The emperor’s fine smile didn’t change at all, even with her long-desired tiger tally in her hands.

  ‘What happened next?’ the pale woman asked. She drew the second half of the tiger from her golden sleeves, attempting to push the two halves together, but they simply wouldn’t click. Perhaps the blood stuck on the tiger had clotted up, stopping it from sliding in properly. The emperor snorted, simply tossing it back into her robes. The five-cwed dragon on her robes rippled. ‘Did you kill the girl?’

  Three shrugged. ‘No. She was pretty, so I let her be.’ Eyeing the little biscuits on the redwood table between them, Three batted her eyes at the emperor — but the cursed woman didn’t even let her up from her kneel, much less gift her the lovely, sweet pastries.

  Giving up, she turned to watch the shadows wilting jasmine flowers dance through the tticed window. The sunlight, a whitish orange, warmed the nape of her neck. The woman’s red eyes from the night before fshed through her mind. With Three’s taste in women, it would’ve been nice to meet her. That beautiful woman had dressed pinly — perhaps she was a servant? If so…

  Three shook the thought out of her mind and turned back to the emperor. She added, ‘Besides, you didn’t say I couldn’t be caught.’

  ‘Indeed, We didn’t,’ the emperor mused. She added, ‘We allow you to rejoice in success.’ Standing up, the regal woman cpped her hands together, drifting away to the open doorway. The strings of beads on her crown swung back and forth in front of her face. ‘Well, it is time for your next task. Follow Us.’

  Three got up from her kneel, her lily earring swinging to brush at her right shoulder. Under the emperor’s amused — and for that matter, irritating — gaze, she swiped a handful of almond biscuits before following.

  She followed the emperor out of the little hall and onto the paved garden path. The entire thing was shadowed over by a cover of dying jasmine flowers; their spicily sweet, floral scent was thick enough to make even bees sneeze.

  She eyed a biscuit between her fingers. It was small and crumbly, no longer in diameter than her thumb. Round, the colour of brown rice, a rge almond was embedded in the middle of it. The thing was almost showing off — almonds were expensive, luxury goods.

  Cheating the emperor of food was one of Three’s favourite pastimes. Chuckling, she threw one into her mouth and nearly bit her own tongue.

  Wow.

  The biscuits were glorious. Sweet, with a powdery crunch, she firmly approved of the imperial chef. No wonder the emperor didn’t want to share — if it was her, she wouldn’t want to either.

  Munching on the fourth biscuit, Three quietly noted the turns they took through the Imperial City. Pilr after pilr of red paint and fancy pruned trees greeted them at every corner, the sunlight glinting off absurdly clear pond water. If the water was any cleaner, the koi fish could’ve used it as a mirror.

  She quietly circuted the qi in her body to lighten it from habit — with her proficiency in qinggong techniques, even if she fell into the water, she would be weightless enough to stand on it.

  Then the emperor walked into the Hall of Heavenly Harmony.

  The Hall’s path led directly to the throne. To both sides were ministers from every department; the closer they got to the chair of white jade, the fancier the ministers became, until they gave way to the imperial heirs. At the foot of the throne was a table and six other shadow guards. A man, Eight, stood by the throne’s side.

  More a firepce than a hall, open steel stoves were burning every few steps, sending rippling waves of heat. The ministers in their court attires were all either shivering with the cold or bloated in the belly with hand warmers. The imperial heirs were a little better though. At least they had a small warming stove right on their desks.

  This is too much.

  But she didn’t compin about the heat as she sidled over across the Hall, neatly taking her pce between the men Two and Four.

  The emperor walked past them. Her rustle of heavy silk and cloth tickled Three’s ears, sliding past with a snake-like elegance.

  The urge to turn and look gripped her, but she stubbornly shook it off.

  ‘Greetings, ministers. Today… is a special occasion.’

  It was rather amazing. No matter how loud the chatter was, so long as the emperor breathed a tiny breath with voice, even crickets would fall silent.

  The emperor continued, a smooth ease in her voice, ‘We have a few announcements. Firstly, We are devasted to announce General Jian Rongyi’s death.’

  A hush. A quiet where even breathing was smothered, heartbeats hidden.

  A soft click echoed behind her. A hard stone on cquered wood.

  ‘From the imperial warehouses: a bouquet of jade chrysanthemums, a century old ginseng, a set of poetry, and… a banquet of stewed hounds.’ A lilting sigh. ‘Elder Brother, dear Third Princess and Sixth Prince, We, too, grieve your loss. The loss of a lover, the loss of a mother.’

  Not so far away, a man stiffened. He was older than the emperor, but younger than sixty, a long back ribbon tied around his eyes. His demeanour was meek, perhaps intentionally so — all his dress was pin, without a touch of yellow, gold or embroidery. Unerringly turning to face the emperor, he said, ‘This humble prince thanks Your Majesty for the gifts.’

  A woman and a man echoed his words. The children.

  The emperor then said, ‘As for Our next announcement, We intend to select a Crown Heir by the Spring Festival.’

  Every head snapped up.

  ‘When the st leaves of autumn fall next year, We intend to abdicate the throne. Unfortunately, We are very… indecisive. We hope for the imperial heirs to come up with an answer themselves. A competition, if you will. A mandatory one.

  ‘To aid with the formation of this answer, We hereby assign each of seven imperial heirs a shadow guard. They will obey your orders… even to a fault. They shall be your sharpest knives, your first assets. First Prince, Xi Jiaoyang, stand.’

  A man, no older than thirty stood tall. He wore a round-necked orange robe, his tanned body wrapped with fine silver; on his face was a pair of piercing yellow eyes, sharp and bright like the rims around a falcon’s.

  ‘Shadow One. Treat his orders as you would treat mine.’

  A swish — and One vanished, reappearing at the First Prince’s side.

  ‘The Second Prince, Xi Qingxian. Shadow Two, he is your new master.’

  Another man, identical to the First Prince stood but for his purple robes and golden hems. She marvelled at them — the famed twin Princes. Though one was said to be superior to the other.

  ‘The Third Princess, Xi Qian’e. Stand.’

  A beautiful woman stood up, no older than twenty. She was dressed solely in white, with pale pink lips and bck hair. She looked sickly thin, with dark circles under her eyes.

  Heavens. No way —

  ‘Three.’ The emperor’s voice was den with ughter. ‘Your second master.’

  The Third Princess turned to her. Her face, delicate like porcein, was impassive — but Three did not miss the fsh of recognition in her eyes.

  She was the woman Three had met st night.

  The owner of the red eyes that had watched her through the crack in the door.