Phoenix Rising

057

Each time she stepped foot upon the grounds of the royal palace, Zi-ning could still smell the stench of blood that seeped through its polished floorboards. So many lives had been lost here, cut down cruelly by the owners of this gilded cage, and she had stood by and witnessed too many of them for herself. Perhaps her own tragic end had been retribution for what she had done—or not done—to save all those innocent lives.

She had not cared for them then, until she finally learned that she was no different from them in the eyes of people like Ru-an. Disposable.

After smoothening down the front of her wine-coloured skirt and adjusting the tasselled jade pendant that hung from her waistband, Zi-ning stepped across the threshold of the queen's parlour. Queen Ci sat at the front of the airy hall, gazing out of the circular window at the peonies blooming in her garden. At the side, her lady-in-waiting Lady Ru stood brewing a fresh pot of pu-er tea, its earthy fragrance floating through the air.

"Your Majesty," she greeted, hands folded one upon the other at the right side of her waist as she curtseyed. She could see Lady Ru watching her every movement, before turning her attention back to her teapot.

The queen did not even bother to do the same. Instead, she kept her gaze levelled towards the window, an indication of how insignificant she thought Zi-ning to be. After a long, excruciating moment of silence, she asked, "Han Zi-ning, why did you do it?" She turned towards Zi-ning, her carefully-drawn brows lifting slightly.

"I'm not sure I understand, Your Majesty."

"Why did you risk your life to suggest that unorthodox method of treating the crown prince?" Queen Ci's bright-red lips curled in a sneer. "Is it worth it? The position of crown princess?"

So she thinks I did it to win her favour and become crown princess.

The queen was not entirely wrong. To begin with, she had indeed attempted to draw the attention of the crown prince, in hopes of using his power and status to thwart Ru-an's plans, but after what transpired in the room during the treatment of the crown prince, she had come to realise that the route of crown princess was no longer plausible. There was an additional layer of complexity to the relationships between King Shunde, Queen Ci and her mentor, Lady Li, than met the eye, and judging from the animosity that the queen had towards Lady Li, there was no way the former would allow her—Lady Li's sole apprentice—to become her daughter-in-law.

Still, even if that path was no longer viable, it was still to her advantage that the crown prince survived. As long as Ru-quan still held the title, then he would remain an obstacle standing in Ru-an's way.

She dropped to her knees. "Your Majesty, you misunderstand me. I only suggested the River Immortal's treatment method because I wanted to help the crown prince. I do not have any desire for the position of crown princess," she replied.

"Is that so?" The queen paused, then she picked up her porcelain teacup and flung it to the floor. It shattered into pieces with a loud crash, mere inches away from Zi-ning. "How dare you! Don't you know what the crown prince's life is worth? She was the one who put you up to this, wasn't she? Li Wanle. That woman wants to get rid of me and my son so that she can take my place."

Queen Ci's delicate face contorted with fury, twisting with the ugliness that festered within her.

Zi-ning pressed her forehead to the ground, putting on her best show of fear and deference. Inside, she was scoffing at the queen's delusional behaviour. Lady Li had saved her son's life when she could have done nothing and let him die, yet here she was flinging accusations at them at the behest of her own jealousy. It was no wonder the queen had lost the king's favour.