Nights with a King

Courtesan Guo

Chapter 1: Courtesan Guo

Kings are known for doing two things: ruling and...having a lot of women.

How many women? As many as they could get their hands on, which was a lot considering their power and wealth. In fact, on the royal estate, there was an entire building just for all the women to live in. Those who stood out and were favored by the King were showered with gifts while others grew old without ever getting a glimpse of his shadow.

Strangely, there was another type of woman. One content with never ensnaring a man's heart. A young peasant sent into the palace to earn money for her poor family...

"Courtesan Guo! Are those books rearranged?!"

I slid the last book in place and dusted off my hands.

"Yes, they are," I said, wiping my brow.

The librarian walked over and studied the shelves.

"Hmm..." he said, running a finger down the spine of a book. "As expected of you."

I smiled although he probably couldn't see through the face veil I wore. It covered my face from my nose down but allowed air to freely pass through. I had no trouble breathing. It even filtered the dust in the air at times.

"Here's your pay for this month," the librarian said, handing me a small sack of coins.

"Sir..." I began.

"Yes, you may borrow a book," he said, waving me off.

A smile lit up my face. I picked up my long skirt in one hand and climbed up the wooden ladder. My fingertips ran along the books until it stopped at one. I carefully slid it out and tucked it under my arm.

"Bye!" I called, waving to the librarian.

"Goodbye Courtesan," he replied with a nod.

I was sent into the palace at age twelve and this year I was sixteen. Four years passed and I never had to come in contact with a royal, which suited me just fine.

My family sent me to the palace in hopes that I would find favor, however, I took one glance at the hundreds of girls at the palace and banished the thought. I didn't want to spend my life spent competing for the spotlight. The girls used every penny for buying new dresses and jewelry. I didn't have the luxury of keeping money for myself because my family still needed it.

I finally found my niche working in the royal library and no longer found the need to please the royal men on the estate. Sure, it wasn't an entire chest of gold but my family could lead a good life with this income.

I was a courtesan in the palace and had been for the past four years. There were three ranks. Every girl started out as a courtesan. If the King liked you, he may or may not give you the title of Concubine. You may sleep with him every night but you could still be a courtesan until you got too old. Once you hit your 30th birthday, you were given some money and sent away. The highest rank was of course being a wife or the Queen in this case. Any royal could only have one wife and three Concubines which were prized titles. Courtesans were endless though. A royal could have as many as he pleased.

Every girl hoped to win the coveted title of wife. If a royal married you, your days of glory and power were endless even as you grew old. There would be no more relentless competing but it was rumored that wives often fought with their husband's younger concubines. More times than less, a royal girl would officially wed a royal man. Very few courtesans became a formal spouse. I didn't understand why chasing after an impossible dream would be so desirable. All that fighting and competing for what?