The Empress Wears Gucci

38

        "You must look good, sister," Chang Ying said quietly as she set herself on the corner of my bed, crossing her legs in grace. In her situated position, she looked at me as if she was my mother, encouraging me before I celebrated my sweet sixteen or something. 

       I turned to face her, hands running through the headpiece Guan Shu put on for me. My eyes dropped down in sorrow. "I'm still shaking..."

         Chang Ying continued to look at me heartily. With her bottom still on my bed, she leaned her back forward towards me and intertwined her hand with mine. My hand was weak under another's grasp.

         The Emperor had returned and we were scheduled to meet him. I was still in shock from the incident. I was still a virgin to the schemes in the harem. It was hard to believe that the Empress despised me so much, she wanted death upon me.

         "Madame Dong Mei was a little," I paused to think of a word to describe her without offending her. "A little..."

        "Rude?" Chang Ying questioned, tilting her eyebrow up. A slight smile calmly spread on her face as she laughed from exhaling out her nostrils.

         I nodded. "Yes. She didn't acknowledge me when I was in shock. Madame Dong Mei just... set the eunuchs to execution and didn't question the Empress at all, Your Grace."

        The Empress, inevitably, got away once again. I was starting to get used to her. Every day, she'll never acknowledge my presence or if she did, she wouldn't look at me like I murdered her family and drank their blood anymore. But it was definitely because of what the Empress Dowager had said to her. The Empress acted more professionally. 

        Dong Mei dismissed the 'allegations' of the Empress poisoning Su Yin and I's medicine. Her precise words: "The Empress would do no such thing, please refrain from speaking upon this matter on forth." 

         No idea. I had no idea how oblivious Dong Mei was. Or did she know but had to take the Empress's side? Was Dong Mei really defending her? Thinking back on their relationship, I can see why she was. The Empress and Dong Mei weren't exactly friends. They were just women who didn't go against each other and went for other concubines' throats. I always thought of the Empress as a lone wolf. She was lonely. As much as I wanted to knock her teeth out, I did pity her. A hating, vile woman had psychological damage within herself. Therapy should exist in these ancient times. 

        I smacked my lips after I applied a fresh tint of red. When I finished applying my makeup, I enchanted myself in the mirror. Chang Ying noticed me staring at myself in awe and stayed silent. I grinned when I watched her from the mirror. 

        "But," Chang Ying whispered, low enough for me to hear, "I can't believe Dong Mei dismissed your outburst."

        I had anger issues. I've grown up with it. Ever since I was a small toddler, I threw the biggest tantrums. They were so bad that the only person who could handle them was my grandmother. All she had to do was bend down, eye level with me and give me the warmest smile. Her eyes crinkled and her iris brightened. She'd calm me down and it was only her who could calm me down. Nothing lasts forever and she passed away when I was only four. 

        I was too oblivious. But now growing up, I still feel a gentle wave of sorrow when I think of her. 

        In a sense, Guan Shu did remind me of her. It felt nice to have a grandmother figure. It was a rebirth of the emotions of having a grandmother.

        "How so?" I asked. 

       I began to organize and clear my table. Crumpled rose-tinted sheets, scattered blush powder, and a few drops of excess eyebrow ink were getting on my nerves. As I put away my last brush, Chang Ying stood up.