
"You aren't serious, are you?"
Po realized, the ruler lost more and more his self-assurance. Shen made a few steps closer to her, always looking for a doubt in her eyes, but her eyes didn't laugh. The lord stopped. His sense of jokes completely gone.
No, she was serious.
For a moment, Po thought he would give in, but then the white emperor found back his dignity. In one second, the lord tightened his position and made a graceful face.
"Nice, but sorry that I have to disappoint you. Anybody could say that. And that's a cheap joke."
"No, you are my father!" she insisted.
Po became frightened. The expression of the lord got an angry wave. And he knew that wasn't a good sign. But the white peacock managed to keep his calm. He closed and opened his eyes several times slowly before he continued.
"You can be glad, that I'm in a good mood today. For this reason, I connive that message and pray you to leave my house now, if it's not a trouble to you. Right?"
Po winced. Tears filled the girl's eyes. The panda took the courage in both paws and walked between them.
"Don't worry," he said and touched her wing. "I'm sure everything will clear up."
"Panda?!"
Po froze while Shen moved a finger feather warningly at his direction. "Could I speak with you a very, very short moment?!"
Po swallowed. The voice of the lord sounded very harshly.
"Uhm, of course."
Po forced a smile and waved at Xia. "Excuse us."
With that he followed the lord to a corner of the hall.
"Are you crazy to pull everyone to me?" Shen hissed at him quietly and Po replied a little indignantly.
"Sorry, I didn't know that she is your daughter."
"She isn't my daughter!"
"How do you want to know that?"
"I know it! I know better than you!"
"Oh really?" Po crossed his arms. "Think about it. Was there ever someone in your life?"
"No!"
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure!"
Po narrowed his eyes. "Really? Really?"
Shen hissed, but he got a malicious smile. "Be careful, panda! You seem to forget where you are. I said, I would let rest my weapons, but from time to time, I'm itching to throw this at you."
Po winced when the lord darted a feather knife out of his wing.
"Uhm, you are still wearing these things? Are they sharp? Ouch!"
The panda waved his finger when he had touched the top of the feather blade.
Shen grinned. "Very sharp."
Po swallowed, but he found back his courage. "And you seem to forget what you have done. Say. Are you sure that she isn't your daughter?"
"Yes!"
"But why is she asking for you? Why should she search for you, through the winter? Believe me, it's very cold outside."
The lord snorted in disgust. "That would be not the first time that someone personates as lost family part. Believe me. I've heard about that several times in royal circles."
Po rubbed his head nervously. He couldn't believe that she was a liar.
"Well. But cross my heart. If so. If you are right. But could there be someone who could play that game with you? Maybe you met someone and she wants to make you think that you had children. Remember. Was there a special person who you had met in the past. Think about it."
The two competitors stared at each other. Shen with rage, Po with sad anger.
Finally, the lord sighed. But he kept his angry look. "Well, maybe. One day... But that was nothing!"
"Nothing?" Po opened his eyes wide. "That looks different. That speaks for itself."
The peacock hissed. "Anyone could aver that!"
Po narrowed his eyes. "I can't believe, that she is lying."
The lord took a sharp breath. "Naivity can be very dangerous."
Po sighed. "That's not new for me. But Shen, before you make a mistake, give her the chance to prove her assertion. Just with that you can get certainty."
Shen was unamazed of that suggestion.
Po rubbed his chin. "Mm, say, when was that "one day"?"
The lord narrowed his eyes in disgust. He eyed over to Xia, then back to Po.
"17 years ago," he muttered through his almost closed beak. "17 years and two months more precisely."
Po turned to Xia. "Say, how old are you?"
"17.*"
Po looked back at Shen. "That fits."
"Pure coincidence. That's not a proof."
Po was disappointed. But then the lord smiled evilly.
"Well then, maybe something else."
With that, he passed the panda and walked over to the peahen. She ducked her head a little when the lord came closer.
"Well, if you say, that you are really my daughter, then... tell me the name of your mother."
Xia looked at Po. This one nodded encouraging. The peahen hesitated a moment before she spoke.
"Yin-Yu."
"Ha!" Shen's mocking laugh let the panda wince. "She had a different name!"
With disappointment, Po lowered his face. What a shame. In contrast to Shen, who looked like a winner and didn't care about the desperate girl.
"Sorry, but that was just a mistake. Maybe it's the best you look for another one."
With that, the lord turned around.
"Wait!"
With anger, the white emperor looked back. Meanwhile, the girl had taken out something from her wing.
"Look. That's what she was wearing the whole time with her."
Po came closer and saw on her wing a white feather with a red circle and a black spot in the middle. It was clearly a feather of Shen.
"That's impossible!" The lord said hoarsely. "You..."
He felt Po's glance. Shen gave him an aggressive look.
"She must have found it outside! That's still not a proof!"
Po moved his mouth. "Do you have feather loss?"
A hard look and Po ducked.
"Sorry. But there must be a way to give you a..."
"You heard it, panda! I never met someone with that name. What was it?"
"Yin-Yu."
"No, her name was Fang...."
He stopped.
Po avoided his glance quickly.
"No more questions, panda, alright?"
"Okay."
"But you must be my father!"
Po was afraid Shen could lose his self-control and tried to save what he could.
"Hey!" Po snapped his fingers. "Could you describe her? Maybe this could help us. What do you think?"
He looked at Shen pleadingly and this time it was not a problem.
"Alright." The lord admitted. "But just to bring this comedy to an end. Ling?"
At next the moment, the little sheep appeared next to him. "Yes, Master Shen?"
"Bring Chun-Chen. Immediately!"
"Yes, Master Shen."
Po had no idea. "Who is Chun-Chen?"
"Chun-Chen is the best painter and artist in the whole province," the lord explained. "You will give him a description and he will paint it."
He gave Xia a warning look. "But should it be not familiar to me..." He came closer. "Then you leave my house immediately, right?"
She nodded.
"Fine."
As if he had waited around the corner, Chun-Chen, an old goat, looked into the hall in short time.
"You asked for me, Master Shen?"
"That woman will give you a description of a person," the lord came to the point. "Ask every detail and make your work good. I expect a lot."
Chun-Chen nodded. "As you wish, Master Shen."

