The Empress Wears Gucci

21

        "Your—" the Empress began and while she spoke, the rest of us greeted the Emperor politely.

        "Empress, is this what I've taught you?" her husband spewed anger. His eyes turned dull and nothing glistened like the last time he looked at her. The eyebrows of this royal man were furrowing and stressed to the point where he couldn't even move from his one spot. 

         I was trembling beneath my hanfu. While I was staring at him, I couldn't even move a muscle.

        The Empress kneeled and kowtowed to him shortly after. Her nails scratched the material of the flooring. "Your Majesty! I-It was—"

        "This is what you are teaching the concubines in the harem? As the Empress, you need to be virtuous, kind, and a role model in the harem... But what I walked into was the opposite of that," the Emperor let out everything in his body. I already knew he was stressed before this incident, and now he's taking it all out on her. "You have a role. It is to set an example for other women in the harem, but you... I can't have this conversation."

        Woah, what a king. I'm surprised she hasn't cried yet. Niu Lin and I exchanged glances and both of us were widening our eyes at each other. That was the only time I ever bonded with her.

        "Please! Let me explain myself! It was a punishment, Chang Ying deserved it She disrespected me!" the Empress reached out to grab the Emperor's leg, still kneeling.

       "No, the Empress was upset because there were rumours that Chang Ying was favoured in the harem," I interjected.

        This time, she won't win.

        The Empress glanced behind to give me the dirtiest look before bowing again. "That's only because Noble Consort Han told me that! Your Majesty, please let me bestow twenty flogs on her."

        I want to slap the—

        "I-I'm sorry if I caused any inconvenience, Your Majesty. The Empress is virtuous and blesses all of the women in the harem with her care, I would never want to compare—" Chang Ying began.

         "Be quiet!" the deranged women screamed before the Emperor pried her hands away from him.

        "I heard enough. You're going to be held in the Contemplate Palace for three days," he said sternly before he reached for the exit. "You two, return to your place at once. Empress, come with me."

        He paused, before sighing. "I'm starting to love you less now."

      Chang Ying and I scurried off. We both looked behind us to see the Empress's reaction. The night was near, and I wanted to sleep.

        The Empress's punishment was the gossip of the harem, which spread to other parts of the palace. It was the first time in forever that she got punished. It was embarrassing for her. I've been cautiously trying to keep myself reserved and away from any drama, but it always seems to come up. With my popularity and name in other people's mouths, I always end up running into trouble. Not only do people gossip about the Empress, but they have gossiped about me. You can't stop people from speaking about you, they always will. It's physically impossible to stop people from perceiving you—to stop people from talking about you, but it is possible for you to learn how to deal with it. I have to not care about what people think of me. 

        It's getting chillier now. I can sense winter coming. It's been almost three months since I've been in the Palace and I've been starting to get mini anxiety attacks in my chamber when I'm alone. The homesick feeling in my gut isn't helping anything. By the time it starts snowing, I might as well risk everything in order to get home. But I wasn't alone. Su Yin, Jia Ying, Hua Er, and I were getting closer. We treated each other like sisters, and for once, I had close friends in the harem. Su Yin and I both did chores together.