1672, Beijing, China
Many years have now past. I am now eighteen and still working at the courtesan house.
This job has been really nice over the past four years but now that I'm eighteen I knew what was to come. The leader of the courtesan house would ask me to start doing other duties. I knew it was coming, but I tried to ignore it and pretended it wouldn't happen.
For most women here it's not so bad because the pay is really good, but for me there is one big problem. I'm not a woman, despite almost four years of me trying to cover it up I am still a man. At this point I enjoyed my role as a woman, but with this new promotion I'm becoming quite nervous.
What would happen to me if my secret is discovered? I'd probably be arrested if not worse. So if I don't do anything, by tonight my secret will known to everyone here.
I slowly took a deep breath and prayed for good luck though I knew it was futile. My fate was already determined and there's nothing I can do about it. I sighed to myself and placed my hands on my bedroom door. When I was ready I put a bright smile on my face and pushed the door open.
As I stepped out some other girls were standing in the hallway and they smiled back to me. The shortest girl walked over to me. Her name was Ahnjong and she was from Korea. "Good morning Wang Shu and happy birthday. You look beautiful today."
I smiled and nodded back to her, "Thank you very much. You look beautiful as well."
She blushed and looked away, "Well, what do you plan to do for your birthday?"
"Hmm, I haven't really thought about it. Maybe I'll just go out and have something nice for lunch."
Her eyes went bright, "Ooh, the bakery down the road is absolutely wonderful. You must check it out."
"I will, I promise."
I started to head into the main hall where everyone else stood, when they all seen me they shouted together, "Happy Birthday, Wang Shu."
I smiled and thanked everyone for their kind words. "Thank you all." I then turned to the head of the courtesan house. "And thank you for everything you've done for me over the years. You took me in and gave me a new life."
She smiled and pulled me into a hug, "Your welcome Wang Shu. I'm glad I took you in, you brought some life into house, and you cheered me up when I was sad."
After the small celebration everyone sat down and began to chat. I sat down with the head of the house and as I had suspected, she started to talk about the promotion. "Now, Wang Shu. You've been here for four years, you're eighteen. It's about time for you to take on more roles."
I sighed and nodded, "Yes, ma'am. I understand."
She smiled and pulled me closer to her. "It's okay. It's not that bad at all. You'll be paid even more, so you can go shopping and buy nice stuff."
"That does sound nice, but-"
"But what?" she asked.
"But... I don't know what to do at all. I'm clueless." I actually do know what to do, but I need an excuse.
She chuckled, "That's not problem. You don't need to know what to do, the men will do everything. You just have to look pretty."
"Oh, well... I guess there isn't a problem."
She stood up and smiled, "Wonderful, now I'll go and prepare you some new clothes. And the other girls will open the main doors to let the men in."
YOU ARE READING
Empress Wang Shu
RomanceWang Shu was a young boy who witnessed the traumatic death of his mother at the hands of a imperial guard, and he later grows up as a woman to conceal his identity. But his reputation attracts nearly every man in China and he's soon forcefully taken...
