Chapter 3: The Invitation

The Palace of Phoenix was as dignified as ever.

As dawn broke, the eastern sky was just beginning to pale, a thin layer of dew lay on the glazed tiles of Phoenix Palace.

All the documents were neatly arranged on the long desk, their corners held down by jade paperweights.

Empress Su Mingshu sat behind a long rosewood desk, reviewing the plans for the Spring Tea Banquet. Several bound folios lay open across the desk, several entries had been neatly circled in vermilion ink.

Nanny Xu stood quietly beside her, hands folded before her, yet her gaze remained gentle. “Your Highness,” she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper, “all the invitations have been sent out. Early this morning, messengers from each palace returned with word that they have all confirmed their attendance.”

Mingshu did not look up, but nodded slightly. The tip of her brush moved across the paper: “What about Chengqian Palace?”

“Lady Su was the first to receive the invitation,” Nanny Xu said, leaning forward slightly, a barely perceptible warmth in her tone. “I delivered it personally before dawn; her attendant Qing Dai accepted it.”

Only then did she set down her brush. "Tell the Imperial Kitchen…" She paused for a moment. "…to prepare lotus pastries."

Nanny Xu looked surprised. "Your Majesty?"

Mingshu smiled faintly. "Qingyuan always preferred lotus over osmanthus. She used to complain the osmanthus cakes were too sweet."

Nanny Xu lowered her head with a smile. "It has been years, yet Your Majesty still remembers."

"How could I forget?" Mingshu looked toward the palace window. "When she was little… she would always steal the pastries from my plate."

Nanny Xu smiled knowingly, the fondness of one who had raised them shining in her eyes.

The smile vanished in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Mingshu picked up her brush again, smoothing the page with one hand before dipping the brush into the ink.

“Has the seating arrangement for tomorrow’s banquet been finalized?” When she spoke again, her voice was calm once more.

“It has been settled, Your Majesty.” Nanny Xu also suppressed her smile, lowering her hands and standing solemnly once more. “Lady Su has been seated to your left, adjacent to several high-ranking consorts.”

Mingshu furrowed her brow slightly, running her fingertips back and forth across the paper twice.

“Nanny Xu,” she called out.

Nanny Xu stepped forward half a pace in response: “Your Majesty.”

“Move her.” Mingshu spoke, raising her eyes to look at Nanny Xu. Her gaze left no room for argument. “Though she is my younger sister, by rank, she does not even qualify for the position of Palace Mistress.”

Nanny Xu opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words, merely nodding slightly. “Your Majesty’s concerns are well-founded.”

“Let’s follow protocol,” Mingshu said, her tone suddenly settling.

Nanny Xu’s brow twitched slightly; she pursed her lips, but ultimately murmured, “According to protocol, Lady Su is seated far from Your Majesty, separated by Consort Shen and Imperial Concubine Zhao. It may be inconvenient to look after her.”

She sat up straight again, withdrew her hand from the table, and gently tucked it into her sleeve. “With so many people at the banquet, if something were to happen, it could happen anywhere.”

She raised her eyes to meet Nanny Xu’s gaze; her eyes were as still as winter ice.

“We cannot prepare for every contingency.”Her voice softened slightly, as if she were trying to convince herself, “Qingyuan… She knows how to protect herself.”

Nanny Xu looked at her, and finally the corners of her lips curved ever so slightly. She bowed and said, “Your Majesty has thought of everything.”

The Empress nodded calmly, and the tip of her brush returned to the paper, her handwriting as neat and elegant as ever.

Outside Phoenix Palace—

Two palace maids whispered as they swept the courtyard.

"They say Lady Su is only favored because she's Her Majesty's younger sister."

"Of course. If not for the Empress, how could someone with such a low rank receive His Majesty's attention?"

Nanny Xu frowned. "Your Majesty, shall I punish them?"

Mingshu slowly shook her head. "No. They're wrong… but not because they spoke ill of Qingyuan."

She lowered her gaze. "They're wrong because they never knew the truth."

Nanny Xu remained silent.

⸻

Inside Zhaohua Palace.

Imperial Concubine Zhao slowly unfolded her invitation.

"The Spring Tea Banquet…" A smile curved her lips. "The Empress truly chose the perfect occasion."

Senior Noble Lady Qin hesitated. "But Her Majesty has always protected her younger sister."

"Protected?" Zhao laughed softly. "Her Majesty cannot protect her every moment."

She gently placed her teacup onto the table. "The banquet belongs to the Empress. But accidents belong to no one."

