Xiang gui ren was despondent.

Perhaps that was a bit too dramatic.

Xiang gui ren was annoyed.

A few days ago she had to end the morning greetings by kowtowing in apology to Shen huang gui fei. Even though it was no fault of her own, she had apparently committed a great crime by serving The Emperor on the anniversary of his and Shen huang gui fei's wedding.

The Emperor was too hasty sometimes. Of course, she was eager to be with him again, but that could've waited one day! Now Shen huang gui fei thought of her as some sort of calculating minx. As if her spending time with His Majesty is anything other than spending time with His Majesty. She had no connections in the capital and wasn't from any prominent family in court. What plan could she have? What scheme could she plot? Even if she gave birth to a million princes, her status would never come close to Shen huang gui fei's.

To make matters worse, De gui fei was avoiding her like she had the pox. She managed to be the one person in the Forbidden City who wasn't inclined to talk to Xiang gui ren. The few conversations they did have ended with De gui fei excusing herself to go pray. However, it wasn't as if Xiang gui ren was spending her days here alone. Jiang gui ren was stuck at her side like a leech. She was sure if His Majesty ordered her in bed with them, she'd do that without batting an eye. Side by side, step by step, Jiang gui ren dogged her. And where Jiang gui ren went, An gui ren followed all for the chance to see His Majesty. Not to mention the first-class attendants who aimed to climb up by being friends with her.

At first, Xiang gui ren thought it was a little strange that Her Highness didn't allow any second-class attendants to pay their respects. Only to come back to a crowd of beautiful young girls clogging up the courtyard of Xianfugong one afternoon. They were His Majesty's second-class attendants, all 15 of them.

They wouldn't leave until well after the sun had set. To avoid that again, Xiang gui ren decided to stroll through the Imperial Garden. Maybe the fresh air and beautiful flowers would help her think of something to get close to De gui fei.

"Mistress look, do you like that flower?" Asked Jiayi.

"It's nice,"

"I'll draw it for you when we finish your walk then,"

"Jiejie, you should draw the fish in the pond there, too," said Molan.

"Fish are boring," said Ping'er, "Jiejie should draw the birds there. Don't you think so, Pie'er?"

And they were off. Ping'er and Molan began to argue quietly with each other, while Pie'er looked on, a soft smile on her face. Her little group of maids wasn't bad. Maids in any household were a tricky thing. Back in the brothel, all the maids reported to Big Auntie so they could never be trusted, no matter how nice they pretended to be. Xiang gui ren assumed that maids at her new home would be the same. There was also the added pressure of sussing out whether or not they would try to climb into The Emperor's bed under her nose.

After a month of being served by her girls, she was glad to say she had nothing to worry about. Xiang gui ren would say and do outlandish things in the privacy of her rooms and not one peep made it to the outside. They didn't even make it across the courtyard to Jiang gui ren.

The three younger girls felt nothing more than the typical reverence that every citizen felt in the presence of The Emperor. They were quick on their feet and silent. They rarely lifted their heads to even glance at the man. Now Jiayi...

Jiayi hated The Emperor.

There was no mistaking it. Jiayi's docile face contorted into something hard and angry when The Emperor came near. When the girl thought no one was looking, the coldness of her gaze sent chills down Xiang gui ren's spine.

At first, it horrified her. How could anyone hate The Emperor? The Emperor wrote her letters every day? The Emperor who had a bad habit of kissing each of her fingertips before they went to sleep? The Emperor with his fondest for puppies? How could Jiayi hate him? She considered tossing Jiayi out and being done with it but the girl was so good at her job and nice to be around. Xiang gui ren's soft heart couldn't chase her away, seeing her as something of a little sister after such a short time.

As she paid more attention, she found that Jiayi was a bit strange all around. She was a well-made girl, but easy to startle. A broken vase in the courtyard sent Jiayi flying to the ceiling once. If Jiayi dosed off during the night, Xiang gui ren would often wake to her, twitching and sweating in her sleep, a pained grimace on her face. It reminded Xiang gui ren of the girls at the brothel who didn't have the luxury to pick their clients.

Fanning herself, Xiang gui ren turned a corner and below a set of steps, sitting under a shady pagoda, were a group of three and their servants. Two girls and a boy, all nobles based on their clothes and hair. The table was covered in paints and parchment, while their servants stood holding plates of snacks and drinks.

"Who's that over there?" She asked.

"That's First and Second princess," said Molan.

