When Samaya woke up, it felt like she had not slept at all. She somehow managed to sleep beyond her usual routine of waking up at sunrise. The sun’s rays filtered through the intricately carved windows of Samaya’s residence, casting warm patterns on the floor. She awoke with Manu nestled peacefully beside her, the tanghulu wrappers strewn across the bed a testament to last night’s indulgence.
As the palace bustled with its usual activity, Samaya took the opportunity to freshen up and prepare for the day. Dressed in her usual attire, though it seemed less elaborate compared to her evening ensemble, she was ready for her morning tea with the Empress. The previous day had been a pleasant departure from the palace's usual rigid formality, but Samaya knew that was only temporary and she had to get back to her daily routine.
She entered the ForeHall of Tiangfengong, where the atmosphere was slightly tense as the concubines whispered among each other. No doubt rumours of what happened had spread. The Empress had not held morning tea yesterday, so this was the first she was seeing her after the assassination attempt. The room was adorned with delicate flowers and subtle scents of jasmine and rose, calming the mood of whoever entered. The Empress was seated at a low table, a tray of tea and pastries laid out before her. Her expression softened as she saw Samaya enter.
“Good morning, Lady Qing,” the Empress greeted. “Please, sit.”
Samaya inclined her head respectfully and took a seat beside Fu Caiyi. She noticed that the Empress’s attitude towards her seemed … less sharp than usual. Well, she wasn’t going to complain. If the Empress becomes one less person to look out for, then all the better. Here was hoping.
“I heard that you and the Emperor had an eventful today,” the Empress spoke. “As did the children.”
Ah, the play date. Sort of.
“We did,” Samaya agreed, accepting a cup of tea from a maid. “The children were delighted to play with their father.”
More whispers could be heard from the other concubines. Fu Caiyi smiled softly at her. Samaya saw Hou Tianjian meet her eyes and nod ever so slightly. It was miniscule. She supposed that as part of the Imperial Consort’s faction, she could not interact with Samaya very much. She could cover up yesterday’s event as an opportunity for her child to interact with the Emperor. Even if the Imperial Consort begrudged her for it, she wouldn’t do or say anything out loud.
“I’m glad,” the Empress said softly. “Children should be able to interact closely with their parents.”
Samaya could tell she was hoping for that in the future. She did not have to worry. Her child would be the Heir if it was a boy or an important political link if it was a girl. The Emperor wouldn’t ignore that child. But those little children - who had little more value than political tools to be used in this cutthroat world - needed to know that their father cared about them.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” she agreed. The interaction between them was comfortable.
Fu Caiyi leaned in and whispered. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later,” she whispered back.
After tea, Samaya returned to her residence. Ah-Liu came to her, regretfully telling her that he could not find out which poison was used or what happened to the maid. It seemed the Emperor was keeping everything under tight wraps. On the bright side, Hua was gaining popularity as an untouched talent at the Pavillion. At this rate, someone might buy her out before she even needed to take customers.
After Ah-Liu left, she sighed softly and wondered whether she should get in the exercise she missed today. She was just contemplating whether to get up from the soft couch when the soft voice of Lian announced the arrival of the Emperor.
The Emperor entered, looking relaxed in his more formal attire, though his expression was serious. She stood and bowed, to which he nodded. He took a seat opposite her and regarded her with a thoughtful look.
“Good afternoon, Your Majesty,” Samaya greeted him. “What brings you here today?”
“We wanted to discuss something important with you,” the Emperor began. “It concerns the assassination attempt on the Empress. We need to ask you some questions.”
Samaya’s interest was piqued. “Questions?”
The Emperor leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “We heard she was babbling something when she got caught. But everyone seemed to have been too caught up in the moment to understand what she was saying. You are the last person We need to ask.”
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“You asked all the others?”
“Yes. Well, not Us. The Embroidered Uniform Guards. But We could not very well send them to question Our own concubine, could We?"
She sighed softly and thought back. “Well, she was saying something along the lines of “they will kill my family.” I would not be surprised if someone has her family hostage. From what I heard, she was loyal to the Empress. She would not have been in the charge of brewing tea otherwise.”
