Reincarnated as A Concubine

Chapter 2: A Confusing Situation

'Your ladyship. Are you truly alright?' Xiaoli asked, her pale blue eyes looking concerningly at her mistress.  The woman nodded blankly, raising a delicate celadon teacup to her lips for yet another swig. 

But the slight rattling of the porcelain and the visible trembling of her fingers betrayed her, and Xiaoli felt her eyes water up again.

Poor mistress... she thought to herself. She must have been so scared. 

'Xiaoli.' The woman said suddenly, setting down the teacup on the table. 'I would like to have some *fúrónggāo, please. It's been a while since I've last tasted your handiwork.' she continued, giving Xiaoli a small smile. 

'Yes, this servant will do so.' Xiaoli answered, bowing and coming up with a smile in reply. Even with how weak her mistress must be, she still tries to stop her servants from worrying about her. Even though it's supposed to be the other way round.  

It'll be alright.  Xiaoli tells herself, gathering her thoughts. We'll make it through somehow. We must. For her ladyship's sake.'

'Then, this servant takes her leave.'

'Go then. And please do not let anyone into this chamber until further orders.' The woman nodded, waving her hand in dismissal. As if catching her unease, the woman gave a final smile to Xiaoli. 'I look forward to tasting your specialty, Li'er.'

'Y-yes, your ladyship.'

   With that, Xiaoli gave a final bow and backed slowly out of the chamber. Just before the heavy doors closed, she caught one last glimpse of her mistress leaning back onto the chair,  ready to take another nap. Sniffling, she closed the door and started padding towards the kitchens in the palace rear, wiping her eyes with her sleeve as she went.

                                                                                                 ***

 As soon as the doors clicked shut, the woman opened her eyes. Her wandering gaze locked onto the floral motifs in the caissons of the bedchamber ceiling. It was a picture of a pomegranate tree, with a pair of sparrows perched on its' branches. Freedom and fertility, two very contrasting concepts, yet strangely harmonious in the world of the back palace.

  Slowly, she rose out of her seat and towards the vanity with it's large bronze mirror. She examined her reflection once more.  A stunning beauty barely the age of a teenager. 

But the thing that caught her attention was the lotus-shaped birthmark in the middle of her forehead. No doubt about it, this woman was Nangong Tanxiang. 

  Well, on the outside anyways. 

 On the inside, she was *Song Mo Yan. University student. Six months away from graduation.

 No wait. He. He was two years away from graduation. 

He was still a he, right? Instinctively, he reached down his robes for that particular area. 

His fingers caught air. He doubled over onto the table in resignation. No such luck, bunny boy.

His "7' inch didn't make it.

 Everything seemed to fade out, becoming a blur of bleeding colors until the only thing his eyes could see was the pale face of the woman in the mirror.  His conversation with Xiaoli only confirmed his guesses. 

He had transmigrated, right into the novel he had read last night before going to bed. 

 So Asked the Concubine (妾问郎君有何愁 qiè wèn láng jūn yǒu hé chóu). An online palace intrigue web-novel that was all the rage throughout East Asia in recent years. 

 The story centered around the struggles of the Crown Prince and his true-love turned concubine as they navigated the dangerous court politics to rise in power as the future rulers of the great Qi Dynasty. 

 One of the greatest enemy-turned allies (also potential love interest) in the novel was the Second Prince, the representative of the neutral faction of the imperial court. 

To win him over. The Crown Prince would need to uncover the mystery of the death of the latter's mother, Nangong Tanxiang. A woman that only appeared in flashbacks and the hushed rumors of palace servants. 

 Or as the people of the Qi Dynasty knew her then, Deposed Concubine Ning. 

 Sweet and gentle, much like the virtuous consorts of past history, she was one of Emperor Xuan's first two women, the other being his main wife, the Empress. 

Yeah, like that's changed anything. Moyan grumbled, feeling something fiery boiling up inside him.  Somewhere along the line, she ended up dying alongside the entire Nangong clan in a power conflict. 

  In summary, a typical **pàohuī character. Moyan thought, her head in her hands as she glanced back at the pretty face in the mirror. 

Wait. His head in his hands. No, wait. He's Tanxiang now. So it should be her.  But wait. At heart she's a man, so it should be him. No, still doesn't feel right. He should respect her gender. So maybe it's her....?

No. It's him. No, her. Him. Her. Him. Her. 

Ugh. It's so confusing! Why couldn't she have just ended up in an eunuch's body? At least, then she could just refer to herself as they and saved all the trouble. 

Focus. Moyan told herself, slapping her cheeks. You're rambling from hysteria. Gender issues aren't going to send you back. Take stock of the situation.

She breathed in, letting the pressure build up in her sternum; allowing it to fill her up like the rising crest of a wave. 'Fuuuuu....' She exhaled, her breath spilling out like water trickling from an overfilled urn. 

Let all problems flow away. Moyan thought.The wind blows away my sorrows. I am calm. I am present. I am in the moment. She opened her eyes. A pair of clear, sky blue eyes stared back at her.

Take stock of the situation.

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*芙蓉糕 fúrónggāo is a traditional Chinese dessert that supposedly a pain to make but fun to eat (what isn't anyways). You guys can look it up using this name. I tried it's localized name 'hibiscus cookies', but all I got were the shortbread versions instead. 

**炮灰 pàohuī literally translates to 'cannon fodder'. In storytelling terms, it's the characters that get bombed right in the prologue or somewhere offscreen for the sake of story development. Tragic.