Shen had retraced into the rearmost part of the hall. Po stood in his near and walked up and down. At the other end of the hall, they could hear how Xia talked with the goat. From time to time, Po picked up words like about hair color and eye color etc.
With every minute he became more nervous. What will the lord say if he saw the picture what Xia had in her head about her mother?
He watched the lord, but he seemed to be relaxed. Was he right and the wrong name of the woman was a different person? Was that a mistake?
Po scratched over his head. That was so nerve-jangling.
Finally, there was a movement. Po held his breath. The goat came over to them with a paper in his hooves.
"Master, it's done."
With lowered face, he handed the paper to the white lord. Po craned his head look to catch a glimpse what face was painted on the paper. He bit his under lip, while the lord eyed the drawing.
First, there was no expression on his face, but suddenly his finger feathers bent around the paper. Suddenly, he crumpled it. Po backed away two steps from the lord. There was a rage on his face that he had never seen like while their last final battle in Gongmen City. Po was afraid the lord would hit him, but instead the white bird threw the drawing on the floor and hit with his foot on it. His sharp claws dug in. Then he turned around with high speed and scurried away.
Po didn't know what to say and picked the paper up.
"Oh." He eyed the face, which was drawn on it. He had to admit that peahen looked very beautiful. Her feathers and neck were almost dark brown, but with scattered white silver looking feathers inside and gave her a harmonious muster. Her eyes looked like silver and her beak light gray, but it wasn't a bleak gray and mixed with golden shimmer. Po looked at Xia. The girl looked more sad than afraid.
The panda bent over to Chun-Chen.
"Wow, you are a great artist. Deference for you." He looked at the direction where Shen was gone. "Excuse me."

