Morning greetings with the Empress had become rare, now that the woman was quite heavy. If she had to estimate, there were, at most, two months left before the baby came. It was natural, of course. Samaya did not mind. In fact, it suited her perfectly fine, given that she was able to get an ample amount of time for morning training.

But today was one of those rare days when the Empress was holding the morning greeting. A missive was sent to all concubines last evening to be present.

Samaya arrived before the Empress today and, strangely enough, so did many of the concubines. Even the Imperial Consort was there. She was usually the last of the concubines to arrive. The Empress seemed to be taking her time. Which, considering her condition, fair.

Samaya gave the Imperial Consort a perfunctory bow as required before looking around. She saw Fu Caiyi sitting at her seat and then walked to her, gingerly sitting down.

"Lady Fu," she greeted.

"Lady Qing," the woman greeted back, with a tightness in her voice..

Samaya tilted her head. It had been a while since she'd spoken properly to Lady Fu, but she was sure her voice was tinged with something unpleasant that had not been there before.

"What's wrong?"

Lady Fu blinked and looked at her. Her eyes flickered down towards Samaya's neck before she seemed to flush slightly and avert her gaze.

Ah.

She was sure that the whole palace knew about her and the Emperor's night together. If they had not known before, they surely knew now that the man had sent such extravagant presents to her resident. She sighed softly.

"Lady Fu… this…" she paused, "it just… happened."

She did not know why she was trying to explain herself. Perhaps it was because she'd found something of a friend in Fu Caiyi and would hate to lose that. Or perhaps it was the near dejected look that creeped into the poor woman's eyes.

The woman looked up at her. "Will you still tell me that it is merely carnal desire?"

Samaya frowned thoughtfully. Was it just carnal desire between them anymore? She … could not say. She certainly felt a burning, all consuming desire for the man, even now, even after an entire night of togetherness. But she could not deny … something more, something deeper that she did not dare examine.

She exhaled softly, and that was answer enough.

Lady Fu Caiyi smiled sadly. "I apologise. That was rude. It is only natural that the Emperor will call upon his concubines. It is just that-"

"It is just that you never thought he would call upon me. Or worse, that I would respond."

Fu Caiyi fell silent, and Samaya sighed before reaching forward and holding out a hand for the woman. Fu Caiyi blinked. And then, slowly, hesitantly, she reached out and slipped her hand in hers.

She squeezed Fu Caiyi's hand, and the woman squeezed back. She could feel her hand trembling ever so slightly.

"I apologise," she repeated. "It is unbecoming of a concubine to feel envy."

Samaya shook her head. "No. It is human," she said firmly. In this wretched system where your very life depended upon the Emperor's favour and affection, it was practically mild to feel such helpless jealousy.

The woman shook her head and whispered back, "No. It … it is not. Not what I felt."

Samaya tilted her head, waiting for Fu Caiyi to speak. It must have been serious for Fu Caiyi to hesitate so much. Samaya did not speak, did not push. Fu Caiyi fidgeted with her bracelet for a moment before leaning in slightly and whispering in such low tones that Samaya would have had difficulty hearing had she not been trying to, despite sitting so close.

"I felt … hurt. Angry." Fu Caiyi paused and then exhaled harshly. "At you."

Samaya blinked. But before she could say anything, Fu Caiyi continued.

"For a moment… I considered harming you."

Samaya did not show her surprise, save for another slow blink of her eyes. She turned her head slightly to look at her friend, really look at her. Fu Caiyi had her gaze averted, head hung slightly, shame and guilt clear on her face for those who bothered to look.

Samaya felt her heart melting just a bit. She had been so wrapped up in herself and the recent events that she had not spoken to Fu Caiyi for a long time. It was natural for there to be some distance between them. For her to vocalize her darkest thoughts - it meant she trusted her that much. It must have weighed on her too, considering that she took the risk of speaking in a hall full of other concubines who would jump at the opportunity to get rid of a rival for the Emperor's affections.

Samaya smiled softly. "Lady Fu," she whispered softly and then gently squeezed her hand, repeating her previous words, "It is human."

The woman opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but Samaya spoke before she could. "You can speak to me about this later," she said softly, her eyes flicking towards the concubines clearly trying to listen in. "But know this, the fact that you spoke to me about this, the fact that you clearly feel horrible about having such thoughts… makes you a far better person than I will ever be. I am so very glad to have you as my friend, Lady Fu, and that will not change any time soon."

Lady Fu looked at her for a long moment, and Samaya could see her lower lip beginning to tremble. She squeezed her hand again.

