A/N: I've had this chapter on hold for ever, but the end for some reason just would not co-operate so here it is finally, a pretty obvious world-building chapter that otherwise doesn't have much plot. There are so many things that I ripped off from different fandoms, stories and universes for this chapter :P so anything that seems familiar and you've seen it somewhere else...well I probably plucked it from there and put it in here.


Cinderella Moment

Zi Wei and Xiao Yan had just finished breakfast one March Saturday morning when He Jing came gliding in.

"Oh good, you're both awake. You're coming with me today!" she said as soon as she saw them.

"What for?" Zi Wei asked, frowning.

"Surely Huang Ah Ma, or the Empress, or even Yong Qi had told you two about the Annual Spring Imperial Dinner that's taking place in ...a week?" she asked. "You need to prepare for it, both of you! After all, this will be both of your first major public appearance - all eyes will be on you!"

"You mean they'll be on Zi Wei," Xiao Yan said.

"Oh no!" He Jing laughed. "You too, believe me! Even more so, after all, you will be there accompanying Yong Qi now wouldn't you?"

"Er - is that a significant thing, accompanying Yong Qi?" she asked.

"For goodness sake, haven't you read the papers lately? They've almost forgotten Zi Wei to focus on you!" He Jing said.

"What exactly would preparing for this dinner involve?" Zi Wei said a little too quickly. Xiao Yan wondered whether it was an attempt to distract the conversation away from the idea of putting her on display, which was becoming more and more of a disconcerting idea by the minute.

"First we are going to the treasure chamber - I know, it's just a really archaic name, it's just where the crown jewels and other valuable things like the Emperor's Seal and stuff are stored - and see if we can pick out some jewellery for you to wear, because we can't decide on your dress designs before we decide on the jewels. Madame Zhang Chan Yu, the Imperial Designer, always design dresses for big occasions like this based on the choice of jewels. After that we're having lunch, then I made the appointment with Madame Zhang after lunch, when she'll be designing your dresses. She won't be happy with so little time to work on, especially when it's a court dress event, that can't be helped."

Both Xiao Yan and Zi Wei were looking at He Jing with wide eyes. Xiao Yan wasn't sure whether her own astonishment was because she could not imagine anything of the things that He Jing just said they needed to do (except, perhaps, lunch), or the very matter-of-fact and natural way He Jing said this, as if she did such things every day.

He Jing seemed to notice both their speechlessness and chuckled, "Don't worry, you be the princesses, I'll be the fairy-godmother, all right? Just follow me."

All the imperial family residences, the treasure chamber, the imperial library, the imperial museum and palace management offices were enclosed within the walls of the Imperial Palace, still called the Forbidden City, though it was far from forbidden anymore - at least, not in the sense that it originally meant. In fact, certain parts of the Palace was now, in the modern day, opened to tours at certain set time of the year. But the treasure chamber was certainly not one of those places. Only a certain number of people could enter it at all, almost limited to the imperial family alone, and anyone else must be accompanied by a member of the imperial family.

The first impression Xiao Yan had of the treasure chamber was that the building looked, appropriately, like a very large safe. All four sides of it was smooth and practically windowless, even the huge door mimicked that of a bank vault. It was guarded more heavily than any other building in the Forbidden City and she suspected it to be bullet-proof, and whatever-else-proof that was possible.

The building would be just like any other house, except that the design was simply very simple. Entering the front door, there was a long hallway that branched off into rooms at the side, and there was another room at the end of the hall.

"This place, for lack of better word, is the family safe, and each of the these rooms are compartments," He Jing explained. "The room at the end is where things that either below to the throne or the state is kept - it is not our personal possessions but passed on to whoever sits on the throne. Technically we do not own them, ourselves, but the state does. There are some jewels that are just so ancient that they fall into that category, and are stored in that room. And then each household of the imperial family is entitled to one of these rooms - you will get yours, Zi Wei, I suspect, when the details are sorted out, and do not fear, Huang Ah Ma will certainly make sure you have things to put in there. If you eventually do marry Yong Qi, Xiao Yan, you will be sharing his compartment. Each of my siblings and I inherited jewels or personal aspects from our mother, either for our own use or to pass on as we wish. I should say that when the time comes, Yong Qi will be presenting you with some very sentimental jewellery. But for now, for this imperial dinner, I'm sure we can find something among the crown jewels or my personal ones for you to borrow."

