Reflection

It was night, as I placed my head upon the soft pillow, covered in a quilted blanket. It was merely the beginning of autumn, yet I had been tucked away comfortably. I could see that these people were diligent in their jobs.

I turned to look at the curtains that hung above me, there was a well-woven mesh that prevented insects from coming through. 

Looking at the empty hall with only the servant sleeping soundly by my bedside. I felt as though I was being watched. It was nothing out of the ordinary, though I would much rather be abandoned.

My feet eased out of the blanket as I carefully slipped through the curtains. The moment my feet touched the ground a shiver ran up my spine. The tiles were as cold as a layer frozen over a lake.

I made my way to the closest thing to a mirror I could find. It was a piece of bronze that was placed over a wooden frame. My reflection was unclear, and it was dark inside, except for the few candles lit to give the place a dim glow.

Moving closer to the candlelight, I could somewhat catch a glimpse of my face. The bronze was not so clear, to begin with, the addition of candlelight only made the entire reflection the color of orange. 

Nevertheless, I could make out the features of a young child no older than four years of age. I had wide eyes, with a tender cheeked face. My reflection, needless to say, looked quite adorable, that I could see why there were many of the servants who took care of him well. I looked at this unfamiliar reflection some more. It was hard to compare this reflection to my past face. I raised my hand to touch my face, my reflection did the same.

It was indeed me.

There was no need to compare as the reflection of me long ago had already died, and now there was no use trying to compare. I snuck back into my bed and closed my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, daylight was shining through the large panels that were lined with thick paper. The wooden carvings projected themselves upon the marble floors in designs of foliage. They looked quite beautiful, but I would much prefer the darkness.

A servant came in with a basin of water, placed over a pedestal for me to wash my face early in the morning. I complied with everything. They brought over some new robes that were also white, I had no idea how long this mourning period was to last, but I stared uncomfortably at the clothes for a long time.

"Your highness, please endure it for just another month." The servant begged as she carefully undressed me.

I remained silent but looked away from the clothes. It was not comfortable to stare for an uncomfortable amount of time hoping to catch someone's attention.

I watched all the servants dressed in their long robes, tied at the waist with a white sash, I came to the conclusion that once upon a time these people had served my mother, and when my mother, Imperial Concubine Xian passed away, they had to go into mourning as the rules stated. 

That child from yesterday and myself, being the sons of the imperial concubine were allowed to observe the mourning period. 

So, perhaps that child was my older brother. I closed my eyes and imagined the expression he had given me yesterday. It was such a rare expression to see on anyone. 

Perhaps this was what they said about the true bond between blood-related siblings, yet it was only yesterday when I met him. 

Ther servant was busy tying up my complicated clothing that consisted of three layers. She was a nimble handed young woman, who seemed to have done this a thousand times before.

After she was done, the basin of water was there for me to wash my face. As I wiped my face, I saw my reflection clearer than the reflection of myself in the previous night. The face mirrored in the water had pale and translucent skin with a healthy tint of rosiness, along with my peach blossom eyes and mountain eyebrows. 

After some time, the towel was placed aside to be taken away by the servants.

Since it was early in the morning, I would presume that it was time for breakfast, but I had yet to see anyone bring in trays, or was it that I was to go to another room to eat.

I waited around, lightly closing my eyes in a pretense of sleep.

"Your highness, wake up, the third highness invited you to eat with him." The servant said in a gentle voice, coaxing me awake. 

I rubbed my eyes, following her away. Behind me, there was a group of servants following my footsteps in a well-organized manner. I would have gotten bothered by the sound of footsteps shuffling behind me, but they were so well synced that I was unable to complain.

This place was quite grand with a white rock pathway and many well-groomed shrubs. Though it was autumn, the grounds were clean without a dead leaf in sight. The sun cast its rays into the buildings above, giving off a glow that was fit for a palace. The golden light was very glamorous, though I still could not understand the need to waste gold paint to achieve this type of exterior. In my opinion, there was no need for a palace such as this to show off.

While looking at the woman in front who was leading me, I asked: "Why does third brother wish to invite me to eat with him?"

"Your highness, you usually eat with your brother, it is the third prince who arranged for you to come and eat with him." The elder servant said as though it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hm." I nodded, agreeing with her. I would have liked to ask her more questions but felt that she would only get more suspicious if I bothered her with more questions. After all, this woman spent the most time with the owner of this body. Though it was only a relationship between master and servant, and she never stepped out of her bounds, she would probably know him slightly more than the average servant.

She thought nothing of it, so we continued to walk until we arrived at another palace that looked quite similar to mine. I looked up at the main doors that were made of heavy wood that was glazed and decorated with bronze lions. 

The mismatch in size was intimidating as I was so short and close to the ground. It felt as though the lions did not need to chew to swallow me whole.