I taught him the small incantation and my true name. He nodded and I got dressed before he could stop me. I left the chamber and my way back to the Forbidden City. It was dark. My hand immediately reached to my jian. I looked at it. A weapon being drawn meant that danger was nearby. I walked the rest of the way to my home before being let in by the servants. I was asked why I returned so late. "I felt like my place was here with you all. He allowed me to come back, but I had to come alone." They looked shocked and then scolded me on being so rude. I apologized with a smile and promised to cook dinner again for them the next night. That got them to back down with a warning. I took a confused Analim to the side and told him what happened. He was upset and said "I don't want to be worshiped by the empire!" I looked at him and said "Listen. You will inspire the empire to do great things and you will put all your art to good use." He still looked unsure about it. "I'll trust you Dabriel. You are the one keeping me from despair. I might have become a disgusting demon if not for you." he said.
Word spread and several of the higher concubines threw my name in the mud to trample on it. I could care less. I was already pregnant with twins. Since the eggs were fertilized, it meant I was pregnant in every form. As long as I kept away from the drider form, I could carry it to term like a human. As far as I knew, no one else was pregnant. At one point the consorts, crowned consort and the empress herself came to call on us. They were clearly upset, but I knew they would lose face if they came out with it. "Did you know that your emperor is taken by art?" Long Xinyue, the crowned consort asked. "I had a guess, but I would not know the details on it." "It makes some sense since you all live in this marginal household. We all have prominent palaces that my husband visits often." the empress, Hua Mei said smugly. I did not let it bother me. "I'm sorry, but you were talking about art, right? If I can answer you, I will." I said. One of the consorts, Huli Yijun, said "His Majesty has said he was featuring his favored concubines for display on the room for foreign officials. You six were on the wall."
Smiling, I said "That certainly is nice of him. Can you please tell His Majesty we send our thanks when you next see him? It must be said." There were five consorts of the Imperial Harem: Mao Gengxin, Tang Xinyi, Chuan Min as well as Huli Yijun and Long Xinyue. All were of the winning faction. The leaders of the faction was the Hua clan. The obvious plan was to produce a male heir with the empress and get rid of the puppet. Wang Jing was a fall guy. What better toy than your own child. It would be the Hua clan seizing the throne matrilineally. That used to not matter to me, but I was now contracted to save Wang Jing. Tang Xinyi said "He is a humble man to put such effort into homely girls such as yourselves. You should be grateful." "Yes. I agree with that. We are only able to live with our modest dignity. We are not rich enough to cover our flaws with makeup and soft silks." I replied pointedly. "How dare you say that to your superior!?" Chuan Min snapped. I feigned surprise. "I never even suspected you Consort Chuan." I said before tapping my chin. "I see. Even consorts have flaws and impurities." I added.
They got super offended when the others in our house began to laugh. They huffed and Mao Gengxin tried to slap me. I caught her by the wrist and did not let it go. I had held it up in the air between us for all to see. She was helpless and fear crossed her face. "Consort Mao, violence is unbecoming of a woman as loved and favored as you. I could not allow you to sully your good name. The emperor had chosen us all to please him. Let us not go and worry him with petty squabbles. I apologize for provoking you to anger. Please accept my apology." I said as sincerely as I could make it sound and let her go. "You have have martial arts training." she said looking at me with new calculations. "Well, not much hand to hand. I studied the way of the sword, spear, and bow. I'm sure you would win in anything else, my dear Consort. I said with a small smile." "I'll take you at your word then." she said with a predatory smirk. That was concerning, but she bowed and left on her. There was not much that could be said after what transpired. We saw them off and then sighed in annoyance.
