THE PAIR STOOD IN SILENCE, as they waited for the patrol officer to finish his walk past. Moments later after the light of his torch ceded, Suyin ripped herself free and faced her supposed attacker.
"You.."
"It's been awhile."
The Graceful Consort's eyes narrowed as she recognized the figure. Once he stepped out into the moonlight it was clear. It was the dark purple haired eunuch, Jinshi.
"You're still quite the troublemaker," Jinshi smiled, "Suyin."
The silver eyed woman relaxed a bit, pulling down the red veil from her face as she crossed her arms.
"And you're still as aggressive as ever," she frowned, not bothering to hide her distaste, "Now if you'll let me be."
"It's been three years and that's all you have to say?" the purple-haired male pouted, walking closer, "You're as heartless as ever."
"You said the same thing then."
"And I say the same thing now," the eunuch smirked, placing his arm against the wall as he trapped the newly appointed consort.
With a trying look, Suyin continued to cross her arms.
"I don't believe you should be touching His Majesty, the Emperor's concubine in such a way."
"But you're not really his concubine," Jinshi grinned, placing his hand lightly against her cheek, "You never were."
Whether it was a trick of the light or not, the eunuch could've sworn he saw something change in the Graceful Consort's eyes. Just for a moment, before it was gone.
"Don't speak nonsense," the black haired consort scoffed, swatting the male's hand away.
Before she was able to truly remove herself from their position, Jinshi noticed a certain dark patch on her left knee.
"Your knee," he stated aloud, taking a hold of the woman's hand, "You injured it again?"
"It's merely dirt."
Rolling his eyes, the eunuch pulled her towards him and he quickly bent down to examine it.
"It's healed," Suyin insisted with a smile, only to wince when he pressed down on it.
"Healed my ass," Jinshi replied, mimicking her cocky smile, "It hasn't healed since then, has it?"
The ebony haired woman could only purse her lips in annoyance. Out of all the people to find her, it had to be him.
As she stared down at him, she began to notice how long his purple hair had grown. It was so incredibly sleek that it reflected the moonlight. Not only that, it seemed his jaw was more defined and his shoulders were sculpted.
She found her eyes lingering on his figure, even under all those layers it was easy to see that he had a well-built body. Her lip quivered at the thought, only for her to stop herself completely.
"No it hasn't," she finally answered, removing her knee away from him, "never mind that. It doesn't bother me anymore."
Jinshi gave her a disbelieving pout, only to receive a flick to his forehead.
"Ouch–"
"Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" she hummed, feeling proud of the dread that seemed to wash over the eunuch's face, "Doing papers, perhaps?"
"So cold," he shivered, voice dipping in defeat, "But wait.. What are you doing here then—"
"I think I see Gaoshun over there!"
With a jolt, the purple-haired male turned over his shoulder frantically, only to be met with nothing but darkness. There was no one there.
"What are you talking ab–"
Jinshi turned back over his shoulder, only to see that the consort was nowhere to be found. What was left was her red veil, which had just landed delicately onto the ground where she last stood. The scene caused the eunuch to pout once more.
"You're so cold, Suyin."
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
The ebony haired consort made her way back to her sleeping quarters, only to notice a figure shuffling quietly through the halls. Her eyes narrowed as she followed the figure, only to stop when the person suddenly dropped to the ground.
To her surprise, the figure seemed to begin to pick some plants from the ground, placing them into the basket that they carried. As she got closer, the consort was able to see that the mysterious creeper was actually a girl just a few years younger than her.
"While it's not exactly illegal to harvest those," Suyin commented with a smirk as she witnessed the girl jolt in surprise, "It's quite suspicious to do so in this manner."
The girl had deep green hair that was tied into two small loops on the top and two low ponytails below.
She also wore a baby blue bow on the top of her head, completing the simplistic yet very cute look. She wore an orange tunic with a plain white dress underneath. It was the attire of the worker girls within the inner palace.
Said girl turned around and was met with a pair of silvery eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. Her eyes appeared to wander all over the consort's body before she finally composed herself and stood up.
"My apologies," she bowed politely, "I saw some flowers that were pretty and wanted to show them to the other workers. I'm sorry if I've disturbed you."
Suyin was far from ignorant, especially to the workings of the palace. The plants that were scattered throughout the inner palace were grown specifically for the purpose of either poison or antidote. She had been treated by them several times and knew greatly of their uses.
Along with that, if the girl before her had really harvested the plants for said beauty, she wouldn't have needed to bring such a large basket with her.
It was rare for a commoner, let alone a girl, to have knowledge on such medicines. Perhaps, this was what the Graceful Consort found so interesting about her.
"That's quite caring of you," Suyin replied with a smile, "Though, if I were you, I would wait until those last lanterns die out over there. That would mean the last lady in waiting and her maids would be asleep."
"R-right," the girl muttered, only to turn her attention to the consort's pants.