He Jing seemed to be in her element enough, and neither Zi Wei nor Xiao Yan knew how to react to most of this anyway, so they just let her take them down the hallway. Only one of the door was open - and it was an office. It was probably the only room in the whole building that had a window. There in the office was one secretary, and she stood up to greet them as He Jing led them into the office.

"Hi, Ru Qiong," He Jing said pleasantly, taking a clipboard from the desk and filled in some details. Then she held it out to Zi Wei and Xiao Yan. "Sign here."

On the clipboard was a form with information like who entered the chamber, with whom, at what time and for what purpose. Zi Wei and Xiao Yan signed where He Jing indicated before following her out of the room and down the hallway.

"She has one of the most boring jobs in the world," He Jing whispered.

"What does she do?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Monitors who comes in and out of here and what they take in and out, record every single entry and exit, including what is taken in and out. But it's not as if everyday that we need something from here, so I wonder what she does on the day that no one actually comes here. Not to mention the stress of being here, the amount of accountability involves with the job."

"Then why would anyone do this job?" Zi Wei asked.

"Well, considering what she is watching over, for such a boring job, it pays really well. You noticed there's a door next to the office? That's the security room, where all the security cameras transmit to. That's an even more boring job. Can you imagine just staring at a bunch of screens showing empty hallways all day?"

Xiao Yan definitely felt the creepy sensation of being watched when she was in this building. She glanced up to see, sure enough, security cameras situated every few metres apart.

The stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall. There were no handle on the two heavy metal doors, which anywhere else would look like elevator doors. There was, however, a keypad and a handprint scanner next to the door. He Jing keyed in a security code on the keypad, before laying her palm against the scanner. Xiao Yan wasn't surprised at the level of security but it all seemed so surreal that she was actually somewhere that needed this level of security. The doors slowly parted to let them in.

The entered the room. Xiao Yan nearly jumped when the metal doors slid shut behind them. She stared at the doors, and felt almost claustrophobic and trapped in a room with absolutely no window, and only lit with a rather eery dim light.

"Most of the things in here get damaged if exposed to too much artificial light," He Jing explained.

All three sides of the room was lined with doors that would open to reveal shelves of whatever that was precious enough to be kept in here, not that Xiao Yan could imagine all the things that would go in here. He Jing led them to a particularly tall door, like that of a closet, and swung it open. Behind the door were shelves of blue velvet, with all manners of precious jewellery encased in them. There were traditional Chinese jade accessories but also more modern pieces of gold and silver and precious gems.

"This isn't real," Xiao Yan whispered, staring at the jewels in front of her. "I'm not really here."

Zi Wei, likewise was staring at the display in front of her, wide-eyed. He Jing seemed to be holding back a chuckle.

The process of choosing the jewellery they would wear to the imperial dinner was taken up more by He Jing than anything, as both Zi Wei and Xiao Yan were much too in awe of what they were seeing. Besides, it was not as if they knew how to make a choice even if they were coherent enough to. Nothing could have prepared either of them for the idea of actually being to have a pick of the crown jewels to wear.

In the end, He Jing chose for Zi Wei a necklace of peridots and diamonds set into shapes of flowers and matching earring set.

"It's your birthstone, you know, the peridot," He Jing told Zi Wei. "A symbol of pure heart and mind, innocence and faith. I rather think it suits you."

"I find it bizarre that you can explain the meaning of all these gems here," Xiao Yan said, as He Jing had been doing just that - reeling off facts about what each gem or combination of gems meant in each of the pieces that she was considering.

He Jing just smiled, "Each gem of course have a certain meaning, and part of choosing the jewel is to make sure it suits the wearer and the occasion."

