My conversation with Shuyin ended far too quickly.
It was nothing like the long, meandering talks we used to have inside the palace. Had she changed? Or…perhaps I had.
A thought I did not want to accept pressed against my mind.
Even though I was thrilled, finally able to use my skills, finally about to gain an official rank—everything around me was shifting.
People were drifting away, one after another.
I had already left the mansion behind: Yichen, Lianyu, Ariya. I left them to become a palace maid.
Now I was leaving Shuyin to become an official. Every step forward seemed to demand a sacrifice.
Then another question surfaced, sharper than the rest.
Why had I never returned to Bharat? It should have been the obvious choice—my birthplace, my family.
Surely I could have taken a ship home, perhaps even convinced Ariya to come so he might see his own family again. Why had the idea never crossed my mind until now?
Was it because I didn't want to go back? Did I, without realizing it, wish to remain in China—the very land I had loathed only a few years ago?
Those thoughts spiraled like the wind in a hurricane as I reached Renshu's palace.
No lights burned inside. He must have gone to bed. I slipped through the creaking door and hurried down the silent corridor to my room.
I needed sleep. If I woke too late and missed the ceremony, my newly minted badge of "official" might be taken away before it was even earned.
I lay down, mind still racing, searching for that answer I could not find. Sleep reached me before I could chase that thought any further.
~~~~DAWN~~~~
Nervousness woke me before the sunlight from the windows interrupted my rest. Perhaps too early, but I welcomed the clarity.
Today was the ceremony.
Today everything would change.
I carved my makeup with steady hands until my reflection looked sharper, stronger—without a single flaw.
The faint freckles I painted across my cheeks looked almost natural. Good. No weakness could show today.
As I adjusted my clothes, Aryan's reflection stared back from the polished bronze mirror. Yes. This would do.
Descending the stairs, I noticed the empty hall. No Renshu.
With no one to prepare breakfast, I decided to make it myself. The silence soothed me—until a familiar voice broke it.
"Well, look who woke on time."
I turned. Renshu stood in the doorway of the kitchen.
"I'm making breakfast. You set the table," he said, already moving toward the kitchen.
Curiosity tugged at me. A general with at least twenty servants, yet he cooked for himself?
"Do you always prepare breakfa—"
"Yes, I do," he interrupted.
"But…no other high-ranking official—"
"So?" He shrugged without looking back. "I prefer my own cooking. The servants aren't allowed in until midday."
"Then…why make my breakfast too?"
"I—Set the table, Meilina. You're too chatty this morning."
So much for subtle questions. Arranging plates and cutlery while wondering if he had made my meal yesterday as well. If so, and I'd slept through it…no wonder he was a bit annoyed yesterday.
When we finally sat to eat, Renshu broke the silence.
"The ceremony is usually held on the field of Commander Wei Fang's station—a wide open space. But since you're the only recruit, it will likely be inside. Three colonels will be present. One of them will decide to take you in."
"Three colonels? Are they like the other commanders who came with Wei Fang?" I asked.
"No. Colonels are one rank below commander. Each colonel oversees a sector. One commander controls several colonels and their groups."
He rested his elbows on the table, eyes steady.
"There are four groups an official might join: Advisors, Strategists, Chief Strategists, and Financialists. Each group answers to one commander and three to four colonels. Based on your entrance exam, you've been placed in the Chief Strategies department. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the commander in charge is…Wei Fang."
The system sounded both intricate and simple: four commanders, roughly fourteen colonels. Though the thought of him as the commander was not the best news.
"If I'm chosen," I asked carefully, "what will my title be?"
"Chief Strategist Aryan," Renshu replied with a faint smile. "Get ready. We leave soon."
---
I dashed back to my room and dressed quickly.
Renshu's old clothes were all I owned; I selected the finest set and tied my hair into a tight bun.
Two hairpins lay before me:
Lianyu's jade green pin, soft as pond water and water lilies.
Renshu's red-and-black pin, dark as blood under a moonless sky.
My fingers lingered, then chose the latter. I retouched my makeup, heart hammering, and sprinted downstairs.
We mounted our horses and set off. The path wound through endless courtyards and gardens, and for the first time I realized how vast the Forbidden Palace truly was like a city
We rode past shrubs, storerooms, and training yards until we reached a grave, imposing building draped in deep green.
Not the soft jade of my hairpin, but a dark noble green reserved for high ranks.
Inside, Commander Wei Fang sat at a long narrow table surrounded by three colonels. Scrolls and dust covered every surface.
"Good morning, General Renshu—and…Araya?" one colonel said, rising.
"My name is Aryan," I corrected, hoping they wouldn't notice my voice was not as deep as theirs.
Wei Fang cut through the greetings. "Enough formalities. One of you will take him in. Decide."
A colonel with sharp eyes spoke first. "Aryan is a foreigner. Why should we accept someone like him?"
Another countered immediately. "He was trained by General Renshu. Surely he holds some talent."
"But what if he betrays us for—"
"Colonel Wei Lie," Wei Fang's voice sliced through the argument, cold and final, "if you do not wish to accept him, you need not. But you have no right to question our judgment so rudely."
Silence fell. Wei Fang turned to the quietest colonel, a man who had not spoken once.
"I have decided. Aryan will be entrusted to Colonel Gao Ming."
Gao Ming finally looked up. His gaze flicked over me once, measuring, indifferent, before sliding away again.
One of them protested, "I could have taken Aryan—"
"The decision is final, Zhou Fu," Wei Fang said, unyielding. "He will serve under Gao Ming. Now, Aryan—any questions?"
"No," I answered, voice steady.
"Good. Go with Colonel Gao Ming. Your work begins today."