Phoenix Rising

007

What they were expecting was Han Zi-ning, the gaudy and tacky girl who fancied bright colours and mismatched accessories, but that was not who they were seeing in front of them right now. Even without make-up on, there was no disguising the breathtaking beauty of this girl, from her large, almond-shaped eyes to her delicately pointed chin. She was wearing a dress in the shade of deep maroon, yet it hardly made her seem any older, only serving to contrast the fairness of her skin and the highlight the redness of her lips. As she stepped off the carriage and walked up to Lady Min, everyone could see how the silk she was wearing glistened under the sun, resplendent and regal. It was almost like watching a palace lady move, yet this was merely a young girl of only eighteen.

"Mother," she called out, dropping into a curtsey in front of Lady Min. "I'm home."

Three simple words, she knew that they were enough to make Lady Min's blood run cold.

"Mother? Is something wrong?" Zi-ning asked, her smooth forehead wrinkling up in a slight frown.

"Of course not!" Lady Min finally found her tongue. Laughing awkwardly, she reached for the girl's hand and patted it affectionately. "It's just that I haven't seen you for such a long time that I almost couldn't recognise you. I guess it's true what they say about girls transforming as they grow up. You've changed so much—don't you all agree?" she turned towards the others and asked.

Zi-ning lowered her head and smiled shyly, seemingly embarrassed by her stepmother's words. Inside, she wanted to laugh at the shocked reaction from the woman, who had undoubtedly expected a different girl to show up.

She was home, and this was only the beginning.

After Zi-ning had greeted the rest of the family, Lady Min promptly led her indoors towards the old madam's quarters. Along the way, both Lady Min and Meiyan kept making conversation with her about things that had happened in the capital during her absence, while Lady Wan and Meisi trailed along in sulky silence.

Even though Zi-ning played along with the duo's little charade, responding to their comments and questions obediently as if they were indeed a happy family, she knew that her current appearance had already been enough to rattle all of them. It was just that Lady Min and Meiyan were much better than actors than the other two, who had their displeasure written all over their faces.

All this had been within her expectations.

The maroon dress that she was now wearing had been made for her by Lady Li's tailor, who had come up to Taishan a couple of months back to tailor new clothes for the latter. Lady Li had casually selected a few fabrics for her as well, insisting that a young girl of her age shouldn't always be wearing the same cheap, cotton dresses all the time, especially not if she was returning to the capital.

"People in the capital are superficial and shallow," Lady Li had said. "They see the clothes before the person."

The silk fabrics of these dresses were of top quality, possibly of an even higher grade than what the ladies of the Han household typically wore, so even though the material she had on was plain and simple, the richness of the fabric still shone through. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Meisi eyeing her dress with jealousy.

The old madam was resting her eyes momentarily when the entire crowd arrived at her front hall, her chin resting comfortably against the back of her hand. When she opened her eyes, the first person she saw in front of her was the slender young girl in maroon, looking like the spitting image of someone that she used to know.

"Yihua? Is that you?" the old lady called out, reaching out a trembling hand.

"It's me, Grandmother," Zi-ning said softly, taking hold of the old lady's outstretched hand. "It's Zi-ning."

"Zi-ning?" Old Madam Sun placed her two hands on her granddaughter's cheeks, staring at the girl's face in disbelief. "Is it really you?" When she was certain that it was indeed her beloved granddaughter that she was looking at, a look of tenderness and warmth spread across her entire face. "My dear, how you have grown! You look just like your mother now. I almost thought it was Yihua standing in front of me again."

Yang Yihua had been the daughter-in-law that she had personally selected for her son and she had been most devastated when Zi-ning's mother passed on. In her eyes, neither Lady Min nor any of her son's concubines could ever compare to Lady Yang—likewise, neither Meiyan nor Meisi would ever be able to overtake Zi-ning. She had sent several chasers to Taishan over the past two and half years, and finally her granddaughter had come back to her.

Lady Min plastered a smile on her face and said, "Now that you've mentioned it, Zi-ning really does resemble sister Yihua. She was still a child when she left us and now she's already grown up into such an outstanding young woman."

The old madam was more than pleased to hear praises for her granddaughter, and she returned Lady Min's remark with a smile. Turning to Zi-ning, she said, "It must have been tough for you, living at the temple all by yourself. You look like you've lost so much weight. I never should have let you go. Taishan is much too far away!'

"I'm fine, Grandmother. Aren't I back now?" Zi-ning smiled, leaning affectionately against her grandmother's shoulder. "Also, isn't it better that I've lost weight? I looked like such a mess before I left. If I continue looking like a pig then who would be willing to ask for my hand in marriage?"

"Nonsense," her grandmother chided. "Who says you look like a pig? My Zi-ning is the most beautiful young lady in the entire capital. If I take you out right now there'll be a whole line of suitors queuing in front of door wanting to ask for your hand, but I'm not quite ready to part with you just yet so there's no hurry with that. I'll have to study all those young men out there carefully to choose the best one for my precious granddaughter."

Zi-ning could see Meiyan glowering from a corner as the latter watched the cheerful banter between grandmother and grandchild, as if none of the rest of them existed in this room. Listening to this exchange with her own ears would no doubt make Meiyan mad, since she believed that she was the most outstanding granddaughter of this household.

Lady Min caught her daughter's eye and subtly shook her head, warning the girl not to do anything. They had spent years carefully managing Meiyan's image—it wasn't worth it to risk everything at this moment, especially not when there had just been news that the queen was organising a gathering to admire the spring flowers in bloom. Everyone knew that this was no ordinary gathering. The crown prince was turning twenty-one in a fortnight and had still yet to appoint a crown princess. It was about time the queen helped him find a suitable candidate.

"Now that Zi-ning is back, Meiyan, you should take your sister out with you for all your gatherings," Lady Min remarked. "Zi-ning has been away from the capital for such a long time, all the other young ladies might not be familiar with her. It would be good to properly introduce her to everyone."

The old madam nodded, looking pleased with this suggestion. "That's exactly what I had in mind. Zi-ning, you should take the opportunity to go out and meet more people. Your sister knows many of the young ladies from the various noble families, she'll be able to help you."

Zi-ning knew what Lady Min had in mind. It was the same trick that she had used many times before, but little did she know that from now onwards the joke would be on her. If Lady Min wanted her to continue being that ugly leaf that served to contrast the beauty of her older sister, she would be sorely mistaken.