First Encounter

The morning was shining through the window, which woke Mei. After a shower and brushing her teeth. The only thing from her modern life that she missed was her skincare products, especially her sunscreen. She had a beautiful tan. She decided to her skincare products once she had money and was settled. Looking at her calloused hands, she felt very proud of the young girl whose body she occupied; they were a testament to her hard work.

She headed into the kitchen to make porridge and roast some sweet potatoes. After she finished cooking, Mingde joined her. They set the table and enjoyed their simple breakfast. Once they finished eating, they both left to get dressed, and Mei was dressed in her other outfit since she only had three pairs of clothes. The one she chose was a nice purple skirt and an overcoat.

They closed the door and set off to town, walking. They had no carriage, and living far from people, no carts were operating nearby. Beautiful and green scenery was all around. The air was fresh, and Mei took a deep breath. The two siblings walked side by side, the morning sun shining. Despite their situation, they felt happy to have each other.

After walking for a while, a carriage pulled up alongside them. 

"May I be of any help to you?" a deep voice came from a man inside the carriage. Mingde bowed, and the Mei next to him also bowed and her body's automatic bow surprised Mei.

He looked out of the carriage window, and their eyes met. His handsome appearance shocked her, like a modern model. Mei looked down, and a bit of blush graced her neck. The man was staring at her intensely. She had had a few boyfriends in modern times, but had never blushed from a man's gaze. She thought maybe her skin was thin, and her brother, sensing the man's gaze on his sister, moved her behind and stood in front of her; even behind her brother could still feel his eyes on her.

Despite his look, the man was behaving as a hooligan staring at his sister, so he cleared his throat to return the man's attention and asked, "Excuse me, sir, may I know of your identity?".

When the man heard the question, he looked at Mingde; his glare and little action of pulling the girl behind him made him chuckle. "I am the young master of Duke Su's family," he replied. Mingde exhaled in relief, but he did not notice the man's eyes flicker with unease.

He offered to take them to the capital, but she rejected it, as it was inappropriate to ride in the same carriage with a man. But he told her brother was with her, and nothing was wrong with that. She looked at her brother, and he nodded, since it would save time. They were a distance away from the town and the man was from Duke Su's family. It was okay to take the help.

Upon entering the carriage, its spacious, warm interior amazed Mei, beautiful in contrast to its exterior. She heard the man instruct the driver to go, and the carriage moved.

As they travelled, she held his gaze, but feeling shy; she looked down at her hands. Mingde, noticing his sister's unease, regretted accepting the man's help. The young master smiled at him, but he could tell his eyes still lingered on Mei.

Emperor Xuan's calm demeanor and lack of interest in women made his actions today surprising. He had limited women in his harem: only one senior concubine and, since the death of his empress four years prior, he had added no women. Even after finishing his mourning period a year ago, his harem remained empty. The moment Mei stepped into the carriage, he caught a whiff of peonies and closed his eyes, savoring the scent.

Quarterly, he would go undercover to see the needs of his people and the state of the land. He had made this decision to be different from his father's reign; He wanted to be aware of his subjects' situations without only relying on court information as it was easy to put a blind on one eye and because of this and other policies; the empire had become prosperous, with a booming silk trade and plenty of harvests from farmers in just five years and his subjects loved him.

It was during one of these missions undercover that he met Mei and her brother today. The change took aback him. The little girl who always walked behind her mother with cute hairstyles had grown into a beautiful young woman who took his breath away with a single look. He had seen her occasionally when she came to the palace with her mother, a friend of his imperial mother. 

As a young boy, he loved teasing her when she visited the palace. His mother would often joke that he would marry his friend's daughter. After the passing of their mothers, their meetings ended, and that was the last. He was also aware of her father's death and the condition of their household.

The brother's inquiry about his identity momentarily surprised him, as he couldn't reveal his real identity. Instead, he told them his maternal cousin's name, promising to inform his cousin about this identity theft.

The young man's gaze surprised her; she had never felt her heart skip before at the sight of a man. Her plan now was to farm, get rich, and send her brother to school. Distracted by her thoughts, Mingde gently called, "Sister, the carriage has stopped."

They both thanked the Man as they were about to get out of the carriage when the man cleared his voice they both looked in his direction and he told them the carriage to take them back in the evening as their home was far, Mei glanced at the brother and then looked back at the man and thanked him for his offer, she did not know why he was going through the trouble of helping her but she accepted the offer.