Somehow, she seemed a lot more fussy in her choice for Xiao Yan; the amount of time He Jing spent on choosing the jewellery for her seemed ridiculous - to Xiao Yan, at least. She had to the admit the jewels were beautiful beyond anything she could imagine and she was in awe of seeing them in such quantity - and knowing they were real. But the prospect of wearing them was surreal. Firstly, she could not imagine herself ever having a right to such riches. Secondly, she could not imagine herself wearing such decidedly feminine and princessy contraptions.

He Jing was looking critically at the jewels on the shelves in front of her, and apparently could not find anything that she thought would suit Xiao Yan and shut the door. Xiao Yan at first thought that He Jing was giving up on the jewels for her and could not hep but be a bit relieved about it. After all, none of it really belonged to her and she still could not begin to grasp the idea of wearing any of them. She had never had a chance for things like necklaces and bracelets and earrings before, and never particular missed them. The truth was, when it came to such girly things, she never felt a very pulling desire to wear them.

However, He Jing said, "Yong Qi has something in his compartment; it was my mother's, a really beautiful garnet and diamond necklace that would really look wonderful on you. I'd show you it now but I can't get into his compartment anyway. It would take my handprint, but I don't know the security code. I'll ask him to get out for you later." Apparently noticing her slight discomfort, He Jing said, "It'll belong to you eventually."

"You seem very sure of that," Xiao Yan said.

He Jing didn't answer but just smiled.

"Are we not taking the necklace for Zi Wei?" she asked again.

"No, I'll ask Yong Qi to get both for you on the day of the dinner. No point taking it out now to leave it lying around. We store all the precious things here for a reason."

o0o0o0o0o0

"The Annual Spring Imperial Dinner," He Jing explained later when they were having lunch at her house, "is held every year after the holidays are over and all the duties related to that has basically passed. It's basically the first official appearance of the imperial family after the lunar new year."

Being married, He Jing didn't live in the palace anymore, but her house was still near enough. As she did take imperial duties such as representing the imperial family at events and state visits to foreign countries, she was still entitled to the same household and personal staff as the rest of her family.

"Anyway, it's a really fancy dinner with the extended imperial family and the prime minister, some select parliament members and guests and ambassadors. I wasn't joking earlier. This year's dinner, believe me, will have everyone focusing on both of you. Which is why I have to make sure you're prepared for this. There won't be of course, any press or media, but still, you will basically be having dinner with some pretty elite people. Not all of them necessarily rejoice in your presence, Zi Wei. And Xiao Yan, you must realise that the fact that Yong Qi is taking you is by no mean a trivial decision, nor is the fact that Grandmother has allowed him to invite you. They are both making a statement. My grandmother may have misgivings about you, but she is trying to show that she is going to trust Yong Qi's judgement and decision."

"Now you're making it sound scary," Xiao Yan said bemusedly.

"It can be daunting, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun and get to know everyone," He Jing smiled. "The food will be good as it is every year; besides it's a chance to dress up. You would think that at being so close to lunar new year, it'd be traditional dress, but it is a white-tie event, which just means pretty evening gowns for us."

Zi Wei chuckled, "Then you should know that Xiao Yan doesn't really like wearing dresses."

"I had to wear a skirt when I was in school as part of the uniform, of course, but to be honest I would much prefer jeans and T-shirt."

He Jing looked horrified, and Xiao Yan wasn't sure whether it was a mock expression or real. But after a moment thinking, she said, "Why I am surprised, I'm not sure. From what I've seen of your wardrobe, I have to say I despair at it!"

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Xiao Yan exclaimed indignantly.

"Let me take you shopping someday," He Jing just said. "But today, we're getting your dresses made for the imperial dinner. You certainly can't go to an event like this in jeans and T-shirt! And while we're on the subject, Madame Zhang, is an absolutely genius fashion designer. But her way of talking is rather...dictatorial. Just...just don't be too offended by what she says, ok? It's nothing personal. She doesn't know what she say can be a little...grating, that's just how she is."

o0o0o0o0o0

Xiao Yan couldn't really guess how old she was, but she was sure that Madame Zhang was a lot older in age than she looked. She was dressed in a conservative enough but very fashionably-cut suit, accompanied by three younger assistants.

