Concubine's Greed (Revising)

Two (Revised)

"Jiayang don't be so reckless!"

Jianyu quickly grabbed my hand, jerking me back towards him. I snatched it away from as I turned to look at him, beads of sweat rolled down his face, his face was bleached white. He stared down at with his eyebrows furrowing. The guards that were with us a moment ago had vanished, probably noticing the absence of the rest of the role family.

"But our father is still inside, we have to go save him, he might-"

I was cut off at a wild screaming from the guards, as they came running back to us. I opened my mouth to address their coward behavior, but a large explosion followed, in the area of the emperor's room. Fire-stricken debris ran down from the skies, Loud audible gasp slipped from the guards, as they shielded us from any that flew out too far. I didn't feel anything after that, My heart sunk into my stomach. I felt Jianyu's hand slowly grab mine, All was silent between my brother and me, but our hands never let go.

***

"Jiayang it's time to wake up, Empress Meifeng wants to see you"

I was awakened by Ling, my personal maid. She gently cooed as she shook my back lightly. The blinds were already open, exposing the lush gardens of my personal palace. Songbirds and frogs brought about the sound of the lush life outdoors. Ling's face appeared in front of me, her hazel hair was neatly in a figure-eight coil on the sides of her head. Peonies and Chrysanthemums were pinned across her hairstyle, bringing in a fragrant smell. She wore a delicate mint and coral hanfu, with long sleeves that covered her small wrist. Ling had been with me since birth, she was assigned to me before I even knew her.

It was the morning after the long night, and the first day without an emperor. All my thoughts about the night came rushing back to me, I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I stared at the coral-print bedspread below me. All was silent in the room, the maids scuffled about, but trod lightly. I felt Ling's warm hand on my shoulder as she looked at me, a sorrowful smile placid on her lips. I sighed before I rose out of bed slowly, I was instantly swarmed by the maids. Ling backed away and returned with an achromatic Chang-ao. Silver dragons and crystallized tigers decorated the fabric. Its sleeves dropped slide across the floor, creating a trail of white cloth. I was sat down, as the maid pulled and tugged at my lengthy atramentous hair. Pulling it up into a Shan Yu fairy hairstyle, they decked it with silver combs, and intricate pins and silvery jewels, that dangled around my ears. I looked in the mirror that was presented in front of me, as beautiful as everything looked, I was in no mood to play dress-up with the maids, I shooed them away as we began to make our way to the main palace.

As soon as I opened the door the truth was evident, servants and guards were in a panic, they scurried frantically throughout the halls, scattered papers and documents flew from the attendant's arms as they rushed by, the palace was in complete disarray, no room for mourning. This palace did not have a ruler... At least not yet.

I quickly made my way to the Empress's chambers, which was very close to the Emperor's room. My father could not get enough of my mother and had their rooms close by to one another. We approached the main building, the royal builders were present everywhere, they were posted on the grounds, outside and on top of the main building, assessing the damage that had been dealt during the fire. Half of the building had been demolished into ash and piles of debris that littered the palace gateways to the main building. A worker, exposing much of his chest approached up casually.

"It's best that you go around your Highness."

He grumbled, not showing any sign of respect towards me, not even the smallest bow was made. I clenched my teeth, as I glared at the man in silence. Any ounce of my father's protection had been burned away by the fire, I was just seen as another daughter to the royal family, completely disposable. Ling approached from behind me, offering a respectful bow to the man, her eyes were on the floor as she spoke.