Phoenix Rising

020

"I heard that the crown prince sent you some calligraphy books from the palace library," Ouyang Sangya suddenly said, turning all the attention onto Zi-ning. The girl's red lips were curled into a slight sneer, ruining the beauty of her otherwise delicate features.

"Yes, it was very kind of him to do so," Zi-ning replied calmly.

"The prince is very generous that way," Sangya continued. "The previous time he also sent me some music scores because he heard that I liked playing the zither. He even invited me to the palace to try out the rare zithers in the queen's collection."

"Is that so? Why is it that I heard it was the queen who had the items sent over to you, and also the queen who invited you to the palace?" Meiyan interjected. "My sources must have been mistaken then."

Sangya's expression darkened as she glowered across the table at Meiyan. It was common knowledge that both the girls had their sights set on the crown prince, so the animosity between them was palpable. "The queen's intentions are the crown prince's intentions, are they not?" Sangya replied stiffly. "I didn't hear the queen inviting you, nor did the crown prince gift anything to you. It's quite surprising isn't it, that he would send something to Zi-ning instead of you, when Zi-ning only just returned to the capital?"

Zi-ning maintained the mild smile on her face, not responding to any of these jibes. Meiyan already disliked her, with or without Sangya's incitement, so those words didn't change anything. In contrast, the smile that had been on Meiyan's face wavered a little, though the girl still managed to keep her emotions under control.

"Actually, since it's such a happy occasion, why don't we get someone to play a tune or two on the stage to add to the festivities?" Huang Minjing said, sensing Meiyan's displeasure and wanting to help her best friend out. "We've all seen Zi-ning's excellent painting skills the other day, but we haven't heard her play. Zi-ning, why don't you play something for us today? You must have had plenty of time to practice when you were at Taishan."

The other girls snickered because they all knew that Minjing had in mind. It was no secret that Zi-ning was tone deaf and couldn't play a single instrument if her life depended on it. By suggesting this, Minjing was seeking to embarrass Zi-ning in front of everyone just because she knew Meiyan would be pleased by this.

"I'm afraid that would be an insult to your ears," Zi-ning replied.

"Nonsense!" Minjing said, waving her hand dismissively. "We've all seen how much your art has improved. Considering your grandmother is such close friends with Old Madam Ouyang, surely you wouldn't say no to playing just one piece as part of your well wishes to the lady? Even if you're not the best, I'm sure no one would say anything. It's the thought that counts."

The other girls murmured in agreement, all tickled by the turn of events and eager to see Zi-ning embarrass herself. Her transformation hadn't gone down well with many of these girls, who much preferred her as the coarse, uncultured buffoon that they could make fun of.

The only one who bothered standing up for Zi-ning was her friend Bai Zhenzhu, who had been sitting quietly beside Zi-ning all this while. "Zi-ning already said that she doesn't want to, why are you being so persistent?" Zhenzhu said.

Zi-ning placed her hand over her friend's, patting it gently. "It's alright," she said. She looked across the table at Minjing, who was smiling at her smugly. "If everyone wants to hear me play then I suppose I'll just have to oblige. I just hope that you won't fault me for not playing well."

This hadn't happened in her previous life because back then no one paid any attention to her whatsoever. If not for Sangya bringing up the crown prince's gifts, she would not have incurred the jealousy of the other girls at the table, all of whom were now eager to see her fall. Things were different now, but it didn't mean that she was going to back down from anything. If they thought that she would make a fool of herself and become the clown she used to be, then they were sorely mistaken. That version of Han Zi-ning had died a long time ago.

She slowly got up to her feet, smoothening down the front of her dark silk skirt. By the time she made her way to the front of the garden where the stage was, Minjing had already gleefully announced her impending performance and everyone's attention had been directed towards her. Under her instruction, Hana brought out the zither that she had requested to borrow from the Ouyangs, swiftly placing it on its stand in the middle of the stage. She stepped up gracefully, sitting down behind the instrument and running her fingers along the strings.

"Look at her," Minjing said loudly, "you'd think she actually knows how to play the thing."

The gardens fell silent as everyone waited in anticipation for Zi-ning to start.

Positioning her slender fingers upon the strings, Zi-ning began to play. She had never bothered to learn any instrument until she had gone to Taishan because she thought it pretentious and she never had the discipline to sit down and play for extended periods of time. As a result, whenever she touched an instrument all that would come out was noise, leading to the impression that she was tone deaf and had zero talent for music whatsoever. However, when she had been up in the mountains experiencing life for the second time, her state of mind had long changed from what it used to be.

The piece she had chosen to play was one that she had composed by herself after she had mastered the basics from Lady Li. It was a piece that came straight from her heart, one that reflected the pain, anguish and anger she had experienced in her dying moments—the emotions that would forever run through her blood, fueled by the memories of how they had cruelly made use of her naïvety and destroyed everything that mattered to her.

As the melody from the strings resonated in the air, Zi-ning lost herself in the images that still plagued her in the form of nightmares each and every night. The memory of the dungeon that she had been locked in and the gaolers who whipped her back until she could no longer feel the pain; the memory of Ru-wen hanging from a rope in his own study; the memory of little Ai-er being marched up to the executioner's stand without anyone speaking up for her. One by one they pieced together a horrific tale of what she had experienced once upon a time, a tale that she was now telling as her fingers flew across the strings of the zither.

When the last note finally left her fingers and hung heavily in the air, Zi-ning closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had lost control, she thought, feeling the tears that had unwittingly streamed down her cheeks. When she opened her eyes again, she saw all the other ladies staring back at her in shock, some of whom looked like there were they had been crying because the haunting melody she had played had touched them so.

The silence was finally broken by the sound of slow clapping from behind her. The spell broke and everyone snapped back to reality, arching their necks to see where the clapping was coming from. Standing on the stone bridge across the small lake was Minister Ouyang, along with some of the male guests whom he had been leading over to pay their well wishes to his mother. What surprised the ladies even more was the identity of the man who had been responsible for the clapping. It was Crown Prince Ru-quan, who was now looking upon Zi-ning with a broad smile on his handsome face.

Behind him, a man wearing a black outfit lined with silver thread stood impassively, the silver mask on his face obscuring the emotions he wore behind it.