24 The Imperial Palace

The bird's-eye view from earlier really did nothing to prepare Nastasia for the sheer mass of buildings grandly laid out before her. As they came up the many steps leading into a large storied pavilion, her eyes couldn't help but wander over the intricate design. The glittering yellow rooftops beneath the noon sun and the crimson pillars that held the roofs aloft brought to mind one of the odd tidbits she heard of Chinese architecture.

"Though our roofs may fall our walls will remain standing."

Were the walls really built as a separate entity from the rest of the structure? This thought had never occurred to her until now as Li Yu Rong's home -while it did have an ancient Chinese feel to it- was also a bit modern in design. This notice of such a stark difference had not occurred to her until they had been slowly making their way from the entrance of the capital all the way to the palace gates.

Towards the end of her college years, she had developed an interest in architecture. As she had always been quick at picking up skills -and that she already had a decent drawing ability- she learned the art in what felt a blink of an eye. Borrowing a connection through a friend Nastasia had interned at a company where she had been nothing but an errand girl.

Although she had fought tirelessly to gain some recognition, none of them would let her touch a blueprint, bring her to any of the construction sites, and nor would they give her any pointers when asked. She was just to bring the coffee and bring the lunch as well as taking up any odd job no one else wanted to touch.

It was at her breaking point with the work that she met Antonio Seseralli, a shy but cute low-end architect. He was the son of a mob boss that wanted to stretch his wings into a field not governed by the underworld. After their meeting and heart to heart, the two had come to an agreement. If Nastasia could help him get his name out there to be well-known then he would help her whenever she needed it; no questions asked.

Ah, her mind wandered. The point was that Nastasia had an eye for architecture. While Li Yu Rong's home mimicked the styles present in the buildings she had seen along the way to palace, the materials used and the execution to craft them, were different.

It really brought about a desire to explore and examine every square inch.

Nastasia's mind was pulled from her deep thoughts as her body was yanked forward. Looking up she found Li Yu Rong's narrowed eyes glaring back at her and passed him, up quite a few steps, was a worried looking female Paoxiao. Clear sky blue eyes turned down in guilt as she recalled the effort Li Yu Rong had put into making her understand the current situation along with the things she should and should not do.

She was to follow Paoxiao closely and not wander off by herself. Paoxiao would give her clues on how to respond to things, but for the most part, she was to remain silent and let her "female" servant do the talking for her. It made her feel like she was playing the part of an aloof highborn lady that couldn't be bothered with the things she felt beneath her.

Lightly patting the hand that had captured her left, she murmured a low and very apologetic, "sorry." Li Yu Rong did not let go of her hand, nor did she try to take it back, as he led her to where Paoxiao stood waiting for them.

When it came time to part, Li Yu Rong patted her head and lightly trailed his fingertips down her cheek before tossing Paoxiao a stern glare. "Watch her carefully." He then turned to follow a eunuch to the upper floor where the men would mingle till it was time to give well-wishes and presents to the heir apparent before partaking of an extravagant meal.

The reason for the men to mingle on the second floor while the women were upon the first was that the back opened up to a beautifully designed garden. The Emperor and his top advisers enjoyed watching as the lovely flowers, brilliantly adorned, played about. To prevent Nastasia from being leered at, Paoxiao had been given strict instructions not to let the red-haired girl leave the covered areas.

As she and Paoxiao were led by another eunuch to where the women were amicably chatting among themselves, she grabbed the man's – who was now dressed as a woman- fluttering sleeve. Afraid that they would be separated within the crowd of beautifully painted women.

Once they got to the threshold of the entrance, the eunuch introduced them. Following Paoxiao's discreet instruction, she cupped her fist and bent her knees slightly before entering the room. Some paused in their conversations to shoot her varying looks of either disdain or fear while most just out-right ignored her existence. Once the ceremony had been done and she was allowed to leave with a wave of a hand from a richly dressed woman, who sat in an exquisitely carved chair with eunuchs fanning her on either side- Nastasia fled to a dark corner.

The eyes that those around her watched her with left Nastasia feeling extremely uncomfortable. It was either deep fear or deep hatred. She couldn't understand such a strong reaction to her presence in those around her as this had been the very first time she had seen any of the faces that disdained her.

Paoxiao was annoyed by the stares. He had been warned that this would likely be the case as, though Nastasia was human, she had an appearance that was more inline with a demon. For Paoxiao, he could use his spirit energy to change the parts of himself that did not match the features a human should have. The same could not be accomplished for Nastasia unless, of course, she wanted to permanently alter the things that made her different.

Opening his mouth to comfort her, for if even a great demon like himself was driven to extreme irritation, she must also be feeling pretty down about it. The words and actions he moved to convey died before they could even be made.

Revulsion and absolute horror clogged his throat and shivered his spine as he took notice of a eunuch near their corner eyeing his frame up and down suggestively. The eunuch licked his lips and then nodded toward a hall that led to who knows where.

'The hell!' Paoxiao cursed in horror, his entire body stiffening as an urge for violence rose up in his heart. 'Did that eunuch just-!? Oh, my go-!?' The thought cut off as he clenched his fists to prevent himself from decking the guy through the floorboards.

A thought rose up unbidden, 'can a eunuch even touch a girl? Better yet, how does he even have the desire to lead a servant girl to a dark corner for a secret rendezvous to get under her robes when he's got nothing below to do it with?'

'Ah,' Paoxiao took in a deep breath and sent the eunuch a hellish glare, 'you put those eyes elsewhere before I march over there, rip them out, and shove them down your throat.'

His fierce, but silent, battle with the eunuch was interrupted as he felt the sleeve that had been tightly grasped fall slack. Looking back to the red-haired girl that should have been standing silently beside him, he found her racing off toward the garden.

The place that Li Yu Rong specifically warned him not to let her venture. All thoughts of killing off the eunuch and his building frustration fell away as panic now filled his chest. He quickly followed after her.

She quite easily weaved her way through the crowds of conversing women, to finally reach a ring of young girls who were looking down their noses at a timid and bashful flower. Her limpid eyes were on the verge of tears and it was more than apparent she was being bullied by the girls that surrounded her.

Seeing this, Nastasia could not stand back and do nothing. Bullying was not a joking matter. It wasn't something that one should turn a blind eye to. Though it was always treated as children will be children, feelings were trampled and often lives destroyed. Her grandfather always taught her to stand up for those that could not stand up for themselves.

Thus, she marched forward, quite intent on helping the young girl that couldn't have been more than twelve years old. Even if her position wasn't the best, even if she could hardly utter a coherent sentence, there were ways to defeat a person without speaking a single word.

Reaching forward she pulled the girl behind her back, in perfect view of the floor above, and at that moment Paoxiao felt his heart lodge itself in his throat.

'Ah," he thought quite helplessly, 'Li Yu Rong is going to kill me.'