Astrid travels back to a lost dynasty of China, and becomes Mei.
She was accused of murder in the modern world, but now the dangers that lie in the imperial harem are greater than she'd imagine. Mei is forced to adapt to a world of performance, ma...
THE first thing I can say when I wake up in the hospital room is, "OWWWWWW."
My head hurts! I fell off a two-story window, thinking that I could escape my step-family, only to wake up in a strange room. Where was I, anyways? The atmosphere was very humid.
Then, a young dark-haired man walks into the room carrying a tray, but drops it and yells when he sees me, "MASTER! MASTER! Mei is awake!"
I'm Astrid.
He exits and comes back with an elderly man who wears a snowy beard. "Master" tells me--in Chinese, "Oh, Little Mei! We were beginning to believe that your soul had passed. It's fortunate to see you awake again."
What a weird thing to hear. The man sounds like he is some sort of Doctor. And he has a peculiar way of telling me that I was in a coma. In fact, everything about the hospital room was strange. The walls were painted crimson, unlike the usual creepy white, and instead of electricity, my room was lit by candlelight.
He refers me as Little Mei--as if we were in China. Strange.
Most of all, the two men, both young and old, speak in a different language than I am used to. Chinese. I would know because I took Chinese school every Saturday for seven years.
So I practice my Chinese, "Excuse me...er...Doctor. I die?"
Did I say that right? Crap.
I didn't say that I was fluent in Chinese, and the younger man was clearly confused but still spoke, "Sir, I believe she is still in shock from the accident." Then he leans in to whisper, "Consort Mei has clearly declined in speech abilities." I can feel myself turn red; how embarrassing!
The Doctor nods and turns to me, "Mei, allow me to explain the accident that occurred." He pauses to ask his apprentice, "Get the girl, some shuǐ."
After the young apprentice hands me a glass of water with two hands, I thank him, "Xiè xiè. Could you be more specific? I believe my memory isn't so great."
The Doctor starts weaving his story, "Mei, you are due to wed the newly-crowned Imperial Emperor in two days. You should thank the Heavens that you have awakened in time for the wedding. Everyone had thought you were going to be reincarnated after that bandit had violently beaten you when they raided your carriage like savages."
He's crazy, he must be. There's no way...
The apprentice retorts, "The Wall hasn't protected anyone these days. Ever since the dying father of the Crown Prince exiled the Qing emperors, the new family has not been doing much during their reign."
The father and son are rambling about exiling Qing emperors, which sounds a bit like Ancient Chinese history. Weird.
Out of fear, the Doctor scolds his apprentice, "Son! You mustn't say such rash statements about our Imperial Family," the Doctor smiles at me with unease, "I do hope you wouldn't repeat these words to your future husband and our future Emperor. Please forgive my son. He is still young and naive."
I nod, before asking, "What year are we in?"
The apprentice laughs, "Ha! 1778. Welcome to Beijing!"
Crap.
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