To my surprise, it worked. Hua Fa was still sewing clothes but she was accompanying the Emperor in a different way. I didn't expect her to be into the art of war, but whatever. Just like me, I was expected to be a dainty, graceful woman—which I was—but I had a touch of spice to myself.
Su Yin gave birth just a few days after. I stood outside her chamber, behind the room divider. Her cries were loud and I cringed at imagining the pain. After a while, her screams started to die down and the baby must have popped out.
The Emperor wasn't here yet. I was earlier this time. Li Shu and two of my maids stayed behind me. I realised that too many people can overwhelm someone. I didn't want to overwhelm Su Yin.
"Your Majesty," a maid came out and bowed. "You may come in now."
I entered the room quietly. The faint sound of a baby squalling started to become louder. Su Yin held her baby gently, slow tears running down her cheeks. As she faced me, she tried to get up.
Immediately, I stopped her. "It's fine."
Su Yin nodded quietly and looked at me with awe in her eyes. Jia Ying must have been traumatized because she kneeled with shock the entire time. I guess she won't be considering a child anytime soon.
Everyone stopped speaking. The baby was still crying but no one spoke.
As I slowly kneeled to face Su Yin, Su Yin let out a sigh of relief. She leaned near my ear and whispered to me, "A boy... A prince, Empress."
My lips automatically spread into a smile. We both stared at each other with relief and happiness. She now looked behind my shoulder. Her eyes softened as she slowly rocked her baby.
I turned around and was ambushed by the Emperor's presence. Quickly, I stood up and bowed. "Warm blessings to—"
"Don't," the Emperor gently held my wrist. He smiled at me and walked past me to get to Su Yin. She passed him the baby and he held it carefully. I thought it was pretty cute. The Emperor gently rocked the baby. "A prince... A small baby boy."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Su Yin whispered. Her eyes fell on mine and we both exchanged a kind glance.
In a few years, the Emperor would establish the crown prince. I thought about telling my story to the Emperor now, to plan what would happen then, but I didn't. I was afraid if I told him that I wasn't from here, he might banish me... or worse, kill me for deceiving him.
Maybe when I leave, there will be a third empress in place. I wouldn't know, and I don't want to know yet. I just wanted to enjoy this moment: seeing a friend give birth. Su Yin closed her eyes to the sound of the crying. The Emperor continued to look at the baby like it was gold.
We shared a smile and I was off to give them a moment.
The next day, I rewarded Su Yin and her child. It was the same procedure but Su Yin stayed a Consort. I'd try my best to promote her to 'Noble Consort' but that was it. The Emperor was hard to please, I could tell.
The thought of Chang Ying crossed my mind. The Emperor's favoured consort... but she was gone. Still, I felt kind of guilty for taking her away from him.
Then again, the Emperor deserved the truth, even if it was harmful.
I stayed with the Emperor after. He stayed in his hall with me while running through some things. Dragon and I were starting to bond even more, and I felt my hatred for cats fade. While I pet Dragon, the Emperor turned to look at me.
He stared at me having fun with Dragon before he spoke, "Ying Yue."
"Hm?" I looked away from Dragon and blinked my eyes at the Emperor.
"Have you heard the noises of construction recently, by any chance?" the Emperor raised an eyebrow, studying me.
I nodded. "Yes, it's not that loud though, Your Majesty."
The Emperor let out a soft chuckle before putting down the scroll in his hand. He sat up straight and looked at me again. His eyes lit up.
"I believe you have to know what I am building," he looked at my hand that was petting Dragon's head. "I feel it is discourteous of me to have you living in the late empress's chamber."
With the look on the Emperor's face, I already knew what it was.
He let out a slow exhale. "I have decided to build you a new palace."
Oh... Oh no. I was leaving so soon and he would do that for me? I felt like I was lying straight to his face. I was better off in the palace where I was in. I didn't need him to do all of this for me; for someone who didn't love him. Whether he was trying to be friendly or not, it was too much.
