Dressed in Splendor

In the autumn of the twenty-fifth year of the Jianyuan era, Princess Qi Wanning was fifteen, and the osmanthus flowers in the imperial garden were in full bloom. She didn't know that Xie Yun, the Ninth Thousand Years who knelt before her father, was memorizing her name with eyes deep as an abyss.

"There is something I wish to ask you, Princess." He leaned down, moving close to her ear. His warm breath brushed her earlobe, ticklish and making her whole body go weak.

"Why do you come to see me every time, Princess?"

She didn't answer. She couldn't.

His lips almost touched her earlobe, his voice as low as a sigh. "Is it... for this?" His lips fell against her earlobe.

In that instant, her body felt as if an electric current had passed through it, and she trembled all over. She didn't know what this feeling was. She only knew that she was frightened, yet wanted him to touch her again. He raised his head and looked at her eyes, glistening with tears, the faintest hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

Later, the little princess gradually came to understand. She learned what kind of man he was, what he had done to her, and that love and hatred could be one and the same. The day the imperial power fell, she plunged from the clouds into the dust. Her father was imprisoned, her brother was killed, and she became a golden canary in his cage.

The cage was exquisite, and its door was unlocked. But when she pushed it open, she realized that outside the cage lay her country and her people.

That night, she tossed and turned, a dull ache in her heart.

The princess slipped out of bed and walked toward the door. She thought Gu Shen should be standing guard outside.

With a creak, the door opened. There was only darkness.

Her nose prickled. "Gu Shen... are you... are you there?"

There was no answer. She lowered her head in disappointment.

"Could you comfort me? (Waaah ┭┮﹏┭┮) I miss my brother." A quiet sob escaped her.

At last, a shadow appeared on the ground.

Gu Shen watched the princess's shoulders rise and fall as she sobbed. He took something wrapped in cloth from his robes.

"Princess, I have a piece of osmanthus cake... Would you like some?" She hadn't expected him to do this. The "osmanthus cake" only made her miss her father and brother more.

"Gu Shen! Are you... are you made of wood?!" Then she cried even harder.

Gu Shen was at a complete loss. Suddenly, he remembered what the Crown Prince had taught him: if comforting her doesn't work, give her a hug.

Then he heard the sobbing in his arms gradually subside.

This is a story about losing and finding. Losing one's innocence, and discovering the land and its people.

Theme: Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Only when it's tossed can you see which side lands face up. But the weight of one's country must ultimately outweigh all personal love and hatred. From a golden canary in a cage to the one holding the pieces, her growth lies in learning to carry that burden.