Page 88 of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

She held her head high as they strode to the banquet hall, hand in hand. The court rose and bowed as one. A young eunuch dropped to his knees with elaborate flourishes of his hands.

“Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Feng Lu!” he announced.

Xifeng heard a few gasps and murmurs, for the mourning period for Lihua was still ongoing. But Jun did not seem bothered by the young eunuch’s error as he led her to their table.

The Empress of Feng Lu.The words seemed to echo as she walked, making sure to meet courtiers in the eye with her shoulders held back. She tipped her head as though it already wore a heavy crown, enjoying the flurry of admiration as she strode beside the Emperor, her ladies trailing after her like geese around an imperious swan. Her hair like night, her skin like dawn. One glance from her eyes made gazes drop instantly in respect.

Servants swarmed out in a great rush to serve the meal, and after that, there was music and dancing from some of the ladies-in-waiting.

A familiar form approached their table: Shiro, handsome as ever, though his hair held a few touches of gray and his face was more careworn than Xifeng remembered it. He held the hand of a little boy about Jade’s age, with a bright, intelligent look to him. The child’s eyes clearly came from his mother, Akira, but he had inherited his father’sdiminutive height and short limbs. He would be handsome like Shiro, and also a dwarf.

The former ambassador to Kamatsu bowed to Jun and Xifeng. “Your Majesty, Madam Xifeng. May I present my son, Koichi.” He whispered to the child, who fixed his appealing eyes on the Emperor and bent formally at the waist.

Jun looked delighted. “A splendid child, Shiro. Will he come to me?”

The boy stared wide-eyed at the Emperor’s open arms. Upon encouragement from his father, he toddled forward on his plump little legs and allowed Jun to place him upon his knee. He darted a timid glance at Xifeng.

“This is the Empress, little one,” the Emperor told him, and Shiro raised his eyebrows but said nothing. “You think her lovely, don’t you? You can’t take your eyes from her, and neither can any other man in this room.”

Xifeng gave a soft laugh of thanks, but she felt disconcerted under the child’s unwavering stare. Yes, he most certainly shared his eyes with his mother—they even held the relentless judgment Xifeng remembered in Akira’s. She sipped her sweet rice wine to hide her discomfort. When she turned back, Koichi had already warmed up to Jun and held out a small wooden toy.

“There, we’re friends already.” The Emperor was the image of a doting father as he accepted the toy, making sounds as he pushed it across the tabletop for the boy’s amusement.

“A glimpse into your future, perhaps,” Shiro said to Xifeng, who smiled graciously.

“How are you, my friend? You look well.”

“Not as well as you do. You’ll be one of those beautiful women who never seem to age,” he said gallantly, though his eyes held no joy. “I’mwell enough. Blessed to have my boy, though I never imagined I’d have to raise him alone.”

Xifeng touched his hand in sympathy. “I lit a candle for Akira in the shrine yesterday. Has it truly been two years since she passed away?”

“It seems an age.” Shiro sighed. “Is it silly of me to stay instead of bringing my son home to Kamatsu? Hideki writes often, urging me to return. Our king is displeased with me for resigning. But I have nothing there. My family has never cared about me and I feel closer to Akira here.” He watched Jun lift a giggling Koichi into the air. “I’d like my boy to be close to his mother.”

“Then it is not silly. You must do what your heart feels is right. And you have a home and a good position here among His Majesty’s ministers.”

“And you? Does your heart feel this is right?” He lifted an open hand, indicating the opulent court, the banquet tables groaning under the weight of food, and the music and dancing.

Xifeng watched as Koichi ran the little wooden toy along the Emperor’s sleeve. “I once feared I had no heart left,” she said quietly. “But I hear it speaking to me from time to time, and I believe this is what it wants. A place where I belong.”

Shiro’s keen eyes observed her for a moment, and he looked as if he wanted to say something else. But his small son ran to him, throwing his arms around his father’s neck, and Shiro grinned instead. “Thank you for your indulgence with my rowdy boy, Your Majesty.”

“You’re a lucky man, Shiro.” Jun glanced sideways at Xifeng. “And so am I.”

The former ambassador inclined his head before returning to his table, still carrying his son. Xifeng watched him go, feeling both comforted and self-conscious in his presence. What must he think of her,to have so quickly attached herself to another man when Wei had loved her all his life?

But that is the privilege of an Empress,she decided.I can do as I like, and nothing anyone else thinks truly matters.

All evening, every person who approached to bow to the Emperor acknowledged Xifeng as his Empress. Not a single one mentioned or seemed to remember Lihua, and as triumphant as she felt, Xifeng couldn’t help feeling regret for the woman she had once esteemed. She thought daily of Lihua’s promise to always watch over Jade and steer her from evil.

But she can’t be unhappy about where I sent the girl,she thought. The monastery was on the southern edge of the Great Forest, close to Serpents’ Bay. Surely Lihua would have approved of the beauty and splendor of the location, so suitable for the devout.

And it was the way of the world, was it not? The old dragon died to make way for the new, and the sun set to rise again on another day. Lihua’s time had passed, and a brilliant dawn had begun at the court of the Emperor, a dawn as glorious as the cards had promised.

All Xifeng had left to do was wait for the night to pass.

The ladies-in-waiting woke her before sunrise on a warm spring morning. Xifeng followed them into the bath chamber, where the servants had filled her porcelain tub with fresh water from the Great Forest, heated until piping hot. The steam rose in translucent swirls, making her smile as she thought of another bath she would have tonight in the hot springs, when all the court believed her to be fast asleep in His Majesty’s arms.

She stepped into the tub, relishing the heat of the water. Her women poured lotions and tonics over her skin: attar of night-blooming desert roses from Surjalana, lily-water pressed from a thousand white virgin blooms, and creamy milks to smooth her skin. It was a ceremonial bath intended to wash away her impurities and fully immerse her in the waters of her kingdom. Xifeng emerged, dripping and bright pink from the scalding water, thinking her body certainly felt cleansed. As for impurities... well, that remained to be seen.

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