Chapter 2

the concubine gathering

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They had arrived at the courtyard where the meeting would take place. The morning sun was hanging quite high in the sky, but not high enough for others to be wary of. 

The courtyard itself was large and spacious, cobblestones under foot. There were patches of grass in the corners, shaded by trees and flowers. She spied a large gathering of young women, dressed in light, airy fabrics befitting of their low-ranking status, yet some wore heavy makeup or excessive jewellery in the hopes of standing out more. 

"Here we are, I have to go to the next courtyard where the other ladies-in-waiting serving the new concubines are, but I'll come and meet you later afterwards." Yingtao spoke. She nodded a little shyly, but understood there was a need for the ladies-in-waiting to be kept separate from their new mistresses. Temporarily that is.

Yingtao headed off in the direction of the adjacent courtyard, leaving her alone to navigate the large group. Some were familiar to her since there had been several courtesans from the same brothel as her who had been chosen to become imperial consorts for the Emperor, whilst most were strangers to her. And should stay that way.

'All of these young women have the exact same goal in mind - to impress the Emperor and become his most favoured one. It'll be an uphill battle for sure.'

She had taken not even a step forward, when behind her, a sharp sneer spooked her. "You're in my way. Move."

Side-stepping left, she allowed the person through and immediately alarm bells rang out in her head. This woman was not exactly the type that would hail from a brothel, in fact, she figured that this woman was from some sort of rich family with a long and influential background and various accomplishments to their name. This woman was wearing a light, cornflower-blue and white layered hanfu and she held a fan of a similar colour pattern. She had a total of 6 ladies all accompanying her as she made her way through the large crowd of new trainee concubines.

'Okay, first of all, rude and secondly, she's definitely not from a brothel. Too high-class for a brothel. Maybe a dignitary's daughter or niece or maybe a diplomat's relative. Certainly youthful, probably a few years older than me.' 

She deduced. The woman surrounded by her entourage had an aura of high-bred nobility and influence, a woman of power and ambition. But, there seemed to be no signs of dignity and humility about her. In fact, this woman carried far too much pride and ego that anyone within a short radius of her presence would simply collapse under the pressure. 

This woman, she deduced, was not to be trifled with, and should be avoided at all costs. For her sanity's sake.

"Ladies! Let's not dilly-dally any longer! I want four lines in a row! Line up!"

A newcomer's voice suddenly spooked many of the young women and they all scrambled to get in line obediently. She too also got in line and stood next to a few strangers. Briskly striding into view, was an above medium-height woman of middle-age. Her dark hair was tied in a more practical style, yet it still had elegance and flare to it. She wore raven-black and blue robes with billowing sleeves and modest gold jewellery. Her eyes were sharp and her mouth was a tight line. She stood tall and proud, yet there was an air of professionalism about her. She was accompanied by two servants. Assistants? She wasn't sure entirely.

Turning to face the now properly lined crowd, the middle-aged woman barked out.

"Greetings! I am Madam Feng, the Matron of Imperial Relations. Starting today, I will be in charge of training you in the arts of a proper noble lady worthy of His Majesty's honoured gaze. There are three stages that you must be made aware of to guarantee your impending success in the imperial concubinage: 

The first stage is the qualifications exam in which you will all be subjugated to a thorough examination carried out by the palace physician to determine whether you are viable for training. This is mostly a health exam at best. The second stage is the Consort exam, and where your 6 months of diligent training and lessons will be tested. If you pass the exam at the end of those 6 months, you'll become a fully-fledged consort worthy of His Majesty and potentially become Empress if he so desir-"

"Madam Feng?"

The Matron, thoroughly annoyed by the interruption, laid her sight on the lady in blue and white who had boldy interrupted. It was the same woman who had six servants follow her into the courtyard.

"Yes, what is it? How bold of you to interrupt my explanation." 

The black haired woman who spoke snapped her fan shut and she beamed. "My apologies for the interruption, but are you aware of who I am, or more so - who my father is?"

Madam Feng falted, and gave the woman a quick once-over before her eyes widened. "Yes, I know who you are, young lady. You're General Yuan's daughter - Lady Yuan Sui."

Lady Sui kept her dazzling beam plastered on her pristine features. "Yes, that's me. And because of my lineage, you should also know that I am of great power and influence within this court. So I don't see the reason as to why I was made a low ranking concubine. Surely, as a high-bred woman, I would have been made a mid-ranking concubine at best?"

Madam Feng sniffed indifferently. "All eligible young women of marriageable age in this country, chosen by myself, are to start off at the bottom rung of the Imperial concubinage. In this sense, all you are all equal - for now that is.

