Jade Bracelet

The party ended after a while, and everyone dispersed. Mei and Ling'er followed the Emperor and his entourage to the hall. It was now evening, and the setting sun cast an orange light, making the atmosphere nostalgic. Mei remembered when she was a kid: the former Empress would frequently invite her to the palace, where she would stay almost all day.

She used to wait for the Emperor, then a Crown Prince, in the same garden to finish his classes and would run to him happily, dragging him to play with her. Although he was always stoic, he would always agree to play with her and tease her by putting bugs in her hair, which made her cry, and he would be punished by the Empress every time.

And the evening would always reach a point where she would be forced to go back home. But she would cry, holding on tightly to the Empress, and he would cry with her, begging his imperial mother not to send her back. It would take time for the Empress to coax her, promising to bring her back to the palace after a few days.

She would leave with a carriage full of gifts. Mei also remembered a jade bracelet he gave her the last time he saw her, but she was forced by her father to give it to Rui because Rui liked it better. Despite crying and begging, she finally had to give it up.

"What are you thinking about?" Ling'er asked, nudging her.

"Nothing," Mei responded.

As they entered the hall, they sat there while the Emperor asked the eunuch to contact General Gao for an update. Ling'er shouted loudly, "Yes, get to the bottom of this and avenge her!"

They weren't seated for long when the Chief Eunuch announced the presence of Sun Rui. Ling'er sighed exaggeratedly.

Mei looked at the Emperor to see his reaction. Although his face had a smile, she could see the frustration behind his smile. He asked the Eunuch to let her in. Mei smelled Rui's incense before she even stepped into the room; it was so strong it irritated her nose.

She could also see the Emperor crinkling his nose a bit. Then, Mei had goosebumps all over her body as Rui, in a nasal, high-pitched voice, said, "Your Majesty, I brought you some soup to nourish your dragon body."

Ling'er, on the other hand, made a gagging sound, expressing her disgust. "Why is she talking like that?" she asked, turning to Mei, who in turn shrugged her shoulders.

"Does she really think that is attractive?" Ling'er added, looking pointedly at Mei.

"I don't know. Maybe he likes that?" Mei responded.

"I don't think so," Ling'er replied. "Look at him, he looks just as disgusted as we are," she said, and Mei turned to the Emperor and noticed too that he was trying to stay calm.

"Your Majesty," Rui said, sitting next to him as she rubbed her bust on the Emperor's shoulder.

Ling'er pointed at her, shocked. "You see what I meant when I said the palace and the brothel are similar?" Mei shook her head in amusement.

"The Empress scolded me again today," Rui said as the Emperor shifted in his seat to put some distance between them. "She said she will send some nanny to teach me how to walk since she was afraid of me twisting my leg again," she said, pouting.

Even if it looked like she was just relaying what happened to the Emperor, it was very clear that she was trying to sow discord between the Emperor and the Empress. Mei knew that was typical of Rui; she was always the one to instigate against people in the absence of the other.

"The Empress cares about you. You should be thankful," the Emperor said, clearly avoiding the bait. Rui and Mei could see Rui was clearly disappointed.

"I have some other things to do. Let the Eunuch escort you out," the Emperor said.

Rui stood up. "Okay, Your Majesty, please come see Rui," she said.

Ling'er, shocked, turned to Mei, asking, "Why is she referring to herself in the third person?" Mei had no idea, so she just shrugged her shoulders.

The Chief Eunuch asked the Emperor if he would flip the tile tonight. The Emperor sighed, indicating he would spend the night alone, and the eunuch left. Ling'er looked disappointed about the decision. "Guess he won't be blessing my eyes tonight."

She recovered from the disappointment fast. "Let's go to the brothel tonight! The red-light district at night is so much fun," she said. "The salt merchants will be coming, and the two famous courtesans, Yu Er and Jin Ge will be fighting for his coins! All the ghosts have placed bets on who will win," she added.

Mei was curious. "What will they be betting on? I'm sure they have no money," she said.

Ling'er looked at her and deadpanned, "Sacrificial offerings and joss paper!" As she floated out of the hall, Mei's jaw dropped. The living family of the deceased worked hard to make offerings and burn joss paper for them, and these ghosts were using them to gamble.

Mei gave one look at the Emperor who was rubbing his glabella and floated after Ling'er.

Just a few days ago, to the outside world, she was the respected Duchess of Chiang, someone who always followed rules and respected the culture and norms set for a woman. But now she was visiting a brothel two nights in a row, a place she never saw when alive—something she never thought she'd do. But times change, and so do people. What did being good and following rules accomplish for her? Nothing but betrayal, humiliation, and a horrible death. So, moving onward, she decided she would do anything she felt like, and if that meant enjoying the drama of two courtesans fighting over a merchant, then so be it.

The noble males were there ondailyso why not her? With that decision, Mei felt very free, as if she had broken something holding her down.