The Phoenix Perches in the Parasol Tree

Deep within the secluded imperial palace, she is a legend, smiling alluringly as she watches the tides of power shift.

Amid the vast mortal world, she is like a firework, yet behind all the splendor, she grows old alone.

In her masterful schemes, she is a female Zhuge Liang, and with a laugh, she can reduce enemy ships to ashes.

But even so, she cannot escape the shackles he placed upon her.

Yet after the bewilderment of later generations, who could know: with the phoenix bereft of its parasol tree, what branch can it call home?