Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival

Episode 20

The news of Toshiro's prowess with the real sword reached the secluded chambers of the imperial concubines like a pebble tossed into a still pond, sending ripples far beyond its initial splash.

In the opulent quarters of Concubine Su Shuang, the woman with obsidian eyes, the news arrived through a trusted eunuch. He knelt before her, his voice carefully hushed. "𝑴𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚," he whispered, "𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐, 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅."

A flicker of interest lit up Concubine Su Shuang's face. Her sharp mind, always focused on power plays, recognized potential in anyone who showed promise. "𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒚?" she inquired, her voice a soft purr. "𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐."

The eunuch recounted the tale of Toshiro's quick adaptation, his strategic thinking, and his impressive duel with Sir Gareth. As he spoke, a smile, both calculating and genuine, played on Concubine Su Shuang's lips. A skilled swordsman could be a valuable asset, not just in protecting the Emperor, but also within the treacherous web of palace politics.

"𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈," she murmured, her eyes gleaming with a thoughtful light. "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔."

The eunuch bowed low. "𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝑴𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚." With a silent sweep of his robes, he vanished from the opulent chamber, leaving Concubine Su Shuang alone with her thoughts. Already, she was formulating a plan for how Toshiro could be used to further her own ambitions, perhaps even as a tool to influence the future of her son, the crown prince's potential rival.

Across the palace grounds, in a chamber far less opulent but bursting with vibrant colors, resided Concubine Hua, the woman known for her fiery personality and sharp tongue. Here, the news of Toshiro's success arrived through a gossiping palace maid.

"𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕?" the maid squawked, her voice laced with a hint of awe. "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐, 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔!"

Concubine Hua scoffed, her crimson robes shimmering with disdain. "𝑨 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈? 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔!"

Her loyal handmaid, Jin Yu, watched her mistress with a practiced eye, aware of the competitive fire that burned within Concubine Hua. The idea of a young upstart potentially overshadowing her own son, a talented young prince being groomed for a military career, was a recipe for disaster.

"𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔, 𝑴𝒚 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚," Jin Yu offered cautiously, "𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈."

Concubine Hua scoffed again, the sound sharp and dismissive. "𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕? 𝑶𝒓 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌? 𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆. 𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑻𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌." A dangerous glint flickered in her eyes, a glint that hinted at a woman who wouldn't hesitate to use any means necessary to protect her son's future, even if it meant resorting to the darkest corners of palace intrigue.

Meanwhile, in a quiet corner of the palace, resided Concubine Hua's ten-year-old daughter, a girl named Xiaoling. Unlike her mother, Xiaoling was a gentle soul, more interested in poetry and music than the ruthless games of power played within the palace walls. She was completely unaware of the whispers surrounding Toshiro, but perhaps, just perhaps, their paths would cross in the future, weaving a different kind of story amidst the courtly machinations.

And so, within the opulent confines of the palace, the news of Toshiro's success had sown the seeds of a complex web. Concubine Su Shuang saw an opportunity for manipulation, Concubine Hua saw a threat to her son's future, and somewhere, a young girl named Xiaoling remained blissfully unaware of the storm brewing around her. Toshiro, the unwitting pawn in their game, continued his training, his path yet to intersect with the ambitions and schemes of the palace, but the ripples of his potential were already being felt in the lives of those around him.