Chapter 7

the four imperial consorts

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It was after another few hours of classes one mild afternoon, two days after Lianhua's brief meeting with Lao Hak, that Jeifan brought up a topic for conversation. They were taking a leisurely stroll through the palace, passing the other inhabitants and workers as they went.

"Have you heard much about the four imperial consorts?" Jeifan asked Lianhua, curiosity fueling her. Lianhua was dressed in a light blue hanfu whilst Jeifan had opted to wear pale orange hues.

Standing behind them at a suitable distance were Yingtao and another lady who was most likely Jeifan's designated lady-in-waiting.

"No, can't say I have." Lianhua shook her head.

"I heard quite a lot about them from a relative. The four highest ranked Imperial consorts who are most likely to take the title of Empress." Jeifan explained.

Lianhua tapped her chin. "Huh, is that so? Who are these consorts?"

"Lady Huo Chiyu, Lady Shi Shuiling, Lady Yun Meigui and Lady Gui Mingyu." Jeifan answered. Lianhua looked quite impressed. 

"The Emperor seems to have good taste." She mused. Jeifan nodded. "Yeah, these four women are the most favoured by the Emperor himself. Even the Empress Dowager likes them. And it's been said that the Crown Prince is fond of them and makes bi-weekly trips to visit them each on his father's behalf."

"The Crown Prince? Really? What's he like?"

"You want to know more about the Crown Heir himself? That's a bit surprising." Jeifan raised her eyebrows in astonishment. Lianhua shrugged casually, unbothered.

"It's no big deal. I'm just curious."

She thought back to the first week where that young man addressed as "Your Highness" or "His Highness" had appeared and managed to stir up interest just by….existing so it seemed. She made a silly and cringe-filled expression when she remembered the way he acted around her; openly flirting and acting all charismatic.

'Ugh.'

She tried to suppress a look of disgust and a shiver but was unable to turn off her "facial subtitles" as her friend from the brothel would say with a giggle every time a client made her feel gross, anxious or annoyed. Jeifan had noticed and giggled.

"Your face looks so funny." She chortled. Lianhua's cheeks heated up. "Umm….sorry about that." She mumbled.

"What were you thinking about?" Jeifan asked out of curiosity. Lianhua grumbled. "That stupidly overly pretty prince."

"Huh? Which one?"

That made Lianhua confused. "What do you mean?"

"Are you referring to the Crown Heir or the Imperial Cousin?"

"There's an Imperial Cousin???" Lianhua's mouth dropped open. Jeifan nodded. "Yep, there two actually. One of them is a prince, the other is a princess. Both of them are the Crown Heir's cousins."

Lianhua looked even more puzzled and a little worried. Her mind became scrambled. "Then….which one was it that came to the introductory meeting several weeks ago and openly flirted with me??"

Jeifan's face morphed into an expression of concern mixed with humour. "Most likely the Crown Prince…."

"But there's two Princes!"

Now Lianhua was panicking for real.

'Oh no! What if it was the Crown Heir that was flirting with me? I mean I know I shouldn't care about these things….but what if he was testing me???'

Jeifan put her hands on Lianhua's shoulders in a reassuring and comforting way. "Lianhua, don't worry about it. Whether or not it was the Crown Heir that was flirting with you, I highly doubt that he was serious."

That made Lianhua calm down. "I suppose there's nothing to worry about. Anyway, what were you going to say about the Crown Prince anyway?"

Jeifan beamed. "Oh there's quite a lot to tell you."

"Spare no details. Spill the tea."

Jeifan nodded and went off on an excited tirade about the Crown Prince - who was the only living heir of the Emperor so far he hasn't sired any more heirs with any of his concubines. According to many people, he's a hermit since not many outside the Imperial family and the 4 high ranking consorts ever saw him. There were many women who still loved him though as some excited young ladies would chatter for hours about how handsome the Crown Prince was.

"Speaking of the four Consorts, I hear that the Emperor's current favourite consort is Lady Chiyu. As the Honoured Consort, she is more favoured than the others mostly due to her exotic beauty and mercantile power as she hails from a wealthy merchant family in the East-West of Feiyu just beyond the border. I've heard that she's got flowing dark red hair framed with gold jewels and flowers and cherry- red eyes that shine like rubies." Jeifan gushed starry-eyed.

