Chapter 9

Chapter 9

On the day of the Midwinter Night Banquet, the heaviest snow of the winter fell upon Baili City.

Inside the Royal Palace, however, it was as bright as day. Ninety-nine crystal chandeliers hung from high above, each flickering with a slender cluster of blue flame. Musicians sat in the heated gallery, playing their strings, while ministers and noblewomen-their skirts sweeping across the gold-tiled floors-chatted and raised their glasses as if the freezing streets outside, where people were dying of the cold, didn’t exist.

I was pressed into a side hall to be bathed, groomed, and dressed in a snow-white gown. The hem was incredibly long and sewn with silver sequins that chimed with every step I took, sounding like rattling chains. As the head maid applied rouge to my face, she smiled and said, “You were born with such beauty, girl. If the Crown Prince takes a fancy to you tonight, even if you are buried in the Furnace Core next year, it will be considered a glorious end.”

I looked at myself in the bronze mirror and suddenly remembered the faint smile on Ah Qiao’s lips when she died.

It turns out that before a person dies, they really can be made up to look like something out of a fairy tale.

Before the banquet began, Mo Yaoshuang came in person to crown me. The crown was delicate, a circle of silver branches twisted into the shape of thorns that sat right against my forehead; even the slightest movement caused the sharp points to dig painfully into my skin.

She stood behind me, her fingertips smoothing my hair with a gentle touch, as if she truly cared for me.

“When your mother was young, she wore this crown too.” She looked at me through the mirror, the smile on her lips unchanging. “She was more stubborn than you. Even though she knew she would die, she still tried to steal those boxes away.”

I stared at her through the reflection. “Where is Ming Yinxing?”

“What’s the rush?” She gave a soft laugh. “Once you enter the Furnace Core, you will see her for yourself.”

Blood rushed to my head in a fit of rage. Just as I was about to stand up, an announcement came from outside the door: the Crown Prince had arrived.

Yan Zhichuan was dressed in black ceremonial robes, a snow-white fox-fur mantle draped over his shoulders. He looked like a cold blade resting in a magnificent scabbard. When he stepped into the hall, everyone bowed their heads in greeting. I was the only one who looked him straight in the eye.

He looked back at me.

In that moment, the hall was so quiet that I could hear the sound of the thorns on my crown piercing into my flesh.

“It is time,” Mo Yaoshuang reminded him softly.

Yan Zhichuan shifted his gaze and turned toward the front hall.

The bell tolled three times, and the Midwinter Night Banquet began.

When I was led to the center of the Great Hall, the eyes of everyone around me fell upon me like layers of scalding oil. The music stopped, and an attendant brought forward a golden tray. On the tray were seven boxes of matches. Each lid bore a name, and the one on the very top was none other than “Ming Yinxing.”

My hands and feet went cold instantly.

Mo Yaoshuang announced with a smile, “According to ancient custom, on Midwinter Night, His Highness shall personally select the Lampwick Maiden to ensure the safety and peace of our citizens for another year.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward Yan Zhichuan.

He stood upon the dais, his face pale and devoid of any life. After a moment, he raised his hand and pointed at me.

“Yi Jiangxue.”

The entire hall erupted into a commotion.

I stared at him, my breath catching in my throat. My mind went blank, with only one thought crashing through it over and over again.

So, the key he gave me wasn’t because he wanted me to save anyone.

He wanted me to walk into the fire of my own free will.