Xin, New York, the United States of America
June 1st, 1806
"Twenty-five cents."
"Twenty-five cents? For this new tea?" The Asian shopkeeper, named Mr. Chen, asked in Chinese, "This is some good quality tea that I directly imported from China! A dollar and that is final."
(Former) Princess Hexiao replied with a deep frown. Despite living in Meiguo for nearly five years, she was still not used to acting like a "commoner." When she lived in Beijing as a noble, she relegated mundane household chores (such as shopping, house cleaning, and cooking) to her servants. However, since she was exiled to this foreign land by herself, she was forced to adapt. She was fairly independent on her own now, especially since her husband was in the military. Even so, "commoner" things like haggling at the markets or sewing irritated her.
The former Chinese noble was inside the central market square for Xin, which was now a large town of over twenty thousand inhabitants. While Xin seemed small compared to the neighboring city of New York it was still an impressive town in its own right. It was early in the morning, yet many individuals were already roaming the streets to open up their stores or go to work. Hexiao was negotiating with a shopkeeper that opened his tea shop early. The tea shop served tea and food, but it also sold tea commercially (rumors had it that a family member of the shopkeeper owned a tea farm down in the Meiguo South). Since she disliked being seen in public more than it was needed and preferred to keep to herself, she always bought any necessities early in the morning from a few select shops.
Unfortunately, the shopkeeper was being stinger than usual. Mysteriously, his old stock of green tea was "sold out" and replaced by a more expensive type of green tea (that was supposedly shipped from China). It was not unusual to haggle down prices (even Hexiao had to admit that haggling saved a fair amount of money), but the shopkeeper was being exceptionally strict about the prices. Hence the quarrel between the two of them.
Hexiao looked around and saw that the few people eating and drinking inside the shop were looking at her. She sighed in defeat and pulled out a green paper bill. The front of the bill was marked with the face of an Asian man with a "$1" stamped onto it, "A dollar then."
Mr. Chen happily accepted the bill and handed her a small box filled with tea leaves, "For you, Miss."
As she walked out of the shop, she caught the glances of the shop's patrons. Most of them were Asians, but there were a few whites and blacks as well. According to her husband, Asian culture caught the interest of many meiguo ren and the sight of "foreigners" in Xin was not uncommon. Many even lived here, despite the social awkwardness and language barrier. It was hard to forget that her husband was also a foreigner. He was half Korean, but in her eyes, he was a foreigner. Though, after her extended stay here, that wasn't entirely a bad thing.
With the scent of fresh tea and steamed buns behind her, she walked onto the paved streets of the market district with a neutral expression. Her house was in the northern parts of Xin, near the Imperial Prince's former residence. The place had turned into a pilgrimage site, with many new immigrants visiting the residence daily. While immigrants that have adjusted to their lives in the "barbarian lands" no longer revered the Emperor (which, in China, would have been high treason), the recent arrivals were much warier and sought the Emperor's blessings for their success in their new homeland. As for Hexiao, she disliked the Jiaqing Emperor, almost on the borderline of hate. The new emperor executed her father and sent her into exile. Her previous husband, Fengšeninde, died under strange circumstances and as a widow, her fate was left in the hands of the Jiaqing Emperor.
The Emperor decided that with her husband dead and her father executed, she was to be exiled away to prevent her from threatening his throne (which she found idiotic, as she never even considered plotting against the Emperor). Thus, she was sent to Meiguo, the mysterious barbarian land that was supposedly a tributary state in faraway lands. When she first arrived in Meiguo, she hated it. She was stuck in Xin because outside of Xin, Asians (specifically, Chinese) were uncommon and rare. She no longer possessed any wealth or status, as Meiguo was a gònghéguó (republic). She was alone and isolated, living off the small allowance the Emperor "generously" provided for her. Her life was dull and boring until Justin Kim arrived at her doorsteps.