With loud smash, the lord swung open the doors of his private room, let out an angry scream and kicked with all force against a chair, which shattered against the wall. Po stood in the corridor and heard the loud rumble in the room. He waited more than two minutes until the noise died.
Carefully, the panda peeked into the room. The lord lay panting on the ground. His upper body supported on his wings and stared at the floor.
Slowly, the panda walked into the room. "Is she it?"
The peacock was still panting, but he nodded with shaking movements. "I never forgot her face."
Po looked again at the picture in his paws. "Maybe there is an explanation for this."
"Explanation?" the lord laughed hoarsely. "What an explanation could there be for that?"
Po shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I know many people who had extraordinary explanations for things."
Silence fell. Until the lord stood up and walked to a window. Po came closer and watched him. "You said, there was a day. But what happened on this day?"
The lord stared through the window. "One day," the lord whispered calmer, but heaviness lay in his voice. "This day, it was a snowed day like today. But a stormy day. A stormy day in the high mountains."

17 years ago...

Deep in thought, the lord sat in his quarter, hunched over paper and plans. His factory was almost ready. But the snowstorm was so heavy that he couldn't continue the works. With deep sight the white exiled prince looked around. That wasn't a dignified place for someone like his origin. It was a big cave. Deep hidden in the mountains. But this will change soon. Very soon. And no longer and he could feel again like a lord in a kingdom.
"Master Shen."
The lord looked up. Wolves came in.
"We found this individual in near your factory building site."
The guards threw something on the floor, covered in brown old clothes. There was a sobbing sound. The lord didn't need long to realize that it was a female voice. But despite, he took a knife and came closer. The woman hid her face under an old cape. Carefully, the lord lifted it with the blade. The female winced and stepped back, but the wolves pushed her forward again. She almost stumbled and fell against the peacock.
Quickly he pushed her away and she sank to the ground. With a warning hissing he pointed the knife at her.
"How can you dare to enter my territory?!" he asked angrily. Then he looked at the guards. "I thought,your men are watching the area!"
"The storm is too strong," one of the wolves explained. "We had to shorten the watching hours."
The lord growled. "Nobody is allowed to take one step on my land! Otherwise, something like that could happen!"
He swung the knife. A big cut destroyed the brown cloth.
"Why did you spy around my private houses?"
The female ahead of him trembled. "I didn't know anyone lived here," she whispered hoarsely. "The storm hid my sight from seeing this."
The lord snorted. "Think about another excuse before I execute you."
The figure sank more down while the lord bent down to her. "Believe me," he whispered dangerously. "I have no trouble to kill a woman. Spies and betrayers have no right to breathe the air of the world any longer."
He guided the knife ahead and lifted the hood. There was a movement and two anxious silver eyes looked at him. The white prince lowered his knife a little and stared at her. Never before he had seen a peahen like her. She lowered her face and laid herself on the floor.
"If so, then make it," she said exhausted. "I have no one who cares about my death."
The white bird stood up and looked down at her. It needed more than five seconds, until he found back his language.
"So, nobody sent you to me?"
"No one. I only looked for a place to find protection from the coldness."
He narrowed his eyes. "Where do you come from?"
"From far away. I'm without a fixed abode."
"Very suspicious."
"Then kill me."
He rubbed over his beak. "Mm. I will keep you here to be sure you didn't want to spy me."
She lifted her head. Their eyes met again. But Shen didn't change the expression on his face, and he just asked: "What's your name?"
"Fang."
He lifted his nose. "Alright, Fang. If you only are looking for a shelter, you can stay here until the storm is over."