"Princess," she barely nodded to He Jing as she fairly floated into the room.

"Madame," He Jing said, gesturing to Zi Wei and Xiao Yan. "This is my sister, Zi Wei and this is Xiao Yan."

Madame Zhang paid no attention to either Zi Wei's or Xiao Yan's outstretched hands, nor made any indication of greeting them. She was just looking at both Zi Wei and Xiao Yan with eyes sharp as a razor. Then, her eyes swept from the top of Xiao Yan's head to the tip of her toes, clucking her tongue faintly in her mouth.

"Er - hello..." Zi Wei said faintly, but He Jing was smiling, as if expecting this rather odd greeting, and shook her head slightly at both of them, indicating that they should just let her get on with it.

"First off," the designer said with authority, "you have a horrible posture. That will not do, a beautiful dress will only look beautiful on a person who carries themselves beautifully." Here she reached out and literally pulled Xiao Yan's shoulders back. If Xiao Yan could bring herself to feel offended about the physical handling, she couldn't think of a way to react other than just blink rapidly. Something about Madame Zhang made it impossible to make a retort.

The designer apparently wasn't waiting for a response from Xiao Yan, as she next placed her fingers under Xiao Yan's chin and pushed up, so that her nose was, as the phrase went, up in the air. "You do have a beautiful neck, you must show it off more! More the reason to stop slouching!"

Xiao Yan sighed; the retort was nearly out of her mouth and she just managed to hold it back, remembering He Jing's earlier advice. She tried to furtively drop her chin a bit, but Madame Zhang swiftly raised it again, saying, "You are accompanying a prince to an imperial dinner, not a farmer going to the market! Look up!"

"Am I supposed to be able to see where I'm going?" Xiao Yan said.

"No, you are not. You are going to be on the arms of a prince, you do not need to be able to see the ground! People will be making way for you!"

Madame Zhang circled Xiao Yan, scrutinising, so much that she was forced to conclude that the other woman looked rather like a vulture surveying her prey.

"Your figure is tolerable, not the best there is, but it will do. It will be better if you straighten your back." And she reached out to physically force Xiao Yan to do just that. She glared at the older woman, but was promptly ignored. She was surprised that the expression didn't at least earn her a scolding. Looking over at Zi Wei, Xiao Yan could see that she was torn between amusement and sympathy, and wondered when it came to Zi Wei's turn, whether the designer would be this critical. She caught He Jing's eyes, but He Jing just looked used to Madame Zhang's antics.

Madame Zhang had by now stopped in front of Xiao Yan and asked, "So, what jewels will you be wearing?"

"Er - " Truth was, Xiao Yan didn't expect that Madame Zhang would ever actually want her to speak and found herself lost for word.

"My mother's garnet and diamond necklace, you remember it, Madame," He Jing answered for her.

"Oh yes," she said, nodding approvingly, for the first time since she entered the room. "I suppose that was your choice, Princess? I must say, yes, a very nice choice, especially when it will bring attention to her very comely neck."

Xiao Yan knew there was a compliment in there somewhere, and she probably should be grateful at a compliment from this apparently very hard-to-please woman, but could not help but feel disconcerted by the impersonal tone of her voice.

"Now, I will ensure the shoulder of the dress is positioned to best show off both the necklace and the neck. How high are heels that will you be wearing?"

"I don't wear heels," Xiao Yan said blankly.

"Yes, you do," the designer said, as if it was an irrefutable fact.

"No, I don't!" Xiao Yan insisted. "I have never worn heels in my life and I don't plan to start! I like to keep my feet on the ground, thank you."

"Clearly," Madame Zhang said, glancing distastefully at Xiao Yan's Converses. "But you are accompanying a prince - "

"I know who I am accompanying, you don't need to remind me," Xiao Yan grumbled darkly.

