The founding legend of the four kingdoms. The one thing that connected them all.

  “You have painted us as idiots.” Princess Yuyan hissed from where she sat across from Xinyue. She clutched at the cup of wine on her table and looked like she would hurl it across the room at any moment. Princess Lihua shrank back from her half-sister, worried that she might turn her rage to the person nearest her.

  Princess Lingyi nodded beside Xinyue. In a hesitant voice, the Princess spoke while fiddling with the yellow roses pinned in her hair. “As a member of the Mu Kingdom, I have to agree.”

  “I also have to agree with the Princess of Wu.” Although Princess Meiling had turned her nose up at the Wu Princesses throughout the banquet, she agreed heartily that the legend was quite different than what the Feng acting troupe had performed. “Is this the level of acting and storytelling of the Feng Kingdom?” The Princess sneered down at the actors.

  All the actors fell to their knees. With their hands at their forehead, they bowed onto the cold ground until their forehead touched the floor.

  “Rise and answer the Princess of Long’s question.” The Crown Prince spoke; he sounded diplomatic and formal. However, Xinyue could feel the pressure of his cultivation just beneath the surface of his words. He may seem calm, but he was only holding back his rage.

  The leading actor, the one who introduced the play, rose from his bow. Only to raise his arms out in front of him, his hands clasped in a salute. “Your Highness, I am sorry for any offense. This is the way we have always done it.” The man was shaking, his hands quivering together as he stood before the Crown Prince.

  “So then, are you to say that this is how the Feng Kingdom thinks of each of the other kingdoms?” The Crown Prince rose from his seat, his hands lightly clasped behind his back, and stepped down from the platform. With grace, he stalked toward the actors at the center of the room.

  “No, Your Highness.” The actor didn’t dare to raise his head. “Only to say that this is how we have learned the legend of the four kingdoms.”

  “Your Highness,” Princess Jingshu realized the precarious situation she and her siblings were in. After all, they were the ones who brought the acting troupe here for entertainment. If the Crown Prince were to punish anyone, they would be bound together. “It is only a play, a legend.”

  Prince Jianhong turned wide eyes to his sister, in disbelief at what she said. No one here would take this performance as just a legend or just a play.

  Princess Mengyao could see the panic in her brother’s eyes and knew it was time to act. “In the Feng Kingdom, we believe that the Dragon Spirit and Phoenix Spirit worked together. They were against the split of this land into the four kingdoms. We did not intend to offend the Long Kingdom, Your Highness.” Princess Mengyao bowed her head; the rubies that decorated the fine pins in her hair shone.

  “But you wished to offend our other guests?” The Crown Prince spun from the acting troupe and raised an eyebrow at the Feng Royal family.

  For a brief moment, Mengyao’s mask dropped, and her face contorted in anger, before she changed her expression to that of sadness. The Feng Royal family, by bringing the acting troupe, had hoped to paint themselves and the Long Kingdom’s founders in a companionable light, but everything was going amiss. The Crown Prince seemed to insist on defending the Wu Kingdom and the Mu Kingdom.

  Princess Meiling sighed. “Come now, Your Highness. Princess Mengyao has shown great grace by apologizing.” While Princess Meiling disagreed with the acting troupe from Feng, she didn’t want to lose the most ideal candidate for her brother’s wife.

  Princess Mengyao let a single tear slide down from her deep red eyes down her painted cheek. “We did not mean any harm, Your Highness.”

  “Yes, Your Highness. We only meant to demonstrate the acting troupe’s prowess and performance.” Prince Jianhong hunched his shoulders and frowned. “We are deeply apologetic, Your Highness.”

  Xinyue almost let the chuckle escape from her lips, but unfortunately let out a small cough instead. At the sound, the Crown Prince turned to Xinyue. Their eyes met, and for a second, they were covered in dirt and blood. Haoran pulled at Xinyue’s hand as he tried to drag her away from the dead that littered the silty dirt near the lake. The Crown Prince called her name over and over again as he was dragged away from her.

  “Your apology is meaningless to me.” The Crown Prince spoke without looking away from Xinyue. His voice was almost a whisper as he stared in to her golden eyes. He said the sentence with such anger, reigned back only by the sight of the General of Wu. The woman whose back remained straight and dignified, the thread at the top of her head still being pulled up by the heavens.

  “Your Highness, please ease your anger.” Princess Meiling begged her brother, she stood from her seat in a wave of robes. She smiled at Princess Mengyao and patted the girl on her back. They were not far in age from each other, and Princess Meiling considered Princess Mengyao to be somewhat of a kindred spirit.

  There was a beat of silence, and some of the Long Court members’ shoulders relaxed. The Princess of Long would be able to rectify the situation. After all, the Crown Prince cherished her beyond belief.

  The Crown Prince scoffed; the sound harsh in the silence of the banquet hall. The Crown Prince turned to face his sister, the lantern light casting shadows on his face. The sight caused his sister to flinch back and cower where she stood next to the Feng Royal family.