Should I stay for another month? I couldn't... Jaxon wanted to go, didn't he? I hoped the Emperor didn't see the panic on my face because I was to feel levels of my anxiety rise.
I didn't know how to respond. My mouth started to dry up so I quickly took large gulps of water. When I finished, I plastered a smile on my face.
"You didn't have to, Your Majesty," I shook my head. "I was just starting to feel comfortable in my estate."
"I want to, Ying Yue." the Emperor spoke softly. His eyes didn't leave mine. I didn't know what to say. I loved living in a palace, but I didn't want a palace built just so I could stay there for a couple of weeks.
So I nodded, smiling to cover the fact that I was slightly saddened. The Emperor has been good to me—other than sending me off to prison and then to the Cold Palace, but overall he's been good to me... I didn't want him to do all of this just for me to leave him. After taking Dong Mei's spot and then ascending as the Empress, I felt grateful for my position. But I had to leave it all soon.
The Emperor shouldn't go through that.
Soon after, he broke the silence. "Ying Yue."
I looked up from my embroidery. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Would you like to visit the commoners tomorrow? I want to see if everything is alright," the Emperor didn't look up from the paper he was holding.
"Me? Are you serious, Your Majesty?" I put down the ink brush I was holding.
He nodded. "We both agreed that it'd be nice for you to come, remember our conversation months ago? You should accompany me there as you suggested a great idea."
The Emperor was being too nice. I don't know what gotten into him, but I was sort of excited to see how it was outside of these walls. I did before, but I wanted to see it again. It's been so long. So many people have never gone out these walls.
A grateful smile spread on my face and I dipped my head. "Thank you for being so considerate, Your Majesty."
"Of course." the Emperor slightly nodded and continued back to his work.
A new palace was waiting for me to explore. I walked out to get some fresh air and see how things were. It was not very far from my old palace, which was considerate for the Emperor. In fact, it was near his place.
This palace lacked the bold colour of red, and the red decorations, in contrast to my old palace. It looked... modern. It looked more modern than it should look, but I was happy that he knew my style. Li Shu stood beside me admiring it as well. It was more spacious than the old one, which I thought would be impossible to achieve. The main hall was bigger and my throne was golden with red seating.
"It's beautiful, Empress." my eunuch whispered and I nodded, smiling stupidly at my surroundings.
With things like this, I don't know if I could leave.
After exploring my new home, I left to tell Hua Er and my maids. Then I could get my things and relocate. I was excited to move to a different estate but I always start to move when I get used to things. Every time I adjusted, I'd have to leave.
While walking slowly and peacefully with Li Shu on my side, I noticed two Noble Consorts speaking amongst themselves. Their maids stood silently as they sat on the bench. It was far away, but they were very loud.
"Her Majesty is trying to get power."
"What do you mean, sister?"
"Isn't it obvious? Minister Feng and Consort Feng... the Empress had something to do with it," the Noble Consort scoffed. "He defied the Empress during court and the Empress must have gotten angry."
"...Sister... How do you know this?"
"I overhead the eunuch's speaking about this... it has spread to all of the Palace amongst court officials and eunuchs."
Li Shu slowly looked at me. I paused, still eavesdropping in their conversation. My blood was starting to boil, and I was starting to feel my cheeks burn. These concubines don't have manners nor respect for their superior.
The passive Noble Consort was silent for a few seconds. Then, she tilted her head up. "The Empress is quite powerful... She will rule as Empress Dowager."
"Of course. She discussed a strategy to help with the provinces that have been suffering due to the unknown issue."
"I like Her Majesty. She treats us extremely well and we're better off with her than anyone else."
The bold one scoffed. "You do? She likes to fight... I'd like her to be the frontline of a battle and let's see how good she is! I can't wait for her to lose the Emperor's favour!"
I continued walking.
"That's impossible, sister... Her Majesty is—"
"The Imperial Noble Consort title is vacant. I will be sure to claim that title."
"Sister, you must not talk ill of her like this... Imagine the consequences! Her Majesty... she'll..."
