The Empress Wears Gucci

37

         "I'll be fine," I mumbled but Guan Shu and the other maids rushed to pour me a cup of tea. They bowed as they gently placed it in front of me. 

         Snoopy pressed her lips together and tilted her eyebrows up, a gentle look was on her face. "Su Yin might have caught a cold as well. I hope she's alright with her baby."

        "Hope so too," I swallowed the warm fluid. The earthy taste in my mouth soothed me. "I might as well check on her today." I was guilty of letting her catch a cold. They didn't have advanced anti-bacterial medicine at this time. I kept on thinking about searching up the medical practices in ancient China but I always forget that my old iPhone is in its particular hiding spot—with a 40% battery life the last time I checked—wouldn't even have service here. I'd be surprised if the battery life was still at 40%. 

           Sudden urges of searching things up, playing music, or being on social media appear sometimes. A quick flicker of frustration overpowers me but it soon dies out. I feel like I've lost something inside of me and I am grieving it. I felt like Spongebob in the episode where he was dehydrated in Sandy's house. 

        As I step into Su Yin's chamber, her frail frame was bent over, twitching as coughs escaped her lips. One of her maids stood next to her. The maid was slightly leaning down with a steaming cup in one hand, and the other hand was patting her back. The chamber was darker than mine. There were barely any lights. There was a lamp that was turned on at the far side of the room. Su Yin, still coughing—or hacking out phlegm—didn't notice my entrance like the rest of the maids did. The one who noticed me first, stood up to address me. "Lady Ying Yue." the maid bowed, smiling as my name rolled out her tongue. As she greeted me, the rest of the maids gave me a brief bow. 

         Su Yin raised her head as if there were bricks on the back of her neck. She exhaled deeply once she faced me. 

        My maids stepped back without making a noise. I chewed my bottom lip so roughly, that I felt that it was going to burst and explode like a gusher. "Sister, my apologies. I shouldn't have taken you out for a walk." 

        "Don't apologize! It was my fault." Su Yin swatted her hand. "Please, sit. Have some tea while you're here."

        "I thought you'd only have a small cold but yours is quite serious, right? I'm only having a small sinus infection." I sniffled as Guan Shu offered me a tissue. 

        The guilt continued to soak into my skin. I was clueless about ancient Chinese medicine. Would a cold kill your baby? Would catching a cold kill your baby and yourself as well? Is the medicine good enough to cure the sickness and prevent any health damages to the child? Not only was I ignorant about ancient Chinese medicine, but I was stupid about health and sickness in general. I kept staring at Su Yin with pitiful eyes.

         I realized I blanked out and a wet trail of snot was running down my philtrum. With haste, I fumbled with the tissue and swiped the snot with it. Su Yin let out a loud unmannerly laugh, one hand holding her stomach for support. And I was living for it. The authenticity of her laugh was beautiful. In private, this is where every woman in the harem can be themselves without putting up this fresh, gracious facade. Although she always had a sort of rebellious side to her, Su Yin could be authentic with me here in this room. 

        She continued to laugh. My laughter had died down but I did grin while Su Yin was busy dying on her chair. She laughed and laughed and laughed. And laughed even more after that. I had no shame and I knew she knew. But I sat sipping on my tea as she continued to laugh her head off.

        "Are you done?" I questioned, trying my best not to smile.

        Tears were welling up in her eyes. "I... Haven't laughed so hard in months! Ying Yue, there is nothing and no one that compares to you!"