Page 32 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

And when Xifeng woke the next morning, she was alone in the bed, and he and all of his belongings had vanished.

The Imperial Palace seemed to Xifeng an earthly rendering of the Dragon Lords’ home in the heavens. It shimmered through the gates, a colossus of gold roofs, pillars, and courtyards of stone. She stared at it with the strange sensation that it gazed back—recognized her. Her fate lay here, in this vast city of interconnected buildings linked by covered corridors, and in a moment she would enter.

Will I ever come out again?

She squared her shoulders and approached the guards. “The Crown Prince requests my presence,” she told them. They stared as though they had never seen anything like her. One of them had an eye that kept twitching suspiciously. “His Highness said to tell you I seek the Little Fisherman.” She had no idea what that meant, other than it was some sort of password Wei had left for her. But it seemed to work, for they stepped aside to let her through.

“Find Master Kang in the Sunset Pagoda, at the top of the stairs,”the twitching-eye guard said pompously. “His Highness has instructed him to take you to Master Yu and Madam Hong.”

Xifeng held her head high. She would not be intimidated by their scornful appraisal or the important-sounding names he had flung at her. At least, she couldappearnot to be intimidated.

She crossed a courtyard of rocks like gray eggs, and a great emptiness rose up to meet her. A meditative, eerie silence reigned here, though guards in fine armor were stationed everywhere. It made her feel more alone than ever, and she felt Wei’s absence like a phantom limb.

The ache was so sharp she had to pause for breath, his face swimming before her eyes. He had always been there, a thread of joy in her frayed life, and now he was gone, off to begin the life he’d lead without her. Had she done right to push him onto a different path? If only she’d been brave enough to tell himhewas far too good forher. She was nothing but a selfish coward who could neither love him nor let him go.

She despised herself. But there was nothing to do but live with her choice.

With great effort, Xifeng climbed the sprawling steps to the first level of the palace. The royal family clearly revered nature, for all around her, the stern lines of the walls and pillars were softened by peony gardens, ponds full of brilliant blue-and-orange fish, and little red-roofed pavilions dotting the grass. Lanterns graced every archway and lined each flower bed, and she knew at night, they would shine among the blossoms like stars fallen from the sky.

She passed grave, important-looking men, each with a different cap or symbol embroidered upon his clothing to mark his rank or position. She had no idea who they were supposed to be—only that they all appeared clean, well fed, and well rested.

The Sunset Pagoda lay across the garden. It stood about twenty feethigh, its vaulted ceiling supported by nine sturdy pillars, each carved with a blessing or prayer. It faced another pond full of sun-colored fish swimming joyfully against an imaginary current.

As Xifeng came closer, she saw a man standing inside with his back to her. For a moment, she felt an irrational, overpowering fear, for his bald head and the powerful slope of his shoulders reminded her of the monster she’d seen in a bronze mirror, his brown monk’s robes fluttering in the wind. But he turned around with such a pleasant face, she went forward without hesitation, feeling foolish.

“You are Master Kang?” she asked.

His smooth, unlined face broke into a toothy smile, his eyes twinkling like pebbles in a stream. “I am indeed.” His lilting singsong voice rose above the normal pitch of a man. “And you are the maiden of whom the Crown Prince spoke so well. Xifeng, is it? A queenly name.”

From his high voice, Xifeng knew he must be one of the eunuchs Hideki had advised her to befriend. He took a fan from his robes and fluttered it as he studied her, wrists twirling delicately. He looked to be a bit older than her, likely in his midtwenties. She tried to keep her eyes down with respect, but couldn’t help glancing at the shining yards of silk he wore, which were the soft hue of a mountain in summer.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” He plucked complacently at his long tunic embroidered with turtles. “Our seamstresses are very good. Though they did assure me this color wouldn’t suit me, and see how wrong they were?”

Xifeng hid a smile. She found it hard to imagine him as scheming or powerful, the way Hideki had painted the eunuchs. But Guma had warned that cunning far outweighed physical might in the palace, and Xifeng might well believe it of this man, whose flippant manner did not entirely mask his intelligence.

“You’re as beautiful as His Highness said, I’m afraid,” the eunuch remarked, continuing his friendly scrutiny. “All the ladies are talking of it, you know. I’m sorry to say you won’t be very popular.” His giggle shimmered like a dragonfly skimming over the pond.

“I only seek the approval of Her Imperial Majesty.” After a beat, she added, “And yours, of course, if you’ll grant it to me.”

Kang’s eyes crinkled. “Oh, yes, you’ll win my heart with that flattery, but I’m not popular enough to have influence here. I’ve been here ten years, and they still haven’t forgiven me for being the son of humble fishing folk.” He beckoned with his fan, and they began walking around the edge of the pagoda. “Tell me about yourself before I fling you into the nest of female vipers.”

“There isn’t much to tell.” Xifeng briefly described her journey and newfound friends.

“Ambassador Shiro, come at last,” Kang repeated, raising an eyebrow. “The Emperor has waited impatiently for him. I hear he carried important documentation.”

The eunuch paused, waiting for her to elaborate, but she remained silent. Despite his harmless appearance, Xifeng knew he was likely searching for a way to advance—and it wouldn’t be through her, not where Shiro was involved. Not when she had herself to worry about.

“Where are you from?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, a tiny village in the middle of nowhere.” He winked. “They aren’t fond of people like us rising to their station, though most of them weren’t born in a palace, either. That’s why you and I will be friends.”

Xifeng gave a polite laugh, but privately resolved to keep her own counsel. It had been simple to fall into friendship with sensible, straightforward Shiro and Hideki. But the eunuch, for all his wrist-twirling, might be something else entirely.

They passed a structure housing fruit trees and medicinal gardens smelling of mint, sage, and lemongrass. Each building boasted ornate windows and intricately chiseled doors of fine wood. The price of one, Xifeng felt sure, would be enough to feed her entire town for a full year. In the adjoining courtyard stood another edifice equipped with a stage for palace theatricals, which adjoined the musicians’ quarters and the scholars’ complex.

“The mathematicians, lawmakers, poets, and other intellectual servants of the Emperor live there,” Kang explained.

He led her across a covered bridge offering a view of the Imperial City, with the forest wrapped around it like an emerald serpent. Directly ahead of them stood a stone gate a hundred feet high, over which Xifeng saw a cluster of slanting scarlet roofs.

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