Madame Zhang continued as if she had not interrupted, " - as such, your presentation will reflect on him. The Prince must be able to display on his arm a lady who is worthy of him, therefore she must be visibly flawless - "

"Just visibly?" Xiao Yan asked dryly.

The designer looked at Xiao Yan with hard eyes. "My job is to make sure the ladies of the imperial family appear flawless in public and the Fifth Prince has chosen to include you as a part of that family. I would, therefore, appreciate it if you co-operate. You will be put on display, and to avoid shaming both yourself and the Fifth Prince, I'm afraid you will be wearing things that you may not like, Miss. I never said beauty did not hurt!"

Xiao Yan was about to protest, but then He Jing was shaking her head most empathetically at her behind Madame Zhang's back and Xiao Yan was forced to bite back her words.

"You can't wear a ball gown with flats, anyway, Xiao Yan," He Jing jumped in to control the fire. "But Madame, perhaps a pretty low pair of heels. Let us just decide on the design, and then I can sort out the shoes later today, and we can adjust the dress at a fitting later."

Needless to say, the rest of the appointment passed with Madame Zhang discussing most of the design with He Jing. If Xiao Yan was inclined to care that much about her clothes, she would feel offended that Madame Zhang totally gave up on trying to see eye to eye with her and chose to discuss with He Jing instead. But the reality was, Xiao Yan would have anything substantial to add to their discussion anyway. The designer was only slightly less hard on Zi Wei as she was on Xiao Yan, but perhaps that was because Zi Wei was far more co-operative.

"She means well, really," He Jing patted Xiao Yan's hand after it was all over. "Her way of expressing it is just...rough. But she has a very good point, Xiao Yan. At these official functions, people will judge you both on your conduct and by what you wear and how you look. You are a pretty girl, Xiao Yan, and believe me, however tough she may be, Madame Zhang will know the best way to bring that out in her design. She's brilliant at what she does, that's why she's around."

Xiao Yan just sighed, "I understand her point, but really, she could try to sound less like she's trying to insult you even when she's complimenting you. Though I must say no one has ever told me about my 'comely neck'."

"You best get used to her," He Jing said. "If you're going to be around, and going to events with Yong Qi, you'll be seeing her pretty often."

Zi Wei asked, "Is she like that to everyone?"

"Oh yes," He Jing chuckled. "She gave me such a lecture on my figure when I saw her to get a dress made a few months after I had my first child. But anyway, now we really do have to go do some shoe-shopping. There won't be time to get them custom-made so we will have to hit the shops. It should be a crime that neither of you own a pair of high heels."

"I'm not sure that shoes were my priority before when I was looking for Huang Ah Ma, Sister," Zi Wei smiled.

"Of course not," He Jing nodded. "But Xiao Yan, really, do you own any shoes that are remotely feminine? I would rejoice even at a plain pair of ballet flats."

"No, but I really don't wear heels, He Jing!" Xiao Yan exclaimed, grabbing at the chance to finally make her point on the subject. "I would probably be more likely to embarrass both myself and Yong Qi with a pair of heels than without them, because with them, for sure I will end up falling flat on my face!"

"As opposed to tripping on the hem of your dress if you go without heels? Don't worry, no one is expecting you to run a race, just walk slowly. You can't possibly fall, not on Yong Qi's arm at least."

"Are you suggesting then that I cling to him the whole night?"

"No," He Jing said, "but you will be able break in the shoes before you put on the dress. Besides, as I said, if you are going to be attending events with Yong Qi, whether it's in modern dress or traditional dress, you won't be able to avoid shoes which are not exactly flat."

o0o0o0o0o0

Shopping with He Jing would best be described as an ordeal. Or at least, for Xiao Yan.

Apparently He Jing thought that if they were going to go out shopping for a pair of shoes, they might as well buy other things too while they were at it. Consequently, He Jing practically dragged them through the whole of Crystal Plaza, a definitely high-end shopping mall that Xiao Yan had never ever thought she would have any business entering.

