The Emperor's Concubine

8: The Game

The Empress turns out to be a woman with much compassion and kindness. The rumours about her are ridiculous. She tells the woman about them and for a moment, she looks offended before she schools her features.

"Is that so?" she had asked. Li Hua had nodded meekly, quickly bringing up another subject to distract her. Li Hua enjoys her company immensely, much to the dislike to Yao Mei, who warns her against befriending the woman, in fear of any plots of evil she may be conjuring. Li Hua had promptly rolled her eyes and dismissed the accusation, chiding her friend for being so naive to rumours. The woman was harmless, merely lonely. Meanwhile, The Emperor, despite saying that Leng Yue was not in the least interesting- has suddenly taken a great interest in her. The sudden attention makes Li Hua mentally fume, though she would rather die than admit it. The girls would often be noticed missing from lessons with Feng Liu. The girls had already taken to calling her The Palace Whore- and for once, Li Hua doesn't doubt it, not with the way Leng Yue comes back, hair strewn about messily, and marks covering her neck. The girl wears them around like a trophy, purposely choosing to wear revealing dresses that draw attention to her marked neck and shoulders.

The attention though, has done good for Leng Yue, the girls now living in utmost comfort. When Li Hua walks past the girl's room now, the chatter and patter of feet from her newly acquired maids (courtesy of The Emperor) fills the room, occasionally broken by the harsh barking of their mistress.

Feng Liu all the while, has also turned to teaching the girls on history and politics. Li Hua could almost die from the immense amounts of boredom being forcefully shoved into her brain. Yao Mei- of course- had a mind built for the subject, constantly raising her hand to ask questions. While Feng Liu continued to ramble on about the wars fought by their ancestors, Li Hua mind drifted back to the kiss. Her ears began to heat up, and unintentionally she brought her fingers over her lips. A harsh nudge in her side jolts her from her reverie and she snaps her head towards Yao Mei as the girl looks at her panicked.

"Miss Li, care to answer my question?"

Li Hua stares at her, eyes wide- like a deer caught in headlights. She stutters something unintelligently until an amused voice cuts her off.

"I believe that particular battle was against The Northern Hunters"

Everyone's heads turn towards the voice, a flurry of commotion ensues as all the girls scramble to their feet. The Emperor stands cockily in the doorway, hands concealed within his golden robes. He grins before continuing,

"But I'm sure, Miss Li could have answered that"

They welcome him quickly, Feng Liu looking like she might just faint at the unprepared visit as she rushes to grab him a seat. He sits down, winking at her and she turns away quickly, missing his hurt expression. Gesturing to Feng Liu to continue with the lesson, the girls immediately setlle down- eager to take this chance to show The Emperor their own intelligence.

"And during the third and final battle....."

She doesn't know when she fell asleep, but she jolts awake as as hand shakes her into consciousness. She swats at the annoying hand, irratatedly mumbling incoherently. The voice laughs, shaking her even more,

"Even in sleep she is stubborn!"

Her head snaps up, colliding with something hard. She yelps, clutching at her forehead in pain. Opening her eyes, she almost dies in embarrasment at the sight. The Emperor is crouching in front of her, clutching his forehead in pain too! She immediately scarmbles in front of him, kneeling.

"Are you okay?" she asks worriedly, hands prying away at his fingers. Good job Li Hua, good bloody job, she thinks savagely to herself. He lets go with reluctance and she frowns at him in anger while he grins back at her.

"I think you owe me an apology now" he says. What?! What kind of infuriating ass- she takes a deep breath, resisting the urge to push him backwards. Back in her village, Li Hua hadn't had the best reputation for keeping her calm, after all without a brother to protect them, who else could stand up to the bullies who constantly jeered at her younger sisters.

"No" she says stubbornly, immediately withdrawing her hands. His face falls and she almost feels guilty at his expression.

"Fine, fine" she relents. "Sorry" the last part comes out as a mumble and his face brightens considerably.

"Did you always fall asleep in class as a child?" he asks curiously, head cocked to the side. He looks so much like an innocent child and she briefly wonders how old he actually is.

"No....girls weren't allowed to go to school in my village"

He frowns. "Why not?" She mentally scoffs, the nerve of this man!

"Because I'm a woman" she says, glaring at him. His eyes light up in understanding and he nods to himself.

"I don't believe gender determines ones intelligence"

Her face lights up this time, "Really?". He nods,

"Yes, you can prove it to me by joining me for a game of Xiangqi (Chinese Chess)"

Her face falls, she should of known he was up to something. He gets up, offering his hand to her. Grudgingly she takes it, following him into The Palace Gardens. A marble table set beneath a giant tree lies waiting for them, a game of Xiangqi aready set up. The Palace guards stroll lazily behind them, as they both take a seat. She grins to herself, Xiangqi is her specialty.

She loses track of time, but when the game ends with her taking his final piece, the sun is in the midst of setting, casting a beautiful orange glow over The Palace ponds. The light illuminates his face and she silently appreciates his rugged handsome-ness, despite his complainst of her cheating. She laughs as he attempts to recreate her winning move and he pauses, watching her softly.

"You truly are something else"

She freezes at the comment, clearing her throat awkwardly.

"Do you say that to the rest of your concubines too?" she asks seriously. He shakes his head, smiling at her fondly.

"No, just you" he replies lowly, leaning over the table to capture her lips. The kiss lasts longer this time, his lips melding with hers in perfect harmony. A hand makes its way up to cup at her cheek, caressing the soft flushed skin. Her heart beats erratically in her chest as his tongue softly swipes at hers, asking for permission. She tenses, but his hands move to her shoulders, rubbing softly in circles and she ceases to worry- to think. She lets him explore her mouth, heat coursing through her veins and she whimpers softly as he bites down on her swollen plump lips.

A guard coughs suddenly, and she pulls away, horrified at her own shameful reaction. He stares at her, lust evident in his eyes before turning around to snap at the guard impatiently.

"What is it?" he demands. The guard swallows nervously,

"The Empress requires you presence"

A/N: Thankyou everyone who has been reading!!! I would say this is a pretty boring chapter...but.....Anywhoo! Votes/comments make me happy! Feel free to criticise! <3

This chapter is for a certain impatient somebody >.>

Mistakes are all mine, cos i'm too much of a lazy bum to go back. And forgive me if the game of Xiangqi was described wrongly, I have no idea how it works. I tried looking it up, but it only confused me more T^T.