It seemed that her mind was calculatingly trying to figure out who Suyin was, but it was clear she wouldn't ask, knowing full well that the lady in front of her was of at least higher status than her.
It would be disrespectful, and she quite frankly did not want to gain attention. Especially since she still had a term to live out before she was released.
She had to lay low, that was all.
"If you'll excuse me," the girl finally said, bowing respectfully.
"Of course," Suyin nodded with half-lidded eyes, "Please do take care."
She watched the strange worker scurry off in an almost cat-like way. The thought made the consort laugh to herself as she snuck back into her own quarters.
What an eventful yet successful night it was.
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
"It's time to wake up."
The sunlight streaked through the open window, warming the room with its morning glow. With a soft groan, the black-haired woman sat up and rubbed her temple.
Suyin was never an early bird, waking up early was always a hassle. Why wake up when you can just sleep through your problems?
With a yawn, she finally looked over tiredly at her maid.
"Da Ji," she acknowledged tiredly.
"Take your morning tea, Lady Suyin."
The Graceful Consort's one and only maid was a young and relatively short girl. Da Ji, her maid, had dark brown hair that was as straight as a pin needle.
She was the daughter of a fallen merchant who had been found by Suyin herself four years ago. It was a chaotic day, for the consort had saved the brunette from throwing herself into the riverbed.
Since then, the two have been inseparable.
What was most intriguing to the ebony-haired girl at the time were the young girl's eyes, which were hetero chromatic. One eye was a bright red and the other a dark brown that matched her hair.
Supposedly, she was condemned for being the devil's child upon birth.
"I've only just returned and you're already feeding me this?" she murmured, taking a hold of the cup with the steaming liquid.
Her maid said nothing as she lifted a blonde wig that was hanging on the dresser. She then proceeded to cover her own hair with the bright wig and even placed a dark brown contact over her singular red eye.
"If it were up to me," Suyin expressed bitterly, "I would burn these accessories the first chance I got."
"That's unbefitting for someone like you to say, my lady," Da Ji scolded lightly, "I do not mind wearing these articles if they are for you."
"Well, working for me is a hassle," the consort laughed sarcastically, "This is why I do not meddle with ladies in waiting. Servants for that matter."
"Do not say such things," her maid shook her head, "Let's stop talking about this. Your drink will get cold."
"I'm older than you," the silver-eyed girl muttered, "Yet you act like an old woman."
"Lady Suyin. Drink."
The Graceful Consort stared disdainfully at the cup in her hand, noticing her maid's stern eyes. With a begrudging sigh, she lifted it to her lips. The smell nearly made her gag every time, no matter how many times she drank it.
As the tea touched her lips, she immediately held her breath and gulped it in quick succession. Tears pricked her eyes as Da Ji quickly caught the cup she let go of. It was routine, every morning she would drink this tea.
It would act as a detoxifier, cleaning her body as well as strengthening the consort's already brittle bones. With a few coughs, Suyin sat down on her bed and proceeded to compose herself. She then looked at her reflection in the mirror beside her bed.
With a tired sigh, she stood up and proceeded to fix her posture and walk until she was satisfied. Da Ji proceeded to make her bed and prepare the makeup for the day.
The consort eyed the white powder defiantly.
"It's extremely hot today."
"This is to be worn through the chilling winters and blazing summers, my lady."
Suyin gave a small pout before finally allowing the (now blonde) maid to cover her face in white foundation.
Da Ji then took out the burnt sienna eyeshadow and began to pat her lady's lids, making sure to accentuate the outer top and bottom corners. With a dark powder, she filled in the consort's brows.
She then used a small brush to outline the edges of her lids with a dark ink and afterwards pulled out a silver contraption the size of a small pair of scissors. Suyin scrunched her nose in apprehension.
"Anything but that."
Da Ji curled her lashes anyway.
Lastly, the blonde painted her lady's lips with a cherry red paste, leaving a soft scarlet glimmer in its wake. After her makeup was done, Da Ji then allowed her lady to comb through her own hair, as it was naturally long and luscious.
Soon enough, the monstrous bed-head ridden woman that awoke from her slumber was nowhere to be found. Instead was a beautiful and regal young woman with deeply alluring silver eyes that contrasted her dark wavy locks.
The makeup did well to hide her cheeks that were quite bony and thin. Her dress covered all the imperfections that littered her body, giving her a healthy hourglass shape. Even up close, she looked healthy and strong— quite contrary to the truth.
"I never doubted you for a second, Da Ji."
"Of course you didn't."
-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-
"She's not here?"
Suyin asked the maid, only to hear that the woman she expected to meet with was not in her chambers. Turns out, she was outside in the palace courtyard but should've returned by now.
"Da Ji."
"Yes, my lady."
"Let's leave."
The two walked their way to the courtyard, only to see a commotion of sorts occurring. Suyin could see through her red veil that there was a large group of maids and lower workers bundled in a circle of sorts.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU'RE TRYING TO CURSE MY SON, BECAUSE YOUR CHILD IS A DAUGHTER!!"