The king was already waiting in front of the palace's great hall by the time the entire procession came up the stone steps towards the ornate wooden doors, with the rest of the court officials standing together in wait. Crown Prince Ru-quan walked ahead, smiling as he said a word or two to the Shadow Lord who was just a step behind. A broad smile stretched across the king's face when he saw them approach.
When they reached the top of the stairs, the princes greeted the king respectfully before stepping aside to make way for the Shadow Lord.
"Your Majesty," he said, kneeling before the king with his head bowed.
"Rise, rise," the king said quickly, bending over to place his hands on the man's shoulders, gesturing for him to get to his feet. "Zhenghuan, you have finally returned." He patted the man on the side of his arms fondly, his eyes glistening a little as he looked upon the latter.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Zhenghuan said. "My father would have liked to have made the journey with me, but the security of our borders is the top priority and he could not step away. He has asked that I pay my regards to you on his behalf."
"Your... father, of course." The king's smile stiffened slightly. "He has always been one of the kingdom's most loyal generals. The kingdom and I are grateful for his service. Come, come, let's not stand here all day." Placing his arm around Zhenghuan's shoulders, he ushered the young man into the great hall and the others followed suit.
It was a rare occasion that the king granted seats to court officials, a privilege that was only accorded to those that he held in high regard. Today was one of those days, but even then it was only the Shadow Lord and the princes that were allowed to sit in the king's presence. The king had not even demanded for the Shadow Lord to remove the silver mask he wore on his face, something that would have been considered a mark of great disrespect if it had been anyone else. The Chief Minister and the other officials remained standing respectfully in their usual court positions, but no one dared voice a single word of complaint.
"The southern tribes have been restless lately, haven't they?" the king said solemnly.
"They've tried to push boundaries a little but we've managed to fend them off so far," Zhenghuan replied.
"Unlike the other kingdoms, the southern tribes are but small, scattered groups. They are being foolhardy to think that they have a chance of pitting themselves against us," the crown prince said, offering his opinion on the recent border strife.
The land past the southern border of Duan was arid and dry, often subjected to extreme weather conditions like droughts or sandstorms. That was why the three kingdoms had never attempted to conquer that piece of land, leaving it free for the nomadic tribes that continued to make it their home. The tribes had lived in a terse co-existence with the kingdoms for many years, occasionally attempting to encroach on the territories of Duan and Shon because of the fertile lands they owned. However, they had never succeeded because the infighting between the different tribes had always overshadowed their efforts to widen their territory.
The other officials murmured their agreement to the crown prince's remark. They had never thought of the southern tribes as much of a threat to the kingdom's sovereignty, hence they had all thought that the king was making much ado about nothing by celebrating the recent victories.
"That may have been the case in the past, but we have reason to believe that things have changed," Zhenghuan said. "I'm sure the capital must have received our reports while we were fighting against the invading tribes. Did you not notice a difference?"
Many of the officials pursed their lips, annoyance flashing in their eyes. By saying something like that, the Shadow Lord was questioning their ability to analyse the situation for themselves. In other words, he was indirectly accusing them of being incompetent.
Ru-quan also stiffened unnaturally in his seat.
"The southern tribes seem to have been consolidating their forces," Prince Ru-an spoke. "The recent attacks have been more coordinated than they used to be, isn't that right?"
Zhenghuan nodded, looking mildly impressed. "From the intelligence we have gathered, it appears that the southern tribes have found a leader, one that has been able to do what previous chieftains have failed to do—consolidate the tribes under one unified banner. Unfortunately, his identity is still a closely-guarded secret and we haven't managed to find out who this man is. They call him the Eagle Warrior."
"It's not the first time the tribes have managed to get their act together, but they'll always fall apart soon after," Chief Minister Sun said. "Perhaps you are worrying excessively, General Du."
"If you had been on those dunes fighting against their people, watching your men lie in pools of their own blood, perhaps you might not say that I am 'worrying excessively', Minister," Zhenghuan replied drily.
The chief minister bristled with indignation but he kept quiet after receiving a stern look from the crown prince.
Ru-quan smiled. "I'm sure the minister didn't mean to downplay the sacrifice made by our soldiers," he said. The Shadow Lord needed a reminder from time to time that the soldiers he commanded belonged not to him, but to the crown. "What he meant was that since our army has managed to suppress the tribes' aggressive efforts once again, it only goes to show that perhaps this Eagle Warrior that you speak of is not as much of a threat as it may seem."
"Belittling the enemy is the easiest way to lose a war," Zhenghuan replied, unperturbed by the fact that he was openly disagreeing with the crown prince. He had always been a bit of a rogue in the eyes of the court officials, but they had not witnessed his bluntness in a long while. Several of them were now anxiously looking towards the king, waiting for his reaction to this barbed exchange.
"Our experience on the battlefield is far less than yours, General Du," Ru-an said congenially, "which is why we rely so much on you and the men who fight to keep the kingdom safe. If you truly believe that this Eagle Warrior is someone that we need to be wary of, then I'm sure there is no harm on keeping tabs on the movements within the southern tribes. After all, better to be safe than sorry."
