Phoenix Rising

014

"Say, how is it that we've never noticed this Han Zi-ning before? I always thought Minister Han only had one daughter, up until I saw her at the palace gardens yesterday," the crown prince asked.

"Ah!" Nansheng exclaimed with a flourish, looking proud of himself. "I did my research yesterday. Apparently she's been away from the capital for the past few years. Went to Taishan to recuperate from an illness or something. She's only just returned. That's probably why we don't remember her."

"Good to see that you're making yourself useful," Ru-quan remarked. He spun the brush he was holding between his fingers, deep in thought. "So she's only just returned? Well better late than never."

Ru-an leaned against the shelves, observing his brother carefully as they spoke about Zi-ning. This was the first time the crown prince had openly shown interest towards a girl, so it was an interesting development that Ru-an knew he had to take note of. One thing was for certain—Han Zi-ning would definitely feature significantly in their lives from now on.

#

"Are you alright, Miss?" Hana asked, noticing that her young mistress had been silent ever since they came home from their trip into town.

Zi-ning put down the brush that she had been holding in her hand, sighing. "Hana, do you know who those men were back at the calligraphy shop?" she asked. Hana and Shujin hadn't been allowed to accompany her into the palace the other day, hence they never had the chance to meet the princes.

Hana shook her head. "One of them looked a little familiar, but I don't think I've ever seen the other two before. Are you acquainted with them, Miss? Why did that man insist on giving you that brush?"

"That was the crown prince."

Her maidservant gasped, almost dropping her tray onto the floor. She fumbled with it, tucking it safely under her arm when she had calmed herself down.

"The two men who were with him were the fifth prince and the eldest son of the imperial tutor, Huang Nansheng. You've probably seen the latter around. Father might have invited him over on some occasions."

"But Miss, if the crown prince gave you a gift, is that not a good thing?" she asked.

Zi-ning could see the excitement bubbling in her maidservant's eyes and she knew what the girl must be thinking. She picked up the brush again, running her fingers along its smooth stem.

"It could be a good thing I suppose," she murmured. The queen hadn't taken a fancy to her but the crown prince had definitely taken notice. She didn't care for the position of crown princess, but if that was what it took then she was willing to make that sacrifice. If she could gain Ru-quan's trust, then perhaps she could rescue him from his dismal fate and set history on a different track.

What bothered her more was seeing Ru-an again in that shop, even though he hadn't uttered a single word during the time she was there. In her previous life she hadn't met any of the princes until much later and even then the impression she left on them was a poor one, yet now things had changed and the timeline had been brought forward. She had not only met the crown prince twice, she had also met Ru-an twice. What difference would that make to the grand scheme of things? And what would Ru-an think about the crown prince's interest towards her?

She set the brush back in its box, gesturing to Hana to keep it somewhere safe. If her memory served her right, there would be more trouble coming her way fairly soon. Meiyan would not sit on her laurels and let matters slide so easily, considering how she had stolen half of her sister's limelight at the queen's party.

In about a week's time the old matriarch of the Ouyang family would be celebrating her eightieth birthday and Minister Ouyang had already sent out invitations to all the noble families in the capital, inviting them to his manor to join in the celebrations. She had accompanied her grandmother and Lady Min to the Ouyang manor in her previous life and that had ended in tears after she "fell" into a pond. Meiyan must lack creativity, she thought, if pushing people into ponds was her preferred way of getting rid of people she didn't like.

A cold smile appeared at the corners of her lips as she recalled the events of that day.

That day, she had not only ended up as a pitiful, drenched wreck, she had also been fished out by one of the Ouyang family's guards in front of all the guests. Lying in the arms of a man with her wet clothes plastered to her skin, showing the curves of her body for all to see—it was a damning moment for any young lady. Her reputation had been completely ruined after that and no young man worth his salt would even consider marrying her after that. She had been fortunate that the eighth prince had been kind enough to take her in, but even then she was only granted the position of a lowly concubine. A girl whose innocence was tainted would never be worthy of being anyone's official wife, much less a prince's chief consort.

Zi-ning didn't know if her beloved sister and stepmother would change their plans after what happened at the palace, but she would be ready for them regardless. This time she wouldn't let them sabotage her again.