Forbidden City: Blood Blossoms

Chapter One: Decision

"Drink this!" he whispered in a panic, thrusting a vial into her hands. "Hurry!"

She hesitated, gripping the porcelain bottle, staring at him wide-eyed in fear. The blood was hammering in her ears.

"Please! They are coming for you! Trust me! "

She gave him a final wrenching look, closed her eyes, and lifted the vial to her lips in a sudden desperate motion.

The door opened behind her.

"Lady Zhuang."

Still seated at the dressing table, she did not answer. The silver ornaments in her hair swung faintly from the breeze of the door.

She raised a hand to her head slowly, as if she were patting her hair. Then, in a rustle of silk, she turned around and smiled, "Chief Eunuch Yuan. What brings you here?"

Yuan paused, taking in the young girl before him. He was in his fifties, a veritable palace veteran, and he has seen countless concubines in his lifetime of service to the deceased Emperor, many of them beautiful and resplendent like flowers.

But Lady Zhuang draws the eye with a quiet, exquisite beauty of her own.

The fading sunlight from the window lingered on her slim figure. The yellow rays lit up the pink fringes of her pleated silk skirt with a pale fire, and lent a luminous light to her soft grey eyes.

Even now in the aftermath of the news, she has a calm ethereal air around her like a water lily rising gently above the mud.

Her gaze was placid and steady on Yuan as she waited for his answer.

Yuan glanced at the servant hunched at the corner, before bowing to Lady Zhuang again. "His Majesty requires your presence."

She gazed casually out the window, sweeping her gaze past her silent servant eunuch at the same time. Autumn leaves were falling quietly in the courtyard in a soundless red rain.

Her heart was pounding, but she kept her smile. Yuan was watching her carefully. This is the only road she can take. If she failed... if she failed...

The bitter taste of the potion was still strong on her lips. She only has a single chance.

"I am ready," she said quietly.

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Author Notes

Hi, thanks for reading! There is a bonus epic sound / radio trailer for this story.

For mobile readers, you can check it out at http://www.soundcloud.com/hyanying/forbidden-city-blood-blossoms

For desktop readers, scroll down to "Comments" for a clickable link to the sound trailer.