The Empress narrowed her eyes, veiling a sharp glint. Her restless fingers started tapping slower on her armrest. This eldest miss actually wants a reward from her? Was giving her face not enough? She dared to even ask for a reward?! Was the eldest miss too brave or too stupid?

"Okay," The Empress finally agreed, her red lips curved up in a peculiar smile after she gave out her answer. Her right hand gracefully moved to hide the rest of her smile behind the flowery screen of her fan. However, the fan could not conceal the creeping sense of danger. Sensing the darkening energy, Hongyue hid a sneer and clapped her hands.

With a loud, clear voice, the eldest miss began her story, "Once upon a time, there was a female bird who had gorgeous golden feathers. The bird's feathers glistened richer than all the gold and jewels in the land. All the other birds in the land aspired to be like the golden bird.

Such golden feathers were like a gift, who wouldn't treasure it?

The other birds would spoil the golden bird with any findings they discovered and compliment her daily. This slowly fed into the bird's ego, and it grew to want more. It was a pity that the bird soon became to never be satisfied with its gold feathers.

Soon, it desired to be the sole leader over all the birds. After all, she possessed golden feathers, so she believed she was meant to rule over them all.

Over some time, she became friends with a poor crow because she a.s.sumed that the crow was humble and obedient."

Hongyue continued talking, but her fingers were inadvertently twirling with her silver spoon. From the corner of the spoon's curve, she could see the aide behind her, staring at her figure. Playing with it slightly, she tilted it so she could see his eyes. Causally moving her hand, she hovered it just over her mouth as she continued with her story.

"They made a simple oath to always be together. Soon, the crow told the golden bird of how the golden bird could gain power over all the other birds.

'It was simple,' The crow said.

The golden bird just needed to eat the heart of a particular fish, and she would be able to gain authority over all the birds. So the golden bird listened and traveled to the pond where the fish lived. Dipping her beak under the water, the golden bird was suddenly terrified to find that her feathers couldn't fly within the water. She had been so concerned about her main purpose, she forgot about the real world around her. The golden bird then tried to work her way back to the land.

But how would she know that the once little fish would suddenly jump out of the water and eat her? Soon after the golden bird was eaten, the crow came out from behind the reeds. All that was left on the ground was the leftover golden feathers, and the crow took the feathers. The crow tucked it carefully within her own wings. The next day, she became the new golden bird."

Hongyue finished talking, and she glanced around the room. Her eyes were glistening at the sight of slightly alarmed faces of others.

The story had started out so innocently, it sounded like a common folktale. Now that it was over, there was no way to pretend the story was at all ordinary. The emperor studied Hongyue thoughtfully.

With the abrupt ending to the story, the emperor couldn't help but frowned before he questioned Hongyue, "Is that the end?"

Hongyue shook her head lightly, "No, the strange thing was not even one of the other birds seemed to realize that the crow was an imposter even though it was obviously a crow. Do you know why?"

Her tone of voice sounded like she knew the answer, and the emperor felt curious to know.

"Why?" The emperor probed.

Hongyue paused, a silly smile started to cross over her face, "Hongyue doesn't know either. It's just a simple story. Hm, do you know why?"

Everyone in the room seemed to be baffled by Hongyue's question, all but the third prince and the Empress. Jiayi's face grew grave, and he fiddled with his teacup, not looking up. Meanwhile, the Empress's fist was stiffening into a ball. Her eyebrows were creased, and her eyes were narrowed. Her hand had long abandoned her fan, and there was no denying the menacing expression on her delicate face.

Why?

There was no need to ask why.

The other birds only cared for the golden feathers and nothing more than that. That was why the other birds didn't know the real bird died.

The Empress's gaze intensified as she felt her blood boiling. She had kept telling herself not to be pulled in and overthink. Nevertheless, this could be no overthinking. It was plain and simple. Wasn't the golden bird her? This little wench was talking about her, wasn't she? This eldest miss acted so foolishly, but there was no coincidence so apparent in the world.

The eldest miss's story was mocking her.

She was the golden bird.

And that crow...the Empress's eyes widened before an elegant expression came across her face, hiding her true intentions.

"This story is indeed interesting. Why don't I reward you?"