There was no other way to describe it, Xiao Yan felt more or less like a doll that day when He Jing dressed her up in a million different outfits. She wasn't entirely opposed to the idea of nice clothes - she was still a girl after all, even with the professed preference for jeans and T-shirts - but He Jing apparently didn't shop in moderation.

As He Jing commandeered the paying aspect of that shopping trip, Xiao Yan had no way of knowing exactly how much they spent that day, and perhaps she didn't quite want to know. Surely it was probably more money than Xiao Yan had owned in her entire life.

Xiao Yan was only too glad when He Jing finally allowed them to go home. She wasn't sure between her and Zi Wei, who was more wearied. Zi Wei definitely had more enthusiasm for the trip than Xiao Yan at the beginning, even if Xiao Yan would have more energy to spare. But in the end, they were both too relieved to get in the car.

"He Jing, not that this hasn't been fun...in an odd kind of way," Xiao Yan admitted, "but I admit you kind of dropped us both head first into this. I'm honestly exhausted! I'm not sure it's a good thing that you would take the phrase shop till you drop quite so seriously!"

"Well, really, what's the point of being a princess if you don't look the part? Trust me, this is an indispensable perk of it!"

o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours before the imperial dinner

"Yong Qi, did you pick up the jewellery for Zi Wei and Xiao Yan?"

"What? ...Oh the necklaces!"

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't forget, I just..."

"...forgot. Why do you think I knew to call you to make sure you got them? Just go get them as soon as you're dressed, please."

"Yes, Ma'am."

There was laughter. "Don't get smart with me, Yong Qi."

"Yes, He Jing."

o0o0o0o0o0

Xiao Yan had to admit that Madame Zhang had done a spendid job with her gown. She had expected it to be beautiful, but she had also been perfectly prepared for a dress that would be horribly uncomfortable to wear. But this gown was both beautiful and comfortable, though it probably needed to be if she was going to sit through a dinner in it. She glanced at the heels on her feet and sighed. Those were as uncomfortable as she knew they would be, but apparently it would seem she would need to get used to them.

The stylist was just putting finishing touches on her hair when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, expecting Zi Wei, so was startled when Yong Qi opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, catching her eyes through her reflection in the mirror. He smiled softly at her and cleared his throat to get the attention of the stylist and his assistants.

"Will you excuse us, please?" he asked, moving from the door to clear the way for them.

When they had left, she turned around in her seat to look at him. As much as she was used to his more casual dress around campus, Xiao Yan had seen Yong Qi dressed smartly in a suit and tie before. But she had never seen him this dressed up in full court dress uniform. His high-collared jacket was black, gold braids lined along at the hems, running down each sleeve and at his shoulders. Two columns of shining brass buttons ran the length of the jacket, from the collar down to the hem. A scarlet sash ran diagonally across his chest, tucked into a gold-coloured belt. The collar and upturned cuffs of his jacket was embroidered with dragons climbing the clouds. The trousers were the same colour as the jacket, with a narrow gold stripe up the side of each leg. The outfit was finished off with a pair of white gloves and gleaming black leather boots which caught the light and shined.

Yong Qi chuckled as she observed him. He approached her, saying, "Do you approve?"

"Approve? Oh, definitely," she answered, smiling. "You look very...dashing."

"You don't look so bad yourself," he said, a smile playing at his lips.

"That's all the praise I get?" Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.

He smiled wider and held out a navy blue velvet jewellery box. "Fishing for compliments, are we? Well, your transformation isn't complete yet. My sister would kill me if I didn't get this to you."

"You forgot didn't you?" she laughed.

"No, what makes you say that?"

"He Jing said you'd forget," Xiao Yan smiled.

"And you listen to everything He Jing says now?"

Xiao Yan laughed, "No, but you didn't bring it until now, so it's obvious that you forgot."

"Yes, well," he shrugged, "turn around." She turned to face the mirror again as he set the box down on the table, and opened it. "I've already taken Zi Wei hers, but let me see how this looks on you."

