Phoenix Rising

026

After the incident at the Ouyang manor, Zi-ning had a relatively peaceful week because Meiyan practically didn't step out of her quarters at all and Lady Min also seemed to make a conscious effort to stay out of her way. She knew that those two wouldn't lay low for long, so she was more than willing to make good use of every moment of peace she was given. Every day she would either read some new books about medicine or practice her calligraphy and art using the books that the prince had sent from the palace library. She had even gone to the courtyard to try her hand at archery with an old set of bow and arrows that she had found from her brother Yongxing's room. Shujin and Hana had been appalled when she had done that, but she ignored their good intentions and went ahead anyway. Skills like these might come in useful some day.

Today there would be no bows and arrows though, because tonight the entire family had to adjourn to the palace for the royal banquet that was being thrown to welcome the envoys from Hua and Shon, and also to honour the Shadow Lord and the other generals for their achievements on the battlefield.

"How about wearing that white jade pendant today, Miss? The one with the dragon motif?" Shujin quipped, rummaging through Zi-ning's box of accessories. "It would match your top well."

Her maidservants had just helped her change into her dress for the evening—a pearl white top with a deep blue skirt. Since being reborn her favourite choice of colour for clothing was now dark blue, sometimes so dark that it was close to being the murky shade of ink. The colour best reflected her state of mind, she thought.

She shook her head. "Bring me the other white jade pendant I have, the one with the lily motif."

Shujin promptly took the correct pendant out of the box, securing it tightly at Zi-ning's waist with a white butterfly knot. "The dragon one looks more exquisite," she remarked ruefully, "but then again you'd look nice wearing anything, Miss."

Zi-ning looked in the mirror as Shujin continued helping her put on her accessories. A white jade bangle around her wrist and a matching lily hairpin to hold up her hair. She recalled the exact same banquet being held in her previous life, but she had not attended because she was too embarrassed by what happened to her at the Ouyang manor and didn't dare step out of her quarters for an entire month after that.

This time around she wouldn't be able to avoid the banquet even if she wanted to. After what happened to Meiyan, their father's attentions had been shifted towards her and he had personally come over yesterday to remind her about the banquet. Banquets like these were excellent opportunities for him to show his daughters off to the other noble families, hoping that they would catch the eye of someone of high rank.

When Shujin was done, she helped her young mistress up to her feet, leading her towards the door. Unlike the previous time when Zi-ning hadn't been allowed to bring any of her own servant girls into the palace, this time the old madam had granted permission for her to take one of them along to give her a hand. Hana had willingly given that opportunity to Shujin, who was beyond herself with excitement at the prospect of entering the palace.

"Shujin, remember to stay alert and stay with Miss Zi-ning at all times, alright?" Hana reminded as they escorted Zi-ning towards the main gate of the manor.

"I will! Hana this is the fifth time you're reminding me," Shujin wailed.

Zi-ning laughed. If it had been up to her she might have chosen to bring Hana into the palace instead of Shujin because the former was far more level-headed and collected than the latter. However, she couldn't bear to pour cold water over Shujin's excitement so she had agreed to take the girl with her when she volunteered.

To her surprise, Meiyan was already standing in front of the carriages with her mother, Lady Min, when she arrived at the gates. Despite what had happened, Meiyan still couldn't bear to give up the opportunity to enter the palace and mingle with the royals.

"Meiyan, are you feeling better? I heard you caught a bit of a cold after falling into the water the other day," Zi-ning asked, smiling at her sister congenially.

Meiyan's shoulders stiffened at the mention of her little swim, though she still forced out a smile in response. "I'm much better now," she said. "I did think about staying at home to rest and giving the banquet a miss, but this is your first time attending such a big event so I thought you might appreciate some company. This isn't like the time when the queen invited us to admire the flowers. This is a formal banquet and there'll be many more people present."

How lovely that all sounded, as if she was truly thinking on Zi-ning's behalf and not her own.

"Everyone ready?" Minister Han's gruff voice barked as he came marching out from the doorway. When he saw Meiyan there, he frowned, though he didn't say anything about it. "If we're ready then let's go. We shouldn't be late for such an important banquet."

He quickly boarded the carriage at the front together with Lady Min, while Zi-ning and Meiyan boarded the carriage at the back. Due to the importance of tonight's event, only the immediate family members of the court officials (not including concubines and their offspring) were allowed to attend, hence there would only be four of them representing the Han family. Zi-ning and Meiyan spent the entire journey in silence, neither of them willing to engage with the other. It was probably for the best because Zi-ning couldn't find it in herself to pretend to be on cordial terms with this wolf in sheep's clothing who dared call herself her sister.

In this life they were no longer sisters, but sworn enemies.

In less than half an hour, the imposing palace walls loomed before them and their horse carriages joined the long line, trundling in through the towering wooden gates. Zi-ning lifted the curtain of their carriage, looking out at the view of the palace up ahead, illuminated by the numerous torches with their flames burning in the night.

#

The banquet was held in the great hall where the king met with his court officials every morning. Tonight, however, the hall had been transformed into a resplendent space, brightly lit with dozens of lanterns hanging from the ceiling such that it almost felt like it was day within. Rows and rows of low dining tables had been set up for the hundreds of guests. The men were to be seated towards the front of the hall while the women and children were seated at the back, closer to the doors. Right at the head of the hall was the king's golden throne, with the queen's chair on his left and the dowager's chair on the left.

Zi-ning was led to a table in the second row where she was seated next to Meiyan, while Lady Min was shown her seat in the front row with the other minister's wives. There were many familiar faces present tonight, including her good friend Zhenzhu who gave her a friendly grin and wave from where she was seated in the third row. There was also no shortage of dirty looks being thrown her way from the other young ladies who were still peeved with the interest that the crown prince seemed to have taken in her.

Ignoring them, she took a good look around the great hall, intrigued by the colourful and unique dress of the envoys from Hua and Shon who were seated in the front row, closest to where the king would be. She had seen people from the other two kingdoms walking about in town before but this was the first time she was seeing officials from the kingdoms dressed in their formal traditional garb.

The emissaries from Hua were wearing light chiffon that hung loosely from their shoulders and flowed like a river's water when they moved, most of them in their kingdom's royal colours of red and gold. The officials from Shon wore luxurious furs in shades of whites and greys, the chief ambassador looking regal in his thick fur cape made from what looked like the striped fur of a white tiger. There was also a girl with them, the sole female representative amidst the otherwise all-male contingent. She was seated beside the chief ambassador from Shon, wearing a fur shawl made of the vibrant coat of a red fox and a matching headdress lined with fur of the same brilliant shade. Unlike the rest of the Shon contingent who had tanned, weathered skin due to the harsh summers of their kingdom, the girl had fair, porcelain skin that made her look no different from the ladies in Duan.

"Miss, who is that?" Shujin whispered, pointing at the girl from Shon. "She's so beautiful."

"She must have come with the envoys from Shon. Let's wait and find out, shall we?" Zi-ning replied. Her guess was that the girl was either a princess or a daughter of one of the noble families in Shon, sent here to be married as a gesture of goodwill. It would be interesting to find out who the girl was intended to marry, and she had an inkling that the answer would be revealed later tonight.