The Sages say the Heavens are Ninety Nine - the Planes are innumerable - but on Golden Crow Planet, there was only thing that was certain, thought the young girl glumly as she propped her chin up on her palms on the window casement and stared out at the colours as the Crow sank beneath the horizon.
Being considered a beauty was truly an annoyance one could not escape!
Releasing a deep sigh, she slapped one petite hand down on the windowsill in aggravation. "Chen'er, why must I always be bothered with those mayflies no matter where I go?"
A spirited voice replied from deeper within the room, "Young mistress, they mean no harm. Truly, is it not interesting to have so many handsome sons seeking your attention?"
The girl snorted, rearranging her silk robes as she moved away from the window. "Handsome? Perhaps you meant the Heir to House Ji? I suppose he could be considered handsome if you prefer meatballs."
The maidservant giggled as she moved forward to help her mistress rearrange her elaborate dress. "Heir Ji has kind eyes and his wallet is - very - handsome. But I prefer Gi Chian".
"The Ice King? Pah, he may say all the right words and look very noble - if you prefer the cold and haughty type - but he has no interest in love; he only presses his suit at the behest of his Clan. Stop fussing Chen'er," she said, slapping lightly, "My clothing is fine."
"En." The maid stepped back and inclined her head as acknowledgement then looked at her mistress with bright eyes "You will have to choose one eventually, lady. Best find one who you can live with"
The young lady made a moue of distaste. "They are all so… useless. If it was not for their families, they would scarcely be able to survive on their own."
The maid giggled, following a step behind as her mistress swept from the room. "So you want a strong man then… do you like Te Bi?"
"Strong is useless when paired with a block-like head - all he knows to do is train," grumbled the lady as they marched down the hall and into a small, elaborately decorated dining room that had been set for three people, "Why do I have to worry about finding a partner anyway? I am barely fourteen summers."
"You have responsibilities to the Clan, daughter. With so many male heirs vying for her attention, Guan's 'Mist Orchid' should be able to choose the one that will best strengthen our family."
"Father." the young lady bit her lip and halted, bowing.
An older man with a touch of grey around the temples, dressed in an elaborately embroidered bronze robe, stepped into the dining room from another door to the right of the bowing girls and waved his hand.
"None of that nonsense, Daughter." The man laughed with a deep, resonant voice. "It is good to see you are in high spirits, despite having to deal with that bunch of useless silk-pants." The girl's father waved towards the table, "Sit, both of you."
With murmurs of thanks both young girls sat themselves to either side of the small table, the father settling at the head. The man smiled indulgently at the composed but still indignant face of his daughter.
"Lán'er, if it were up to me, you would not have to marry so soon. But you know our Clan has had difficulties of late. Given our smaller size and recent problems, none of the more powerful clans would normally consider supporting us. This is something your Uncles and I have discussed for a long time."
"May I speak my thoughts, Father?"
"You are my only child," her father replied calmly, "you are my Heir. You always have my permission."
The young lady bowed her head, the jade pin holding her hair in place gleaming softly under the light of the Essence stones that lit the dining room. "None of the suitors are interested in supporting our family, Father. They only want the status that would come with having a 'renowned beauty' as a wife. There is no guarantee that any marriage would mean my new husband's family would support my birth family."
Her father nodded his head. "I agree. However, Second brother has convinced Eldest brother that this is the best course of action. They say it would be too great a loss of face for any family to entirely step back from supporting their new in-laws."
"The senior lines' daughters are not suitable as bargaining pieces? Are they not more suitable in age and status?" she questioned bitterly.
Her father frowned at her, although it was kindly. "Daughter that was unbecoming of you - to wish on another, a duty you do not want." Then he sighed, "In truth, Eldest brother suggested that it was improper to have the youngest mistress of the clan wed before the eldest - as did I, but," here, her father picked up a steaming cup of tea that was in front of his seat and sipped from it, avoiding her eyes.
"Let me guess," piped up the handmaid from her seat. "The other families are only interested in the 'Mist Orchid'?"
The older man put his teacup down and coughed. "That would be a succinct way of putting the situation. And we have nothing else that might garner support…" he closed his eyes as if ashamed.
The maid laughed "I would have liked to have seen the faces of your Cousins after hearing that, young mistress. They are always lording their status over you - to be roundly ignored by the Family Heirs they always spend so much time gossiping about - it would have been satisfying."
The young Heiress rolled her eyes. "I would gladly give all of those silkpants to them if I could."
Father Guan coughed to hide his amusement and clapped his hands. "Let us eat".
As the servants served the dishes, the three remained silent. When the last one left, the handmaid started scooping food from various dishes and putting it on the other's plates with her chopsticks. "Master and Mistress should eat well."
"Leave it Chén'er. I can serve myself and Father is not in his dotage yet." The maid rolled her eyes and continued swiftly and skilfully serving the pair until both plates were full.
"Thank you Chén'er. Sometimes, old men enjoy being served by beauties, daughter," her father joked with a twinkle in his eye.
"It is my honour Master," replied the maid, a faint blush on her cheeks as she served herself.
"Humph, what beauties?" huffed the girl, "You have not even so much as glanced at one since mother died. If I thought it would actually do any good, I would send Chénli to your bed myself."