Lianhua curled an eyebrow upwards. "She does sound beautiful. Kinda wish I could see for myself. I have a very good judgement of character. A person's personality can be attributed to their outstanding appearance the way they carry themselves. It's mainly how we judge a potential client. That and their hygiene habits."

Jeifan looked impressed and even whistled. "I have heard that Lady Chiyo is very beautiful. The Emperor is quite taken by her as they believe."

They spoke about the Consorts more as they walked through a gateway to another courtyard. 

"Do you know anything about the other three consorts?" Lianhua spoke, intrigued with the topic at hand. Jeifan nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I do. I'm very good at sniffing out chit-chat and gossip from other people. It's a good skill to have, especially when surrounded by pimped up sharks scrabbling for the most meagre of attention from higher up individuals."

'Pimped up shark? Well that's one way to describe a concubine.'

Jeifan cleared her throat and smiled. 

"The four High consorts are ranked in terms of social standing and political influence….and favouritism so to speak. Lady Chiyu; the Honoured Consort, is the Emperor's favourite at the moment. His other favourite is Lady Shuiling; the Noble Consort. She comes from the noble Shi family and is a mature and noble woman, level-headed and regal in both personality and status. 

They share the same rank in the hierarchy, but with her warmth, social intelligence and discernment, Lady Chiyu is honestly, the Emperor's eyes, the better choice."

"Such competition. No wonder some of the girls back at the brothel would joke about the Inner Palace being a "shark tank". Lianhua commented with a breezy lilt in her voice.

"Lady Mingyu of the Gui family occupies the next rank. She's in fact the oldest, still active consort in the Inner Palace and is the Emperor's closest friend, other than his martial brother. Lady Mingyu is a fierce and headstrong woman, her pride and dignity as a woman in court makes her a formidable person and she is very motherly towards children and young women." Jeifan spoke with great admiration and pride in her voice.

"What rank does she have in the higher echelons of court?" Lianhua asked. 

"She's the Wise Consort." Jeifan answered smoothly.

"You said there's four, who's the last one in the higher ranking?"

"That would be Lady Meigui of the Yun family. She is the youngest of the four highest ranked consorts and currently occupies the title of Pure Consort."

"I wonder what she's like?" Lianhua mused aloud. Yingtao made a noise behind and Lianhua turned to face her.

"Is everything okay Yingtao?"

Yingtao, startled, forced a smile in a complacent manner, "N-no nothing's wrong my lady…" she faltered, slipping into an awkward silence when she saw Jeifan also look at her.

Lianhua raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so." she turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. "So, about the Pure Consort…"

As Jeifan continued to talk, they passed several buildings with tall, opulently decorated pillars painted in glossy red and golden roofs that reflected the sun's majestic rays, blooming gardens planted with the brightest flowers of the most colourful hues and thick trunked trees with billowing leaves that provide shade.. To Lianhua, it seemed that this particular courtyard acted as a separate paradise. She wondered where they had walked to.

"Yingtao, do you know where we are?" She added her maid. Yingtao was looking around, trying to recognise the location.

"No." She sadly shrugged and shook her head.

Lianhua bit her cheek in thought. The courtyard they were currently in was very large. They walked through a beautiful garden with tall, slim trees and colourful flowers such as azaleas and peonies, before arriving at a wide building that looked to be a manor or a pavilion. Lianhua couldn't help but stare at the exterior of the building as its roof was a bright red colour and its pillars were a solid crimson with gold accents. The pavilion itself was three stories high with red-ribbed balconies and lanterns and banners hanging from walls and entryway.

"This looks like one of the high ranking consorts' dwellings judging by how opulent it looks. Though I think it's best if we get going." Lianhua advised and turned to walk away with Yingtao following closely behind.

Jeifan took a few moments to take in the beauty of the pavilion before she beckoned for her maid to follow.

"Although we are allowed free reign around the Inner Court, I don't think coming here was allowed. It seems like the courtyard we entered is where the four highest ranking consorts live."

Jeifan mused. Lianhua gulped. "I hate breaking rules." She muttered.

"Pardon me ladies." a voice stopped them dead in their tracks. Lianhua felt a shiver climb up her spine.