“That’s what I thought.” The Emperor nodded.
Samaya’s brow furrowed. “Do you have any suspects?”
“We’re still investigating,” the Emperor admitted. “But I suspect it is one of Our concubines.”
“You know, you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me,” Samaya said softly. “I don’t have any political affiliation. We are both thinking about the same person.”
“Careful, Lady Qing,” the Emperor warned. “The walls have ears.”
She raised her hand in surrender. “Very well.” She shrugged. “But if you are not going to do anything about it, you might as well bury the case and say that it was the act of a jealous maid. No need to make a scapegoat out of someone else. If you do that, you will need to find another scapegoat the next time this happens.”
“You think this will happen again?” The Emperor asked, frowning.
“Oh, it will.” Samaya’s voice radiated confidence. “It will keep happening, Your Majesty. It’s the only way for the perpetrator to keep holding on to a shred of hope that she would be able to come out on top.”
The Emperor’s frown deepened, eyes glinting dangerously. “Are you defending the person who attempted to kill Our unborn child?”
Samaya shook her head. “Oh no. Anyone who tries to kill a child is a monster. But Your Majesty,” she leaned forward. “You are the one who created that monster.”
The man blinked, the glare replaced by confusion for a moment. “Us?”
“You. The Imperial Harem. This entire system.” She waved her hand around. “You take more women into the harem than you could ever hope to make love with, branding them as “Emperor’s women” and destroying any hope they might have of finding a life partner, even if you never touch them. And then, you make them fight amongst themselves for a shred of your favor and affection, which they need just to survive in this glided cage. Should they fall from favor or anger someone important, they are done. And the only way for them to gain any semblance of protection or power is to give you children and sometimes, not even that is guaranteed to protect them for the rest of their lives.”
“You seem to have a lot of complaints about the harem, Lady Qing.”
She shrugged. “I have a lot of complaints about any system that purposefully bestows all power onto one person and that person holds everyone’s life and happiness hostage.”
“We shall have you know that the concubines come willingly. They vie for Our favor and the benefits they get from it.”
“Because that is what they have been taught their whole lives.” She said softly. “They have been taught that the only value they have is in how high they can marry and how many sons they can pop out. Of course, they are following what they have been taught.”
She leaned forward. “You have created a system where they must destroy everything in their path and claw their way to the top to survive. You may punish the person, but you do not get to say that you did not see this coming because they are playing the game that you created the way they have been taught to play.”
The man’s hand clenched for a moment and Samaya wondered if she had pushed him too far. Well, call it the feminist in her, but once she started to talk about all the things that bothered her about this entire system, she could not stop.
“The concubines We accept in the Harem,” the man started, “are there to ensure political alliance and balance. Even you. We would ask you not to speak of things you do not know.”
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “All the concubines?”
“Yes,” the man said through gritted teeth.
“Well, that’s … good, I suppose.” She shrugged. “But it is still a system built on the exploitation of women. I stand by that.”
The man exhaled softly. “Very well. You can think that. We only came here to speak to you about the maid. Now that that’s done, We shall take Our leave.”
The man stood. As he was walking away, she spoke softly. “She was protecting her womb.” The man paused in his stride. “Her womb was more important to her than her life. Perhaps even her family’s lives. That tells me all I need to know.”
The man did not answer. He stood for a moment before he strode out of the room, his steps hurried in his anger. Samaya sighed softly and pinched the nose of her bridge. Great, another damn argument. Still, she could not bring herself to regret it.
She discarded the idea of exercising for today and rested until it was time for Manu to get back. Manu was more of a ball of energy than usual. It seemed the sugar still had not worn off. They had their dinner and got ready for the bed.
It was only when the maids were gone and she was settling down in bed that she heard a loud knocking on the door.
“Lady Qing!”
Was that Su? She sounded frightened.
Samaya quickly got off the bed and walked to the door, yanking it open.
She saw Su and Min standing at the door, with a dishevelled Rin between them, clothes torn and trembling where she stood.