The Foreign Empress

The Ironfist and the Vermillion Thief Pt. 1

The shriek of songbirds wakes me up, their piercing calls so different from what I know. Grass tickles my neck. Groggily, I open my eyes, only to be met by a sea of green. A thick embroidered blanket falls off me as I sit up. Next to me, Xiaoyue, finally back from the world outside the palace, is also waking up. She sees the bedazzled look on my face and explains, "This servant returned last night to find Your Highness asleep in the garden." I must have unwittingly fallen asleep last night.

"Thank you for putting a blanket on me." Now it's Xiaoyue's turn to look puzzled.

"When this servant returned last night, Your Highness was already covered by the blanket." Before I can reply, a shadow falls over the pair of us.

"Are you quite done frolicking in the grass, Your Highness?" The venomous tone of the speaker is all too familiar.

"Quan Linwen. What are you here for?"

"His Highness bid me to inform you that you are free to travel around the capital. His Highness also bid me to inform you that he expects you to stop sleeping on the grass like a peasant." I spring to my feet, yesterday's events temporarily forgotten, excited to finally be leaving the suffocating confines of the Jujue Palace. Only Xiaoyue seems to share my enthusiasm though as it takes Linwen nearly an hour to muster a guard detail.

The wait, however, is undoubtedly worth it. Stepping across the threshold of the Jujue Palace is perhaps the most liberating feeling I've ever felt, comparable only to the time I put my name down on the XIX's register. A short ride in a palanquin takes me to one of the innumerable plazas that dot the city. Head turn as I alight from the covered palanquin, resplendent in robes of cobalt blue laced with gold and mysterious in a veil of the same pattern. A total of eight plainclothes Heizhenzu agents, excluding Quan Linwen, form a loose diamond around me. Whispers spread like wildfire through the onlooking crowd, everyone trying to speculate which noble house I hail from. The Yuan's? No, Yuan Shu's daughter is in the Nanyang commandery. The Gongsun's then? How can the Gongsun's in Liaoning produce such an exotic beauty? They don't even have daughters! What about Ma's? Maybe, my cousin in Chang'an said something about Ma Guanxin escorting a blonde-haired beauty to Luoyang. Speaking of Ma Guanxin, isn't he still in the city? I heard that too.

Ma Guanxin is in the capital? My heart flutters with joy at the thought. Alright,I know what I'm going to do.

A/N: I'm very sorry for not posting according to schedule these past couple of weeks. I'm also excited to announce that The Foreign Empress will be undergoing what I expect to be significant edits for the next few weeks, something which I hope will significantly improve the story and character development. This does, however, mean that, for the moment, The Foreign Empress will not be receiving any updates. Sorry for the inconvenience!