The necklace was a simple cluster of tiny diamonds gathered into the shape of a flower, with a single garnet in the middle as the bud. Dropped down from the center back center of the flower was two further short strings of diamonds, each completed with a tear-drop-shaped garnet at the end - all was mounted on a simple white-gold strand. The matching earrings were two similar tear-drops of garnet, with a single diamond at the top tip. It perfectly matched her dress, which was of a delicate chiffon, strap-less. The first layer of chiffon was a dark red, like the garnet, and each layer got ligher in colour until the last layer was a beautiful cream.

Yong Qi removed his gloves to pick up the delicate the necklace from its bed of velvet and placed it on her neck. His hand was warm in contrast with the coolness of the necklace and she tried not to fidget while he fastened the tiny clasp at the back of her neck. He gazed at her reflection in the mirror as she put on the earrings. "Beautiful," he whispered, grasping her arms lightly and bending his head to kiss her shoulder.

There was a knock at the door before Zi Wei stuck her head in.

"Are you done?"

Xiao Yan stood up and didn't fall over on her heels as she half expected. She turned around and smiled appreciatively at the vision of Zi Wei before her. Zi Wei looked every inch the princess in a dark green silk dress with billowing skirts.

"You know, Zi Wei," Yong Qi said as he pulled his gloves back on, "it's a good thing Er Kang is not driving us tonight, otherwise I'm not sure he'll be able to keep his eyes on the road, as short as the journey is."

Zi Wei flushed and said, "Be quiet, Yong Qi." But Yong Qi just winked at her while Xiao Yan laughed.

o0o0o0o0o0

From the first moment of meeting Yong Qi, Xiao Yan had many times felt like she was living in a sort of fairy tale dream. As the car stopped in front of Yang Xin Dian that night, that feeling swept over her even more overwhelmingly. This had to be a dream. How else could you describe the idea of her walking up a red carpet? She was sure even if she wasn't wearing heels, she would still trip were it not for the fact that her hand was firmly tucked in the crook of Yong Qi's elbow.

Yong Qi placed his other hand on hers briefly and gave it a reassuring squeeze. But that didn't quite succeed in making Xiao Yan relax. She knew any other girl would be completely in awe of being where she was, but frankly, Xiao Yan only felt vaguely uncomfortable. She had been fine in the car with Yong Qi and Zi Wei, but then, she wasn't thinking about the idea of being on displayed. Now, stepping out of the car, she saw that the entrance hall was littered with very elite guests - some of the most important people in the entire country. They all made way for Yong Qi and her, but Xiao Yan could also feel their eyes on her. It took all her effort to keep her eyes in front of her. He Jing was right, everyone was curious about her, wondering what it was about her that attracted Yong Qi's attention. Xiao Yan wanted to squirm at the scrutiny, and wondered how Yong Qi managed to appear so calm. She glanced over at him and saw that he had on his diplomatic smile. Even by now, she could tell when he was simply smiling for the appearance of it, and when he really smiled because he wanted to. And yet he managed to put on that diplomatic smile so painlessly. Xiao Yan didn't want to contemplate exactly what sort of grimace she had on.

The walk down the hall only took a few minutes, even counting the time that they stopped briefly to greet an ambassador or two. Yet Xiao Yan was only too glad when it was over and readily breathed a sigh of relief. They entered a waiting room where the rest of Yong Qi's family was and where they would wait until their entrance was announced. The Emperor, Empress and Dowager Empress had not arrived, but the rest of the princes and princesses were already present. There was He Jing with her husband, the First Prince Yong Ling with his wife, Su Fei, the Second Prince Yong Zhong with his fiancee, Hai Meng. Xiao Yan knew that they would enter the dining hall in this order, followed by Yong An who would escort Zi Wei, thenYong Lin, with Yong Qi and Xiao Yan entering last. The Empress' own chidren were too young to attend this event, and Xiao Yan envied them, just as she envied Zi Wei the chance to arrive in the middle, and thus probably attract less curiosity.

"How are you holding up?" Yong Qi smiled, a real smile, at her as soon as they entered the room and the greetings had got out of the way.

"I'm not sure," she said faintly. "But if that was the beginning...what am I going to do for the rest of the night?"

