The Emperor's Concubine

2: A Fated Encounter

The Palace is huge, everything seemingly coated in gold and adorned with pearls or diamonds. She grimaces- how tacky. But despite the overwhelming shines of the jewels upon all the walls, she follows the large group of girls, utterly amazed. Beside her, another girl Yao Mei, whispers softly,

"It's funny how they have enough money to afford such luxuries, when they cannot even afford to feed the poor" Li Hua smiles at her. Yao Mei was a small girl for her age, 18, equipped with a small round doll-like face, and blood red lips. She was shy and quiet, as they had thrown her into the carriage along with the other girls, who scrutinised her with envy. The girl was pretty, unnaturally so, and smart- a sure catch for The Emperor's eye.

The large group of females come to a sudden halt upon the command of The Palace guards. Li Hua fails to stop in time, accidentally bumping into the figure in front of her. She apologises quickly before looking up. A girl, around her age glares at her, assessing her poorly tailored dress before scoffing in distaste. A middle aged woman makes her way to stand in front of the group, eyes cold and strict as the group hushes,

"As you all know, you have all been graciously accepted to become The Emperor's concubine- this is an honour" she adds. "My name is Fang Liu, and from now on, I shall teach you the ways of the court. But before we begin, there are a few rules which you must all be aware of. One, you are to never bother The Emperor, unless he seeks your company. Two, as you are The Emperor's women, you are to not be touched by any other man. Failure to heed these rules will result in expulsion from The Palace, shame upon your family............or worse. That is all, you must all be tired, you shall be shown to your sleeping chambers."

The girls all look around at each other and Li Hua could feel herself shake with anger. The nerve of this emperor! He had hundreds of women, yet they were not even allowed to love another man other than himself- how selfish! So caught up in her thoughts, she doesn't realise that the whole group has left, until she finds herself standing in the middle of the now empty garden. She looks around frantically, trying to see the group of bustling women, but all she can see it the lonely and empty Palace. Nervous now, she begin to run in a random direction, hoping to find a guard or servant. She panics, turning around when she suddenly bumps into a wall. She trips, falling to the floor ungracefully, before looking up at the offending wall. Only, it wasn't a wall. A handsome face appears before her, smirking at her. The boy is tall, older than her she assumes, and she feels her face flush as she mutters out an apology. He smiles at her, offering a hand out to her, and she gladly takes it, only to freeze as the boys' fingers caress her hand. She yelps, pulling her hand back and glaring at him as he chuckles. What a pervert! By the looks of his clothes, he couldn't be more than a palace guard, or worse, a eunuch!

"Are you lost? I have not seen a pretty face like yours around here before" he asks her, voice so low, it sends shivers down her back. Behind him, his friends laugh and she feels herself frown.

"No" she replies indignantly. He smirks at her before replying,

"Ah well then, I hope to see you around again, Bènzhuō (Clumsy) Liánhuā (Lotus)" The boys laugh as they walk off and she feels her eyebrow twitch from anger. Sighing she picks herself up, before continuing to looks for the rest of her group.