'Oh no! We've been caught! Eek!'

They slowly turned around and saw a stunning woman in a deep red and white approach. Her hair was long and luscious, a deep cherry-red hue that cascaded down her back, sporting a bun on the top half of her hair pinned with gold tassel hair sticks and adorned with a rose. Her eyes shimmered with a warm, welcoming light, almost inviting them in with her gaze. The 3 piece layered hanfu she wore was embroidered with intricate patterns of pink and gold and the fabric swished with every elegant movement made.

A smile played on her full lips as she regarded the group of four quite lost young ladies with an inquisitive glance.

"I don't mean to startle you, but I was wondering whether you know of the identity of the young concubine who was dancing in the western courtyard a week or so ago?" the beautiful women in red asked in a polite manner.

This caused bells to ring rapidly in Lianhua's mind and she started to internally panic.

'Huh???? Wait? Did someone higher up on the palace hierarchy see me dance? Why is there a gorgeous woman asking about me? What did I do? Did I break any rules? Did I overstep? What's happening???'

Lianhua tried to hide her panic behind a forced smile. 

"I don't believe so, my lady? If I may be so bold as to ask the reason for your inquiry?"

Jeifan was also confused. "I'm afraid I also do not know of the person you speak of. Is there something wrong?"

The woman's face fell slightly. It's nothing major, I was just hoping to know her identity, that's all."

The woman fell silent in thought, tapping her chin.

"You see, I was visited by a nobleman not even a day after the event and he told me the most endearing story."

This piqued Jeifan's interest and her eyes widened in excitement. "Oh?"

Lianhua was the opposite of enthusiastic. "We should go. This isn't our place." She grabbed Jeifan's arm to pull her away, but the fellow trainee tugged away, wanting to know more.

"Please tell us. We're quite curious, if you don't mind."

'We? Jeifan, there is no we! '

The woman beamed. "Wonderful." she clapped her hands. Yingtao also seemed to be interested but she managed to keep her smile neutral. Lianhua could feel herself pass away at the thought of staying here any longer. She tried to motivate Yingtao into leaving with her and turned to leave, in quite the hurry to leave.

"Why don't you stay and listen?" Jeifan asked, turning to Lianhua. Lianhua's body snapped up straight and she uncharastically stuttered, waving her hands quickly to divert attention away from her as four pairs of eyes steeled their gaze onto her.

"I-I dont think its very appropriate for us to inquire about something from a woman of her status. This…might be personal…so I think we-we should keep our intrigue…to ourselves…"

Jeifan knew that this was clearly inappropriate, but when asked by a gorgeous woman about a mysterious dancer whom someone may be into, her gossip-sniffing radar goes on high alert and she finds herself desiring to know more.

"If you don't mind telling us about this mysterious woman, we might be able to help you identify her." Jeifan offered sweetly. Lianhua practically died on the spot.

The red haired woman beamed, her smile bright and warm. She clapped her hands together in appreciation.

"Oh wonderful!"

Lianhua hastily turned away and grabbed Yingtao. "We're leaving. This isn't our business!"

"M-my lady?! What's wrong?"

Jeifan noticed Lianhua making a quick getaway and called back to her. "Hey! Aren't you going to help me help this woman?"

"NOPE!"

"Lianhua!?"

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Evening had fallen upon the country, the sky a rosy, sunset blaze that made the clouds glow a warm orange. 

The courtyard within the Inner Court was quiet as many had retired to their dwellings for the evening now that the working day had been completed. There were still some people out on patrol such as some eunuchs or handmaidens returning to their dwellings for the evening. 

It was during this quiet, lulled period between evening and nighttime that many of the concubines would wait for that life-changing visit from the Emperor, in the hopes of impressing him - in and out of bed.

The period known as the Twilight hour was where he was most active. He liked it at this time - no one to bother him or interrupt his leisurely stroll with unnecessary questions or attention.

He was aware of the appeal, of how others react when they hear his name or catch a glimpse of his appearance amongst crowds. 

He knows.

But he rather likes being alone. It makes him feel a little less restricted.

He arrives at his destination just as the setting sun is still peeking out from behind the sloping roofs of the three-story pavilion. The outdoor lanterns had been lit, casting a soft glow on the walls and windows.

