Phoenix Rising

034

Without further ado, the opera performance began and the performers decked in their colourful costumes and make-up took to the stage. The musicians raised their instruments and the delightful melodies took to the skies, accompanied by the clear voices of the actors and actresses. From the quality of the performance, Zi-ning could understand why the Han opera troupe was so highly sought after across the kingdom. As someone who had never cared much for such art forms, she had to admit that she was impressed by the performance put up and the entire two hours flew by much more quickly than she had expected. When the final note was sung and the performers took to the stage for their closing bow, the ladies clapped their hands in delight.

"Take them down to collect their rewards," the queen ordered, and the troupe was promptly led away by some of the palace attendants.

"That was a fantastic performance!" Princess Xuan exclaimed, a smile stretching across her pink lips. "Could we not invite them to perform a few more times? I would love to see more."

"We can invite them in again if you like," the queen replied, patting the princess's hand fondly. "Consort Song, what did you think of the performance?"

"It was excellent, Your Majesty," Consort Song replied. "Thank you for giving us the luxury of enjoying such a wonderful show."

Zi-ning tried not to scoff as she listened to Consort Song's response. It was an open secret that the queen and Consort Song did not get along, although they never failed to keep up with appearances in public. After all, Consort Song's only son, Prince Ru-an, was widely regarded as the top competitor for the position of crown prince, so they were naturally standing on opposing sides. Their cordial conversation right now was the perfect example of what hypocrisy was like in the royal palace.

"I hear that the Shon princess is very fond of the opera, hence the king thought to invite the Han troupe into the palace for the celebrations," the queen said, taking a bite out of her osmanthus cake. "We will have a new sister in the palace shortly. It will be much more lively from henceforth, isn't that right?"

The concubines murmured in agreement, although the jealousy was evident in some of their eyes. Another consort was about to enter the palace, and a princess of another kingdom no less. The king had already appointed her a Consort of the First Rank, which was far higher than what many of them dared to hope for.

Queen Ci turned to look at the young ladies present, smiling warmly. "Sangya, come here," she said, beckoning to Minister Ouyang's daughter.

Ouyang Sangya rose to her feet, blushing furiously at having been personally called by the queen. She slowly made her way to the front, curtseying daintily in front of the queen. "Your Majesty," she greeted in a sing-song voice.

"I was just speaking to your aunt the other day. She informed me that your coming-of-age ceremony is in a month's time, is that right?"

Ouyang Sangya's aunt, her mother's sister, was married to the queen's younger brother, which explained why the queen favoured Sangya to become the crown princess. Family relations were extremely important for the consolidation of power in this day and age, so it wasn't surprising that the queen preferred for her son to marry someone from within the extended family.

Sangya bobbed her head obediently. "It will be on the seventh of the next month, Your Majesty," she replied.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zi-ning could see Meiyan's fists clenching tightly, scrounging up the smooth fabric of her skirt. Meiyan's coming-of-age ceremony was to be on the eleventh of the next month, which was four whole days after Ouyang Sangya.

"A young lady's coming-of-age ceremony is of utmost importance," the queen said, patting Sangya affectionately on the hand. "I trust your mother will make all the necessary arrangements. It is a mother's pride and joy to be able to see her daughter come of age, and become ready to start a family of her own." She turned to look at Princess Xuan. "Xuan-er, your own ceremony will be in a year's time! How you've all grown up in the blink of an eye."

The princess flushed bright pink, staring down at her own hands bashfully.

The queen turned back to look at Sangya, saying, "Xuan-er will attend your coming-of-age ceremony in my stead. Do send my regards to Lady Ouyang." With that, the queen dismissed Sangya back to her seat, although the message she was sending was loud and clear.

Ouyang Sangya was the queen's selection for crown princess—just like she had been in Zi-ning's memory.

Well some things haven't changed, Zi-ning thought to herself as she watched Sangya walk back to her seat with a broad smile stretching across her face. The other young ladies were looking at her enviously, knowing that this competition was already over.

Getting up from her seat, she slipped away quietly from the gathering and headed in the direction of the latrines. Beyond the area where the ladies had been congregated, the imperial gardens were considerably quiet and there was hardly a soul to be seen save for the palace lady or two scurrying from one point to the next. Zi-ning took her time, strolling down the pebbled walkways between the bushes and flower beds. She had been getting a headache listening to all those hypocritical women and their mindless chatter, so it was a refreshing change to be somewhere quiet. Standing by the edge of the lake, she stared out at the willow tree on top of its rocky perch.

I need to do something soon, or else I won't be able to do what I came back to do.

The best way she could think of to take her revenge on Ru-an was if she could get hold of more power than he had, if she could put herself in a position where she could put a premature end to his ambitions, and then trample him beneath her feet. In order to do that, she needed to become the crown princess, to help Ru-quan stay in his position so that Ru-an would never have the chance to even get a whiff of the crown. It didn't matter that she didn't have any feelings for Ru-quan. Feelings were something that were worth as much as the dirt beneath her shoe. Feelings were what got her killed her previous life.  

Ever since seeing Crown Prince Ru-quan in this life, seeing how healthy and strong he seemed to be, she started to suspect that there was something fishy about Ru-quan's early demise in her previous life. If her suspicions were correct, then foul play was involved. Knowing that meant that she had a chance to stop it from happening, and perhaps if the crown prince lived beyond his twenty-two years then Ru-an's ambitions would not have grown to the extent that it had.

However, despite the changes that she had made to herself, certain events seemed to be retaining their original course—such as the queen's decision to make Ouyang Sangya the crown princess. She had one chance at changing this outcome, and that chance lay with the crown prince himself.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Zi-ning heard voices of men approaching from afar. Alarmed, she quickly hid herself behind the trunk of a tree.