Phoenix Rising

086

The atmosphere in the grand hall immediately transformed, tension and uncertainty hanging thick in the air. Although no one dared breathe a word, all eyes were fixed upon the young queen, still sprawled on the ground before the dais. She hurriedly pulled her sleeves back down, then tucked her arms close to her chest.

"Situ Zhiren," Crown Prince Ru-quan bellowed, "what is the meaning of this? What did you do to her!"

Situ Zhiren gestured for a maidservant to help Hong Xuan back up to her feet. His eyes narrowed, though Zhenghuan thought he could detect the slightest hint of glee in them. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. Xuan-er had an accidental fall a few days ago, but it's nothing serious. The imperial physicians have taken a look and assured me that she will recover very soon."

"A fall? Do you take me for a fool?" Ru-quan marched over to Hong Xuan and took hold of her arm, pushing up the sleeve to reveal the bruises once more. "These are not injuries caused by a mere fall!"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Situ Zhiren replied coolly.

"I'm calling you a—"

"Your Highness," Zhenghuan intervened, cutting off Ru-quan before he could say anything irreparable, "we should not be too hasty. The king has no reason to lie to us. Should we not allow the queen to return to her quarters first, considering she's not feeling well?"

The crown prince hadn't noticed, but Zhenghuan had clearly seen something shiny fly out from between Situ Zhiren's fingers just moments before the queen tumbled down the stairs of the dais. That, coupled with the calm and composed behaviour that the new Hua king was demonstrating, suggested that this entire scene had been staged, likely with the intention of angering Ru-quan.

Ru-quan was here as Duan's representative, so anything he said or did would reflect upon their kingdom. If the crown prince dared step a single toe out of line, that would give Situ Zhiren a legitimate excuse to start a war.

The crown prince opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. The expression in his eyes flickered, and Zhenghuan knew that Ru-quan had understood his message. Ru-quan let go of Hong Xuan's arm.

"Of course," he said tersely. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, I was only worried for Xuan-er's well-being. She is a precious daughter of our kingdom and I hate to see her suffer the slightest bit of harm while she is here."

Situ Zhiren smiled. "No offence taken," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Come, let us continue with the banquet. The night is still young." At his signal, the servants quickly ushered the queen out of the hall, and the festivities resumed, albeit on a more muted note after the altercation.

Returning to his seat, the crown prince picked up his goblet and swallowed a big gulp of wine, still wearing a stormy expression upon his gaunt face. "What is Situ Zhiren playing at?" he hissed under his breath, only loud enough for Zhenghuan to hear. "Does he think that we're pushovers?"

"Calm, Your Highness. Situ Zhiren is trying to anger us into making an ill-considered response. We must not fall for his trap."

"You think I don't know that? But we can't just sit here and do nothing. Everyone in this hall has seen what's happened to Xuan-er, even the Shon ambassadors! If we pretend that nothing's happened, then that's tantamount to admitting that we're afraid of Situ Zhiren!"

Taking the princess away was not a solution, neither was leaving her here. Both options would not bode well for Duan, and Situ Zhiren knew that.

"There might be something that we can do."

#

The coronation of Hua's new king went on without a hitch—but there was no coronation for a new queen. Immediately after the welcome banquet for the coronation guests, the queen-designate, Princess Hong Xuan of Duan, took seriously ill with what the imperial physicians diagnosed as a bad case of the common cold, rendering her bed-bound and impossible for her to participate in the coronation ceremony. Then, a mere two days after the king's coronation, Hong Xuan succumbed to her illness and passed away in the presence of her husband, King Situ Zhiren, and her half-brother, Crown Prince Ru-quan of Duan.