The man with the rough, blistered hands grabbed Yu Hua by the arm and threw him to the ground.
"Is that the last of them?" Another man yelled.
"En." The man nodded in reply, turning sharply and leaving the room.
Wait, Yu Hua wanted to call after them. The frost and swirls of snow bit his thin, pale fingers as he reached out towards the large wooden cart, which had begun backing away. He watched blurrily as the wooden cage which he had spent the past two days in moved farther away. Wait, no, I don't want to stay here! Take me back! To my mother and father in the countryside... they are waiting for me...!
Yu Hua's arm slumped with exhaustion. The door was still wide open, giving him a clear view of the cart. Snow swirled in occasionally, dropping the room's temperature lower and lower.
How peculiar. It had snowed towards the end of the seventh month. It must be a sign... a strike from the Nine Heavens...
Yu Hua looked around.
Where am I?
Why were there no guards, like the ones who accompanied us on our journey?
His mind flashes back to his father telling him terrible tales of wolves eating children, although Yu Hua is far from the woods.
"HALT!" A man clad in black runs after the cart. A sword glints at his waist, and Yu Hua's ears perk up at the sound of him. "HALT!" The sound of boots crunching snow is distinctly clear, even as he fades in an out of consciousness.
The door is wide open right now. He, and the multitude of beautiful young women in the room with him, could escape if they wanted. However, the guards had fed them nothing, not even water on the journey. Treated worse than a slave. None of them had the energy to face the brittle cold for another second, let alone run.
Yu Hua pushed himself onto his arms.
He had a little sister, named Mei You. And a cow, named Xiao Huang. He had his parents. He had people waiting for him.
He got an inch closer to the door before collapsing again.
More footsteps. This time the soft, delicate patter of ladies.
"Aiya, Wen'er, what happened? I just appeared with the new concubines and the entire palace is in an uproar -"
"It's the Emperor!" Wen'er gasped. "He - he -"
"Come on, spit it out!" The other woman snapped. "My mood is already bad enough with all this snow -"
"He's dead!" Wen'er spluttered. "Assassinated at the royal feast! I heart it was Marquis Gu who did it! Stood right up, pulled out a knife - and - and -!"
"My god!" The other woman screeched.
"Head of the Lotus Ladies, Miss Yao -" Wen'er stammered,
"I've dealt ladies with him before! They'll definitely count this as treason! I must run - !"
"The concubines, Miss Yao! What of the concubines -"
"They don't matter! Without the Emperor, there is no harem! Abandon them! They will most likely be stolen away - or sent to appease the soldiers, then killed!"
"Miss Yao - !"
Yu Hua's ears was filled with the sound of Miss Yao running over the crunchy snow.
"S-she's right! There is no harem! I should run, too!"
Yu Hua's expression darkened considerably. Was he to be slaughtered too? Among the exhausted young ladies in the room with him, he was the only man.
Yu Hua's heart spiked with fear. How was he supposed to find his way back home? Back to mother, and father, and sister -
He blinked wearily, sleep tugging at his eyelids.
No! I can't!
He wanted to, however. He felt so incredibly tired, and the carpet he rested upon was a soft one...
The cold wind hissed at his face sharply and then stopped. The warmth from being in a room out of the cold lulled him to sleep.
No... Yu Hua thought. No, I must leave...
The last thing he saw before blacking out was the door in front of him shutting firmly.
***
"Hey, wake up."
A soft finger prodded Yu Hua's cheek. Yu Hua lifted his head, blinking. His sight blurred before he looked up at who was disturbing him - specifically, a young boy.
Yu Hua sat up and scooted backward, suddenly hitting the wall. He winced.
The young boy smiled humorously. He was around Yu Hua's age, with long, shiny black hair twisted into a bun atop his head, glittering, clever phoenix eyes, and a set of beautiful features. Right now in his youth, he looked more beautiful than handsome, but here and then there were sharp lines indicating how his face would come to be good-looking and masculine.
Yu Hua blushed, the wall pressing up against his back. Who was he to guess how the boy would look like older?
"How old are you?" He asked. He was dressed in an expensive-looking set of white silk robes with silver embroidery of dragons and peacocks. His bun was pinned up with a golden clasp, a dragon stamped into the metal.
Yu Hua blinked back at him, too shy and terrified to say anything.
"Never mind. You look about the same age as me, and I'm eight."
Yu Hua nodded furiously. His eighth birthday, celebrated in the fall, had just passed.
"Are you here as one of the concubines?" The young boy cocked his head.
