Nanowrimo 2022 - Day 3 Word Count and Best Bit

Today I added 1,754 words to my project, bringing the total word count to 5,138!

“What are you doing here?”

Jin Xia turned slowly, face schooled into a politely neutral expression. Qui Ling didn’t even attempt to hide his contempt as he approached with his entourage of servants and bodyguards. His coterie dwarfed Jin Xia’s in size, and really was unnecessary for simply walking about the palace grounds.

Jin Xia dipped a polite bow, her voice cool and clear. “The Imperial Princess, Jin Xia, greets her younger brother, the Imperial Prince Qui Ling.”

Qui Ling sneered, not bothering to respond in kind even in front of the witnessing guards. “I asked you what you’re doing here.”

“Our father, the illustrious emperor, summoned me,” Jin Xia responded. Qui Ling’s attitude was his greatest weakness. While failures in military prowess or learning could be made up for so long as you kept the right people at your side, a failure in attitude could never be fixed by more talented companions. Jin Xia knew that her tantrum-throwing brother was only painting her in a better light by being rude and arrogant. Jin Xia didn’t even have to be kind to look better by comparison, basic manners would be enough. “I am merely answering him as I should.”

“Father called for you?” Qui Ling scoffed. “I can’t imagine why. When one is discussing matters of state, only the heir to the throne should be involved.”

“Did our venerable father name you his heir?” Jin Xia asked, tilting her head innocently. “I’m afraid I don’t remember hearing such a proclamation. And, given your mother, the Autumn Rain Consort, is still living within the Wine Palace, surely that means she was not made empress. And father did say that the mother of his heir would be named empress. Are you perhaps jumping to conclusions, my dear younger brother?”

She could see his eye twitching as her handmaidens tittered in amusement behind her. The eyes of the guards stared at them as if watching a stage play.

“I could say the same of you,” Qui Ling retorted, amber eyes filled with acrid disdain. “Father has not announced you as heir either, nor would he. A woman has never sat on the throne, and I doubt father would fly in the face of hundreds of years of tradition just because you were born first. I am the first-born son, and therefore the only proper candidate for the crown.”

Jin Xia brushed a lock of golden hair out of her face, the movement catching Qui Ling’s eye. “Perhaps,” she acquiesced. “But father’s mind is his own. At this juncture, we must both hope that our blessings are enough to win his favor. Don’t you agree?”

Qui Ling’s face reddened, clashing horribly with the autumn leaf color of his auburn hair. While Qui Ling was blessed to be born a man in a world that favored them, everyone in the palace knew that Jin Xia carried far more of the Yellow Dragon’s blessings than he did. It was evident in her hair and eyes that mimicked the dragon’s glimmering scales. While Qui Ling might have the eyes of the imperial family’s draconic ancestor, he lacked the physical evidence of any further blessings. It was something Jin Xia knew sent his blood boiling with jealousy. It nibbled away at his ingrained sense of superiority.

Before he had the chance to retort, however, the doors opened. The guard who had gone to inform the emperor stepped through, blinking in surprise at Qui Ling’s presence. “The emperor will see you now. Only the prince and princess may approach. The rest much wait at the back of the chamber.”