Heaven in abyss, Hell in paradise

Ch:3 (Fire Master's grand palace)

The Palace of Xiàn Fèng

Yú Yìfēi had been here plenty of times, Xiàn Fèng and her were friends after all and she had come here with Jade, the maid from the Palace of Wudu to talk with Xiàn Fèng she had brought Jade along to deliver some gifts from the Palace of Wudu. Jade who was in complete awe at the sight of the Xiàn Fèng Palace couldn't help but take in all the luxurious decorations as well as the bright energy of the palace the total opposite of what she was used to.

The Palace of Xiàn Fèng was bright in shades of orange, red and yellow surrounding a very lively atmosphere, People spoke to each other happily while completing their chores, children of the maids and guards were playing with each other with beautiful smiles on their faces as they ran around the palace, this place was much warmer literally as well as figuratively.

They walked towards the Main Hall and were seated there, Yú Yìfēi was served sunflower tea while Jade looked around the palace, Of course, it was much livelier than the Wudu Palace which was quiet in Jade's opinion frighteningly quiet.

The Palace was covered in warm shades the Main Hall was beautiful, the ceiling was covered in mirrors which reflected the vermilion shade of the walls the seat of the Fire Master was covered in shining gemstones like carnelian, red jasper, garnet while a single ruby was placed on the highest point of the seat such luxury was unfamiliar to Jade who had grown up in a humble household when she had entered the Palace of Wudu fifteen days ago she wasn't surprised to see it, the palace was much dull in comparison to this one it was empty, there weren't many maids or guards in the Palace of Wudu, it was also duller in shades of cyan, cobalt and azure blue with light shades of mint green and tangerine orange.

The seat for Water Master was simply made of silver with black fur covering it There were no fancy gemstones embedded in the seat except for a simple moonstone at the top in the shape of a moon. The change in this sudden atmosphere made Jade feel uneasy but she liked this palace more it was warm and she felt comfortable here while she was busy in picking out the differences among the two elemental's palace's Yú Yìfēi took notice of it and brought Jade back to the present by tapping her lightly on her shoulder, Jade gave a startled yelp which Yú Yìfēi giggled at in return.

"It's much nicer here, isn't it?" Yú Yìfēi asked Jade, who nodded in agreement, "My palace is like this too, but it's a little bit toned down when it comes to the red of this place." she added with more warmth in her sweet voice.

"Wind Master?" Jade asked timidly, Yú Yìfēi hummed in response, "Why is the Palace of Wudu so dull?" Jade realised what she said a second too late she quickly covered her mouth, "I apologise. I didn't mean to say this. I just -"

The Wind Master chuckled, patting the poor maid's shoulder to calm her, "Don't worry, it isn't anything new that someone's asked me but don't ask about this to anyone else, okay?" Jade nodded hurriedly,
"YueYue doesn't like bright colours much she prefers it to be rather dull. Confirms my suspicion that she's a damn owl!" Yìfēi exclaimed, slapping her palm on her thigh,
"You know the mint green and tangerine accents on the walls of the Wudu Palace are all my doing. I protested against the palace being so dull and changed it myself when YueYue was away on a trip for work, She was really angry when she saw it but I am more stubborn than she is so she gave in," Wind Master added with a proud smile,

Just as Yú Yìfēi finished her rant Xiàn Fèng entered the Main Hall, he was clearly handsome but in a more beautiful way or one could say his facial features were a little bit feminine, he didn't have that rough look to himself as most males do with one clear look anyone could tell that he paid attention to himself, even though he was a protector he still looked like he was a prince whose job was to sit all day along looking pretty, he was dressed in robes of marigold and cantaloupe with accents of crimson and an inner robe of offwhite colour the robes were covered in gold jewellery with expensive rubies embedded in them, a long sword of gold hung at his waist it had a very dazzling look to it, well if you asked Jade the Fire elemental was a walking gold mine just as the robes of the person adorning them were bright so was the personality of him.

Xiàn Fèng greeted Yú Yìfēi with the brightest smile Jade had ever seen, his long golden blond locks swayed as he walked towards the Wind Master his orbs were also like golden honey almost melting into a fierce crimson,  skin a beautiful pale shade with a lean body unlike the martial officials who were muscular it gave him a more boyish look, he in short looked like the Sun if it were a person.

"Wind Master what a pleasant surprise to have you here," Xiàn Fèng greeted with a smile, taking his seat.

"Fèng, it is always pleasant to have me around," Yú Yìfēi joked playfully.

Xiàn Fèng gave a hearty laugh, "Of course, it is. I was just explaining the security pattern to the generals. We have to be careful after all." 

"True, there can be no mistakes this year, that's what I am here to discuss." the Wind Master stated, for the very first time Jade saw the Wind Master look serious she was always in a pleasant mood but this crowning ceremony seemed to make even the most carefree person worried, Jade left the room as they discussed it privately.

Sometime later, she was called in to deliver the gifts from the Wudu Palace

"Fèng this is a gift from YueYue, She was upset to have made you feel sad. Therefore, she baked your favourite dishes as an apology." Yú Yìfēi informed as she presented Xiàn Fèng with the delicacies.

Xiàn Fèng's eyes widened and he stood up from his spot hurriedly, he looked happy to have this present, "I will thank her the next time I see her for these gifts, she knows I love food the most." he said as he took a bite of the soft corn babas, he moaned at the flavour seeming satisfied with its taste.

"I will take my leave. I have to go back for another meeting with the Earth Master." Yú Yìfēi explained as she stood up to leave, Xiàn Fèng waved at her as she left the Palace with Jade right behind her, 'Finally, I made things easier for YueYue, thankfully Xiàn Fèng is easy to please.' Yú Yìfēi thought to herself as she went back to the Palace of Wudu.

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The Heavenly Court has three categories for selection, and anyone be it from a noble family or a common family can apply, the first category is for Martial officials, they are the ones who lead the battles and everything related to guarding, protection and security, once they qualify for the position they can rise the ranks and be made senior officials or generals of a different part of Heaven.

The second category is for civil officials, the ones who keep records and do all the paperwork alongside providing information to the martial officials, they can be made senior officials, be royal tutors, or simply choose to remain civil officials with rising ranks.

The third category is for elemental masters, it is an exception made only for them, they are not martial or civil officials but they don't lack in any department required, as long as they have tremendous control over their element they are chosen.

It has been surveyed that males usually fill up for martial official positions and females for civil officials, but there is no rarety of anyone in any of the departments, elementals have mostly for centuries been males but females elementals have also been chosen.

Ling Wen, the assistant of Emperor Jun Wu, she is a civil official and looks over all the paperwork for the Emperor.

from the Royal Library of Central Palace

Word count: 1430