Love In The Palace

Special Chapter - Emperor; Bloom

"All of you, rise." They all rose as the Emperor allowed them to. A servant automatically took one more chair for Consort Shine to sit on. As they all were settled back onto their seats, Emperor put down the chopsticks and without looking at Consort Shine, asked her.

"Why are you suddenly here today?"

"I heard that Your Majesty is having dinner here today. So I thought that maybe I should come and join too. If Your Majesty is not happy, I would go back." As Consort Shine was preparing to stand up from her seat, Emperor's hand grabbed her arm, lowering her back to the chair. Only a smile from him was enough for her to understand what he meant. Consort Para hurriedly signalled for a servant to bring another bowl of rice from the kitchen.

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"The culprit has been caught." She raised her arm, her fingers reached for her hairpin and pulled it our. As another pin was pulled out again, her hair fell onto the floors, amazingly graceful even when being released off the hairdo.

"Your Highness means..." Jane helped her master to undo her hairdo, preparing her to rest for the night.

"The culprit who makes Emperor visit Consort Para's palace everyday."

"Is it that...Magnolia Wane?"

"Is there anyone else on the dinner table? It is impossible to be Consort Para, who is so useless, that she cannot even give birth to a son."

"Ye-yes..." Jane removed the last hair decoration from Consort Shine's hair, allowing her black-charcoal straight hair to fall onto the floors. Then, Consort Shine pushed herself up against the floors, standing up and lifting her arms slightly. Jane began to undo the knots and undressed her master off her outfit, down to the last two paint yellow silk dresses.

"General Wane's name has only risen recently, ridding the spotlight off my Shine family. We Shines have produced so many talents, be it ministers, generals or strategists. Our position in the Court is second to none. Not to forget we founded the Empire together with the First Emperor. How could we lose our spotlight to a mere general from the Wane family?"

"Yo-Your Highness is right. No family has been able to compete with the glory of Shine family. Not even Empress', the Harv family." Jane straightened the creases that had formed on her master's dress, then stood up, making sure that her master was ready to turn in for the night.

"Summon my Uncle tomorrow. It is time to return the spotlight of the Court to Shine family."

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Author's POV:

"Emperor has arrived!" The shrieking sound of a eunuch surprised everyone in the palace. All servants spontaneously halted their chores and curtsied or knelt, greeting their ruler. He did not care for them but went straight into the palace, in his mind there was only one person he was looking for.

He looked around the palace and could only find servants kneeling. He sighed secretly, thinking that perhaps the person he was eager to see had gone with her aunt somewhere. When he was going to leave the palace, he caught the glimpse of a pale yellow dress running out of a chamber, hurriedly curtsying and greeting him.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." When he squinted his eyes at the person, he was jumping for joy in his heart as she indeed was the person he wanted to see.

"Rise." Everyone rose and returned to their chores, while he advanced towards the girl, busying his mind with finding a topic to talk about. He knew that she was still afraid of him, but that fear was not something easy to get rid of, for he was the Emperor, a word that would leave anyone shivering out of fear.