"Oh really, Xiao Yan!" He Jing exclaimed, looking half exasperated, half amused. "This is supposed to be your Cinderella moment, and you look like someone's just dragged you into an arena, expecting you to fight a lion."

"Well, Cinderella must have had great self-esteem and fortitude that I don't have, because she didn't even react at people all suddenly staring at her," Xiao Yan said.

"It's not that bad, Xiao Yan," Zi Wei said, who had entered the room just after her and Yong Qi, commented.

"Easy for you to say," Xiao Yan replied. "They are only curious about you. I'm sure a lot of them think I shouldn't be here."

"Yong Qi, you know what?" Yong Zhong announced, grinning at Xiao Yan, "I like her!"

There was something in the way that he said it that made them all laugh and Xiao Yan could not help but smile, despite her still-present nervousness of the situation.

"You only decide this now?" Yong Qi asked.

"Well, it's just that she is this uncomfortable about being here means that she actually likes you for you, instead of all this - " he gestured to the whole grandeur of their standing there all dressed up for a very fancy dinner.

"Wow, I'm glad I didn't wait for you to figure it out and tell me this," Yong Qi laughed. "Because you sure are slow."

The door opened to reveal the Dowager Empress, the Emperor and the Empress.

"How are you bearing the whole ceremony so far, Zi Wei, Xiao Yan?" the Emperor asked. Xiao Yan thought if everyone she saw that night asked her that same question, she would eventually blurt out the truth, which was that she wasn't bearing it well at all, and if it wasn't for Yong Qi's sake, you could probably not pay her enough to go through something like this again. It wasn't just everyone's attention on her, it was the whole idea of having to behave flawlessly for an entire night and generally the expectation to be, well, perfect.

"I am well enough, Huang Ah Ma," Zi Wei said, while the Dowager's Empress' eyes turned, instead, to Xiao Yan. She tried not to squirm under the scrutiny, knowing that whatever came next from the Dowager Empress, it probably would not be a compliment. Normally, the Dowager Empress was hard enough on her, but she realised that tonight was probably a kind of test of how she fared under pressure. Xiao Yan could only hope she wouldn't fail it too spectacularly.

"For Heaven's sake, girl, would it kill you to smile a bit?" the old lady exclaimed rather crossly at her tense expression.

"I'm really really nervous and I can't possibly act like I'm not," Xiao Yan said earnestly. "Honestly it's already a miracle that I got this far without doing something incredibly inappropriate because I tend to the social graces of a blunt axe when I'm nervous so please don't be mad if at some point in the course of the evening I do something wrong - " She trailed off at the increasingly disapproving look on the Dowager Empress' face and realised that she had a tendency to ramble a lot too while nervous. She gave everyone a sheepish smile and felt Yong Qi squeezing her hand comfortingly.

"Qing Er would handle this with infinitely more grace," the Dowager Empress said, almost offhandedly. Xiao Yan tried hard not to flinch at the obvious jab and opened her mouth in annoyance to speak, however Yong Qi's grip on her hand tightened for a moment, stopping her.

"Well, Qing Er was practically born into this, Grandmother," Yong Qi countered smoothly, "and I think Xiao Yan coped remarkably fine out there, she deserves to let her guard down a bit in here, as we all do in here, doesn't she?"

The Dowager Empress let the issue slide away there, but later when they were more alone, Xiao Yan hissed at Yong Qi indignantly, "I could have handled it myself, Yong Qi."

"I know," he answered, "but anything you said then would just be rebuked and tonight is not the best night for you to have a battle of wills with my grandmother."

Xiao Yan had to grudgingly agree with that assessment; as it was, she could not say anything more anyway, as they were being announced to enter the dinning room for dinner to start. The rest of the night passed surprisingly uneventfully and Xiao Yan managed to make it back to Shu Fang Zhai later that night, after midnight, but without the car turning into a pumpkin or losing a shoe or a cell phone. But then again, despite the night being the epitome of a fairy tale dream, it was still a part of reality, and reality usually tended to be a lot less romantic.

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