"And that boy?"

Jiayi shook her head, "I don't know. I've never seen him before and none of the imperial heirs are that old,"

"First princess is huang gui fei's," said Xiang gui ren after thinking about it, "Who does Second princess belong to?"

"De gui fei, mistress,"

There were piles of used parchment on the table in front of the princesses. Their paint sticks were beaten up and brushes used haphazardly. If Xiang gui ren had to guess, those girls weren't very good at painting and didn't give a damn about it.

Xiang gui ren had an idea.

"I'm falling," she said before pitching herself into a nearby bush.

"Mistress!"

She tangled herself up in the foliage, kicking and yelping until Jiayi and Bolin hauled her upright.

"Mistress, are you alright?"

"How did you fall? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Mistress, you've got dirt all over!"

"I need to sit down," Xiang gui ren wailed, "I'll faint before I get back to my rooms!"

"Okay, we'll go and share the pagoda with the princesses, I'm sure they won't mind," said Molan.

Xiang gui ren nodded her head and wiped at the crocodile tears on her cheeks. She felt a tiny bit guilty seeing the worry on everyone's faces but she had to do what she had to do.

De gui fei would not escape her again!

✺

Jiayi felt like an idiot. She was so busy enjoying the beautiful garden that Xiang gui ren slipped and fell!

"Slowly, slowly," Jiayi murmured as they made their way down the stone steps.

Under the pagoda, First princess and Second princess were watching them come closer.

First princess looked very much like her mother with a thin face and sharp features for a 15-year-old girl. However, she was softened by the light pink and white chengyi and the silver and white waistcoat that she wore. Second princess was a year younger and resembled His Majesty with her prominent nose and full lips. Still, her baby blue changfu and pink and green waistcoat were quite cute.

"First princess, Second princess," Jiayi greeted, "May my mistress rest in your company? She took a fall behind that hill there,"

"Of course Xiang niangniang is welcome," said First Princess.

"I apologize for dropping in on your fun," said Xiang gui ren, "I hope I haven't offended your guest,"

Second princess let out a little huff, "15th uncle has seen much worse on the battlefield. Don't worry about him,"

"My lord," Jiayi greeted with a nod as she lowered Xiang gui ren into her seat.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I would greet you properly Xiang gui ren but Her Highness is sure that if I stand for more than a moment, I'll turn to dust," said Prince Han.

If Jiayi had to guess she would've assumed that Prince Han had never seen a day of battle in his life. Prince Han had cool, white skin and a sharp noble nose. His phoenix eyes were framed by long lashes and his lips were full and pink. Even sitting he was tall but she couldn't imagine very much muscle under his clothes.

"Royal mother should've locked you in your rooms. Hasn't poor Sang'er been running after you all day?" Asked First princess.

"Sang'er has served me my entire life and followed me to every battlefield. He's had to contend with far worse! Isn't that right?"

Sang'er bowed his head, "This servant thanks you for your concern, but His lordship is right. I spend most of my time keeping him alive,"

At the glare Prince Han sent him, "Ah! This servant is mouthy, I deserve to die," Sang'er said, hiding a smile. He lightly slapped his mouth.

"Hmph!" Prince Han crossed his arms, "Huabao is so cunning. She invited me out here claiming we'd paint and drink cold plum juice, instead, she bullies me with the help of my eunuch! Xiang gui ren, can you believe it?"

"First princess, a bully? Impossible! Huang gui fei would never raise such a child," said Xiang gui ren as she hid a smile behind her handkerchief.

"Hey–"

"Behave Huabao, Xiang niangniang is right here," said Second princess.

"But Huahuan, 15th uncle started it!"

"True, said Second princess, "But when you've been knocked in the head as many times as 15th uncle has, you act a little silly,"

Jiayi and the other servants tried to stifle their giggles.

"Yes, yes, your old uncle has been beaten up many times. I may have a soft melon for a head but at least I can paint thing more than a scribble," said Prince Han, "Xiang gui ren take a look at these paintings,"

Xiang gui ren leaned over to look, "Prince Han I'm sure they're not bad,"

Jiayi snuck a peek as well and frankly, they were worse than Prince Han described. One had absolutely no control of the pigment so the colors were wet, muddy, and running all over. The other had a solid grasp on the pigment but a legible line was nowhere in sight.

"Well, everyone has to start somewhere," said Xiang gui ren.

Prince Han laughed, "They've been trained in the arts the moment they could hold a brush!"

