The Grand Palace buzzed with life, golden chandeliers spilling warm light over polished marble floors. At its heart, a raised stage gleamed, commanding attention from every corner of the hall.
Whispers and laughter wove through the air, mixing with the scent of polished wood and faint perfume, as if the room itself was alive may its audience be or not.
The beauty was enough to make you forget all horrors of the world. Song competition started,singers from all over the world came to impress the Emperor.
Among them a singer captured everyone's attention. She is from the countryside. She sang about the sorrow and hardship of the villagers and peasants. For the Emperor, the lyrics mattered less compared to the sound,the vocals.
For everyone what mattered more wasn't the song at all. It was her beauty. Second thought– it wasn't her beauty that held the room—it was how easily everyone decided it belonged to them.
She moved like a soft breeze through silk, every step turning the room into a quiet symphony of grace. Her eyes held a thousand unspoken stories, delicate as porcelain yet radiant enough to make the world pause.
Her beautiful red qipao ingraved with golden rose designs matched her grace. The rose hair pin she wore in her hair rivaled the charm in her eyes.
It felt like my adjectives improved on its own while describing her. Her name was Shuying.
Dannyal couldn't stop gazing at her. His face shining at her beauty. His cheeks flushed with harder red than her dress.
Tenzin was indifferent to that. He probably never learnt to admire beauty. I don't know if that is a good or bad side to be honest.
For a moment, I believed beauty might be enough to protect us. But how long does happiness and laugh last in this cursed earth?
Soon guards came running with blood in hand. They found the prince who is second in line to be king dead in his bed.
The music didn't stop immediately. That was the cruelest part.
The hall learned how fragile harmony was.
Someone killed him while music was going on. It didn't take me long enough to understand how rivalry,sorrow and murders are hidden under beauty and grace in this empire.
The blame was put on Shuying,without a second thought. The ladies did in jealousy that she was more beautiful, the other singers did to remove her as a competitor and the nobles did to blame someone for their satisfaction after a lose.
None of them used any of their brain,maybe some didn't even have one. Logic had already lost. What remained was hunger—for blame, for relief, for cruelty.
Dannyal stood up infront of all of them, defended her. He didn't look brave. He looked offended—like the world had violated a rule he believed in.
He yelled,"How can she murder if she was here all along?" An advisor from behind the Emperor yelled,"She must have sang in a high volume to avoid the sound, she must have been a part of the plot."
Everyone immediately agreed with the advisor. Those who still had logic threw it in fear.
"Why not the other singers as well?" The advisor yelled,"She was singing the moment he was killed."
"How are you sure the guards didn't find the body later?" "She could've poisoned him," advisor yelled.
"So could other nobles and everyone present here. Then why her ?"
That shut everyone in that room. The Emperor saw a good debater while others found someone to hate and blame.
I saw a chance to enter the palace but where everyone would doubt us. Among all of them, my eyes caught a women, sat beside the Emperor in cold eyes,under which evident sorrows were hidden.
She had wore black qipao,an opposite contrast to the colorful room. But her face felt like they had wore someone else's mask.
She had this weird earrings,a black star in which a white lined spiral was drawn. Her dress had the same shapes. It was like her own symbol.
Among this silence, a man screamed, "She's a women, who knows what techniques must she have hidden under her sleeves."
That sentence angered me. I stood up and answered,"If she's that good in hiding techniques, why not send her in war? She might out perform the strategist. "
I didn't speak to defend her. I spoke to expose them.
Power hates mirrors more than enemies after all.
Those words widened the eyes of the lady sitting beside the Emperor. Her gaze didn't question me. It measured me.
That was when I realized she wasn't watching the room—she was cataloging it. She whispered to the Emperor. The Emperor stood up. Pointed at me,"You,come here. My sister wants you."
What? Want me? I had no way but to obey him. But my mind was still filled with suspicion.
Could she see me as a threat? The one she will remove secretly?
Then he said looking at Dannyal,"Boy,you are brave. Stay with one of my advisors."
Allowing you to stay with one of the advisors wasn't a privilege. It was like an eye kept on you when they need and distrust you at the same time.
Dannyal replied with widened eyes looking at me, "Ye–yes,my majesty."
Wang and Tenzin went home. I just hope Tenzin keeps him safe.
I walked towards the lady,she said,"My name is Chen. From now on,you're my personal assistant who will always stay with me."
She started walking. I followed her from behind thinking that I was an advisor the previous time but this time a mere assistant. How frustrating!
I went ahead and said,"What if I–"
She said after giving me a glance bending her neck,"Don't think you can poison me, I'm way too observant for that."
Holy shit! I was going to say that.
She showed me a room. It had a bed in the middle. Beside which was a big balcony. The Chinese works were detailed.
I asked,"Why me without any question? "
She replied,"You'll soon realize."
Isn't she a bit way too careless? Must have lost something very big. I wondered what she had lost to make trust feel unnecessary.
On the other hand,Dannyal was taken by an advisor,very old. He mistakenly entered three other rooms before finally taking him to the correct room. Old age,rusty memory.
That night, Dannyal came to my room to talk about what just happened. Poor boy couldn't stop talking about Shuying.
While he was explaining about her, someone knocked the door. We went to check and it was SHUYING! Dannyal peeked and his face became red again.
Shuying walked elegantly, walked to Dannyal and said,"Thanks for defending me." Dannyal said,"Ye–yeah,sure,I was just saying what was just."
She walked to the balcony, glanced at the moon,turned back towards Dannyal, "I don't really know a lot of people who would do that for me."
The shining moon behind her doubled her beauty. Dannyal's eyes widened, "Oh,really? But now you know one."
Dannyal looked like he'd rather fight the Emperor than meet her eyes.
He said putting his hand on a small table,big enough to keep a lamp. But his pressure made that fall. Shuying just gave a small smile while Dannyal made that stand again.
She smiled like someone who had learned gratitude was safer than hope.
Shuying went towards Dannyal,"I made you some sweets. I don't know if you'll like them."
"Th–thanks!"
I have seen him face danger without flinching. A smiling girl,however,was apparently fatal. Shuying went closing the door.
I asked Dannyal,"You are gonna give me some,right?"
"Yeah,take it all. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight."
Good thing I got the snacks at least.
But the thing is In the Golden Palace, opportunity and execution often shared the same doorway.
Plus palaces don't invite people by accident.
I suspected that surviving Chen would be harder than surviving the Emperor.
But another God damn killer is also on the loose.