...Was this hell?
Hui Lan touched her face, but could still feel the warmth coming from her veins. She placed three fingers on her wrist and her heart was beating softly but surely.
...I'm not dead, but why am I this weak!?
Her eyes became watery from the fumes. She slowly raised her hand to cover her eyes, but discovered something off about her attire.
...This dress? It's not mine.
...It is certainly not the same one she wore this morning either.
Hui Lan was wearing a red dress as bright as the burning fire around her. It looked similar to an ancient traditional Chinese dress. She lifted her arms higher in the sky to take a closer look at the long sleeves. The silk material glided down her arms showing her pale white arms.
...Since when did I have such fair skin?
The dress was a striking contrast to her skin, like blood on top of snow.
Mixed into the silk threads were gold threads sewed into a beautiful pattern. An ancient pattern, which Hui Lan had been teaching for almost a decade, was a pattern of the king of birds, a phoenix soaring among the clouds.
Her eyes grew slightly wider as she did not expect to see what she was seeing. If this was the phoenix pattern she knew, then why was she wearing it!?
"
Hui Lan took her eyes from the phoenix to where the sound was coming from. She wanted to call out that she was inside, but her throat was awfully dry. Having felt the discomfort in her throat, Hui Lan gently stroked it.
Then, a wet feeling fell onto her fingertips, followed by another. She pulled out her hand to see what it was, but there was nothing but patches of water. Her sight became blurry and when she blinked she could feel droplets of water falling from her eyes.
...These were tears?
Hui Lan tapped the corners of her eyes only to find her eyes and part of her face was wet. At that moment, something clicked in her mind. Pictorial scenes, one after the other, flashed through her mind, like a movie. A flood of someone's memories was being played for her to see.
While the memories reappeared in her mind, she could feel her entire body tensing up and her heart squeezing in pain. It was as if a subconscious trauma was taking a toll on her body, except this was not her body, and it had belonged to someone before they passed on.
Hui Lan grabbed her clothes tightly where her heart was as she experienced the lingering heartache from the original owner of this body. Tears did not stop flowing as this body recalled what had happened to this person.
"What has become of you, hm?" Hui Lan whispered to herself, or more like, to the person who had chosen death rather than to live.
.
.
.
One year ago in the kingdom of Xin Li.
The time had come for the people of Xin Li to welcome their new phoenix, an Empress who would become the mother of their kingdom. Throughout the seven years of the current Emperor's reign, not one lady had entered his inner court.
Today marked the day when things would change, the royal wedding of the Emperor. The eldest young miss of the famous Feng military family, Feng Hui Lan was to be married to Emperor Shen Yang Long.
The kingdom was decorated with red lanterns and auspicious signs to congratulate the Emperor and the new Empress. The citizens eagerly stood along the streets to welcome the bride's procession, some were curious and wished to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be Empress.
No one had seen Feng Hui Lan, the eldest miss of the Feng family before. Their entire family was stationed at the borders seven years ago by the Emperor.
Some still remember the day they received the shocking news when the almighty General Feng was sent to the borders and it was the very first royal decree given by the Emperor who was soon to be the General's son-in-law.
Feng Hui Lan's father, General Feng Hong Yi, led the wedding parade while his wife Feng Furen and his son, young master Feng Lin guarded the bridal sedan in the centre of the procession.
Despite the festive atmosphere, General Feng and Feng Furen were wary of this marriage. They had never heard from the Emperor since they were sent away seven years ago by the Emperor.
Until a few months ago when an Imperial decree arrived on their door, ordering the marriage of the Emperor and their daughter.
Though they had nothing against the Imperial family, they were only concerned about their daughter. Hui Lan had never been in the capital before and was raised rather freely on the border, so they feared she would not be able to adjust to the royal palace.
Nevertheless, they were also powerless against an Imperial decree.
After passing the four auspicious symbols of the kingdom, the wedding procession was led to the main gates of the palace.
The door of the grand phoenix sedan, which was made out of dark redwood and decorated with gold of the legendary phoenix, was pulled open.
Behind the door, a young lady in her early twenties sat nervously in her bright red bridal dress. Her hands were clasped tightly as she thought of her marriage.
This capital city was a place where she had never taken a step in before. All she could hear was the songs and the people's cheers seeping in through the holes of the sedan.
A long red veil covered her head, making it hard to see through it. The nervousness crept into her heart causing it to beat rapidly. Her mother, father and brother are among the procession, right?
At the same time, her tummy was filled with butterflies after remembering what the court lady had taught her last night. After the wedding ceremony, it would be the time for the reunion of the married couple, wouldn't it?
...However, was the Emperor a nice person?
She had seen him from afar when he visited the borders from time to time. All she remembered was his strong sturdy back walking with noble bearing.
Even at a young age, he stood out among the crowd, it made her wonder what kind of person he was. She had heard that he was a brave and fearsome Emperor who had uprooted all the traitors. Towards the citizens and the merchants, he was kind and never looked down on them. Their living situation had improved under his rule.
….But what does the Emperor look like? If you count this year, then he would be twenty-seven while I am twenty. Being twenty was already too old to get married as a young lady, I wondered why he chose me.
...It would be good if he was nice to me too.
...How nice would it be if she and him could grow old together, just the two of us, like her father who had stayed loyal to her mother and had no concubines.
Without knowing, Hui Lan's face underneath the red veil was slightly rosy as she thought of the Emperor.
Nevertheless, as the young bride continued to ponder her future, the large gate of the palace welcomed its new Empress and the bridal procession entered the palace walls.
Meanwhile, deep within the palace walls, the groom-to-be stared at his red robes silently. The hour had arrived, yet he had not put on the outer robes that were prepared for him for his wedding ceremony.
"A marriage with the young lady of the Feng family? Mother has gone too far with this one." His deep voice sneered at the thought of this marriage.
...Never.