The woman, Yuan Sui, pouted and flashed her fan open, fanning herself in annoyance.

'She clearly didn't like that answer.'

The Matron, ignoring Sui's reaction, strolled forward toward the first line of young women. The imposing woman scrutinised each woman in turn, her eyes turning beady and narrow. She slowly passed each candidate, her mouth a straight and narrow line, her lips pressed together. Those who were scrutinised looked nervous and fidgety under her meticulous and cold gaze. She stopped in front of her, and looked down, her brow furrowing. Realisation washed over her stern features.

"Oh, I remember you. You're the daughter of the Madam of that brothel I visited a few days ago."

Yuan Sui quietly scoffed behind her. "A courtesan? What's a courtesan doing here?" She whispered to a companion beside her. Madam Feng quickly hushed them both with a stern glare.

"Remind me of your name again young lady?" Madam Feng instructed.

"Bai Lianhua, m'am." She replied. "Ah, yes Lianhua….very well." Madam Feng continued her jaunt, passing the young ladies left in the front row. Madam Feng opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted for a second time.

"My apologies for the interruption Madam Feng, I understand you're a very busy woman, but I could not keep myself away long enough to not have a look at all the newcomers to His Majesty's tranquil garden of flowers." a sultry voice spoke up. Madam Feng turned to face the owner of the voice, ready to implode on them verbally, when immediately recognised the person sauntering up to the group.

Lianhua caught sight of the person walking over. He was tall, probably taller than her, with long dark hair - inky blue like rick silk - and wearing clothes that a nobleman would typically wear - a long, dark blue chaofu with billowed long sleeves, its cuffs embroidered with starry patterns - an overcoat and a white undergarment - akin to a tunic - with dark pants and black leather knee-high boots. A belt was around his waist and his hair was styled in a braid atop of the rest of his hair that cascading down his back. 

Many of the ladies in attendance started getting excited, some were aggressively fanning themselves, others were obviously and shamelessly staring. Madam Feng brushed herself down briskly when the newcomer got closer.

"Your Highness, what a pleasant surprise to see you here." Madam Feng was acting a little nervous. Lianhua saw that Madam Feng's own attendants were blushing as well, clearly caught off guard by the young man's arrival.

Lianhua, on the other hand, was not fazed by the appearance of "his Highness" in the slightest. Sure, he was good looking (she did have a good pair of eyes), but she didn't understand why so many started gasping in delight upon his arrival. Surely, they were exaggerating? If anything, to her, he looked like any other guy. Youthful, yes she will admit that, but was he really that fascinating to look at?

The newcomer flashed a dazzling smile, laced with apologetic gratitude. "I know that my arrival is very much unscheduled, but I wanted to introduce myself nonetheless."

Madam Feng smiled meekly. "Well, of course, please go ahead, Your Highness." 

Stepping aside, Madam Feng allowed the newcomer to step into the view of the attendee new candidates. Turning to face the lines of beauties before him, the raven-haired young adult beamed, sending some of the young women into fits of quiet hysterics. He looked again and spoke again.

"Greeting ladies. Welcome to the Inner Palace, my name is -"

The newcomer's sweeping gaze had landed on Lianhua. He halted in his introductory speech, his eyes catching sight of Lianhua. Curious, he stepped towards her, and was now in front of her.

Lianhua was confused, yet kept her neutral facade plastered on her features.

'Excessive use of facial expressions may cause an untoward reaction.'

She internally reasoned with herself.

The newcomer looked down at her and gave a sly, seductive lopsided smile, his eyes glimmering. "And, who might you be, young miss?" He asked, his voice like liquid honey. Some of the young women around started swooning again. Lianhua made them no mind.

"My identity is not of great importance to you." Lianhua answered carefully yet politely. She did not want to offend whoever this important person was. Especially with Madam Feng still around, watching.

"But I'm curious about you. You're one of the new trainee concubines, so of course I would be inclined to learn of your name." The stranger flashed another dazzling smile, sparkles floating around him like some sort of celestial aura. Other women around Linahua all gasped in wonder. Lianhua only frowned.

"Her name's Lianhua, your Highness." Sui cooly replied, fanning herself. Another trainee who was standing next to her snickered. "She's a courtesan. She'll do well to please the Emperor if he wishes." The other girl laughed with Sui. Lianhua sighed, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

'Thank you Sui, for your unwanted input into this equally unwanted conversation.'

"I don't remember this gentleman asking for your input Lady Sui, but thank you nonetheless for acting as my temporary mouthpiece." Lianhua replied, calm as lake waters. Sui scowled and the "handsome" stranger bit back a chortle.

