Phoenix Rising

036

"Mother," the crown prince smiled as he walked towards the group, bowing respectfully to the queen. "Is the performance over already? I was hoping to catch the ending!"

The queen looked surprised to see her son approaching, though an affectionate smile appeared across her face shortly after. She acknowledged the two princes, beaming as she said, "You don't have to come up with excuses. Everyone knows that you've never fancied the opera. Has your meeting with the king ended so soon?"

"Yes it has. Father was a little weary so we ended the meeting earlier," Ru-quan replied. He scanned the crowd quickly, his gaze settling on the girl in blue. It wasn't difficult to spot her because she stood out from the rest of the adoring crowd, nibbling on a piece of cake and pretending she hadn't noticed his presence.

Since the Hu opera troupe's performance had ended, the ladies were just engaging in casual chatter and enjoying a spot of afternoon tea before the princes showed up. While the king's concubines were unperturbed by the princes' arrival, the same could not be said of the young ladies present. In particular, Ouyang Sangya, who had already seen through the queen's intentions, blushed furiously when she met the crown prince's gaze.

"Your father really needs to look after his health better. All this stress and constant worrying will not do him good. Has the imperial physician been summoned?" the queen said, her smooth forehead wrinkling in a frown.

"Do not worry, Mother. The king is in good health. He has just been too occupied with official matters as of late. The imperial physician has advised more rest, that is all."

Hearing that, the queen's worried expression eased. Patting her son on the back of the hand, she said, "Since you are here, you should meet some of the young ladies whom I've invited here today. It's not every day we have such beautiful flowers gathered in the imperial gardens." She glanced sideways and Lady Ru immediately went over to Ouyang Sangya, inviting her forward. "We were just speaking of Sangya's coming-of-age ceremony earlier, which is to be held on the seventh of the next month. Xuan-er will be attending in my place."

Princess Xuan had already leapt up of her seat when she saw her brothers approach and was now clinging on affectionately to Ru-an's arm. The two were of the same blood and were extremely close, so the princess had never shied away from showing their sibling affection in front of everyone.

"Mother has asked me to bring a gift for Sangya on that day," Xuan-er piped up. "Ru-quan, if you want me to bring a gift as well, I'd be more than happy to do it for you." She gave her older brother a cheeky wink.

"I'm sure Mother's gift would suffice. What could I possibly give that is more valuable?" the crown prince replied, indirectly rejecting the princess's suggestion.

Sangya's face fell when she heard that and her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink. The snickering from the other young ladies made the embarrassment become even more acute with every passing second.

"A gift from me would hardly be the same," the queen said, giving her son a warning glare. Turning to Sangya, she said, "Your aunt tells me that you have a musical gift. Since we are all gathered here today, why don't you play a tune on the zither for us?"

The queen was blatantly giving Sangya the opportunity to show off her talents in front of the crown prince and the latter immediately caught on, quickly moving forward towards the stage while the palace servants fetched a zither for her. Just as she was walking past the crown prince, Sangya suddenly cried out as her ankle twisted sideways and her slim frame collapsed entirely into the prince's arms.

Startled by the sudden turn of events, Ru-quan had instinctively reached out his hands, catching the girl around the shoulders as she was falling. At contact, a white silk handkerchief came floating out from within his sleeve, landing gently on the grass below. He looked down at the blushing girl, who was fluttering her eyelids at him and blushing coyly.