The king nodded in agreement, looking pleased with his fifth son's words. "Ru-an is right. There is never any harm in being cautious. If Zhenghuan feels that the southern tribes may become a threat to our borders, then I trust his judgement. Zhenghuan, would you require any reinforcements at the southern border?"
The Shadow Lord shook his head. "My scouts have infiltrated some of the tribes and will be sending information back to the camp as and when they get wind of anything new. Since their last defeat, the tribes seem to be lying low for now to recuperate. We will update the court if there are any new developments."
While the king and the princes continued to engage the general in casual conversation, the officials of the court watched silently by the sidelines, a sense of unease washing over them.
The Shadow Lord had only just returned and already the political tide was shifting. The king had made a stand by siding with Zhenghuan instead of the crown prince, which had been a slap to the face of the latter in front of the entire court. Also, there was the fifth prince, who had voiced his opinion in support of the Shadow Lord. Among the king's older sons, Ru-an had the most political clout besides the crown prince and there were whispers among the officials about the possibility that the throne could fall to a different prince. Ru-an's actions today seemed to suggest that he had intentions of pulling the Shadow Lord to his side, and should the latter accept his gesture of goodwill, the tides could well change drastically in the fight for the crown.
All eyes fell upon the young man in the silver mask, his dark eyes as cold and unfeeling as the blackest of obsidian, for the decisions he made would have great impact on the future of the entire kingdom.
#
Zi-ning dipped her brush into the dark ink, then she pressed it down onto the clean sheet of parchment she had in front of her, imitating the strokes in the calligraphy book that lay open by the side. The books that the crown prince had sent over were far more interesting than she had expected, containing a rare collection of work by some of the best calligraphers across the kingdoms. There was even one particular book that contained a piece or two written by members of the Li clan from which Lady Li belonged.
She was halfway through the line she was writing when her mind drifted back to the day of the Shadow Lord's return, to that moment when he had looked up at her window and stared right into her eyes. She recognised that darkness, she thought, but why?
Suddenly, an image of the man she had rescued back at Taishan floated to the forefront of her mind—the man with the streak of silver in his hair and icy coldness emanating from his eyes.
That's impossible, she thought. The Shadow Lord has been guarding the southern border. Why would he have gone all the way to Taishan in the north? Besides, the Shadow Lord obviously didn't have the streaks of silver across his fringe that the man from Taishan had.
Lost in her thoughts, her hand accidentally brushed against the ink pot on the table, knocking it over and spilling its contents all over her parchment.
"Miss, what happened?" Hana asked, having just stepped in through the door carrying a tray with a small plate of cakes for her young mistress's afternoon tea. She quickly set down the tray and rushed over to the table, picking up the fallen ink pot.
Zi-ning stared down at the stained parchment in dismay, the black ink slowly seeping across the paper. She set down her brush, folding the ruined parchment in two.
"Let me do it," Hana said, taking the parchment from her.
While her maidservant busied herself with tidying up the small mess, Zi-ning walked over to the smaller table beside the window and sat herself down, pouring out a cup of water. "This is why Lady Li always said that I was too distracted for calligraphy," she said, shaking her head. Although she had eventually mastered everything that Lady Li taught her, she knew that the standard of her calligraphy was far from what it could be. The lady was right—her mind was too cluttered and distracted for her to excel in the art form.
"Is something bothering you, Miss?" Hana asked, bringing the plate of cakes over to her once she was done cleaning up.
Zi-ning took a sip of water, turning to look out of the window at the garden outside. "Hana," she said, "do you remember that man from Taishan? The one that I rescued?"
"Of course, Miss."
"Does he remind you of anyone?"
Hana looked confused, her brows furrowing as she thought about Zi-ning's question. After a while, she shook her head. "No, Miss. Have you seen him again?" she asked.
"No, it's not that," Zi-ning replied. "Never mind, it's nothing. I was just reminded of him all of a sudden, that's all."
"I hope we never see that man again," Hana griped. "Miss, if you ever see him again, promise me you'll stay far away. For him to have been injured so badly, it could only mean that he was involved in something extremely dangerous."
Zi-ning smiled, patting her maidservant reassuringly on the back of the hand. "Don't worry, nothing bad will come out of saving someone's life," she said. If anything, the man now owed her a debt of gratitude and she was more than willing to collect more of those. She would never know when she would need to claim those debts one day.
"The old madam sent someone over earlier to remind you that the tailor will be bringing your new dresses over later in the afternoon. She also sent over some jewellery from her collection, for your use at Old Madam Ouyang's birthday celebration tomorrow." Hana brought out a small wooden jewellery box and opened it in front of Zi-ning.
The box contained an assortment of accessories—bangles, necklaces and hairpins lined with gold and silver. Her grandmother had been most generous.
Zi-ning picked up some of the pieces, running her fingers across them thoughtfully.
"The ones with the lilies would suit you well, Miss," Hana said with a smile. She pointed at a silver hairpin with lilies carved at the end and a string of pearls hanging down from it like raindrops on a summer's day.
"You have good taste," Zi-ning said, laughing a little when she saw her servant girl go red in the face. "I'll wear the lilies tomorrow then."
It was certainly going to be an eventful day tomorrow. Perhaps wearing the lilies would help remind her to remain calm despite storms that lay ahead.