The Jade Emperor
the patient center of heaven
aetherThe Jade Emperor rules heaven not by force but by perfect patience, having cultivated virtue through a million ages; to dream of him is to feel the slow authority of things that do not hurry, and to be asked to govern yourself the same way.
His court keeps records of every dream dreamed under heaven, clerks upon clerks of them; somewhere in those archives, yours is filed.
Before the throne he spent a thousand ages in meditation, and when the demons finally came, his calm outshone their fire; the long stillness was the weapon.
Once a year he receives the Kitchen God's report on every household, and the old people sweeten the report with candy; even heaven can be gently bribed.
When the monkey wrecked his halls he did not rage — he summoned the Buddha and watched; true power delegates its anger.