"Why did you spare her if you thought she was a spy?" Po interrupted.
Shen gave him an angry look. "I don't know." He snorted and muttered very, very quietly: "What would you do if you see a beautiful woman in such a wasteland?"
Po didn't hear it. "What?"
"Nothing!" He cleaned his throat. "One day grew into over one week. She understood me more than anyone had ever done. I showed her all. My buildings, my plans. We shared so many things."
"I thought you thought, she would be a spy."
Shen hissed and the panda kept quiet.
"You have no knowledge about many things!" A little soft smile crossed his beak. "And after the eighth day..." The lord interrupted himself with a break. "Well, I was young. You can imagine the rest."
Po bowed his head. "Uhm, no."
Shen gave him a "how-stupid-are-you" look.
Po thought a moment. "OH, that thing, okay."
"Anyway, after that night, we spent the next morning together. The snow storm was gone. It was a nice walk in the snow. Until... while that she said, she had to go for a brief moment. And then..."
Po waited that he continued.
"She never came back."
"Uhm, what, why?" Po asked.
But Shen didn't answer his question. "My soldiers looked and searched the whole mountains. But she was undiscoverable."
Po looked at him silently. The first time the lord looked so sad.
The panda eyed the portrait again. "But now you have a new trace."
Shen snorted and looked in disgust at the paper. "That only proves, she lied to me!"
He knocked it out of the panda's paws.
"Since then, I know she had used me for her pleasure!"
Po lifted his paws in protection and swallowed. "You don't think so, do you?"
"YES, I think so! In the past and today! She let me fall after she had her fun with me!"
Po stepped back. "Uhm, Shen?" He began carefully. "Maybe she had had an accident. Maybe she had gotten an amnesia."
"Aha." Shen laughed. "A so big amnesia that she could remember about me that I would have a daughter?"
Po lowered his glance. "Shen. While she loved you – you know, uhm, did you have the impression that she wouldn't love you in her heart?"
The lord avoided his glance. He couldn't expect an answer.
Po took a deep breath. "Shen, I'm speaking to you as the Dragon Warrior. Wouldn't it be a good step to listen to her what happened after that day? Just listen and then you can still decide what you want to believe."
The lord thought silently.
Suddenly, he turned around and stared darkly at the wall. "I swore never to hear about her anymore. Never to think about her anymore. Never to waste a thought to her anymore. NO!"
Po winced.
"Take her away! I never want to see her again!"
Po tapped his fingers. "Uhm..."
He shut his mouth immediately when Shen lifted his wing warningly. And the kung fu warrior knew, he had reached the point where Shen never wanted to listen.
With sad face, the panda sighed. "Alright. I will tell her."

Xia walked back and forth in the colorful corridor. She stopped when Po came over to her.
"What did he say?" She asked.
He sighed deeply and tried a smile. "Well, I think, it will be the best to write him a letter."
She stared at him with shock. "No, he must listen. He has to listen to me!"
"But..."
But the peahen didn't listen to him. She ran past and down the corridor to the private rooms.
"No!"
Po ran behind her. That would be a mistake.
Shen was still standing in his room and stared at the wall. He lifted his head when he heard quick footsteps. In the next moment, Xia appeared in the doorway and looked at him pleadingly.
"Please, listen to me!"
Shen let out a rage filled scream. "Guards!"
At this moment, Po entered the room too, including two gigantic rams.
"Oh, hi buddy," Po greeted.
"Throw her out!" Shen ordered.
Po became scared of the behavior. But the lord was too full of rage, he didn't dare to interfere.
The guards didn't waste time and grabbed the girl.
"No!" she cried. "Please, you can't do this!"
But Shen ignored her and walked away.
The big ram pulled her away.
"No! Please! If you don't want to help me, please, come with me and see your son before he dies!"
Shen stopped. Po only got bigger eyes. "What?"
Now the peacock turned around. The rams had stopped as their lord looked at them.
"I have a son?"
Xia nodded hastily. "Yes, he is badly injured after the fight with the Huns. Maybe he will die soon!"
Po understood nothing anymore. "Huns? Son? Fight?"
At this moment, a clacking sound of steps and a cane let him freeze. Slowly, the panda looked to the left where a familiar face searched for his eyes.
The lord stared at her. Next to her stood her grandnephew Ling.
"Shen." The goat gave him pleadingly look. "Please, moderate your rage and listen first before you make a judgment."
The soothsayer nodded at the panda. Po lifted his paw. "Hi. Yes, that's what I said the whole time, too."
All set their eyes on the white monarch, who fought with himself.
He snorted, but he gave in. "As you want." But he kept his sarcasms. "Alright. Tell your story."

According to "Kung Fu Panda 2" Shen should have waited 30 years for the moment of his conquest. In "Kung Fu Panda 3", Po is around 21 years old. It can be assumed