The Woman In The Palace

Phantom Sickness Continued

"Your Highness." I greeted, my long flowing hair fell over my shoulders. They were a tangled mess, but I had not expected anyone to come to see me, so I had not cared about how I looked like. "I was not expecting you here."

The emperor took one long look at me, then relinquished a deep sigh. "Jasmine, my darling." He cooed just as an old pervert would, sending ripples of goosebumps over the layer of my skin. "I can't believe you're sick."

He settled to the foot of the bed uninvited and watched me with creepy fatherly concern.

I faked a cough. "I'm sorry, your highness. This new life is too overwhelming."

"Hush, don't wear yourself out." His old leathery hand landed on my knee and began to rub them. "I could imagine the palace was daunting compared to the simple life at the farm."

I panicked at the unwelcome touch and yanked myself further away. Luckily he took the hint and moved his hand away.

He gestured to Bailing. "You girl! Are you her personal aid?"

Bailing flinched and snapped her body straight. "Yes, your highness."

"Go make Jasmine some tea, sweetheart."

Bailing was like the wind, nervous as she chased to the kitchen. I heard some clattering as she rummaged in the cabinet for the tea kettle. I bet she forgot where it was, because any other time, it would be just like pulling teeth trying to get her to do anything for me.

The emperor glided his attention back to me. "Now, if I wasn't so eager for my Hoon to marry, I would have taken you for my concubine."

I cringed trying to keep a straight face. Eeew, I would rather die.

Then, he laughed once he saw the dread on my face. "You know, I was quite a good-looking lad when I was young. Better looking than any of my sons."

"I believe you, your highness."

He began telling fond stories of his youth, reminiscing his adventures. The wars he's been on, the women who chased him, the women he chased, the fun he had. He made himself sound like a god while the concubines cheered at his heroic victories.

It was so loud, the room began heating with all the body heat piled inside. I began to sweat, then feel nauseated. I grew impatient for people to leave. The emperor saw the exhaustion in my tired, red, eyes and smiled. "There, there, Jasmine. His hand patted my cheek gently, sweetly. "Go get some rest. I need you healthy, so you'll soon bear my Hoon a baby."

I turned scarlet, "a what?!"

*****

I will be everything to you, I will protect and shield you. You will be my adored one, my own special love, my sweet, my pet, my beauty, my heart's delight. You are my personal Jasmine and I will breathe your soul to become one with mine.

I moaned and smiled in my sleep, dreaming the sweetest dream. Me and the third prince in the garden together, bathing in the glow of romantic moonlight, confessing our feelings to each other. How nice would it be if only this dream would become a reality?

My eyes lifted, still hungover from the dream world I left behind when I heard Bailing's loud and obnoxious voice. "Must be a nice dream!" She stood by the side of the bed with her arms tucked on her armpits. She'd been watching me for quite some time.

"Oh, you're early this morning." I groaned, turning over to the other side so I wouldn't have to see her face.

"Nope, not early. You overslept." Bailing yanked the sheets from my body, exposing me to the cool air this morning. I froze instantly, shivering while I patted around for another blanket.

"Good thing you had everyone convinced you're sick or else you would have been kneeling on a pool of gravel by now."

"Don't be so stiff, I don't have anything else to do around here."

"...and sleeping all day isn't really an effective waste of time either. " She scolded.

"Give me a blanket or a coat, Bailing."

"No, I'll let you freeze your ass off if that will get you out of bed."

"But, I'm sick," I whined affectionately.

She scowled. "Phantom sickness."

I was given the opportunity to stay home in my chamber for almost a week, taking advantage of it completely until I got bored. Really bored. There's only so much I could do inside the room and I must've tried every hanfu I have in the closet two or three times already. I brewed so much tea that I stayed up for three days without a wink of sleep. I got so jittery I broke everything I touched.

"You're a pain to take care of, you know that?!" Bailing berated

She kept me company the whole time, but after a while, there's so much we can talk about and there's only so much she can yell at me about before we got tired at each other and start ignoring one another.

By the end of the week, I felt better enough that I thought I could leave the chamber without trouble. Perhaps we could go for a quick stroll around the garden and waste some time. It's been quite a while since I visited, deciding it was necessary to avoid that place too, in fear of running to the third prince there.

I called my personal maidservant sweetly. Bailing had the tendency of ignoring me when she felt like it.

"What do you want?" She said, coming back from the closet after she fetched a fresh set of sheets for my bed.