Second princess flopped into her chair, "I'm already so good at embroidery and poetry. Painting is so extra,"

First princess nodded, sliding the painting and brushes to the side. A maid placed a cup of tea and a few small cakes in front of her.

"Meimei is right. We're already good at so many things. If we want a pretty picture, we'll have someone make it for us,"

"Like my Jiayi?" Asked Xiang gui ren.

Jiayi felt her neck pinch as she snapped her head around to gape at Xiang gui ren. Why on earth was her mistress mentioning her out of the blue?

"Who?" Asked First princess.

"Jiayi, my maid," said Xiang gui ren as she tugged Jiayi closer to the table, "She has quite a bit of talent in painting,"

All eyes at the table peered at Jiayi.

"Really?" Asked Second princess.

"Second Princess, my mistress is teasing. I'm no better than the average student," said Jiayi.

"Aiyo, my Jiayi is too modest, ask her to paint anything!" Said Xiang gui ren.

Jiayi kept a face as straight as she could manage. What an awful thing to say! She was pretty bad at backgrounds and mountains! What if they asked for a nature scene or something? Xiang gui ren would lose face in front of The Emperor's precious daughters.

First princess pointed to a bush of purple peonies, "Draw that then,"

"Ah, alright,"

Jiayi took an already-used piece of parchment and flipped it over. She smothered a gasp as she prepared her inks. The princesses had carelessly pushed their ink stinks and brushes to the side like they weren't the most beautiful things Jiayi had ever seen. Jiayi had heard of ink sticks in colors other than black, but she had never seen them in person. Each stick–red, purple, yellow, green, blue–had a rabbit pressed in gold foil on the side. There was a matching iron ink stone with a rabbit's head atop.

She took a good long look at the peonies as she readied her ink. The summer heat had caused the peonies to droop but their petals were wide open to the sky. Each petal was vibrantly purple in the center before fading away to a nearly white color. The deep green of the leaves nearby made for an arresting composition. The brush the princesses allowed her to use was beyond luxurious, she could feel it in the way the bristles glided over the parchment and in the way it soaked up the ink.

Once she had finished the one flower, Jiayi thought the page looked lonely, so she drew a few more. The purple of the petals was too bright, so Jiayi drew a tree trunk in the background to soften the glare. Before she knew it, she had begun to draw a lake as well.

"Wow!" Said Second princess as she ducked under Jiayi's arm to get closer to the painting, "It's so beautiful!"

First princess squeezed in close to get a better look, too.

"Xiang niangniang, your maid is something! I can never get my colors to look like that,"

Jiayi dropped the brush and returned to Xiang gui ren's side, "First princess and Second princess are too kind to this servant," she said.

"15th uncle, look!"

"Truly better than anything you've done," he said.

Second princess stuck her tongue out at him.

"Who was your master?" Asked First princess, "I'll ask Royal Father to send for him to teach us,"

"I had no master, First princess. I practiced this on my own," replied Jiayi.

"That's so amazing," said Second princess.

"I have an idea!" Said First princess, "Xiang niangniang, would you let your maid be our painting teacher?"

Jiayi couldn't believe it, First princess and Second princess were just as crazy as Xiang gui ren.

Second princess nodded, "That's sounds great! Our current teacher is so mean and uptight! All she makes us paint are mountains and rocks!"

"Jiejie can draw animals, too," said Molan.

"And portraits!" Said Ping'er.

Second princess' nursemaid frowned, "Princess, it wouldn't be proper to have a maid teach you. We don't know she's from. The Empress personally chose each master in the Imperial Study for you and First princess. It can't be done,"

Jiayi could've kissed the older woman. Finally, someone with sense.

"Mother believes people should be judged on merits and not titles," said Second princess, "All we have to do is show her how nice Xiang gui ren's maid paints and she'll have no problem with it,"

First princess nodded, "Mother won't have any problems with it either. I'm sure she would rather have a woman who wasn't from the outside teach us, too,"

"Yes," said Xiang gui ren, "If you'd like, I can bring Jiayi to the A Ge Suo* every day for your lessons. De gui fei can supervise!"

First princess and Second princess nodded, bright smiles on their faces.

✺

"Look! Look!"

An gui ren pretended to eat the half-eaten banana in Huaguang's pudgy little hand. She bit back a sigh. If her little prince had survived his birth he would've been a year old by now. An gui ren liked spending time with the littlest princess in the A Ge Suo. She liked seeing Huaguang's little outfits and shoes. She liked hearing the sounds of the children returning after their days in the Imperial Study. She liked watching Huaguang fall to sleep in her little bed.