Before they could continue their conversation, however, a shrill voice echoed in the hall.

"Lady Qing and Lady Fu must be having quite an interesting conversation. Might they be so gracious as to share it with us?"

Samaya turned around to find Kang Yuxin, an eyebrow raised provocatively. Rage was simmering beneath her barely held together facade. It was a given after what happened with her brother. Her eyes travelled to the Imperial Consort, who was quietly sipping her tea. She clearly had no intention of controlling her minion.

Samaya turned to her, holding onto Fu Caiyi's hand still, and smiled, all poison and daggers. "I was not aware it was noble etiquette to inquire after a private conversation between two friends."

The woman seemed to clench her jaw. "If it were so private, then surely you would be speaking in the privacy of your own residences, instead of here?"

She gestured around. Samaya tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. Lady Kang - at the moment - seemed to have no aim to her actions, except perhaps to provoke Samaya into saying or doing something that might get her punished. She contemplated ignoring her.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Maybe she was asking for advice on how to seduce the Emperor, hm?" Kang's voice was sickly sweet, touched with mock concern. "After all, it has been quite a while since the Emperor graced her with her presence."

There weren't any unsavory words there. The mocking was not subtle, however. It was directly digging at Fu Caiyi's open wounds. Samaya could feel the woman's hand beginning to tremble in hers once again.

Kang Yuxin surely knew how to provoke her. Attacking her would do little. So, she attacked one of the few people that she cared about in this thrice damned harem.

Well, there went the plan of ignoring her.

"Perhaps," she replied lightly. "Who else should she be asking, if that were the case? You?"

Lady Kang's face turned red. It was no secret that the Emperor had not visited her in months, perhaps since before Samaya entered the harem. The recent fiasco with her family did not help. It did not seem like he would be visiting her anytime soon. Or - from what Samaya knew - ever. It sent a surge of satisfaction through her, knowing that this menace of a woman would never get what she wanted. It made her smirk a bit wider than she perhaps should have.

Kang Yuxin shook her finger at her. "Qing Samaya!" Her name came out garbled in her thick accent, voice full of anger. "Do you think that just because you slept with the Emperor, you can run your mouth off however you want?"

Lady Kang seemed to conveniently forget that Samaya had always run off her mouth, even without the Emperor's favour.

Samaya's grin widened. "Oh, Lady Kang, that last thing we did was sleep."

The red on Kang Yuzin's face turned an interesting shade of purple. She was quivering with rage.

"You-"

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted wth the Eunuch announcing the Empress's arrival.

"The Empress arrives!"

The change was instant. All sound ceased, except for the shuffling of their rubes as they moved to kneel and bow to the Empress. Yes, she was definitely heavy, being helped by two maids to the elevated cushioned seat that had replaced the previous mattress.

Once she was seated and allowed them to rise, Samaya settled back into her own seat. The woman's eyes swept over the gathered concubines before settling on Samaya, as unreadable as ever. The gaze lingered for a moment before moving away.

"We do not appreciate any commotion in Our Hall." Oh, she was using the Royal We. Other than the Emperor, only the Empress was allowed to use it. She was asserting her authority. "If you are going to be a nuisance, do it outside."

No one dared speak.

Once the Empress was satisfied, she reached for her food, and the event turned into their routine morning tea.

Samaya sipped her own tea as she watched Kang Yuxin seethe.

Once the morning tea was over, she promised Fu Caiyi that she would visit her for dinner and then made her way to the destination she had in mind, Ah-Liu, her ever present shadow.

Once she reached the large double doors engraved with dragons, she looked at the guards standing outside.

"Is His Majesty here?" She asked softly.

He should be. The morning court would be well over by this time, unless something unusual happened.

"Yes," one of the guards answered.

"Please let His Majesty know that Virtuous Lady Qing seeks an audience."

They seemed to look at each other for a moment before one of them nodded and went inside. It did not take him long to come back, looking a bit shaken. He bowed to her respectfully.

"His Majesty bids the Lady to enter."

She inclined her head slightly, telling Ah-Liu to wait for her before making her way inside.

The Emperor was sitting at his desk, poring over memorials. Strangely enough, he was alone, without the company of his trusted eunuch. He looked up only when she was close enough to see his usual cold gaze warm ever so slightly.

"What brings the Lady to Our doorstep?"

She smiled softly. "I am here to express my gratitude for the gifts, Your Majesty. And perhaps something else."

The man tilted his head. "Something else?"

She plopped down on the seat opposite him without waiting for any sort of permission. She was quiet for a long moment before speaking softly.

"Your Majesty, why did you send me those gifts?"