Yu Hua blushed, then nodded softly, curling up tighter in his robes. He was dressed in long red silk, and his face smeared thickly with makeup. His hair had been brushed long and silky black and then twisted with ribbons. Before arriving here, the cart had dropped them off at Lotus Lady Brewery, where Miss Yao scrubbed at their skin with rose soap and applied rouge, powder and lipstain like a second skin. Even now, his skin smelled faintly of roses, and Yu Hua blushed again.
"Do you know where this is?" The young boy asked.
Yu Hua nodded tentatively. He'd heard enough to know that he was at a palace. Why the former Emperor would want poor young country girls, and one boy in this case, in his harem, Yu Hua didn't know. The thought disgusted him, however. His family rarely talked about the royal family, but Yu Hua's neighbors liked to gossip of the Emperor's ever-expanding harem.
Yu Hua swallowed uneasily. And he had been roped into this matter as well.
"Mm." The boy nodded. "Tai Lin, my carer had told me to go somewhere else with all the commotion upstairs. I wasn't invited to the royal banquet... who only knows what happened." The boy's eyes darkened, clouding as he thought. "So I came down here. This is one of the rooms under the palace, close to the dungeons."
Yu Hua's heart spiked in fear.
"One of the better-dressed rooms to be sure, but near to the dungeons nonetheless. I suppose my father wanted to keep the news of his new concubines in the dark." He scowled.
Yu Hua's eyes widened.
This - was this boy - ?
The boy refocused his gaze onto Yu Hua.
"Hmm, I don't think I've noticed it before now, but you are extremely beautiful."
Yu Hua turned away, his cheeks reddening. Many in his hometown had commented on how breathtaking Yu Hua looked, the kind and gentle disposition of his features, but their striking beauty. Some even dared to call him akin to a goddess. All the attention only brought him embarrassment. Yu Hua did not have an ounce of gratefulness for his extraordinary beauty, but as he felt the boy's gaze fixated on him intensely, Yu Hua felt his heart light up.
"Your skin is as pale and glowing as the moon, your eyes as dark as obsidian, hair flowing like a river." The young boy reached behind him and gathered locks of Yu Hua's hair. He turned away, shy.
"You never see such beautiful men anymore," the boy murmured. "By now, they've only been read about it books..." he wrapped his hand around a strand of hair and brought it to his mouth, and kissed it gently. "It's almost as if you are a gift sent to me by the Nine Heavens."
Yu Hua turned a deeper shade of crimson.
"P-please..." his voice cracked, as warm and soft as moonlight, or zither notes on a field of flowers, "d-don't say such embarrassing things..."
"I want to," the boy murmured, inhaling the scent of Yu Hua's hair. His sharp eyes watched Yu Hua, his mouth smiling softly. "Most men always look masculine these days... it's almost forgotten that even men can carry children..."
"Y-yes," Yu Hua agreed, stammering.
"Even the court these days are filled with old homophobic men..." the young boy continued talking, nuzzling Yu Hua's hair against his cheek. "Tell me. What is your name."
"It - it's Yu Hua," Yu Hua mumbled softly.
"Jade Flower?" The young boy smirked against Yu Hua's hair. "How fitting."
Yu Hua continued blushed, unable to look the young boy in the eyes.
"Do you know who I am?" The young boy whispered against Yu Hua's hair.
Yu Hua nodded tentatively. "Y - you are -"
The doors to the room from inside the palace burst open, and an old lady looked around frantically before her eyes caught sight of the young boy.
"Crown Prince!" She exclaimed, hurrying to the young boy's side and examining his body. Before she reached him, however, the young boy stood himself, sweeping Yu Hua into his arms.
Yu Hua squeaked, then covered his mouth up in embarrassment.
"Yes, Tai Lin?" The young prince raised an eyebrow. "What is the matter?"
"C-crown prince -" Tai Lin stuttered in surprise. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Yu Hua, who shrank under her gaze. "Who is this?"
"He is one of the concubines brought in today," the young prince explained. "Since my father is dead, he is no longer a part of the harem."
Tai Lin gasped. "H-how did you know?!" She looked at Yu Hua with clear hate. "Did you -"
"It wasn't him." The prince snapped. "I'm not stupid, Tai Lin, everybody was talking about it, and with your acting skills, it's no surprise I know."
Tai Lin retracted, and then bowed respectfully. "O-of course, Young Master." She looked up, eyes being pulled towards Yu Hua. He, all dressed in flowing red, looked akin to a young maiden being married off. Tai Lin's breath was stolen for a moment at how stunning the young boy was, but then she nodded towards him. "What will you do with the... concubine?"
"He is no longer a concubine." The young prince scowled. "He is free from the Emperor, and since he has nobody else -"
The Crown Prince smiled, looking handsome and devilish at the same time.
"I will make him mine."