She hated the fact that she had to be with Jiang gui ren to do those things. An gui ren wasn't an idiot. She knew that Jiang gui ren looked down on her, almost everyone did. She had felt the taste of favor for the entirety of pregnancy and had been chasing it ever since so she paired up with Jiang gui ren at once. The higher concubines wouldn't spare her a moment. Jiang gui ren almost didn't until An gui ren served her like a maid.

"Shen jiejie is still so furious you know," said Jiang gui ren, "That bitch Xiang gui ren, sliding into His Majesty's bed on their anniversary? How could she stoop so low?"

Jiang gui ren was lounging on Huaguang's bed, snacking on walnuts. She hadn't bothered to say more than a few words to her daughter, spending most of the time ranting and pouting about Xiang gui ren.

"Shen huang gui fei didn't seem to mind," An gui ren replied. Huaguang had finished her banana, so An gui ren took a wet cloth and began wiping her face and hands.

Rolling her eyes, Jian gui ren said, "You really don't know anything Shen jiejie. She won't let this stand. How could she? She wouldn't be His Majesty's Imperial Noble Consort if she did,"

An gui ren fought not to roll her eyes right back. Everyone knew that the only reason His Majesty promoted her to Imperial Noble Consort was that the imperial hospital told him that she was going to die from blood loss after her last miscarriage. When she pulled through after all, His Majesty furiously expelled the entirety of them. He was too embarrassed to revoke the promotion.

"Mistress! Mistress!" Haoyu said as he poked his head inside, "His Majesty is having lunch in Xianfugong's courtyard,"

Jiang gui ren sprung up from the bed. An gui ren stood up as well but the other woman held out a hand.

"No, you stay here, His Majesty hates a crowd. Look after Huaguang for me. Consider it practice,"

An gui ren stared as Jiang gui ren's maids filed out of the room.

"Xu niang,†" An gui ren called Huaguang's nursemaid. When the older woman tried to take the girl, An gui ren stopped her.

"You've worked hard today. I'll be okay to watch Huaguang if you want to take a moment,"

Xu niang's shoulder's slumped in relief, "If it's really not too much trouble–"

"None at all!"

"Ah, alright. Thank you, An gui ren,"

Xu niang nodded and backed away.

"Close the doors behind you," said An gui ren, "I'll try to put Huaguang down for a nap,"

With a nod and a smile, Xu niang did as she was asked. An gui ren rocked Huaguang's sleepy body for a moment before jerking her head towards the door.

Her maid, Weiwei, opened the doors and checked the windows. She nodded at her mistress when she confirmed that they were alone.

"Huaguang," An gui ren whispered, waiting for the child to open her eyes, "Do you remember what I've been telling you about Xiang niangniang?"

Huaguang's eyes snapped open, her body going rigid. The child shook her head frantically.

"You don't? You don't remember that if Xiang niangniang catches you she'll drink your blood and kill your mother? You don't remember? Haven't I told you? Xiang niangniang is a witch! She'll come into your bedroom at night and slit your throat,"

"No! No!" Huaguang burst into tears, twisting in An gui ren's arms.

An gui ren grabbed Huaguang by the jaw and forced her still.

"Yes!" An gui ren hissed, "If Xiang niangniang catches you, she'll tear you to pieces and your Royal Father will let her do it,"

Huaguang cried louder, her face alarmingly red.

"Oh, don't cry, don't cry," An gui ren said, her voice gentle, "Don't cry,"

"An gui ren, is everything alright?" Xu niang rushed back into the room, "I could hear Fifth princess crying from the courtyard,"

"I don't know," said An gui ren, "I told her that she was going to have a nap and she started crying,"

Xu niang took Huaguang in her arms and tsked, "She's been having so much trouble sleeping lately. I don't understand why,"

"Everything's alright, don't cry," the nursemaid soothed.

An gui ren stood up, a perfectly maternal look on her face, "Xu niang, I'll leave you to it,"

"Shall we go and see if His Majesty is still at Xianfugong?" Asked Weiwei.

"No," An gui ren said, "I can only be ignored so much in one day. Let's see how long huang gui fei will pretend to bother with me,"

–––––––––––––––––––

*The palace where the princes and princesses lived until they were married was titled this

†Nursemaids could add "niang" to their names. Could also be called momo