He blinked slowly. Samaya had gathered his body language enough to know that he was at least mildly surprised by the question.

He hummed softly, leaning back in his chair. "It is customary for the Emperor to send gifts to a concubine he favors. Particularly one that serves him well."

She couldn't help the scoff she let out. "What happened between us was far more than just service, Your Majesty. And I doubt it was only custom that made you send those gifts. You did not need to send them. Word of our night together would not have spread so quickly had it not been for those gifts."

The man was quiet for a long moment, his mind seemingly somewhere else. And then, his eyes snapped back to Samaya, and he leaned forward.

"Perhaps," he started, "that is what We wanted."

It was her turn to blink. She'd known that the man was announcing it to the world. But she had not thought that he would so readily admit to it.

"Why?"

The Emperor held her gaze for a long time, the curve of his lips unreadable and his dark eyes flickering with thoughts unspoken. A lesser woman might have looked away under the weight of that gaze, but Samaya met him with unwavering eyes, the slightest arch in her brow urging him to speak plainly. But of course, it would kill the man to speak his mind clearly.

"Because," he said slowly, the word drawn out like the first note of a guqin string, "there are some things that ought not to be hidden."

Samaya tilted her head, not quite smiling. "And I am one of them?"

He did not answer, holding her gaze.

The moment passed, and Samaya let out a small laugh, finally leaning back in her chair and resting her arms along the curved sides. "You're possessive."

"We are an Emperor."

"You didn't send any of your other favored women a dragon's tear pendant, or daggers that might be used against you."

"No," he said. "We did not"

Silence reigned before Samaya clenched her teeth and spoke softly. "I cannot help but feel burdened by these gifts, Your Majesty."

The man did not speak. Samaya looked up to find him staring at her, waiting for her to continue.

She exhaled softly and relaxed. "The gifts … they are unlike anything I have ever owned. Part of me feels as if I owe you for them. I … do not like the feeling."

"You feel as if they chain you." It was a statement. It was scary, sometimes, how much the man managed to know her in such a short span of time.

She nodded and then paused, gathering her thoughts. "I cannot deny the lust and the … attraction I feel for you, Your Majesty. But I do not know if it outweighs the love I have for my freedom."

There was silence for another long moment before the Emperor leaned forward, reaching out to gently caress her cheek.

"Ya'er," he whispered softly. "Rest assured, We shall never chain you. But, now that you have unchained the beast in Us, We shall not cease our pursuit of you."

That… was a promise, wasn't it?

She stared at him, the corners of her mouth twitching, her heart suddenly drumming in a rhythm she wasn't ready to acknowledge. There it was again - that dangerous glint in his gaze, something heavy.

Possession.

And in that, Samaya realized, was something dangerously close to affection.

Samaya averted her gaze and moved her face from his hand, suddenly feeling heat rising to her cheeks.

She cleared her throat. "Well, are concubines supposed to give the Emperor gifts as well?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Why?" The man asked, his voice tinged with amusement. "Does Ya'er have something for me?"

She - with humungous effort - suppressed everything she was feeling and turned to the man, giving him a Cheshire cat grin.

"Yes."

The surprise was visible on his face this time.

She chuckled softly and reached into her sleeve. "This is actually what I came here for."

She pulled out a thin envelope and put it on the desk, the same grin on her face.

"What is this?"

"Open it and see."

And so the Emperor did. His eyes widened ever so slightly as they went over the content of the paper inside the envelope.

"Is this…"

"A list of assassination hires in the Underworld over the past month. Including the ones who attacked us. Possible locations. Safe houses. Hideouts. You should be able to find them soon enough."

He was silent for a long moment. "Ya'er, how did you even-"

"Shh." She pressed her index finger over her lips. "It is a secret, Your Majesty. You promised not to ask. Remember?"

The man stared at her for a long moment before chuckling. "You never cease to surprise Us, Ya'er."

"Well, I had to get back at you somehow for the commotion you caused yesterday."

Another soft chuckle, and his gaze gentled as he looked at her. The atmosphere threatened to go back to its previous tenseness; Samaya could feel it forming.

"Ya'er, We-"

He was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Your Majesty, it is Eunuch Li. I have news."

And just like that, the moment was broken.

The Emperor's gaze turned cold and completely unreadable right in front of her eyes. He straightened in his seat before speaking.

"Enter."

Eunuch Li entered, his head bowed.

"Speak."

"Your Majesty, the delegation from the Kingdom of Rayie shall arrive in two weeks. We must prepare the Imperial Harem for the arrival of the concubine they have sent."

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