Chapter 2 - A Tree among a Forest

At midnight the room was only lit by flickering candles, casting the two siblings into deep shadows. The cold of autumns end brought red to the leaves outside and anyone half sensible would be thinking of warm fires and comfortable beds to wait winter out. But not everyone was able to sit and wait for the snow to fall, for they knew that if they did not plan properly, they would not be able to see the new spring blooms of next year.

"Our services? What do you even mean by that, we're not exactly well known enough for anyone to hire us." Yu Hua asked, still nibbling on her sweets without a care in the world.

"Father hasn't even put you on the family registry and if it wasn't for the other family members, we'd have been buried in the garden bed."

"Please, we'd ruin the flower bed, we'd disappear on an outing, never to be seen again."

"Sounds like effort. Anyway, it's not like he can sell us to the flower district without anyone linking it to him and giving us to another minister would be even worse, too easy to ruin his reputation with all the voiced misgivings he rants." Yu Hua was right, their father had a rather loose tongue after he'd been drinking heavily and many opinions on everyone else's lives. Many of the things he's said would not be well received by those above him, left alone what he's said about the royal family.

"There are the palace recruitments are coming up and that would be the easiest way for him to pay off any debt. We work and he gets the left-over money. You get to work as a main and I get to become a palace eunuch." He sighed, "Little me was never used and is leaving me so soon. I am not even 19 years old yet."

Due to an incident 30 years ago, all palace servants had to be eunuchs or maids, ministers were escorted while on grounds and guests were received and housed in the outer ring of the palace. The guards who wanted the higher pay and prestige of working in the palace also had to follow these rules. They were given extra support though so it was rare for there to be job vacancies.

"Not that it would be an issue for you anyway, no woman wants to lay with someone prettier than they are anyway, let alone marry them." Ming Yue sighed; siblings truly were one's strongest critic.

"Jealousy is not a good look A-Yu. I'm sure someone will choose to marry you one day, maybe they will have been blinded first but one day, I'm sure."

He ducks under the candied fruit thrown directly at his face, shattering and spreading sugar all over the floor. He's not sweeping that up in the morning.

"The other option is the military –"

"Hah, no one would want you in the army brother, you look like a strong breeze could knock you over. Though maybe they could use you for sympathy, 'oh don't hurt him, look how fragile he is, aren't you just being mean, how could you'." The pitch of her voice could break even the toughest of porcelain.

"I'm not that weak." He frowned, lifting his hand for a closer inspection and quickly put it back on his lap. It was only a lack of sun, honestly.

Yu Hua giggled and pushed a bowl towards him. "No but you look it and looks are everything. Maybe you should learn more sword fighting. An immortal swordsman beauty from the heavens, isn't that what's popular in the plays now?"

"Father took my sword last time he was here and I haven't had a chance to replace it. One of the guards was going to bring me a new one but he's been on patrol for a few days. I'm still not allowed out of the complex yet."

"But are we even going to be here when he returns?"

"Who knows, the palace officials are generally slow and take their time, but there is money involved so they will probably pick up the pace a little." He sighed, "So much courtesy talk and avoiding any possible offence before anything gets done. They don't want to be implicated in anything, or connected to anyone. You could replace them with a block of wood and they'd be just as useful."

Due to internal conflicts and palace drama, the royal throne has changed hands numerous times in the last few decades, with regents and royal children being replaced at a rather alarming rate. With the palace being busy, the country was left in the hands of corrupt ministers and underhanded dealings, some of which even sold sections of regional land to neighbouring countries. Even now, after a few years of palace peace, gossip was still shared widely from person to person in the market place.

"Anyway," his hand waved the topic away, "I'd rather be a palace eunuch than work for some of Father's less pleasant acquaintances, and none of the better ones would want to be involved in such an unpleasant agreement. Maybe I could bide my time, try to keep some of the payments aside and retire as far away from this household as possible."

