"The Prince is going to Jungpi?"  Bingquing couldn't believe her ears.Her maid reiterated it with her head bowed.  "That's what I heard from the other housemaids miss.  The other maids and I were wondering if we would continue to serve you or not."Jungpi was where father was. On the surface, anyone who was looking at her would assume that she had spent the last month in relative happiness.  Ning Ren was crafty.  Every pleasure he created for her was a test to try to figure out her identity.  He would bring different wines from all the territories to see her sensibilities.  The cook would rotate cuisines to see which plates she finished or asked for again.  The books she found in her room also reflected this -- poetry, politics, religion.  The cage was beautifully made -- but the bars were still present.She did not wish for him to know who she was.  It was still unclear who had ordered the massacre

Within the hour the manor house was quiet.Bingquing's maid told her, she was to be left alone with Ning Ren and handed her a silver knife, "It was a privilege to serve you madam.  The master instructed you to have this so you will not misunderstand his intentions."She took the knife and found it fit well inside of her nightgown.  It was easy to hide and would be easy to use.  A strange gift for a man to give a woman.  An appropriate gift for a master to give his spy or assassin. She felt like a lamb being lead to slaughter as they approached Ning Ren's room.  Everything was dark as the candles had been snuffed out.  That part of the house was vacant of servants and as Ning Fan led her with a torch he seemed conflicted. It was nighttime.  Ning Ren had never asked for her this late before."Master,"  Ning Fan bowed as he presented Bingquing to Ning Ren.  "Where are all the servants?"N

"Bats!  They're everywhere.  Are you sure this is a good idea, highness?"  Bingquing ducked her head as a stalactite brushed the top of her head.  She clutched a stalagmite to brace herself."It's not.  It's the complete opposite of that.  It's a genuinely horrible idea.  But I think you'll notice many of my horrible ideas lead to a safe Ning Ren, Ning Fan and Qing.  This is the only thing that mattered."Ning Fan tapped against the side of the cave and got some of the cave slime between his fingers and tasted it.  "It's salt and dirt."Ning Ren slapped his shoulder as he gestured at the broad expanse, "This is a fine cave that I shall make into a new manor to house all of my servants and horses and cannons and cavalry."  His voice echoed through the cave as Bingquing looked on in disdain.They continued on their walk.  As they came to a fork, Ning Fan knocked against a section of the wall.  Ther

Later in the afternoon, Bingquing was sewing in her room, when a maid of the manor came to gossip."You are the daughter of Official Chu who was thought to be dead, but was rescued and brought back to him?  The whole palace harem is buzzing with the news of such a strange miracle to brighten up our days.  Such a legend has heavenly implications so it is thought that you are a divine being who has come to earth.  Since you are here in the harem it is throught that you are bringing a light to the palace."Bingquing was embroidering a sleeping black cat on a white background.  The imaging was calming to her, as she would often a black cat that she would feed in her previous manor.  She smiled wryly.  "A family reunion is always joyous.  But how do you know of such things inside the palace?"The maid was known as Du Ni and was the daughter of her old nanny so the two had played together and been tutored together as children. 

"Your majesty," A eunuch kneeled low in front of the queen of Jungpi as her maids buzzed around her.  Her hair was done half up so that the hair hung down in cascades of shine so whoever stood behind her would be looking at a scenic waterfall.  The scene was punctuated with four phoenix hairpins which were arranged in the four cardinal directions.  In front, right abover her forehead was a small nest replete with a phoenix couple and a nest of eggs.  It was a haven reprieve from the business of the golden array of clouds and valleys.  Her eyes were winged with setting clouds made of shadows of purple, orange, and yellow.  The sun itself set red in a painted mark between her delicate eyebrows.  The scene was set so it would appeal to the court, but she was under no illusions about her looks.She was by no means beautiful.  Her own mother, the former queen, had always referred to her as having the misfortune of her father's brutish face.&