  “Princess Meiling,” Hongyi rose from his seat, his signature grin nowhere to be seen. His tone was placating, diplomatic. “I believe the Crown Prince can decide if he should be angry or not, My Lady.”

  Hongyi was watching Xinyue and the Crown Prince, his head tilted to the side. Although he had spoken to the princess, he didn’t seem to be paying her much attention. His mind was elsewhere.

  “Your Highness, we again recognize that what we did was wrong.” The actor again went to his knees. He banged his head onto the ground, the palms of his hands on either side of his head, and the other actors followed him in unison. “We beg His Highness for his mercy.”

  Another moment of silence. Tension filled the room, almost palatable.

  Xinyue knew that none of them understood. None of them could understand why the Crown Prince was so upset by this play. They probably thought that he was temperamental or a tyrant. A royal who didn’t get his way and was throwing a tantrum. But Xinyue knew the truth, and she knew Hongyi and Haoran did too.

  “Your Highness, thank you for seeking justice on our behalf.” Princess Yuyan smiled and a blush rose to her cheeks. She was an opportunist and wanted to snatch at the chance that was dangling right in front of her. “But we, the Wu Kingdom, can understand that the Feng Kingdom apologized.”

  Princess Yuyan was taking full advantage of the situation, of the anger of the Crown Prince of Long. She almost reveled in the fact that the Princesses of Feng had to grovel for the Crown Prince to ease his anger. Her red lips rose in a smirk.

  “Yes, my sister is right.” Princess Lihua was just behind her sister in her remarks. She seemed to race to catch up, her words tripping over themselves. “We are so, well, grateful. And, um, appreciative of Your Highness.”

  “Is that so?” The Crown Prince turned to look at the Princesses of Wu, the blue of his eyes washed away by the lantern light. He looked like a ghost, the pupil and deep rim of dark blue that surrounded his irises the only color left in his eyes.

  “Yes, Your Highness.” Princess Lihua continued, even as the color left Princess Yuyan’s face. “We are in your debt.”

  “In my debt?” The Crown Prince repeated the words back to Princess Lihua. “For what exactly?’

  Princess Lihua didn’t seem to understand that the Crown Prince was playing with her.

  “For defending our ancestors and making certain the correct legend of the four kingdoms is spread.”

  “And what is the correct legend?” The Crown Prince had a tight smile on his face, but there was no trace of the dimple in his right cheek.

  “That the Mu Kingdom was to blame for the missing Piece of Heaven.” Princess Lihua said this statement simply, as if all who were present were aware of the fact.

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  Princess Lingyi’s affronted gasp was sharp, and she stood from her chair. “How could you say such a thing?” Tears gathered in her deep purple eyes, and just as quickly as she stood, she collapsed. Her maidservant rushed to her side and held the Princess to her shoulder.

  “Princess Lihua!” Princess Meiling scolded from where she stood with the Feng Royal family. “How dare you accuse the Mu Royal family of such a thing. Haven’t you put the Princess through enough pain?”

  Princess Lingyi’s eyelids fluttered, and she cried softly into her maidservant’s shoulder. Princess Lihua had the good sense to look ashamed. She stuttered out an apology and looked to Princess Yuyan for help, but her sister didn’t so much as look at her. The embarrassment had turned both of the Princesses of Wu into ripe tomatoes, the red color on their faces running down their necks, a stark contrast to their silver robes.

  The legend of the four kingdoms was controversial, and each kingdom blamed the other for the missing Piece of Heaven as well as the shattering of the alliance between the Spirits.

  Princess Mengyao patted her cheeks and wiped at her tears, not smudging her makeup in the process. “Please, Your Highness. Try to find it in your heart to forgive the Feng Kingdom.” Her eyes were big and teary as she looked imploringly at the Crown Prince. Princess Jingshu clung to her sister’s side.

  The Crown Prince had stirred up quite a scene during the banquet. Xinyue had watched the whole thing from the side, not shocked in the least. Everyone had acted as she expected them to, down to the last tear drop.

  The Crown Prince looked to Hongyi, and Hongyi sighed and stepped forward into the chaos.

  “As members of the Long Royal Court, we must support His Highness in everything that he does. That includes punishing those who are wrong.” Hongyi looked at the actors still quivering on the ground. “The actors today must be punished.”

  The Crown Prince gave a small, almost imperceptible nod to Hongyi.

  “Lord Hongyi, is there anything in the law of the Long Kingdom that dictates that these actors must be punished?” Xinyue remained where she sat, her voice cold as she asked the question. All present turned to her.

  Xinyue had kept her uniform on for the banquet, sans the armor, the simple black robes had caused a few sneers and looks of mild disgust when she walked into the tent. The white ribbon tied her hair into a topknot, the only piece of adornment on the General’s plain outfit. The black face covering contrasted with her gold eyes, making them stand out more in the candlelight. As she sat calmly in the chaos, she made note of everything that was happening and only spoke when she felt there was a need.

