Samaya could already feel another headache coming as she turned around to see two women standing just a few steps away from them.

One of them was the one who had tried to rile up the Queen. Han Wanyi, Han Qin’s sister. The other one … she did not quite know the name of that woman. But she looked as if she wanted to eat Samaya and Fu Caiyi alive.

“Since her background is almost as low as yours, she sympathizes with you,” the woman said.

Samaya tilted her head, frowning. “Correct me, if I am wrong, but I thought the Emperor’s concubines were usually selected through careful and rigorous testing by the Palace, headed by the Queen and Queen Dowager.”

“That’s true,” Fu Caiyi nodded beside her.

“So … if Fu Caiyi is here, that means she had been chosen by the Queen and the Queen Dowager. Are you questioning their decisions, sister?”

She sputtered. “That … that’s not …”

Han Wanyi huffed. “It still does not change her lowly status. She must have been all alone all these years, seeing how she jumped on the opportunity to gain the friendship of a lowly peasant.”

Samay could not help but scoff. This was one of the reasons why she had been so reluctant to come to the Palace. Snobby nobles would get on her nerves and she could not even punch them in the face.

“Yes, I may be of lowly birth.” She chuckled. “One cannot control the circumstances of their own birth. But what they can control is their conduct and behavior toward others. That’s how you can recognize a noble heart. Right now, I can see nothing noble about you. In fact, I have seen peasant street performers act better than you.”

Ironic how she was preaching about noble heart, considering she literally cheated, stole and killed to earn her living.

Han Wanyi seemed like she would explode on the spot. “You insolent-”

The other woman interrupted her with a chuckle. “Let it be, Lady Han. We would not tarnish ourselves by associating with them.”

She turned around to leave, her head held high as if she was above them and it was not worth it to even waste her breath on them. It got on Samaya’s nerves.

“Ah, make sure to tell that to His Majesty,” she said at their backs, “who has already associated with both of us.”

Both of the missed a step almost at the same time. Han Wanyi turned to her, red faced with anger, waving a finger at Samaya.

“Insolent wench! How dare you try to slander His Majesty?!”

Oh. Was that the only curse word this noble lady knew? How adorable. Samaya almost chuckled.

“I am not insulting him.” Samaay shrugged. “You did. I just pointed that out.”

“You-”

Samaya did not give her the chance to speak. “Ah, it’s hard to imagine that Han Qin is your brother. He’s so calm and decisive in his actions. Kind, too. I have no idea how the two of you are related.”

This time, Han Wanyi really did explode. “Do NOT call that lowlife my brother!”

“Lowlife?” Samaya frowned. “Is he not the Grand Commandant of the Imperial Army?”

She scoffed. “No matter what he has become, it will not change the fact that he was borne of a lowly maid! Do you think I care for a bastard who rose to the position of power only to abandon his own family?”

Samaya did not show her anger. Han Qin had become somewhat of an ally to her in the past weeks. He had protected her son and a tacit understanding had developed between them when it came to Manu’s well-being. She could almost consider him a friend. But she could not get angry on behalf of Han Qin. Not in the Imperial Harem, and not when she was supposed to be the Emperor’s woman.

So, instead of getting angry, she smiled and stepped forward before leaning in. “I have been thinking this… but for a woman of high noble birth, you really are uncivilized, aren’t you?”

The hand that was raised to slap her seemed as slow as a snail compared to all the people she’d had to fight and kill, even in her own world. She caught it before it could even come close to her cheek. Her long, calloused fingers wrapped around the fair, smooth wrist before tightening around her nerves. Han Wanyi yelped and Samaya pressed down, twisting her wrist just enough for her to feel a bit of pain.

“A piece of advice, Lady Han,” she said softly. “You do not know me. You do not know what I am capable of. So do try not to bite off more than you can chew. You will end up hurting yourself, little lady.”

She let go of her hand and Han Wanyi stumbled back, rubbing her wrist and glaring at her. “You will pay for this, wench!” She spat out before turning around and storming away, the other woman following her.

“You should not have done that,” Fu Caiyi said from behind her. “Now she will go to the Imperial Consort to complain about you. She will exaggerate and make up lies.”

Samaya chuckled. “If she can make up stories then so can I. Let her go to whomever she wants. If I’d let her bully me now, she would have pestered me all the time. It would have been extremely annoying. Now, at least, she will be wary of trying to approach me and will hide behind those more powerful than her. Right now, they know I am not easily intimidated. So, they won’t try petty things to attack me. This way, I will have lesser things to worry about. I can’t have everyone targeting me left and right. Concentrated attacks are easier to defend against, you know.”

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She had to admit, even though she had not practiced in a while, her ability to bullshit had not left her. While most of what she said seemed logical, that was not the reason she decided to confront her. She had just gotten unreasonably angry at her pissing on the man who saved the life of her son. She wanted to show that prissy little lady that she could not just throw around her weight and expect people to accept it unconditionally.

She turned to look at Fu Caiyi, only to find the woman staring at her, looking dumbfounded.

“What?”

“How … I never thought that … you already seemed used to the Palace life. I … everyone thought you would be dazzled by the Palace and the thought of being His Majesty’s concubine. I thought you would be swept away and eventually come to harm. But … you are already thinking ahead.”

