Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 70: Entering the Palace

Chapter 70: Entering the Palace

In the blink of an eye, it was already June. The days are starting to heat up, but the phoenix orchid is just blooming more beautifully. Their pale pink petals slowly turned bright red, and the fields that contained such large swaths of orchids were so majestic that it was painful to see them in person.

In mid-June, after a week of rain, the stale and sultry heat finally subsided a little.

That day, when Yun Ruoyan was cooling down in her grandmother's room, Yun Lan herself came to tell Yun Ruoyan that the feast of seeing the empress' flowers would be held in two nights.

He handed the gold-adorned invitation to Yun Ruoyan. As soon as he opened it, eight words were thrown at him: "Daughter of the Yun family, Yun Ruoyan."

She was a little confused, wasn't Li Qianxiao quite afraid of her appearance that night? But the invitation still appears.

As soon as noon the next day, Peony began to rush over to prepare to help Yun Ruoyan dress up. Her dress, again, was supplied by her grandmother. It was a very nice design, a veridian silk dress, light and airy, suitable for summer. Patterned gold embroidery is any kind of butterfly design, interwoven with fresh flower petals. When Yun Ruoyan wore the dress, it made her look dignified and adorable.

Since she had not reached married age, her hair was still tied loosely behind her back.

"Miss, what gauze do you want to use today?" ask Peony.

Although Xi Lan was in charge of most of the menial work in her room, she was an expert in handicrafts. In this past month, he made all sorts of colorful patches for Yun Ruoyan, no one lost in color or design to Lin Qingchen's.

Yun Ruoyan examined the dizzying array of patches that were all placed on the table in front of her. He recalled that night when the crown prince was so frightened that he fell to the ground, smiled, and chose a phoenix orchid plot for himself.

That night, Yun Ruoyan and Yun Ruoyao left for the palace in the same carriage.

They greeted each other superficially when they met outside Yun's matriarch's room, but did not speak at all afterward.

Although Yun Ruoyao spent most of her journey looking out the window, she could not help but glance at Yun Ruoyan a few times. More specifically, she couldn't help but look at one of her hairpieces. It was a thin rod, and several pieces of colored glass dangled at one end.

Last year, she had seen this exact ornament in her grandmother's jewelry box, and she begged her mother to take it for her.

Lady An had told her that it was part of the dowry of the matriarch Yun, and it would be passed down to the next female heir. Once Yun Ruoyao replaced Yun Ruoyan's position, it would naturally belong to her.

At that time, both mother and daughter hoped Ruoyao would soon ascend to the position of Yun Ruoyan. But, even a year later, the gold-plated stick was clearly hanging in Yun Ruoyan's hair.

“Sister, if you are tired, why don't you rest for a while?” Yun Ruoyan suddenly muttered.

“I was taking a nap, so I am not tired,” replied Yun Ruoyao, embarrassed. Slightly surprised as Yun Ruoyan realized her irish gaze, she buried her negative emotions deeper.

As the sun began to set, the carriage finally arrived at the east gate of the palace.

The Li royal palace has four entrances. The northern one is the official entrance, meant for the royal family and high officials. The western and southern gates were respectively for trade and shopping and for palace servants and eunuchs, while the eastern gates were for women.

A large group of carriages had gathered at the east entrance, all of them waiting to enter the palace for the flower viewing party. Yun Ruoyao bid farewell to Yun Ruoyan, got off the carriage, and began to blend in with familiar faces.

Yun Ruoyan stayed in the carriage longer. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw Pei Ziao in a long, moon-white robe, with his hair tied with a white jade headband. She was beaming as she walked towards him. “Ruoyan, are you here? I'm glad I found you so easily!”

He had long since arrived at the palace and combed the carriage looking for him. A moment ago he saw the Yun Family carriage and rushed over, just in time to see Yun Ruoyan preparing to get off. After glancing at Yun Ruoyan, she discovered that she could not turn away.

"Oh?" Yun Ruoyan's brows curved. "Young Master Pei, are you here to give me the promised high-grade pill, or to tell me that my tiger-dog arrowhead is ready?"

Pei Ziao was speechless, his face slightly embarrassed. “Ruoyan sister, you know how valuable a high-grade pill is. I mentioned your request to Father, but he did not want to part with them. As for the arrows, they are being made at the moment."

Yun Ruoyan sneered. “So your words as Young Master Pei are unbelievable, I accept them. Why did you agree to my request so easily back then? Are you just teasing me?”

“I...” Pei Ziao's face begins to blush. Hurriedly, he continued, "As long as it's not a high-grade pill, I'll do anything for you"

"really?" Yun Ruoyan's smile was clearly mocking, but it was so beautiful that Pei Ziao could not hate her.

"Yes, really!"

"Good!" Yun Ruoyan continued, clearly saying every word. “From now on, except to give me a high-grade pill and the arrow eyes of my tigers, please stay away from me. I don't want to see you!”

Pei Ziao's pounding heart suddenly fell silent, as if it had been thrown into a frozen dungeon. He really did not understand why Yun Ruoyan hated him so much!

By status, although the Pei family was not an aristocratic family like the Yun family, their position in the capital had grown year after year under the guidance of Pei Yingxiong.