The room fell silent.

The lights in Chengqian Palace came on a little earlier than elsewhere.

Qingyuan sat by the window, arranging crabapple blossoms in a white porcelain vase.

Familiar footsteps came to a halt behind her; she knew who it was without even turning around.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist; his palm rested against her lower abdomen through the thin fabric. He pulled her gently against him, pulling her entirely into his embrace. He brought with him the cool night air and the faint scent of ambergris incense.

She didn’t turn around, merely smiling faintly: "Tired?"

Xiao Heng rested his chin on her shoulder: "A little."

She leaned back into his embrace, her back resting against his chest: "They said something again?"

“When have they ever not talked?” he said, his voice low and unconcerned.

Still cradled in his arms, she turned slightly and looked up at him. Lifting one hand, she gently cupped his cheek, her thumb brushing lightly across his skin: "There's their job."

He simply let her, little by little, the faint furrow between his brows smoothed away.

Only then did his eyes drift past her, coming to rest on the crimson invitation beside the vase. The gilded phoenix embossed upon it caught the candlelight, glinting softly: "The Spring Tea Banquet?"

"Sister invited me."

His expression grew a shade more serious, and his arm tightened around her waist, drawing her firmly against him.

Qingyuan sensed the change at once. Turning within the circle of his arms, she placed a palm against his chest. Now facing one another, she saw his brows knit together once more.

“You don’t want me to go?”

“I do,” he admitted without hesitation. “I want you to go. I’m just… uneasy.”

As he spoke, he lifted a hand to cover the one she had laid against his chest, his thumb slowly stroking her knuckles.

“My sister will be there too,” she said softly.

“I know.”

"My sister won't hurt me."

“But not everyone is like the Mingshu,” he said quietly. “Not everyone will treat you with the same sincerity.”

Qingyuan looked up at him with a smile, her eyes bright and gently curved at the corners: "When did you become so worried?"

He smiled helplessly. "When I met a girl who climbed trees."

A faint blush crept across her cheeks. "I climbed only once!"

"But you fell." He picked up where she had left off, his voice carrying the lingering echo of an old fear.

“But you caught me.”

“I was terrified.” His gaze drifted into the distance, as though he were seeing that afternoon from years ago, “I don’t think my heart had ever raced that hard—not even when father unexpectedly called on me to recite my lessons.”

“But you caught me,” she repeated softly.

She looked up at him, the candlelight reflected in her eyes as two tiny pools of warm light.

He held her gaze for a long moment. His eyes drifted from her brows to the tip of her nose before settling once more on the smile lingering at her lips.

“I always will,” he said quietly.

Silence settled between them. Comfortable and familiar.

Qingyuan gently squeezed his hand, threading her fingers through his and lacing them together: “I’ll be careful tomorrow.”

"I know." His thumb idly traced tiny circles over the web of skin between her thumb and forefinger.

“I’ll be back before you,” she said, a smile warming her voice. “Then I’ll make your favorite sweet milk custard.”

At last, Xiao Heng smiled. The faint lines at the corners of his eyes softened, and the last trace of tension melted from his face.

“I’ll be waiting,” he murmured. “Don’t break your promise.”

He bent to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Smiling, she slipped her fingers into his palm and laced them with his, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“You’re impossible.”

“Only with you,” he whispered, so softly the words were almost lost between them.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing lightly along the curve of her ear.

Then he gathered her into his arms once more, enfolding her against him. Then he lowered his head and kissed her. Qingyuan’s eyes remained half-lowered, her lashes trembling ever so slightly, like the final flutter of a butterfly folding its wings.

Before she could speak, he slipped one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back, lifting her effortlessly from the floor.

"Xiao Heng—!"

She gasped, instinctively looping her arms around his neck.

He carried her toward the inner chamber, his steps unhurried.

The bed curtains fell with a soft rustle of silk, enclosing them in a world of warm lamplight and shadow.

Within Chengqian Palace, the lamps burned through the night.

Beyond its walls, he was the Emperor- The weight of the empire all rested upon his shoulders.

Within those same walls, he was simply Xiao Heng—a husband who held his love close and was reluctant to let her go.

The begonia blossoms bloomed and faded. The Spring Tea Banquet came and went, year after year. Yet so long as she remained there, the lamps of Chengqian Palace would never go out.

* Imperial Harem Ranks (Highest to Lowest)

Empress

Imperial Noble Consort

Noble Consort

Consort

Imperial Concubine

Senior Noble Lady

Noble Lady

Attendant

Junior Attendant