I have heard enough. She talked ill of me and the way she spoke about me lead me into thinking she might plan to usurp my throne. By law, I could kill her. Was that what I wanted? I quickly sped up my pace, leaving Li Shu to continuously follow behind me.
"I am intelligent enough to run the morning court assemblies next to His Majesty! Sooner or later, the Emperor will promote me... maybe to Empress one day."
"How dare you talk ill of me!" I angrily yelled. My eyes narrowed at the aggressive one. They quickly got up from the bench and bowed deeply to me while they greeted me. This time, with more respect than they have given me before.
The aggressive consort quickly got on her knees right after, and so did the passive one. They kowtowed. "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty! I have wronged you!"
Li Shu stood back as I continued walking towards them. I stopped in front of the aggressive consort's head. The tip of my shoes touched the top of her head. I imagined myself stomping on her head, but shook the image out of my mind.
I lightly tapped her head. "Get up!"
The passive one slowly got up, thinking I was speaking to her. The other one quickly looked up and begged me for my mercy. I didn't pay attention to what she said because I was busy thinking about her punishment.
"I apologize, Your Majesty! We have wronged you and we deserve to be severely punished! Please pardon us for our impudence!" the passive consort cried.
"You," I pointed my finger at the woman who talked bad about me. I turned to face Li Shu. "She has conspired to usurp my throne and talked ill of me. By law, she should be executed. Li Shu, what do you think?"
My eunuch looked at the woman with pity in his eyes, but he shook his head slowly. He deeply bowed. "I believe she should be sentenced to death. If we don't execute her, she may cause harm against you."
Tears slowly ran down her cheeks as she yelled, "How about her? She was with me when—"
"You. Just you," I softly spoke, before giving her a simple smile. "You talked about morning assemblies beside His Majesty's side? Women in the harem should not meddle with state affairs."
Li Shu, with his loud voice, called upon the guards and they all rushed in. They swiftly took the consort and dragged her out. When I faced the passive consort, she refused to look at me in fear. I took a deep breath in and exhaled. "You can get up now. Thank you for defending me."
I wish I could say I felt pity to sentence a girl to death. She was not young. She was near my age, I could tell. Life was like that. I couldn't feel sympathy for someone who might threaten my position. The 'Empress' title was sacred to me now. I was going to keep it until I leave.
My eyes started to slightly water. I looked up to stop myself from crying. I noticed the beautiful sunset as if it was telling me that I was doing the best I could. With the pink, orange infusion of colours in the sky, the pink-tinted clouds, I calmed down. It didn't fit my red hanfu with slight yellow designs, but from Li Shu's perspective, I must have looked powerful.
He looked at me with admiration, softly smiling at me. He was old, in his late forties at least and reminded me of my father. I could tell he was proud of me. A simple peasant, and now, the Empress.
I should be proud of myself. I shouldn't be too hard on myself. Besides, I earned this title. I earned it and I should do my best to keep this title.
The weather today was baking me to death. The Emperor and I sat silently in the carriage. This was the first time I was leaving the gated Palace. His hand was resting beside mine, respecting my privacy.
My head felt lighter and free. It was relaxing to not wear large headpieces and do your hair all the time. My hair was thick and wavy, fun but difficult to work with—or so my maids have said, but it was good to let it relax.
The plain, light-coloured hanfu hugged me comfortably. It was similar to the one Hua Er had given me when I first walked into the Palace. The Emperor had seen me in it. I was wondering if he thought about it, or if the memory of where we first met had crossed his mind, but I chose to not speak about it. Those were the innocent, clueless days I never want to look back on.
When we arrived, we walked to the village. Walking behind us were guards and eunuchs in disguise. The Emperor's advisor, Cao Shen, walked closer to the Emperor to take mental notes. It was crowded today. Many people walked past us and were trying to get through. I tried to make myself small and take up little space as possible. I also held onto my small coin pouch.
I was also sweating.
The crowd was bustling. Some paused to buy certain items. I watched a group of people huddle around a dumpling stand. I've never seen anything like this, and I suddenly felt thankful that my world has advanced over the past... centuries.