"Dàilán… mistress! You cannot say such things…!" exclaimed the maid.
"I notice you have not expressed dislike of the idea, Chén'er," Dàilán teased as she nibbled on some small vegetable pieces. "What about it, Father?"
"I would not be likely to survive the experience at my advanced age," returned the older man as he picked up his bowl of rice.
"As I recall, Mother would be disagreeing with you." Dàilán answered quietly, the amusement still clear in her voice.
"Probably. She was always a forthright one - something you seemed to have inherited from her, Daughter. As well as her penchant for mischief - even on her deathbed she threatened to come back and haunt me if I did not remember her with laughter and jokes rather than grieve."
The young girl fell silent and all three busied themselves with eating; Chénli occasionally slipping something extra on their plates with a spare pair of chopsticks.
"She would not agree to this, Father. She always wanted me to marry for love as you did - and she would say I am too young…" she eventually said quietly.
"I know, Lán'er. I am stalling and looking for other solutions - perhaps enough time to find one among those suitors who you can come to care for… but Second Brother is pushing this hard and Eldest will only give me so much latitude. Eventually…"
Dàilán nodded softly, putting down her chopsticks. "Why is Second Uncle so insistent on this path, Father?"
Her father sighed, a shadow crossing his face, "I cannot be sure of it… even though I think he is damaging our Clan's face by offering you up so easily, he always has logical arguments…"
Chunli snorted. "That is easy. Young mistress' abilities push Master to higher prominence within the Clan - due to her own status as a 'city-shaking beauty' and a skilled cultivator for her age."
The maid sat up, ticking points off on her fingers. "First Uncle's health has been deteriorating since that ambush last month. Compared to that useless good-for-nothing son of Second Uncle's, Dàilán is a much better choice for Clan Heir rather than left as Third Line Heir. First Uncle's own daughters are just empty vases and he has no sons - would they have a choice but to choose Master as Clan Head - for the future of the Clan?"
Dàilán blinked. She had not quite put the pieces together that way. "So if I am married away…"
Her father slapped the table angrily, his voice stern. "Chunli, how would you know such things?"
The maid paled but held her head up. "The servants talk to me. Everyone else talks around the servants - most of the other Clan members treat then like furniture. So we hear things."
"Mother's practice of treating the servants equally as shown its wisdom once again it seems," murmured the young Heiress, "as well as not talking business around non-family members."
The Elder Guan closed his eyes, suddenly appearing very tired. "I have never wanted to be Clan Head. My brothers know this."
"But it seems likely the Elders would choose you anyway. And Second Uncle…"
A grimace passed over his face at his daughter's words. "I cannot act on this without proof. I will need to investigate… Chénli, why did you not speak of this earlier?"
The maid bowed her head. "Until now, I thought the idea of Young Mistress being married to strengthen the clan came from Eldest Uncle - I thought he was just trying to find a way out for the Clan - not being pushed by Second Uncle."
Dàilán tapped the table with her fingers. "If I marry now, most of Father's support for the position would be lost. If it was First Uncle's idea - then he would be planning to leave Second Uncle the position - but since it is Second Uncle's…"
Her father rubbed his glabella. "I am getting old. That explains why First Brother has been resisting making a choice from the suitors so far.
I thought that he wanted to ensure greater benefits for the clan with your marriage by driving up the guarantees in exchange for your hand - but if he wants me to be next Head, despite my wishes, for the good of the clan I would have to accept."
Dàilán shivered, despite the warm room. "And Second Uncle has always wanted the position. If he found out… all of a sudden the issues the Clan has been having lately make a lot more sense..."
Father and daughter looked at each other, faces pale.
"I will have to discuss this with Eldest Brother… but carefully. It may be our imagination." He waved his hands "We should not speak of this or change our routines, but be careful."
Chénli poured tea for all of them and her father clapped his hands again,, summoning the servants to clear away the main meal for the fruit, breaking the tense atmosphere.
After they had thanked the servants and were alone again, Dàilán groaned, putting her head in her hands, "All I want is to improve my Cultivation and look for Relics. I could not care less about being a beauty or politics. I hate being beautiful - I want to succeed on my own ability! I could beat any of those stupid boys and they know it."
Chénli laughed. "You will change your mind once you find someone you admire, mistress. Besides, is not being skilled part of your allure?"
The young girl rolled her eyes again. "What allure? I got my skill through hard work, training and study. I am not a genius."
Her Father laughed. "So you are not at Earth Eighth then? You know most people your age have yet to break out of Mortal Cultivation? And what is this about Relic Hunting?"
"Father! At Merchant Street... which is why I ran into those useless twits. Hmmm, maybe it might be a good idea for me to leave the city? I could go Relic Hunting properly - the stores never have anything good - half the stuff they pass off are fakes I can spot a li away."
"Not safe, Young Mistress. Your Uncle was ambushed…" cautioned Chénli.
Dàilán coughed. "You mean…"
Chénli shrugged and he father's face darkened, but neither spoke.
Dàilán, looked down at the piece of fruit she had been nibbling and dropped it to the plate. "I do not feel like eating anymore" she murmured quietly.
The three sat in silence for a very long time.