The resolution made by Ming Yue to remain at a safe emotional distance from the other palace staff crumbled almost as quickly as it had been made. She was of a naturally cheerful disposition, and loved to laugh, so playing the wallflower for any length of time was never really a viable plan.
Consequently, she had only been in the palace for a couple of weeks before she freely admitted to herself that she had been completely wrong. It was much better, she reassessed, to act as closely to her natural personality as possibility. Then, it would be far easier to sustain the illusion and avoid displaying any suspicious inconsistencies in behaviour.
This sudden epiphany proved to be a valuable one, as Ming Yue's friendliness and general approachability made others instantly relax their guard around her, and she was quickly able to pick up bits and pieces of information about the various characters in the palace and where their political leanings fell.
Shortly after her arrival, she had been placed in the palace harem, but was far too junior to serve any of the king's concubines directly. Instead, she ran errands for the more senior maidservants and the eunuchs, and generally contributed to the smooth running and constant cleanliness of the various harem buildings, which were connected by a sprawling network of pathways around carefully manicured gardens.
Ming Yue's fellow maidservants were, for the most part, sweet, likable girls, and she had formed a particular friendship with a young woman called Wen Mei, who had entered the palace not long before her. In keeping with her delicate features, Wen Mei was timid compared to Ming Yue, but she was genuine and kind, and the young princess valued their relationship immensely, even after so short a time.
As was always the way in these situations, just as there was a particular friend, there was also a particular enemy. In this case, it was another maidservant, Bu Hong. Ming Yue had never specifically offended Bu Hong. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid acting disrespectfully to anyone. Butshe was growing more popular among the more senior servants in the harem with her striking looks and easy charm and, to put it bluntly, Bu Hong was jealous.
She was also, to all intents and purposes, a coward. She knew that the new maidservant was well-liked, and she also sensed that it would not be quite so easy to bully this young woman, who gave off an aura of confidence and strength. Consequently, she focussed most of her attention on making life as difficult for Wen Mei as possible, and Ming Yue's patience in this respect was starting to wear thin.
A month or so into her time at the palace, Ming Yue and several of the other maidservants were sent out of the harem to deliver gifts from some of the concubines to the queen's mansion. This was not uncommon, but it was not often that the maids were given permission to go outside the walls of the harem, so it was quite an exciting little adventure, and she took her time looking around and memorising her surroundings, which were impressive, but no more so than her home back in Jin. Unfortunately, in addition to Ming Yue and Wen Mei, their small group also included Bu Hong and two of her minions.
Seeing Ming Yue and Wen Mei deeply engrossed in a discussion, and never one to miss an opportunity, Bu Hong went to walk past the two girls, sticking out her foot to catch the front of Wen Mei's ankle as she did.
Ming Yue reacted instinctively as she saw Wen Mei start to fall, grasping her sash tightly to yank her back with strength that, in hindsight, she perhaps should not have revealed. At the same time, she agilely used her toe to flick a stone from the path into the back of Bu Hong's knee, causing her to stumble and lose her footing as she walked away. Bu Hong looked back in anger but, seeing her enemy so far away from her and seemingly focussed on helping Wen Mei find her feet, she had no evidence to confirm her suspicions.
After shooting daggers with her eyes at Bu Hong's back and looking around to check she had not been seen using martial arts, Ming Yue looked at her friend with frustration.
"Tell me Wen Mei," she said, "does she hold a more senior position in the palace than you?"
"No."
"Is she your senior in age?"
"No."
"Did she enter the palace before you?"
"No. We arrived here at the same time."
"Then why do you let her treat you this way?" Silence.
"Listen to me. There are those who have power and abuse it. There are those who have no power and crave it. For someone who is the latter, the only power they can ever have is the power you give them. In the future you may be able to stand up to both, but for now, do not allow yourself to be bullied by this second type of person."
Ming Yue smiled and threw an arm around her friend's shoulders to lessen the harshness of her words, and Wen Mei looked up gratefully, but still with doubt.
"What if I am not strong enough, Ming Yue?"
"Then I will be strong enough for the both of us!"
"Ming Yue, you are so clever and brave."
Ming Yue raised an eyebrow.
"My siblings would laugh to hear you say that."
"You must miss them very much," said Wen Mei.
"Every day. But I know what's expected of me. I won't let my family down," said Ming Yue, cryptically, her mind now firmly on her mission.
The two young women walked away, completely unaware that the events of the last few minutes had been watched with interest by two tall, strikingly handsome young men from a balcony partially obscured by trees. Zhao Weisheng, second prince of Han, turned towards his loyal bodyguard and friend, Luo Jian.
"Who is that maid?" he asked. "I thought I knew every face in the inner palace, but I have never seen her before."
He definitely would have remembered her. Even the simple maidservant's uniform and hairstyle couldn't hide the fact that she was beautiful.
"I don't know, Your Highness. I don't recognise her."
Zhao Weisheng thought for a moment. The young woman had martial arts, that much was obvious, but it was more than that. Something in the way she carried herself. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Also, her accent. There was a slight hint of something. He shook his head and looked at his friend.
"Make some inquiries and find out who she is. But be discreet. I don't want to draw unwanted attention to her."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Oh, and Luo Jian. Remember what I told you about calling me 'Your Highness' when it's just the two of us?"