"Your—I mean," I began, then catching myself before I said another word. I cleared my throat. "I'm slightly hungry."
The Emperor looked down at me. "There's fresh noodles over there. Do you want to go grab a bowl?"
"If you don't mind." I maintained eye contact.
While we stood and waited, I watched the people. I felt uncomfortable knowing that I was living lavishly in my large palace while the commoners were in crowded areas. I didn't like the fact that class was very divided. If I could communicate that with the Emperor, I would.
I knew I wouldn't have a say in the issue because he would've looked at me weirdly. I never was against wealthy people nor families back in my world. That was because many worked for what they have.
Here, there were fewer opportunities available. I wondered if they found out who we were, would they try and kill us?... Did they like the Emperor? This was the time where commoners wouldn't rebel yet. But I knew the Emperor worked hard for the empire the past emperors have built.
As I scanned the crowd, I noticed that they seemed to live better. It didn't look as if there was an issue at all. Everyone looked heated in the sun, squinting their eyes yet they looked happy. Some laughed with each other. Even I felt a stir of joy to see that there was happiness in the crowds.
The Emperor leaned over to me. "Your idea was very successful."
I nodded as a response with the noodles still in my mouth. It was unladylike but I didn't really care. My cheeks puffed while I chewed, which caused the rare reaction of the Emperor. A burst of small, slight laughter. That was all I got, though. It was better than nothing.
A short stubby man next to me was speaking loudly to another man, perhaps a friend. I looked up at the Emperor, to see if he was eavesdropping. His eyes slightly narrowed as he stepped closer to where I was. I held my breath out of nervousness and stepped back.
"I heard they took Brother Song's crops yesterday." the short man said, not caring if it was loud or not.
His friend, who looked as if he didn't shave for years, widened his eyes. "I'm afraid they will come for me... Don't you think this is too much? Just to take revenge even though us peasants didn't do anything?"
"They terrorized us before, now they want to do it again!
The Emperor glanced at his adviser and then at me. He slowly shifted towards them. "Who are you two talking about?"
"The assassin group! Haven't you heard? It's been happening for a while now!" the short man shook his head.
"Maybe we should inform—" the Emperor began.
"No! Brother, if you ever inform any authority," the man looked around before he spoke again. His voice went quieter. "They threatened they'll do even more harm... Our government may not even find them! They've failed to find all of them!"
I cleared my throat, still watching them panic. I thought they were all killed or sent to prison, but I guess some were smart enough to flee for a while. All of this might have been my fault for exposing them, but if I didn't, the Emperor and I would've been dead.
The Emperor's adviser awkwardly stood with me. We were both trying to hear their conversation but the crowd got louder and the man spoke quieter. By the look on the Emperor's face, I can tell that the situation might be very serious. His forehead was wrinkled and his eyes darkened.
As they quietly spoke amongst themselves, I turned my attention towards the crowd again. Everyone rushed to get through. In a nearby booth, a child was crying, holding onto his mother's neck. In my peripheral vision, the Emperor's advisor was trying his best to hear the important conversation.
I was lost in my thoughts for a moment before someone bumped into me. A slightly buff man with a scar on his cheek. There was plenty of space to the side of me! He looked me up and down and left in a hurry. When I followed him with my eyes, I realised that the coin pouch I was holding was gone.
"Thief! Thief!" I shrieked, pointing at the man. By now, the Emperor had snapped his head away from the man he was talking to. I quickly rushed to chase him down and we were playing tag... It wasn't hard to catch him due to the busyness of the place.
It was irrational to do what I did, but for the sake of my little coin pouch, I was ready to fight.
In my attempt to tackle him, he raised his fist to try and strike me. Before his fist reached my cheek, I swiftly dodged it to the right and punched him with my free hand. I didn't want to cause a scene so I reached for my coin pouch so I could flee.
When I tried to, he pulled me back. The Emperor grabbed the thief to the side and landed a giant punch that would... probably leave a mark. After I took my small little coin pouch, I swung it at his face.