Samaya could not help but laugh. She wrapped an arm around Fu Caiyi’s shoulder and leaned in to speak softly.

“I have been living in the most dangerous parts of the Empire. I have seen and done things most noble ladies cannot even think of. I won’t be harmed so easily. So don’t worry.”

That and she was a professional spy and trained assassin. No matter what kind of situation you were in, most plans of attack and defense had some general trend to them. She had spent most of her life studying and using those trends to spy, attain information, deceive, and kill.

The Imperial Harem was a dangerous place, of course. But that danger would never be coming from these little ladies. No, the danger would come from the people behind those little ladies. The more flustered they were, the more those supporters behind the scenes would get involved. And the more they got involved, the more they would be prone to making mistakes and exposing their weaknesses. The more of their weaknesses she knew, the better she would be able to protect her son.

Of course, that was all a bit ways away. For now, she had to secure her position, not only as the mother of the first Imperial Prince but also as a woman who could not be easily messed with. She had not expected an opportunity for that to be presented so soon. It was her first step, albeit a small one.

She looked at Fu Caiyi, glad that someone was, if not being a companion, at the very least, pretending to be one. She would find out slowly whether she could trust her or not. For now, she had to make a show of slowly starting to trust someone in the Harem.

Samaya smiled at the other woman. “I believe, we were about to have some tea? Is the offer still open?”

Fu Caiyi seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts and smiled. “Very much so, Lady Qing.”

Samaya smiled softly and walked with her to her courtyard, though not before ordering Min and Rin to stay with the kids.

She watched as the woman asked for tea and snacks to be arranged. It did not take long for the maids to arrange everything. It was only when they sat down that Samaya spoke.

“If you do not mind me asking,” she started. “What did she mean when she said … that you were … of lower status? As far as I know, I am the only commoner to enter the Palace as a concubine.”

Fu Caiyi chuckled softly. “You don’t need to be acting so sensitively. It’s fine. Most of the concubines here are from the higher noble families. I am from a noble family too, but we are only so because of our ancestors who gained their titles. Now, we are a scholar family. We are not exactly poor but we have little connection and influence. I came to the concubine selection to try and alleviate the status of my family.”

Samaya sighed softly. “Well, it seems you have succeeded.”

Fu Caiyi laughed. It was a happy one. “Well, my family is in a better position now. My younger brother has also passed the Imperial Examination this year and works in the Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance!”

“I see,” she nodded. “Well, personally, I believe it is better to earn your status and position instead of being handed it on a silver platter. Though … it might sound ironic coming from me.”

“A bit, yes,” Fu Caiyi admitted in good nature.

Samaya chuckled. She liked this woman, even though she was not sure she could fully trust her. She leaned forward.

“Now, can you tell me more about the rest of the concubines?”

“Well … after the Virtuous Ladies, you need to know the Noble Ladies. They are the lowest of ranked concubines. Though there are more unranked concubines, they matter little in the harem. They are mostly under the thumb of the Noble Ladies or Virtuous Ladies until they are bestowed favor and rise up the ranks.”

That sounded headache inducing. It sounded like a nightmarish job at a highly hierarchical organization for a lifetime. Once you got in, you could not get out. Having been a part of such an organization herself - albeit in a different sense - she could sympathize.

“Now, let me tell you about the Noble Ladies. The one that sat on your other side was Lin Fang …”

Lin Fang. Quiet and soft spoken. Seemed kind and laid back but was a part of the Imperial Consort faction.

Hu Yue. A cold, arrogant woman. She tolerated no mistakes around herself. Had a tongue as sharp as a knife and was prone to punishing servants.

Fei Jia. Someone who entered the Harem through the recommendation of the Virtuous Consort. Kept herself out of factions and harem politics.

Ren Siyun. Came from a family outside the Capital. Quickly went into the protection of the Empress after entering the Palace.

And … Kang Yuxin.

“That’s the one you have to be the most careful of among the noble ladies. Not only does the Imperial Consort support her but she also comes from a family of fierce martial artists. She is the only one of the concubines who knows martial arts.”

Ah. That could be … a bigger nuisance depending on how good she was. But Samaya wasn’t worried. She was sure that Kang would not be as strong as Siwang and, of course, Ah-Liu was here with her.

“I’ll be careful,” she said softly.

They chatted for nearly an hour before Lian reminded her that it was time to take Manu to get him ready for his lessons and asked if she would like to stay while the maids took Manu. She shook her head.

“I’ve been here long enough, anyway.” She said softly and stood before bowing lightly to Fu Caiyi. “Thank you for having me today. I hope I can return the favor soon.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. You are always welcome.”

They exchanged pleasantries before she made her way back to her courtyard. On the way, she took Manu from the garden, much to the whining of the three girls. Manu patted their heads and promised he would come to play again when he had time. Samaya could not help but chuckle. The brat was already acting like a big brother.

She was in a good mood as she walked back to her own residence with him, finally looking forward to a day of peace and quiet after the past few chaotic ones.

Oh, how wrong she was.

Her good mood and expectations were shattered the moment she entered her courtyard.