Consort

The Heir

"Did you hear? The Empress is pregnant!"

"Is that so? We'll be expecting the Dragon Child then! That'll be great!"

The Empress smiled as she heard the voices of the palace maids, both so engrossed in gossiping that they did not notice her approaching. Shan Er, her handmaiden, bristled at their disrespect and snapped at the two maids.

"Show some respect to Her Majesty, the Empress!"

The two maids almost fell over themselves in their attempts to separate from each other and curtsy at the same time. "Your Highness! Please forgive our rudeness!"

"You may rise. Shan Er, do not be so harsh on the maids. They were merely excited at the good news that this Spring has wrought." The Empress seemed to glow with benevolence. Indeed, as palace gossip would have made note of, the Empress seemed to be in a perpetually good mood ever since it was discovered that she was carrying the royal child.

After the two maids were dismissed, the Empress returned wordlessly to her living quarters, and appeared lost in thought as Shan Er prepared the tonic soup that the royal kitchen had taken to make daily for the Empress. The Empress studied the steaming broth, and her smile widened. For all she was, she appeared like a lovestruck teenager sighing at her lover's gift of flowers.

"Your Highness, today's soup is to help cool your body against the summer heat. The Emperor has ordered the kitchen to ensure that it is served hot, so please drink it before it gets cold."

The Empress nodded, and carefully tasted the soup. She grimaced, and Shan Er rushed forward, forehead creased with concern. "Is Your Highness alright? Is the soup bad? I'll-" Her panic was quelled by the Empress' raised hand.

"Shan Er, I'm fine. Unfortunately, the soup was not to my taste." Seeing Shan Er open her mouth again, the Empress cut her off. "It's okay, I will still finish it. It is for the good of the Dragon Child. Besides, I cannot reject something that my husband has so thoughtfully ordered for me." Upon finishing her sentence, she picked up the soup once again and started taking slow sips.

Placing down her bowl, she smiled fondly as she placed her hand on her abdomen. "Shan Er, aren't you excited? This Dragon Child is going to be like a younger sibling to you."

Two weeks later

"Have you heard? Apparently the Imperial Consort is also carrying a Dragon Child!"

"No way! Won't the child be competing against the Empress' child for the position of Dragoon Heir then?"

The Empress froze as the voices drifted to her seating place in the garden. Word had spread that one of the consorts in the palace was extremely talented with all types of flora, and that she had managed to make the garden appear as if in eternal spring. The Empress had taken a liking to the flowers that bloomed even in the intense heat, and spent almost every afternoon enjoying the lovely view. Seeing the colour drain from her mistress' face, Shan Er hurried over to help her to a nearby bench. The Empress looked at her with a vacant gaze.

"Shan Er, she's done it. She's stolen my husband, my power, and now she's not even going to spare my child!" The Empress was gripped in the sort of terror that she had not experienced for a very long time.

"Your Highness! Please do not fret so, it is bad for the Dragon Child!" Shan Er tried her best to comfort her mistress.

"Your Highness." The voice startled both mistress and maid, who whipped around to face the newcomer. It was a minister from one of the smaller provinces of the state. "You Highness," he repeated, "Your servant here could not help but overhear your conversation just now. Your loyal servant understands that the Imperial Consort's child is a great threat to the position of the Dragon Heir that Your Highness' child rightfully holds. Your servant wishes to offer a solution to your problem."