Ming Yue actually wasn't that fussed though he'd rather not be subjected to the pain. He'd never had a romance and hadn't expected anything to happen while they were under his father's thumb anyway. The palace would at least be new and interesting, with so many secrets and plotting to enjoy watching. When you're not directly involved, other people's drama was better than any theatre production.

Yu Hua had a different opinion. "Brother, you can't be a eunuch. There are only two of us left of mother's family. I will be a maid and who knows what will happen to me, or even if anyone would marry me after I'd been released. I will be past marriageable age then. Maybe we can just hide you for a few years, disappear into one of the small rural towns and live quietly."

"Really A-Yu, do you not know me at all? Do you really think I'd leave you to do all this yourself? Which of us is the older one huh? It's the older sibling's job to look after the younger ones. Anyway, mother would come haunt me from the grave if I let you go into danger without me."

Yu Hua muttered something about being old enough to look after herself but it was actively ignored.

"Look, we'll continue this in the morning." His hand ruffled her hair, then reached down to pull on her braid. "Go get the hair oil and brush, you've gotten it all tangled. Let me fix it then it's time for bed"

"Yes, yes. This servant will do as you say. I want two braids this time." She fled before he could do anything in response. The cheekiness.

~*~

Morning light filtered through the fog-covered courtyard. Yu Hua had been up for a while, going through her rather un-ladylike morning routine that would be gossiped about if anyone saw her. It was the reason she could climb the household walls without any difficulty and venture out without her brother becoming sick with worry. Their mother had been a rather peculiar maid with interesting ideas about what a woman should be, and that her daughter was able to protect herself was important.

It also gave her a lot of time to think things through.

Enough time that Ming Yue was greeted by an overly gleeful face, eyes feverously glinting and hands shaking. It was a terrifying scene.

"I have an idea. You're not going to like it."

"Can I have breakfast first before you ruin my day?"

Yu Hua pouted and pulled his blankets off, pushing him to the table. There was a freshly made pot of green tea and warm steamed buns.

"The buns were left at the door, maybe Concubine Ying was in charge of the kitchen today."

Concubine Ying was one of the few household members the siblings were fond of, with that fondness returned as well. Her family, while not as well off as some of the others, was widespread. Her family members were in every department and sector and loyal to each other. If they had a desire for power, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to gain it. Instead, they gossiped like old women and showed off their findings like magpies with shiny stones. Concubine Ying was the 3rd woman to marry into the family, almost immediately after their father started making a name for himself. Long abandoned because she wasn't up to his standard, she spent most of their childhood watching over them with their own mother. Even now they considered her more a maternal aunt than anyone related to their father's family.

"Well, it wasn't Madam Jiang anyway, unless she's finally decided to take us both out. I think she'll be a little too busy dealing with Father, especially if that building was related to him." He said as he poured them both a cup.

The teapot was old and worn, but their mother had enjoyed the paintings of Herons and lotus flowers. She said if you drank from it in the morning the Heron would bring success in the day, if you drink from it at night the lotus blooms for you in your dreams.

"Anyway, you said had a plan and how much am I going to hate this."

"Oh so much. If I go to the palace as a maid, you going to come with me. So, you also come as a maid. We look similar enough, me and my manly features and your delicate bone structure it wouldn't be a surprise if we even passed as fraternal twins when there's enough makeup on."

Thankfully he wasn't drinking as she spoke, but still, the cup shook in his hand. Oh, his darling mad sister.

"How do you think we'd ever pull that off? The palace isn't exactly lax about these things."

"Well, Concubine Ying's will help. Isn't her cousin one of the caretakers for the palace maids? Which means we just have to convince the cousin to help us, then we can be placed in her care."

"Let me think about it first. Honestly, it doesn't sound like an easy thing to pull off. If Concubine Ying thinks it is possible, I might be a little more optimistic about your plan."

Before Yu Hua could argue her point any more there was a rather aggressive banging on the front screen, before a rather snobby voice called out.

"Madam Jiang wants you both to join her for breakfast, immediately."