"Goodness, aren't you a funny one? I like you. Since you're going to train as a concubine, I wanted give some advice."

Lianhua raised an elegant eyebrow, showing some interest in what the stranger had to say. Smiling more now that he had more attention, he addressed not only Lianhua  but also the other new concubines.

"The first rule of survival to remember as a concubine: Trust no one. The second: Always be guard around all potential enemies and rivals. These two rules are very important and you must remember and abide by them always." 

Loud whispers erupted within the crowd, and the stranger kept his eye on Lianhua.

"I look forward to meeting you again." The stranger blew a kiss at Lianhua, which made her shiver with repulsion. She scowled and scoffed at such an unsightly display of behaviour.

'Who in their right mind flirts with an Imperial concubine in training? Let alone openly? And especially in front of the Matron? Does he have no regard for social behaviour?'

The stranger backed away, his eyes sparkling with what looked to be mischief.

Madam Feng was standing still, stiff as a coffin lid, watching intently as His Highness sauntered away, waving casually to the group of trainees.

"I look forward to seeing you all at some point." He called out. The ladies, except for Lianhua, all swooned and fanned themselves, until Madam Feng took back control of the crowd.

"Alright ladies, let's get back on track. My assistants will be sending out relevant textbooks that will help you in your training. Make sure not to lose them. Each of the textbooks will be delivered to your chambers in the next coming days. The qualifications exam will take place a week from today, and I want everyone here to gather at a specific pavilion in the western court on time so do not be late. That is all for now. I will see you all at the qualifications exam."

The crowd of young maidens all dispersed to the adjacent courtyard to retrieve their ladies-in-waiting. Lianhua avoided Sui as the noble lady gave her a sneer. Lianhua rolled her eyes. 

'What the heck is her deal? So what if I was a courtesan? I've only ever served clients through playing music or serving tea. And they pay good money for my services too.'

As she walked towards the courtyard, she heard a gentle tinkle - like a bell jingling in the wind. Lianhua stopped to listen, craning her head upwards in order to catch the sound better. 

But there was nothing.

She shook her head. 'I must be imagining things.' She thought. She kept walking towards the entrance to the side courtyard, blissfully ignorant and unaware. Until the jingling sound started again, a little louder. It was like a sweet melody playing, soft yet comforting. Lianhua was confused. Where was that sound coming from?

She looked around, hoping to spot some wind chimes or bells that were swaying. There were none.

Scrunching her nose up, Lianhua tried to understand where that jingling noise was coming from. Then, the wind blew in her direction - it wasn't a strong wind, more like a spring breeze - not cold, not hot, just somewhere in the middle. The breeze loosened some of Linahua's hair, the strands dancing. She looked up and saw a butterfly, glowing brightly as the silver light of a pale full moon as it fluttered downward towards her. Linahua lifted a finger up to allow the butterfly to rest momentarily. 

Upon closer inspection, Lianhua noticed that the butterfly's wings - actually its whole body - was a gossamer silver colour, almost translucent in a way. The butterfly's wings were beautiful, with intricate swirling patterns visible on each wing, and its body was long. Two long antennae reached upward and the tips curled inward, its face shaped like an oval. Around its neck - or lack thereof - was what looked like fur or white fuzz. Linahua smiled warmly at the sight of this lovely little bug and touched its wings with the faintest and most gentlest of touches known to humanity.

Lianhua laughed at the small winged creature, stroking its wing tips as the butterfly fluttered in response, its antennae twitching. 

"Aren't you cute? Silver butterflies are pretty common in Feiyu but I've never been able to see one up close and personal before. You are beautiful." Lianhua softly praised the small winged creature. The butterfly fluttered its gossamer wings in some excitable manner, as if it liked that compliment.

Before long, Lianhua let the butterfly flutter off up into the sky again, leaving behind a faint trail of silver in its wake.

Lianhua watched silently, in awe, and her lips turned upward into a small smile.

"My Lady?" Lianhua turned around and saw Yingtao standing idly, waiting. Shaking her head, Lianhua walked back over to Yingtao.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Yingtao asked, concerned. Linahua shook her head again. "No, nothing happened. I got to see a silver butterfly up close, that's all."

"Oh really? Awww, I am so jealous. They're really common in Feiyu but seeing one up close is kind of rare. I heard that those types of butterflies are quite shy around humans." the chipper lady-in-waiting said. Lianhua pursed her lips. "Really? I must be pretty lucky then."

Yingtao gave a nod of enthusiastic agreement. "So, tell me. How did the meet-up go? Anything exciting happen?"

"Well…."