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Lian · 9/1/2026, 3:58 PM

DAY 1 | following the feast

Formalities fill the air. Lihua is pleased by the heaped platters and the draped decoration. Or, if she is not, she will not tell Lian. Unfortunate, but the lotus princess does not permit herself to feel a pang of hurt at the rote welcome. This is what these sorts of conversations were for! To thaw the freeze of distance, absence, between the women of the court.

Her father has many wives, each as ethereally beautiful as the last. That is what the world sees of them. Poise, elegance, and breathtaking loveliness. Lian is gifted - or cursed - with a nearer perspective. Between the filigreed details, she sees the way the esteemed status of these women is binding as it is powerful. They must stick together, all of them. Better to uplift one another than waste their time and breath on tearing each other apart with jealousy or ambition.

I have been well, thank you. Ecstatic...wasn't quite the word. Lian was thrilled by the idea of little brothers and sisters to adore, of course. Glad that the grief of another lost child does not rip through her father and the empress' hearts. But she is still coming to terms with the way these fragile little lives, by no fault of their own but the breath in their blessed lungs, have changed her place in the world. We are truly blessed in many ways, she replies, eyes half-closed in a smile, but these blessings have had all of us quite preoccupied. Little time for all the things that matter to us. She speaks around the matter, for it's not quite her place to apologize for the way the concubine has been shoved into the shadows by the shining light of the joys gifted to the others of the court. A slight incline of her head, her attention unwavering from the pale blue woman. Perhaps you'd like to join me for tea at Myrrh's sometime. I have been thinking of a tea party for all the ladies of the court, once the Empress returns to the court in full, for we have not been brought all together to chat in so long! Would you be interested in helping me plan such a thing? Lian huffed a small, pleasant sigh. It's quite a monumental project, but quite worth it, I think.

Welcome Back!

Greetings Stranger!

Verdant's Grace

princess of the tianlong