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He was sent as a "caretaker" for her, as she requested someone with "some form of status." Justin was a soldier and at the time, he was a captain in the Marines. He was also the eldest son of one of the former leaders of Meiguo (it was still difficult to understand exactly why the meiguo ren elected their own leaders). At first, their relationship was rocky, and that was putting it mildly. She saw the Marine as a "barbarian of low status" despite his background, mainly because he was a half-breed. Yet, he remained steadfast in his attempts to get her adjusted and helped her learn English (she could read, write, and understand fairly fluently, but she still struggled to speak the language). He took her to various places outside of Xin (which included national parks, theaters, and the city of Columbia), informed her about the history and laws of the nation, and even let her visit the Marines under his command in the province called "Florida."
And after two years, they got married. It gave her stability and she loved the man, despite her initial impressions of him. After all, he was courteous, committed, and caring. Which was unlike her previous husband, who she was all but forced to marry.
Now, he was somewhere far away fighting in a war. He was very secretive on the matter, claiming that it was a government secret (she understood that he was a member of an "elite" group of soldiers). She understood it was an important matter for the Meiguo government, but she felt extremely lonely shortly after his departure. Other than her husband, Hexiao did not have many friends as she struggled to converse in English (thank the heavens that her husband could speak both Chinese and Manchu despite his origins) and had a bit of an inferiority complex due to it. Additionally, she preferred to stay at home and read, which left her socially isolated from the rest of the Xin community.
Thankfully, he did promise to send her letters often and when she arrived at her home, she saw the mailman inserting an envelope into her house's mailbox.
"Good morning Miss Kim!" The mailman, an immigrant from Korea, waved with a smile. The man's brother was the current mayor of Xin, a man named Jeong Yakyong. Apparently, Jeong was formally a member of the Korean royal court before he decided to flee with his family. Why his brother became a mailman out of all things was a mystery to her.
He spoke in English, so Hexiao knew she had to reply in kind, "Good moning."
"It seems like this letter came from overseas, from France of all places! Do you know anyone from France?"
"No."
"Well, it might have to do with your husband. He's pretty famous, with his father and all!" The mailman mounted his Haulie, a strange contraption that consisted of two wheels, a frame, a seat, and a basket, "Well, I better get back to work! I have a lot of mail to deliver!"
As the man pushed the Haulie away with his feet, Hexiao grabbed the letter and walked into her home. The house was small but neat and newly built. There were three rooms (a single bedroom, and a study room for her and her husband each), a kitchen, and a sitting room. Sunlight shone from the numerous windows in the house and a pile of books awaited her on the kitchen table. She sat down on one of the chairs and looked at the envelope.
"For Hexiao, the white house near the Imperial Residence, Royal Street, Xin, New York."
She smiled and neatly opened up the letter with a letter opener. A single letter and a piece of jewelry sat in the envelope and Hexiao decided to read the letter first.
"Dearest Hexiao,
I'm currently wet to the bone as I am writing this, as I just finished a mission with my men. I led my men towards a group of enemies in secret, which forced us to wade through a river. Fighting during the night while dripping wet is a terrible feeling, but it was necessary and we managed to secure an overwhelming victory against our opponents. There were only a hundred of us, yet we managed to destroy a group twice our size and wipe out an entire artillery group (the guns and all). So yes, my time in my current workplace has been very eventful so far.
If you're asking why I am still wet, we had to walk through the river to return to our friends. It was dreadful, yet this was what I signed up for.
I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. I miss you and I keep that portrait of you close to my heart. However, I encourage you to go outside and talk to some of our neighbors! They are very nice people. Mr. Lee makes a mean chicken stew and his two sons are playful. Ms. Rene loves to read, just like you! While I'm not there, you shouldn't be staying at home all day and reading! You should go out and venture out on your own. You are thirty, after all.
I decided to stop by a nearby town to get you a gift and to send you my letter. I hope it speedily reaches you, as I do want to read your letters..."
After that, he discussed in lengths about other parts of his "trip," among other things.
Hexiao glanced at the jewelry and smiled. It was a beautiful silver bracelet that was exquisitely made. It fit her wrists perfectly and it reminded her of her husband every time she saw it.
She sighed and looked out the window. Next time that her husband returned, she was going to make sure they tried for a child. Staying home along was getting lonely, but having a child would keep her busy. Besides, if she and Justin had a child, then the child would three-quarters Asian instead of half...