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But it did not come. The eunuchs loosened their grip, enough for her to turn her head around in astonishment.
Kang stood there, his eyes burning with black wrath, one hand gripping the tail of the whip. Behind him was Empress Lihua, her face white with anger.
“One hundred lashes would be enough to kill a grown man many times over, let alone a girl, don’t you think?” Her Majesty said contemptuously. “What has she done to warrant this?”
Lady Sun squared her shoulders, her eyes defiant. “She stole a combin the presence of not only myself, but the Emperor as well. I wanted to teach her a lesson.”
“By killing her? It’s difficult to educate a corpse.” The Empress glared at the eunuchs. “Put the tunic back on her at once and summon Bohai to my apartments. All of you return to your beds.” There was a flurry of bowing as the onlookers hurried away.
“I have the right to exercise authority upon any in my service!” Even Master Yu drew back at the overt hatred in Lady Sun’s voice.
“Xifeng is not in your service, but in mine. Remember that before you murder all of my women.” The Empress turned her scathing glare upon the chief eunuch and Madam Hong. “I’m told you assigned Xifeng to work as Lady Sun’s personal maid. I trust with over two hundred servants at our disposal, you can find someone more appropriate to clean after her animals than a lady-in-waiting recommended by the Crown Prince.” She was magnificent in her disapproval, in the tilt of her chin and the flash of her eye.
A daughter of dragons,Xifeng thought as Kang helped her stand up. She leaned against him, still shaking from the pain as he slipped her tunic over her head. She hissed through her teeth when the cotton snagged on her fresh wounds.
The Empress’s fiery gaze turned on her. “Did you steal the comb, Xifeng?”
“I did not, Your Majesty,” she said, her voice ragged. “I have no purpose for it.”
A smile tugged at the Empress’s thin lips. “You wouldn’t have worn it longer than five minutes without a scene.” She glanced at Lady Sun, who reddened. “Master Yu, Madam Hong, we’ll discuss this in the morning. Xifeng, come with me, please.” She turned, the gold phoenix embroidered on her robe shimmering as though aflame.
“I’ll wait for you outside the door,” Kang promised. He helped her climb the stairs to the uppermost level of the building. Along with the stripes of heat on her back, she could still feel the eunuchs’ grasp on her arms, which would be purple with bruises by morning.
On the walkway, she saw Lady Sun still watching her. Xifeng clenched her jaw. One day soon, she vowed, it would be the concubine’s turn to cower before her in pain and fear—and Xifeng would enjoy every minute of it.
The Empress led her into a chamber lit by white lanterns. Whereas Lady Sun’s apartments were showy and overstuffed, the Empress’s were simple, with tasteful furnishings and nature blooming on every surface. It was the home of a woman with nothing to prove. A table of creamy, light wood held an exquisite miniature tree standing no more than a foot high. Its branches were tiny clouds of evergreen bursting with little white blossoms, their hearts apple-red.
“The tree of a thousand lanterns,” the Empress said, noticing her interest. “A gift from the palace gardener.”
“It’s lovely,” Xifeng said. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving me tonight.”
“Kang is the one who deserves your thanks. He caused a considerable commotion to notify me.”
Xifeng hadn’t considered how many layers of guards the eunuch had to get through to reach the Empress. If he hadn’t succeeded, if he hadn’t brought Her Majesty in time... She shut her eyes, feeling a rush of horror mixed with gratitude.
Empress Lihua regarded her with bright, youthful eyes in a face marked with sorrow. “I see the whip wouldn’t have been the first to touch you today.” Her fingers hovered over the cheek Lady Sun had damaged. “What have you done to make her hate you so?”
Xifeng ducked her head. “It seems one doesn’t have to do much, Your Majesty.”
“I don’t often deem it worthwhile to interfere with Lady Sun’s doings. My husband’s consorts are given much freedom, but occasionally I find it necessary to remind them that they needmyapproval, as well.” A muscle worked in her jaw as she turned to the miniature tree.
Xifeng pressed a hand over the vicious scratches, recalling how the Emperor had wearily embraced Lady Sun. “It can’t be easy for you, sharing him with them.”
“It’s not for me to choose or complain. My husband is the Emperor, and I must put his needs before mine. I am first in his heart and his home, and there’s nothing more I can ask.” But her face wore an expression of resigned patience, one she must have had to learn. She hesitated before laying a gentle hand on Xifeng’s arm. “Don’t let Lady Sun’s mistreatment make you sad, my dear. She behaves that way to anyone she sees as a rival.”
“I won’t forgive her for this,” Xifeng whispered, longing to lay her head in the Empress’s lap and be soothed. “She’s ruined my face.”
“Wounds heal in time.”
“But they also scar.” She closed her eyes, another wave of dizzy panic threatening to overcome her. “I wish I knew what my Guma would advise. I don’t think it wrong that I came to the palace... to you. But I feel I’m not where I ought to be.”
Careful not to drink your own poison,the creature hissed as her words poured out.You may win the Empress by playing the daughter, but remember she is not your mother.
Footsteps sounded from the doorway. Xifeng’s eyes flew open as one of the guards approached. “The Imperial physician, Your Majesty.”
“Show him in.” The Empress raised an eyebrow at Xifeng. “This isanother reason I suspect you are favored by the gods. Tonight, I have been without my usual sleeping tonic, and the physician brings it now. If I had taken it as I do every evening, no power on earth could have awakened me.”
Xifeng shuddered, as a man in his sixties entered the room. Despite the late hour, he wore formal blue silk printed with gold circles and a cap marking his rank. He was short and stout, with bright black eyes and an impressive silver beard that fell in a long, straight point. This, then, was Bohai. He had nothing of his daughter, Akira, in him until he smiled, and then Xifeng was struck by the resemblance in the way his cheeks drew back and his eyes shone.
