The Empress Wears Gucci

18

        I was in grave danger, struggling to handle the tension in the room. The silence, the attention, the stickiness of my skin to my clothing. It was as if my legs were tied to a boulder, and my body dumped into the body of a deep, large body of water. As I began to sink deeper and deeper, my body began to plead, my throat and eyes burned, and my mind shut down immediately.

        But after the eunuch and the guards arrived in the hall, I felt differently. I felt as if the chain was cut, and the boulder sank faster than me. I was rescued like a lost fish, with a fishnet under my body, pulling me up to the surface of the shore. Freedom and alleviation.

        "Peace be with Your Majesty." A eunuch kowtowed behind us.

        "You may rise."

        "Thank you, Your Majesty."

         All of us, in the center of the room, looked around and gave each other hesitant looks before watching the guards align behind the eunuch. He was still kneeling, nervously giving everyone in the audience a sudden nod. "Your Majesty, we checked Lady Ying Yue's chamber and found no traces of poison."

         Hua Er and I exchanged glances. She was mouthing something but was bending down to hide her face with her hair. I attempted to jerk my head towards her in order to hear, but she shooed me away with her hands in annoyance.

         "Then, call the guilty maid that tried to kill me!" the Emperor's voice boomed. 

        All of us cleared the center of the hall, kneeling to the side of the rug. Su Yin's hand held mine and gave me a slight, gentle squeeze. After a couple of minutes, the maid was aggressively thrown into the middle of the hall. She took one look at the Emperor and the Empress, and colour was immediately drained from her face. "Please, Your Majesty! I can explain! I didn't do this!"

        "You didn't even greet your superiors?" the Empress chimed in.

        "Greetings to Your Majesty, greetings to the Empress!" she hoarsely exclaimed, kowtowing with her trembling body.

        I wanted to cry. This was not how I wanted it to be. She didn't deserve it, nobody here did except for the beloved Empress. The Empress held such a calm facial expression, I just wondered how she did it. How she could manipulate her maid into doing her sins, how she could make the Emperor stand up for her even though there was plenty of evidence against the Empress. A powerful woman, using her powers wrong. It was truly a pity. My anger was boiling within me, I could feel my cheeks turning red. But as soon as I was about to open my mouth to say something, I knew it wasn't worth it. The Empress had already won. She didn't harm only me, but she harmed an innocent maid.

        "How do you plea?"

        "Not guilty, Your Majesty! Please! Believe me, I was told to! I was told—" the maid wailed, her nose was running and the wetness began to trickle down her lips.

        The Empress cleared her throat. "Now, we understand that you have your daughter, Xiao Er. We promise we'll take care of her. One of our maids will be delighted to nurture your child. She will not be left alone. Xiao Er will be happy in the palace. I reassure you... but it's only if you admit your wrongdoings."

        "This wicked woman..." Su Yin muttered under her breath.

        "I-I'm guilty. Your Majesty, I had a clear liking for you, ever since. I always wanted to be one of the girls in the harem, but I am only a low-born maid in this palace. I wanted your attention, but... recently, after seeing Lady Ying Yue,"—she turned to face me—"steal the spotlight, I wanted to get revenge. I wanted her to..."