Just a little warning.
Without realising it, everyone now was staring at us. Some still ignored us and continued with their lives, but a majority gaped at the commotion. The Emperor was angry. Guards and eunuchs rushed to the front. The guards, trying to act less suspicious, shuffled their way to move towards the thief.
"A woman landed a punch on him..." I heard a small whisper behind me.
"Could she be...?"
The Emperor and I exchanged a shocked glance, but he immediately broke off the eye contact. The thief looked a bit dazed while he laid on the ground. I slowly fixed my hair.
"We're going to take him for questioning." the Emperor ignored the other commoners, still glaring at the thief.
"Assassins don't do these things in broad daylight.. right? He could be anyone," I whispered.
The Emperor shook his head. "He committed a crime before my eyes. He should be questioned and also punished."
"The scar on his cheek must have indicated that he's been fighting a lot," I, copying the Emperor, glared at the thief. "I guess he could be one of the assassins..."
"It's the Her Majesty and the Emperor!" an elderly woman pointed at us.
My heart skipped a beat. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and urged the Emperor to do something. He held my arm and gripped it tightly. I stayed close to him just in case. We were out in the open, anyone could kill us. The assassin group could be hidden amongst the crowds.
To my surprise, they all lowered themselves, kowtowing deeply to us. "Warm blessings to Your Majesty! Warm blessings to the Empress!"
The thief, still slightly unconscious, looked shocked as well. Haha. Serves him right.
"You may all rise," the Emperor declared. He looked uncomfortable as well, and so did I.
This went bad and I did not want to get punished for this. It was my fault we blew our cover but the coin pouch in my hand was too cute to leave. I raised the coin pouch to admire it. The strings were blue and the top part was blue. The pouch was light grey.
It matched my hanfu!
"Thank you, Emperor!" they said in unison. As they stood up, they ignored the Emperor and turned their attention to me. I awkwardly stood, gripping the Emperor's arm like I was a child.
"The rumours were wrong... She is a beauty. His Majesty is handsome as well..." a woman whispered near us.
"Too bad her beauty will never last and he'll find another woman to favour." another snickered.
"A woman like that is intelligent and strong, that can never lose the Emperor's favour."
"Do you love her or something?" the same woman scoffed.
The Emperor announced that he would do something about the disappearance of crops. His whole speech was sort of boring so I got lost in my own thoughts. The only time I paid attention was when the Emperor spoke about my idea, and how they should thank me. Of course, I paid attention to that. While we departed from the village, I was still in my thoughts.
It should be fine. The Emperor rested his hand on mine during the ride, so he wasn't mad, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.
There was space beside me. Was this an attack on me, specifically? Did he know who I was? Was this one of Minister Feng's minions that wanted to steal my coin pouch? What would stealing my coin pouch even do?
Unless it was a division for something else. To harm the Emperor, maybe? Or to kidnap me? Or...
"There was enough space to walk past me," I turned to the Emperor. "Why did he bump into me?"
"I'm currently thinking about that too," he continued to glare into the void of nothingness. "Someone must have wanted to signal your position..."
My heart skipped a beat. The Emperor slowly looked at me with a solemn look on his face. I didn't know what to say. I was almost speechless. What in the hell was I supposed to reply to that? I thought this assassin infestation was gone, but now someone was trying to get at me? For what?
I gulped. "Is it because I'm attending court assemblies? Your Majesty, if... if this will jeopardize my throne and endanger you, I'd like to stop."
"For now you should," the Emperor nodded. "But this problem runs deeper than that. I've been through this countless times. The late empress was also threatened as well because there will be men that will try and overthrow me."
"I apologize, Your Majesty," I said, almost in a whisper.
From time to time, I'm starting to shift into the late empress's perspective of the world. It was uneasy for me to admit but it was hard to trust anyone now. I never once thought about her as much now, but when I do, I sort of pitied her.
The past doesn't matter now because I was more worried about the future. I sensed a lot of hostility around me now, and it has only been the beginning.