On the sixteenth of the month, one day after her eighteenth birthday, Zi-ning packed her things and left Taishan. As her carriage trundled down the mountain and southward towards Huangcheng, Zi-ning toyed with the gold hairpin that Lady Li had given to her as a parting gift before she set off. The hairpin had been fashioned with the carving of a phoenix carrying a large pearl with its talons, and one look at it was enough to tell that it was an extremely valuable object. Lady Li had simply said that it was something she had been given in her younger days, but since she had no need for it anymore she thought to pass it on to someone who might make better use of it.

"That's a very generous gift from Lady Li, isn't it?" Shujin quipped, staring wide-eyed at the golden hairpin from across the carriage. "Is it really made of gold?"

"You don't need to ask so many questions, Shujin," Hana warned, frowning at the other girl.

"It's alright, Hana," Zi-ning said with a smile. "Yes, I think it is actually. Gold."

But it wasn't the gold that was important. It was the phoenix. Although Lady Li hadn't told her, she knew that the hairpin was likely from the time when the lady was still the crown princess, because the symbol of the phoenix was only allowed on accessories owned by either the queen or the next-in-line. She didn't know the reason why Lady Li had given this to her, but what she was certain of was that she wanted nothing to do with the royal family in this lifetime. She had suffered enough in their hands before. Once she had taken her revenge on those who had brought her harm, she would leave the capital for good.

She handed the hairpin over to Hana for safekeeping, turning her gaze out of the carriage window. It had been over two years since she had travelled this path from Huangcheng all the way to Taishan and finally it was time for her to go home.

#

Back at the temple, Lady Li was sitting in the garden painting yet another painting of the winter blossoms before the last of them withered away to herald the arrival of spring. Her loyal maidservant Zhulian stood beside her grinding the ink that she needed for her painting.

"Why did you give the phoenix hairpin to the young miss, Madam?" Zhulian asked out of curiosity. "It's not something that she'll be able to wear."

"It's too early to tell, don't you think?"

"But what if she doesn't realise what it means and puts it on? It could get her into serious trouble."

Lady Li shook her head, the corners of her lips tilting upwards in a slight smile. "She won't. Zi-ning is a clever girl—she'll know what it means. She's waited two whole years just to see me and now that she finally has what she wants, she won't throw it all away so easily just because of one careless mistake. She will know how to use it if and when the time comes."

The phoenix represented the queen of this kingdom—a dream that every girl aspired towards, yet only one would be able to achieve.

Lady Li set down her brush, walking towards the blossom tree. Reaching out her hand, she plucked off that last blossom that was still desperately hanging on to its branch. "I only agreed to teach her because I owe her a debt, but I've actually come to like the girl. It is a pity she harbours so much hatred and anger in her heart."

She sighed.

Zi-ning had never told her the real reason she was here, but for a girl of that young age to be willing to spend more than two years here in isolation spoke volumes of her determination. Whatever she had suffered before must have been great, for the girl often spoke with a maturity far beyond her years, as if she had already weathered many storms. There was a fire that burned inside Zi-ning, one that Lady Li recognised in herself from the time when he had first lost her husband, and the latter was worried that it would eventually consume the girl entirely.

Had she done the right thing by imparting all her knowledge to Zi-ning? Or would she need to take responsibility for pushing the girl on a path of no return?

"It'll be quiet again now that she's gone," Lady Li said, a slight tinge of disappointment in her voice, "but no matter. I think we'll see each other again eventually."

#

Zi-ning had sent word back to the Han household several days ago to inform them that she was returning, so a small crowd gathered had already gathered by the front door of the manor waiting for her to arrive. Her stepmother Lady Min was standing right at the front, dressed from head to toe in the most expensive silks that the capital had to offer, as if afraid that passers-by wouldn't be able to tell her status without all these embellishments.

Since Zi-ning was the only daughter born to the minister's first official wife, her status among all his offspring was the highest now that her brother was away serving in the army. As such, her return home was treated with utmost importance under decree of the old madam.

"I don't see why all of us have to stand out here waiting for her," Meisi grumbled, beckoning to her maidservant to hand her another shawl. "It's freezing out here."

"Zi-ning has been away from home for more than two years. It's only right that we wait for her to return," Meiyan answered.

Over the past two and half years, Meiyan had also blossomed into a stunning beauty with an outstanding reputation within the capital city, with tens of suitors having come knocking on the front door asking for her hand in marriage. Lady Min had politely rejected all of these offers thus far because she was still holding out for something bigger for her precious daughter. In her mind, the one worthy of her daughter's hand would at least have to be a son from one of the highest-ranking noble families, or perhaps even the royal family itself. At the moment, there were still several princes yet to be married, which meant that Meiyan stood a fairly good chance of being selected as a princess consort.

To Lady Min and Meiyan, the girl whom they were now waiting for was no longer a threat that was worthy of mention, so they would gladly wait a couple of moments more if only to see what a world of a difference there was between the two girls now. It didn't matter that Zi-ning was the only daughter born to the minister's first wife. Now, the entire capital city only had eyes for Meiyan.

"Meiyan is right," Lady Min chimed in, glancing sideways at Meisi in displeasure. "Zi-ning is your older sister, so all the more you should be here to welcome her home. Have you still not learnt proper manners, Meisi? I'll have to speak to your tutor. It appears that you need more lessons on decorum and protocol."

Meisi opened her mouth to protest but her mother Lady Wan immediately pinched her on the arm, making her yelp in pain. Lady Wan quickly shot her a stern glare, willing her to keep her mouth shut. Without Yongxing and Zi-ning around and the old madam growing weaker with age, much had changed in the Han household over the past two years and Lady Min now commanded the highest authority. It didn't help that Meiyan's reputation was on a meteoric rise, which meant that Meisi simply faded away into the background.

Seeing that Lady Wan knew her place, a smug smile tugged on Lady Min's lips.

Just then, the horse carriage that they had all been waiting for appeared around the corner, the horses slowly trotting their way towards the manor. Curious passers-by strained their necks to catch a glimpse of who it was that was sitting inside the carriage. They knew it must be someone important, for so many members of Minister Han's household to be standing outside in wait.

The smile on Lady Min's face only widened as she watched the carriage come to a stop in front of them. Two years at an isolated, run-down temple on some mountain would surely have turned Zi-ning into even more of a country bumpkin than she previously was, which was completely fine by her. Even till now she couldn't imagine why the girl would have volunteered to go to such a faraway place—and to have stayed there for more than two years at that.

The first two people to emerge from the carriage were Zi-ning's personal maidservants, Shujin and Hana, both of whom seemed to have grown slightly taller and slimmer over the years. Their appearances pleased Lady Min though, because both were clad in simple cotton dresses that seemed more fitting for peasants than for servants of such an important household. Both girls greeted the mistresses and young mistresses of the household politely, before Hana reached out her hand to help Zi-ning off the carriage.

A slender hand emerged from between the curtains, and as Zi-ning slowly stepped out, everyone instinctively held their breath.

Lady Min's smile froze on her face, as did Meiyan's.