Yun Ruoyan was the full daughter of the Yun family, and she was the sole heir to the Pei family. As long as he married her, he would be able to inherit Pei's entire family, without worrying about the brother feud that was so common among nobles.

In terms of appearance, he believed he was near the top. On the other hand, no matter how beautiful Yun Ruoyan looked, she could not remove the birthmark that damaged her face.

So why did he refuse to treat her like a potential suitor? On what basis did he step on his efforts?!

Yun Ruoyan did not care about Pei Ziao's emotional change. For someone who would die at his hands sooner or later, wasting any thoughts on him was useless.

“Sister Ziao, you're here! I've been looking for you for a long time!”

At this moment, the voice of the woman that Yun Ruoyan had not heard for a long time was heard, and she could not help but turn her head to the source of the voice.

Yi Qianying, wearing a summer dress, walked slowly and meandered towards the two of them. His sparkling eyes were fixed on Pei Ziao by his side.

“Young Master Pei, since your little sister is here, I won't bother you two anymore.” Yun Ruoyan smiled coldly before walking towards the entrance of the palace.

"Sister Ruoyan!" Yi Qianying hurriedly rushed in front of Yun Ruoyan. “Why did you leave as soon as you saw me? Are you still angry about last time?"

Yun Ruoyan could smell the faint fragrance of flowers emanating from her, a hint of sweetness that was chillingly mixed into the scent. Who knows how many bees and butterflies are attracted to her figure tonight?

Rarely would anyone manage to capture a prince or princess at a flower viewing party, but this was a rare opportunity for the young descendants of the noble family to meet each other. Who wouldn't want to show off?

Yi Qianying's gaze was still fixed on Yun Ruoyan, and she had no choice but to answer coldly. “Why should I blame you, my dear sister? Aren't you also kept a secret by He Xiang? If anyone is to blame, it's him!”

“Of course, Sister, you are absolutely right. He Xiang has been dealt with, and I'm sure you feel better now, ” Yi Qianying replied expressionlessly.

“Qianying sister, how are you here?” Pei Ziao walked over and asked curiously. It had been a long time since the last time she had seen Yi Qianying, but as far as she was concerned, she did not have the qualifications to be invited to such an event.

Yi Qianying's smile was extremely brilliant. “My second uncle helped me get the invitation.”

Although Yi Qianying was indeed the biological daughter of the Yi family, both of her parents had died early. Fearing she would be ostracized in the Yi household, matriarch Yun had kept her by his side, and the Yi family had almost forgotten the whereabouts of their daughter.

But of the two current principals' daughters, one was ugly and the other was talented, and the only daughter they could send to this party was Yi Qianying.

The crowd suddenly fell silent as a eunuch approached the east gate and announced the start of the party.

Under the supervision of the palace maids and eunuchs, Yun Ruoyan marched with a group of thirty young descendants and entered the Li royal palace, a location she had never entered in both of her lives.

The night was late, and the majestic palace looked even more majestic in the darkness.

Some among the group had attended the party last year, and they were not particularly affected by the beautiful scenery before them. However, the ones who did not murmur silently amongst themselves as they gasped for breath.

After passing the ten foot tall stone statue, Yun Ruoyan inevitably paused for a moment.

It was a qilin statue circled in flames, its hind legs clinging to the ground and its front legs reaching for the sky, as if it was about to start flying.

Yun Ruoyan raised her head, following the meandering qilin body up to her huge head, her protruding jaw, two huge copper eyes that stared into the night sky.

The statue looked as if it could come alive at any moment. The image was fixated on him, and he just stood still, admiring his elegance and strength.

"This is the fire qilin !" Qiuqiu's voice rang out from Yun Ruoyan's mind, his voice full of longing.

“A fire qilin ?! Legendary spirit beast that he said could swallow the sun and moon?”

Suddenly, a loud and sharp voice interrupted his mind. “Which family did the girl come from? Don't you know the rules? Maintain it!"

Yun Ruoyan turned her head to see a white-faced middle-aged eunuch reprimanding her. The group he was in had long since moved in.

"Eunuch Hao, he's my friend." A familiar male voice spoke from behind Yun Ruoyan.

Before he could turn around, a black-clothed figure appeared in front of him.

"Wow!" Li Qianhan looked at his figure, his mouth gaping. “It's only been a few days, but it looks like that ugly girl has turned into a phoenix!”

"Huh." Yun Ruoyan began to laugh at his exaggerated expression. “On the other hand, you haven't changed at all, Third Prince. Even in your own home, you still roam around quietly.”

Eunuch Hao stood behind the two of them. When they started talking, he could only bow and interrupt, "Third Prince, this miss, if you don't keep moving, you'll be late for the empress' party."

Li Qianhan suddenly withdrew Yun Ruoyan's hand as he turned towards the pale-faced eunuch. "Eunuch Hao, I'll be right back with my friend."

Yun Ruoyan felt as if a gust of wind was enveloping her body as she directed them into the air. The wind whistled by his ears, and the structures and buildings on both sides seemed to retreat rapidly.

“Nona Yun, my uncle is here tonight, and I'm sure he'll be happy to see you in person.”

"What did you say?" Confused by that sudden movement, Yun Ruoyan could not hear Li Qianhan clearly.