The Hidden Palace of the Azure Bird
The late spring breeze stirred the hem of the silk curtains, fluttering them gently. Behind the moonlit haze that veiled the Fenghua Palace, she sat motionless before a mahogany box, its surface thick with dust, as if it had been sealed away for decades.
Xianlan traced her fingertip along the edge of the lid, then slowly opened it.
A faint scent of aged wood mingled with the aroma of sandalwood incense drifted up to her nose.
Inside lay only a few aged documents wrapped in a pale blue velvet cloth, embroidered with a silver-threaded bird, wings outstretched.
So familiar that her heart gave a sudden jolt.
"…Mother's document wrap," she murmured.
What she held now had come from a secret room hidden behind the Cold Palace library—once the residence of Consort Yu, her mother.
With the Empress's permission, she had been allowed to explore her mother's former chambers.
In the deepest corner of the archive room, Xianlan noticed a wooden wall subtly different from the rest. That led her to discover a hidden wooden door.
And behind it—a room sealed for decades.
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She took out the aged papers from the wrap.
Delicate, refined handwriting recorded names of herbal medicines, prescriptions, shifts of the imperial physicians, and mundane records from the seventh year of the Tianyuan reign in Consort Yu's palace.
Xianlan skimmed the pages swiftly—
Until she came upon a line written in faded ink:
"I suspect the missing antidote from the pharmacy was… no accident."
Below it was a signature: Li Xuelan.
Her heart lurched.
That was her mother's full name—Consort Yu.
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A soft footstep outside the palace pulled Xianlan back to the present.
She hurriedly tucked the documents back into the cloth, held them to her chest, and closed the box.
"The Emperor commands the princess to return to her quarters,"
came the voice of a trusted eunuch from the imperial household.
Xianlan nodded calmly.
But in her eyes, a spark of resolve burned brightly.
Tonight… she would begin her search for the truth.
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That night, in the inner palace—
Emperor Li Sicheng sat upon the jade throne in the Grand Hall, gently caressing the silk tassel hanging from an ancient scroll.
On the table, incense smoke curled lazily into the air. The faint scent of black tea mixed with rose lingered gently.
"You seem quiet, Lan'er. Are you deep in thought?"
The emperor's tone was calm, but tinged with subtle concern.
Xianlan bowed her head.
"I was only reflecting on Consort Yu's palace, Your Majesty," she replied softly.
"I was granted access by the Empress… and discovered some documents that appear to have been hidden."
The emperor's eyes froze for a moment.
He fell silent, then sighed.
"I once ordered them to be burned… but no one dared destroy them completely."
"Why, Your Majesty?"
"Because your mother, Xuelan… even in death, none dared to erase her traces."
His voice held both guilt… and deep sorrow.
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Back in her chambers, Xianlan brought out the documents once more.
The glow from a milk-glass lantern lit up the characters.
Some parts had been crossed out, but on closer inspection, she could see faded words beneath the lines.
"The name of the physician who examined my mother on the night of her death… does not match the one scheduled for that shift."
"I have seen this man's name before… a physician closely tied to the Su family…"
A cold glint shone in Xianlan's eyes.
If even her mother's death held such suspicions—
Then who, truly, had written the script of her life?
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Morning
Xianlan sent for Imperial Physician Huang—a man in his sixties.
He once managed the palace pharmacy during the seventh year, but was demoted after a scandal over "spoiled medicine" the following year.
When they met, she asked only one thing:
"Do you remember… on the night Consort Yu passed, did anyone request medicine from you?"
The old man stiffened.
"I remember clearly, Princess… someone came bearing the royal envoy's seal, requesting an antidote—but told me not to record it."
"And who was that envoy?"
Physician Huang swallowed hard.
"The seal… belonged to the Su family, Your Highness."
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Walking back from the physician's quarters, the documents trembled faintly in her hand.
Her heart brimmed with a storm of confusion—pain, coldness, a chilling dread.
She lifted her gaze toward the sky.
Heavy clouds blanketed the sun entirely.
No light shone through.
But she knew… the light had not vanished.
It simply waited—
for the day she would reach up and pierce through the fog on her own.
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