Phoenix Rising

054

Zi-ning turned to find Zhenghuan walking towards her, holding three joss sticks in his hand. He was dressed in sombre black robes with silver embroidery trellising along its hems, and she could not read the expression he wore behind his usually mask.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him in return.

"I asked first."

"I was bored of waiting for the banquet to start so I wandered outside and ended up here. There weren't any guards outside so I just came in. Now it's your turn."

"I..." He hesitated for a brief, almost unnoticeable moment, then said, "I missed the memorial rites earlier because of some urgent military matters, so I thought I'd come and pay my respects before the banquet."

He stepped past Zi-ning and stopped in front of the portrait of the late crown prince Shunzhi, bowing three times. Then, he carefully stuck the incense sticks into the small ash-filled tripod sitting before the painting. Instead of turning to leave, Zhenghuan stood there staring wordlessly up at the portrait for a long time.

There was an inexplicable sadness that seemed to cling to him, that Zi-ning couldn't quite explain. Was it because his own father, General Du, had fought alongside the late prince in the rebellion? Or because it reminded him of the sacrifices made by those who guarded this kingdom's borders and sovereignty?

"Are you... okay?" she asked.

He turned to look at her, and for a moment she thought she saw at trace of sorrow and regret in his eyes. Then he smiled. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" he replied. "Come on, we should head back to the banquet hall. You're not supposed to trespassing in here."

"Oh, and you're not trespassing?" Zi-ning retorted.

"I have permission."

She had no argument against that. Pulling a face, Zi-ning followed Zhenghuan out of the ancestral hall and back towards where she had come from.

Lady Li was waiting for her by the entrance of the grand hall together with her lady-in-waiting, Zhulian. When she saw the duo approach, her eyes lit up with surprise.

"My Lady," they greeted.

"I didn't expect to see the two of you together," the lady said, with a hint of teasing in her voice that made Zi-ning blush.

"It was a coincidence," she immediately countered. "We bumped into each other."

"Is that so?" Lady Li arched her brows, regarding first Zi-ning and then Zhenghuan. But she didn't pursue the matter. Instead, she took Zi-ning by the hand and led the latter into the hall, leaving the Shadow Lord to trail behind them. "I know your family will also be here today. I hope they don't mind that I've arranged for you to sit with me instead."

Zi-ning smiled. Lady Min and Meiyan would certainly not mind if she stayed out of their sight, but they would be beyond themselves with envy when they found out that her place was beside Lady Li. While the female family members of court officials were allowed to attend the banquet, they were relegated to the back half of the hall. As the wife of the late crown prince, whom this entire ceremony and banquet was intended to honour, Lady Li would be granted a seat only second to the king and queen themselves.

She followed Lady Li to their seats at the front of the hall, while Zhenghuan parted ways with them and took his place on the opposite side with the other court officials, downstream from the princes.

Ru-quan, Ru-an and Ru-wen were already seated, along with the other members of the harem and royal family. Situ Zhiren was also present, though he had politely traded in his usual flamboyant robes for a more appropriate cream-coloured get-up. All eyes were locked upon Zi-ning when they saw her enter with Lady Li.