Phoenix Rising

059: An Interlude

The capital city of Hua—Wulihe—was worlds apart from Duan. A sprawling city pieced together from mainly mudbrick buildings, its narrow streets were filled with bellowing street vendors plying their colourful wares, the air suffused with the stinging fragrance of chillies and spices. Unlike Duan, whose residents favoured the elegant melodies of stringed instruments like the zither and pipa, Hua was a city of drums, and performing troupes put up dazzling acrobatic performances to the resounding beats of drums of all shapes and sizes around the main market square.

The unfamiliarity of the city frightened Meisi a little, although it did not dampen the excitement inside her.

It had taken them close to ten days before they arrived at Wulihe, and in mere moments the entourage would be entering the royal palace. Already she could see the red-brick walls of the palace lying ahead, with towering turrets piercing towards the cloudless skies. Stern guards wearing chainmail armour the shade of blood saluted the moment they caught sight of the crown prince approach, promptly opening the palace gates.

Crown Prince Zhiren headed immediately to the royal hall to greet the king, while the carriages bearing the women were taken to the inner palace, which would now become their home.

When the carriage came to a stop, Meisi quickly alighted, curiously studying her surroundings. She wrinkled up her nose. "Is this all?" she asked, directing her question at the Hua maidservant that she had been assigned. There was but one girl waiting by her carriage, dressed in flowing peach-coloured chiffon robes that dipped a little too low at the bosom for Meisi's liking.

Unlike the palace of Duan, which had gracefully sloping emerald roofs, with intricate statues of the kingdom's guardian gods sitting upon their eaves, the palace of Hua was all harsh angles devoid of adornments. It looked incredibly plain, and was nowhere near to the level of luxury that she had expected.

The scrawny girl tilted her head and stared at her briefly, then she said, "I'm afraid I don't understand your question."

Meisi scowled. "Don't you mean, 'I'm afraid I don't understand your question, Your Grace?'" Did this girl not realise who she was speaking to? The servants of Hua were decidedly less well-trained than those back home, she concluded. Perhaps she had made a mistake when she told her mother that she did not want to bring her old maidservant along with her.

No, Lianxi was a little vixen. If I had brought her along, she would definitely try to climb onto the prince's bed, she thought, trying to convince herself that she had made the right decision. All she had to do was to have a word with the prince about being more stringent with the selection of her wait staff and that would solve the problem.

A short distance ahead, Princess Xuan was also being helped off her carriage. The difference was that while there had been one servant waiting for Meisi when she alighted, there was a whole retinue of at least ten waiting for the princess.

Meisi's lips twisted in disgust. That was something else she would need to speak to the prince about. Even if Princess Xuan was to be the crown princess, the disparity in the treatment between them should not be so great. Surely she should get at least six servants?

Her servant girl had gone running off to the side, whispering something into the ear of an older lady-in-waiting. The woman frowned, then walked over to Meisi.

"What are you waiting for?" Meisi demanded. "Show me to my quarters immediately. And make sure you don't damage any of my belongings when you move them over." Already the princess's entourage was headed towards a nearby palace building that was likely her assigned quarters, and she did not want to be left standing here under the blazing sun. She wiped the sweat off her brow, cursing at the foul weather of Hua.