The Last Dahlia

031

Crown prince Baixun of Gi and his crown princess arrived in the capital less than an hour before the banquet began, and arrived at the venue decidedly late. Dressed in a suit of dark blue silk with white embroidery, Baixun was all smiles as he accepted the greetings of the ministers and officials that were in attendance. As he led Naying down the central aisle, he kept a watchful eye on everyone that was present, noting with interest that the crown prince of Feng was seated in one corner drinking wine as if it were water.

His men had already brought him the news that the princess of Hwa had announced her engagement to a prince of Feng, but that prince wasn't the crown prince. It was no wonder Prince Minsu was drowning his sorrows in wine.

He had to admit that it came as somewhat of a surprise to him, because none of his spies had ever come back with news of this second prince of Feng. It meant that he needed to go back to the drawing board, but that was fine by him—patience was a trait that he was rather proud of.

"I don't think I've ever heard that the king of Feng had another son," Naying whispered into his ear as they greeted the hosts and swiftly took their seats across from the king of Feng, her eyes peering curiously at this new prince that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Neither have I," Baixun replied with a smile, "but since the king himself acknowledged it, then I suppose it must be true." He wouldn't have been surprised even if the king of Feng had created a son out of thin air just to secure an alliance with Hwa, considering his heir was an imbecile. Raising his cup, he offered a toast to the king—one that was not received particularly joyously. "It's quite the celebration, isn't it?" he remarked, surveying the flurry of activity taking place across the grand hall. A pity it would all end in a less than joyous manner.

He raised his cup to his lips, turning his gaze towards the main characters of today's show.

Atop the sandalwood dais, the princess of Hwa sat in a casual manner, her slender frame slanting sideways as she leaned one elbow lazily on the armrest of her chair. She wore an exquisite silk dress made in the deepest shade of red, with an embroidered phoenix taking flight trellising along the right side of her dress. Beside her, Prince Minjun was decked in the pure white and quietly sipping on his wine, looking not the least bit out of place.

Baixun's brows dipped as he pondered upon where he had seen the man before. There was a sense of familiarity tugging at him from the back of his mind, although he was certain he did not recognise that face.

His guard was up. Someone who had kept such a low profile for this long and could maintain such composure at a setting like this was not a person to be trifled with.

His eyes flickered back towards the princess and regent of Hwa, just as she lightly brushed aside the strings of pearls that hid her face. The moment he laid his eyes on her, Baixun's cup slipped out of his hands, crashing onto the floor and splintering into more than a dozen fragments.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Naying exclaimed.

How can it be? This must be some sort of joke, Baixun thought. But he was always someone who trusted what he saw with his own two eyes, and his eyes were telling him that this was none other than Yuehwa—and the man beside her was the White Scorpion. Now he knew why he found the latter so familiar.

His insides clenched.

When he had arrived and greeted her, Yuehwa had merely acknowledged him very briefly, without giving any sign of even knowing him at all.

There's something different about her, he thought. She looked every bit like the Yuehwa he remembered, but there was a leaden air about her, weighing down her every movement. As if she had lost her spark and soul.