He walked across the yard and ascended the short outdoor stairwell porch to reach the double front doors. With a resounding, yet light rapt of his knuckles, he knocked on the door and a slender-faced young woman in light red and orange robes answered the door's calling.

"Good evening, young master. Lady Chiyu is in the parlour room. Please come in." She gestured for the "young master" to enter the threshold of the pavilion before she closed the doors behind him.

Making his way upstairs to the first floor and down a hallway to where the parlour room was, he had followed the same maidservant who had let him inside who led him to the parlour room to meet with Lady Chiyu.

"In here." The maidservant approached the door and opened it outwards, and the young master passed through. 

The parlour room was decorated in soft firelight colours of red, white and orange with shimmering drapes of different red hues hanging from the ceiling rafters.

Seated on a longways chaise seat adorned with large pillows in red was Lady Chiyu, dressed immaculately in her signature red and white layered hanfu, her expression one of a serene calmness. She regarded her new visitor with a soft smile, her eyes squinting and glimmering with familiarity.

"Good evening Master Mo. How have you been?"

The visitor bowed in respect to the concubine and straightened out to greet with a similar smile, his own eyes lighting up.

"I'm very well, my lady. I'm here on behalf of the Crown Prince to speak to you about that dancer he saw the other week." The young master spoke with a smooth decadent tone in his voice, subtle yet politely regal - akin to how most respectable nobles should address an individual of such high status.

Lady Chiyu's smile faltered.

"I'm afraid there hasn't been much development in that particular investigation." 

"Oh? What do you mean?" the young master asked, curious about the situation presented by Lady Chiyu. Lady Chiyu chewed her bottom lip a little, avoiding looking at the young master's eyes.

"Well, when I asked around, no one seemed to know who I was talking about or even knew the identity of the woman His Highness saw the other week. I was almost successful when I approached a group of 4 young women; two of whom looked to be concubines; and asked them about the mysterious young woman. Something strange happened though during this interaction."

"Something strange, heh? Care to elaborate?"

"One of the young ladies was quite nervous. She started stuttering and even tried to run away. I believe I may have spooked her. The other young woman she was with had the complete opposite reaction and she was very helpful in assisting me."

"The first woman was nervous? That is quite strange. Such behaviour can be taken two ways: 1) she was acting suspicious since she knew who that mysterious dancer was, or 2) she genuinely was spooked and found herself in an awkward position. Do you know what she looked like?" the young master asked, tapping his chin in thought. Lady Chiyu nodded.

"Of course. She was a slender yet well proportioned young lady with long dark brown hair and a healthy pale complexion. She was wearing a light blue hanfu and accompanied by a young maid wearing a similarly coloured hanfu too. I know that there's a lot of women in the Inner Palace but the mysterious dancer could be anyone."

The young master pursed his lips together, the gears in his mind turning. He had an idea on how to sniff out the truth of the situation, but he needed some time to prepare.

"I will speak with Madam Feng tomorrow morning and update you at a later time."

Lady Chiyu nodded in agreement. "There is no rush. Though I don't suppose you could speak with His Highness as well on the matter?" She sounded quite hopeful. The young master frowned. 

"I can try, however it might be difficult since the Crown Prince is a bit skittish and gets nervous easily, but I'll do my best."

"One more thing, before i forget." Lady Chiyu spoke up. The young master was visibly intrigued. "Another inquiry? Is it a request?"

The red-haired concubine smiled. "The woman who ran off in a hurry has a name. Her name is Lianhua. The second woman had yelled out her name in an attempt to coax her back but it didn't work. If you do end up bumping into her, perhaps you would have better luck than me figuring out the identity of that dancer who enthralled the country's heir."

"I see. this information is most helpful. Thank you."

Lady Chiyu seemed satisfied with the proceedings and clapped her hands in appreciation. "Very well. I'll leave in your capable hands then young master Mo. please have a good evening." She spoke cordially. The young master bowed again. "Send my regards to His Majesty when you next see him."

With the conversation concluded, the visitor turned to leave the parlour room, ideas and plans forming in his head as he departed into the warm evening, now the sky had turned a deep fiery orange, inky blue blotted with distant silver seeping through the sky as the sun set even lower on the far away horizon.

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