"Yes, Your High...Weisheng."
The two men continued their journey to the prince's quarters in amiable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
For Weisheng, they mostly revolved around his father. The king's health had not been good recently, and it could not have come at a worse time. The flooding in the north had been particularly heavy for the time of year, and corrupt and overly ambitious officials were always squabbling amongst themselves. Also, the peace accords with Jin were still relatively young, and the relationship between the two kingdoms was yet to stabilise.
Zhao Weisheng told himself that he would make more of an effort to involve himself in political affairs in the coming months, if only to ease his father's burden.
***
Several days later, Zhao Weisheng stood in the throne room. The king had summoned his sons and his closest advisers to discuss a particularly thorny problem befalling one of the outlying villages.
He glanced to his right at his older brother, Zhao Li Jun, who was being uncharacteristically silent. No doubt he felt he couldn't scam his way out of this one with a half-baked response. To the left of him, his younger brother raised his eyebrows. He clearly had no idea either, but then he was still quite young, so it was to be expected. Their father, King Xuanming, tapped his foot impatiently.
"Well? Any opinions?" His usually handsome features were set in a stern expression.
He continued.
"This ambitious troublemaker has been collecting tribute and exerting his authority over the people of Xi Shan village for months and now he wants the court to grant him an official position? Some of my ministers think that it would be best to simply legitimise what has become commonplace, rather than spending valuable resources putting this man back in his box."
Minister Xie, who was in charge of Public Works and was the least familiar with the king's temperament, went to speak, but was quickly silenced by a sharp look from King Xuanming, who was keen that one of his sons would at least try to offer a solution to the problem before his advisers chimed in.
Zhao Weisheng thought for a second, and his mind wandered back to an overheard conversation in a palace garden a few days earlier.
"Father," he said, "I once heard someone say that there are those who have power and abuse it. And there are those who have no power and crave it. For someone who is the latter, the only power they can ever have is the power you give them. Why should we pander to this self-proclaimed lord who has no legitimate claim to anything? It will only encourage others to act in the same way."
King Xuanming gave his son a long, appreciative look, then turned to his advisers.
"There you have it. Minister Shen, tell this 'lord' that official positions are given on merit and to those most suited to the role. His oppressive actions towards the people of Xi Shan village have shown that he possesses neither quality. Tell him to crawl back under the rock he came out from, or I will send a garrison there to make it happen."
Catching his friend's somewhat horrified expression, King Xuanming softened slightly.
"You don't have to use those exact words, Minister Shen. You get the gist. I trust you to make it a little more...official sounding. But no less forceful!"
Minister Shen closed his open mouth and scurried from the room as fast as etiquette and his robes would allow.
The matter having been satisfactorily resolved, King Xuanming and Weisheng walked together in the garden. After a period of amiable silence, the king spoke.
"Weisheng, who is this teacher whose words so impressed you? Tell me and I'll bring him into the palace as an adviser."
Caught off guard, Weisheng was unable to manage anything more than an obvious deflection.
"I am afraid that won't be possible, Father. Please, let's talk no more about it. You must tell me how the preparations for Mother's birthday feast are progressing."
King Xuanming chuckled. It was not often he saw his middle son flustered like this.
"As you wish. But you did well today. I am very pleased."
The two of them continued their stroll in easy conversation.
***
After leaving his father, Zhao Weisheng made his way back to his quarters, where he wasted no time in grilling his friend while his dog, Kuai, nudged insistently at his leg.
"Luo Jian, tell me quickly. What did you find out about her?"
On witnessing the prince's haste, a rare smile spread across Luo Jian's usually marble-like features. Luckily, he knew exactly who he was asking about.
"Her name is Li Ming Yue. She arrived in the palace a month ago. She serves in the harem and is already popular amongst the senior staff there. She has a reputation for being hard-working and capable, which has led to some run-ins with the other maids. It's just that..." he tailed off.
"What? Tell me!"
Through force of habit, Luo Jian rubbed at a tiny mole just below his lower lip as he thought carefully before responding.
"I have been observing her and, while she is always courteous and proper, there is something guarded about her, like she is holding something back. Also, the way she moves. It's almost too graceful."
Weisheng frowned.
"I think perhaps you have been observing her a little too closely, Luo Jian." He thought for a moment, then made a decision. "Make arrangements to move her to serve in my mansion."
Luo Jian's eyebrows shot up. Whilst the prince always took trouble to remember the names and faces of the palace staff, he rarely interfered with their allocation within the sprawling complex. It was true that there was something intriguing about this new maid, but to take such a step this quickly was not at all what he had expected from Weisheng. Still, rather than question the instruction, he asked a question.
"What reason shall I give to avoid suspicion?"
The prince considered.
"One of my maids has recently been taken ill with the fever and been sent home. Also, my father has entrusted me with the task of managing the relief effort for the victims of the recent flooding in the north, so I will need some extra assistance. Tell me, can she read?"
"Fluently. She is one of the few maids in the palace who can."
"Good. Use this as a reason why it must be her and no other."
Luo Jian nodded.
"It is fortunate that Your Highness is so popular amongst the palace staff. Otherwise it would be difficult to persuade the head maidservant of the harem to part with her."
The prince looked closely at his friend, but he did not see any trace of irony, so he directed his attention back to stroking Kuai's silken fur.