  “General Xinyue,” Hongyi’s eyes widened in surprise at her interjection, “I, well, I don’t believe there is a law.” Hongyi looked to the Crown Prince, unsure of what to do with himself. His brow was furrowed, and he shook his head slightly. He thought if anyone would understand the Crown Prince’s anger it would be her.

  “Are you saying I am acting tyrannical, General Xinyue?” The Crown Prince purred. The question was a warning, a proverbial sword at her jugular. His voice level with steel running through it. He was telling her to step back to allow him to punish the actors who reminded him of that time. The same flashbacks that had plagued Xinyue as the play was performed. He turned to the General, his eyes guarded.

  “I did not say you were, Your Highness.” Xinyue bowed her head. She took the moment to wrap iron around her spine, before lifting it again to look into those disconcerting eyes. He was the same man as before, even in this tent. “I was only asking for Lord Hongyi to clarify the law. As you know, I am a foreigner in these lands and I’m not aware of all the wrongs that I could commit.”

  The Crown Prince snapped his eyes to the actors before flitting them back to the General’s. Although indirectly, Xinyue was criticizing him and his behavior. She had done the same thing years ago.

  “Are you saying that because the actors are foreigners that they didn’t commit an offense?” The Crown Prince’s speech had become more casual, undignified. He was talking like a general, not like the Crown Prince. Out of familiarity or out of anger, Xinyue was unsure. “That they’re innocent?”

  Xinyue tilted her head to the side, considering the Crown Prince’s words. She knew what she had to say to make him pause. “Did they know that it would offend you beforehand?”

  There it was. The feeling of déjà vu gripped and pulled at Xinyue’s heart. She had to throw his own words back at him. He had talked sense into her back then, and it was now her turn to talk sense into him.

  “No, I suppose they didn’t.” The Crown Prince’s anger deflated and his words no longer held their sharp edge.

  “No, we didn’t, Your Majesty.” The cries of the actors echoed in the tent as they banged their foreheads into the ground. “We didn’t know, Your Majesty.”

  Xinyue highly doubted that. They knew, of course, they knew. The Feng Royal family probably planned for everything. The story was based on the relationship between the Phoenix and the Dragon. They had wanted to show a brilliant and long relationship between the two kingdoms. It was unfortunate that the Feng Royals were not privy to the Crown Prince’s past and his relationship with this story.

  “Please, Your Majesty, have mercy.” The actors were pitiful. They were only being used as a tool, and yet now their lives were on the line.

  If anything, the ones who had a right to be offended were the delegations from the Kingdoms of Mu and Wu. Those two kingdoms were painted as unsavory during the performance. There was no offense intended to the Crown Prince or the Kingdom of Long; Xinyue saw that clearly. Even if the Crown Prince couldn’t.

  The Crown Prince closed his eyes, still facing Xinyue. When he opened them, he nodded to the General. “Very well, I will show you mercy.”

  “The Crown Prince is indeed of great bearing and renowned.” All of the actors talked over themselves, trying to assure the Crown Prince that he had made a wise decision.

  “You are never to perform in the Long Kingdom again.” The decision was made with a wave of the Crown Prince’s hand as he turned from the acting troupe. Soldiers came from the shadows of the tent, dragging the performers out. “If I hear even a whisper about this play or this story, I will exact punishment a hundred-fold greater than I would have given today.”

  The actors continued with their praise and thanks even as they were pulled from the tent.

  When the Crown Prince sat back down in his seat, there was a sense of relief, but no one dared to move or speak out. Xinyue lifted the glass of water to her lips, parched from the ordeal. Movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

  It was Princess Meiling, her blue robes once again shimmering as she moved back to sit in her seat. Her eyes weren’t on the Princesses of Feng, or even on her brother, but on Xinyue. She looked at her with unbridled curiosity.

  “Well, why don’t we have a toast?” Hongyi tried to get the party back in full swing. He took a bottle of wine from his table and walked across the room to where one of the Long Court members sat.

  “Ah, yes, Lord Hongyi.” The court member offered a shaky hand with his cup, tittering in it. As more wine was poured and the toasts continued, the event seemed to fade into the back of the minds of everyone present. Even the other royals forgot what happened, socializing with different members of the court.

  Behind her, Haoran took the chance as everyone was distracted to ask, “General, are you alright?” Even as a tiny whisper, Xinyue heard the question.

  Xinyue nodded in response.

  She watched as the Crown Prince threw his head back and laughed at something Hongyi said. He was bright and cheerful, nothing like how she last saw him three years ago. At the archery field today, she also had noticed that he had healed and grown stronger from our time apart. The wounds he got that day didn’t seem to bother him anymore. It had been so long ago that she had thought most of the damage had healed. That everyone had forgotten about what had happened a few years ago. The past was in the past. They had grown and all had changed; their relationships faded. So why was it that things kept reminding her of those days at the border between the Long and Wu Kingdoms?