CHAPTER 3 The Dream of The Phoenix Palace

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please wake up! Your Majesty! Huhuhu"

Maid Cun Xiao shook Empress Chen Yu's body to wake her up. She was very shocked to see the Empress vomiting blood after drinking the green tea she had brought. It was Empress Yu's 7th day after giving birth to her second child, who was the Crown Prince of the Su Empire. The Crown Prince was Zhang Luo's third child and second son. He named him Zhang Xi (希; Xī) which means 'Hope' as he will be the next Emperor of the Su Empire. When the incident happened, Zhang Ruyi was on her way to the Phoenix Palace to greet the Empress. The morning greeting is a palace tradition where lower-ranking ladies should greet the Empress to show their respect. Zhang Ruyi came to the palace alone. Although she has her maid, the Crown Princess is always wandering around without their knowing. Therefore, this makes the maid always worry.

When she entered the Phoenix Palace, the first thing that caught her attention was the red blood from the Empress's mouth. The Empress was unconscious and her maid kept shaking her body to wake her. Because she was too shocked, she couldn't say anything but stood silently in front of them with tears running down her cheeks. The only thing she could do was cover her mouth with her hand.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Chun Xiao held the Empress tightly and cried loudly. Tears rolled down her cheeks and her hands trembled.

"Guard! Anyone! Please help me!"

She screamed for help and Eunuch Gui who happened to be passing by the area came to see what was happening after he heard the maid's voice.

"Chun Xiao! What happens?! Why the Empress is bleeding?!"

Chun Xiao swept her eyes with her sleeve when saw Eunuch Gui was there.

"E-Eunuch Gui! Please help me and Her Majesty! Her...Her Majesty is dead!"

Eunuch Gui widens his eyes with a shocked face.

"What did you say?!"

Zhang Ruyi fell on the floor when she knew that her mother was already gone. She looked at the weak body of the Empress and cried without sound.

"M-mother was dead?!" She whispered to herself.

Zhang Ruyi was struggling on her bed and finally woke up. It's the dream again! She wiped her forehead and gasped. She had stopped dreaming about the Phoenix Palace but today it suddenly reappeared. It was her biggest nightmare ever, where she witnessed her mother's death. She was only 4 years old when her mother left her. Thus, she grew up without a mother's love. Her father was too busy with court affairs that she was raised by the palace maids until she was 6 years old.

"Chun Xiao!"

Chun Xiao came immediately when the Emperor called her name.

"I'm here, Bixia. What can I do to help?"

Zhang Ruyi massaged her forehead and sighed.

"Help me to get change and follow me to Phoenix Palace."

Chun Xiao was stunned for a moment. She was confused. Zhang Ruyi never entered the place after the incident that happened 7 years ago. Asking her to go to the Phoenix Palace was unusual. Besides leaving a scar on the Emperor's heart, it was also a place that had been her nightmare (Chun Xiao's nightmare).

"Chun Xiao, are you listening?"

Her reverie was broken by the Emperor.

"Y-yes! Bixia."

Zhang Ruyi went down from her bed and walked to her closet slowly. Her maid followed her from the back. She opened her arms to let the maid untie her robe.

"Put the plain black robe on me." She said.

Chun Xiao nodded. This is the Emperor's normal attire if she doesn't have any important meetings to attend, or you could say it's her basic outfit. Although it's plain, Zhang Ruyi still looks fine with it. Maybe because of her charisma, she always looks incredible.

The maid reached the black plain robe and put it on Zhang Ruyi. A white or silver belt will be a good match for it. Thus, she was struggling to find them inside the Emperor's wardrobe. A moment later, she found them. She drew a smile on her face and looked at the Emperor.

"Bixia, which one do you like?"

She showed them to the Emperor for her to choose from. Zhang Ruyi gave a glance at the belts.

"Whatever you think is good for me, then put it down."

Chun Xiao frowned. Both look good on her but maybe a little shine would help. She chose a silver belt and wrapped it around the Emperor's waist. Perfect! She smiled and started tying the Emperor's hair. Zhang Ruyi has beautiful long straight black hair. If she dressed like a girl, she would be an attraction.

"Enough. Come with me."

Chun Xiao was stunned for a while.

"But, B-Bixia...I still haven't finished yet." She said.

Zhang Ruyi turned around and gave a gesture to her maid with her head to ask her to go with her.

The Phoenix Palace is located next to the Lotus Harem. The only boundary between the two places is the Lotus Pond. Lotus Harem uses more white while Phoenix Palace uses more red colours. Since Lotus Pond is quite large, it turns out to make the places far from each other.

As soon as they arrived at the place, Chun Xiao fell to her knees and tears rolled down her cheeks. Her memory recalls the incident that happened 7 years ago.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The Empress is bleeding and unconscious. She shook her body violently to wake up the Empress. However, the Empress is still not awake.

"Guards! Anyone! Help me!" She cried.

Chun Xiao can't help herself but cry. Realizing her maid was weeping behind her back, Zhang Ruyi stopped and gave her a short glance.

"Do you still remember this place?"

She asked her maid, and she nodded.

"Yes, Bixia."

"Chun Xiao...Did I ask you to cry?"

Chun Xiao shook her head and swept her tears gently.

"N-no." She replied.

"Then why did you cry?"

She gazed at the ground without saying anything. Covered her face with her hands and continued to cry. Zhang Ruyi turned around and sighed. The maid still sitting down in tears. The Emperor knew the trauma and pain Chun Xiao was going through. After all, it was a critical moment in her life when she needed to face death for a crime she did not commit.

"Rise."

Chun Xiao stood up quickly and dried her tears as the Emperor ordered her to get up.

"I-I'm sorry, Bixia!" She said.

The Emperor shake her head.

"You might be questioning why I ask you to come here. Aren't you?"

Chun Xiao nodded. She indeed wants to know why the Emperor asked her to come to the Phoenix Palace.

"Well, I want you to clean up this place and change its appearance into a new look. The old look makes me sick."

Chun Xiao was stunned for a while. Zhang Ruyi turned away and looked at the Lotus Pond, continuing to speak.

"Re-arranged all the furniture and removed all the paintings inside. Change the old paintings into the new ones. Can you do that for me?"

The maid nodded.

"Sure, Bixia!" She replied.

"Alright. I'll bring some maids to help you. You might need help with male strength too, so I'll have Eunuch Lee come over."

Zhang Ruyi opened the door of the Phoenix Palace and looked around. This was her mother's chamber before. It has been almost 9 years since she has not visited this place. Now it's empty and full of cobwebs. The sounds of chirping birds and the gentle touch of the blowing breeze make the Phoenix Palace a peaceful place to relax. However, the vibe of peace has been killed by the tragedy that happened 9 years ago.

"Once this place is clean, nobody can enter this area. This will be a forbidden place in this palace."

Zhang Ruyi turned around and looked straight into Chun Xiao's eyes.

"Even an ant needs to answer me if it steps in this place."

Chun Xiao gulped.

"Understand, Bixia!"

Zhang Ruyi left the Phoenix Palace and let Chun Xiao handle the rest.