The Tale Of Mei Xiang

第二章 (Chapter 2)

第二章

The palms of my hands were sweating and I was nervously rubbing my fingers against the soft cloth of my dress. 

Zhi gege was walking beside me and now that I know he's actually one of the imperial princes, I didn't dare to treat him as I usually did. I could sense the tension between us and the awkwardness, something that hasn't been there before. There were so many things I wanted to say to him but they stayed only at the tip of my tongue. 

I kept my head down and made sure my hand was covering the tear on my dress. The maids and eunuchs we passed would pause and bow at us before resuming their journey. I found it quite unsettling seeing them bow at me when I've done nothing to earn it. 

Yet, I held my tongue and kept my thoughts to myself. Who says they were bowing to me? I was walking next to the 3rd Prince, surely it was him they were giving their respect to. Why was I even thinking it was for me, a daughter of a lowly official who happens to be related to one of the king's concubines?

Despite feeling uncomfortable being so close to Zhi gege, I was glad it was him showing me the way to the Empress' palace. I trusted him to keep me safe and with all the schemes and plottings in the palace, the chances of me upsetting someone of importance and getting myself killed was high. 

My aunt wasn't liked by many of the other concubines. Me entering the palace with a chance to be married to a prince would be seen as giving my aunt more power as she had no son. But since I was only a daughter of a lowly official, no one knew who I was, it would be easy to get rid of me. 

They could've bribed a eunuch or a maid to escort me to somewhere forbidden and later call the guards on me to have me arrested. With some manipulation using the power they have, they'll have me killed before the news reaches anyone. 

Gathering up my courage, I quickly tugged on the edge of his maroon robe and looked away, pretending that I didn't do anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn his head in my direction and felt his gaze on me. 

I didn't dare to look at him so I just let him stare at me and bit the insides of my cheek to prevent me from meeting his gaze. He didn't say a word and neither did I; we continued walking and my legs were getting a bit tired from all the walking and keeping my balance. 

Finally, he broke the silence as a pair of maids passed us. "Did you tug on my robe earlier?"

I immediately shook my head and lowered my gaze to the floor. A small clinking sound was made when I shook my head and I hoped my hair wouldn't come out. His gaze didn't move from me and I was sure he knew I tried to get his attention just now as it was what I would do to get his attention when we were younger. 

"What is it you want to say to me? Nothing has changed, really. Just because you know now that I'm an Imperial prince, it doesn't mean you have to treat me so distantly," he said quietly and I looked up to meet his gaze.

"I, I just," I stumbled across my words. "Thank you, for um, everything. Taking the time to show me to the Empress and for helping me out at the gate. I really appreciate it."

Instead of getting a nod that he accepted my thanks and probably a nevermind from him, I got a cheeky grin and a small laugh. "Since when does Xiang meimei thank her gege for helping her?"

This caused me to blush profusely. "Are you insinuating that I have no manners?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed dramatically and glanced to see if anyone was around. When there wasn't anyone, he leaned towards me and whispered, "Mei Xiang is the most polite and courteous woman I know."