The Empress Wears Gucci

64

        The Emperor and his mother worked fast. Already, there was a reasonable amount of women who left. The concubine I talked to days ago was nowhere to be seen, and I was sure she was gone. I felt uncomfortable greeting new concubines because I was used to the old ones. Some chose to remain. A part of me hoped that they would tell the new ones about what had happened to the late empress.

       As I sat on my throne in the hall, I tried my best to listen to what the eunuchs were saying to the girls outside. There was a lot of muffled voices. I gently tapped my fingers on the armrest. Chang Ying sat on the lower level to the right of me. 

       Without acknowledging her, I continued to look straight ahead.

       "Your Majesty." Chang Ying turned her head to look at me. She was still hostile towards me, and so was I to her. It was easy to feel the tension between us because we were way too obvious. 

        "Speak." I faced Chang Ying. The dangling jewellery from my headpiece moved, and this was why I loved to turn around and move my head. I loved my headpiece, especially the golden dangly things.

         Chang Ying lifted the lid of her cup to slowly drink her water, before handing it back to her maid. She looked at the curtains hiding the women. "Do you have an idea of the number of concubines you will be accepting, Empress?"

         "No," I shook my head. "That is not one of my concerns. His Majesty, I believe, doesn't care about the quantity. I suppose he prefers quality. Me, personally, I am looking for virtue and compassion..."

        I'll also be looking for the ones that will be submissive enough to not cause any trouble. The harem was hard. Not all of them will be able to meet the Emperor, nor lay with him. One of the women outside will perhaps get the title of 'Imperial Noble Consort'. If that is the case, I didn't want Chang Ying to befriend her.

       I did want to bring up Chang Ying's motives, but I chose not to. Chang Ying will befriend another concubine and in that case, I'm going to intervene. Who says I wasn't afraid of bringing down Chang Ying as well?

        Li Shu had his head down. He waited for my approval, which was immediately granted as I curtly nodded my head. He stepped aside and peeked his head out. "Summon the Imperial concubines to seek audience!"

        They walked in three single-filed lines in complete sync. A mix of different coloured attires was almost blinding to see. I blinked my eyes a few times. The frown on my face slowly turned into a kind smile. I was welcoming them, not interrogating them.

        Gracefully, they kneeled and kowtowed. "Happiness and peace to the Empress! Greetings to Imperial Noble Consort Lu!"

        I nodded at the eunuchs on the side and waited for them to step back. While they kept their heads down, I took a few sips of tea. With absolutely no idea on how to do this, I was slightly nervous. To remain neutral, I had to be kind. I was reluctant to play the 'nice empress', but I certainly didn't want to make enemies in the beginning.

       However, I didn't want to completely disregard my 'rude empress' role. Chang Ying scanned her eyes over each one of them. Sneaky, but I wasn't stupid. Like a predator to its prey, she was picking out the potential victims to manipulate them. She can do whatever she wants, but I hoped she knew she can't overthrow me.

        "Rise," I instructed as I set down my tea. 

        "Thank you, Your Majesty," they said in unison, before getting up at the same time. I noticed a lot of youthful faces. Some still had their babyface. 

         I had completely forgotten that some were probably fifteen. The Emperor was definitely over twenty, or even thirty. Even though he looked young, he wasn't. These girls were very young...