The Empress Wears Gucci

51

        "May the Buddha bless our country with peace and lasting prosperity!" the Empress Dowager announced, clasping her hands together.

        I towered over the others, with Chang Ying on the opposite side of me. It felt surreal to me that I had a view of everything from above, rather than sitting on the sidelines. The room was lively like always, but I stayed quiet. The meals were hard to digest because sitting nearly a few feet away from me, was the Empress. The Emperor was sitting closer to me but the Empress's presence nearly killed me.

        Handling a week without Guan Shu was exactly how I imagined it to be. Lei Shu was another motherly figure who kept me sane, but I barely see her now. The void of the absence of my own mother was filled by the motherly maid, but now that she's gone, I didn't know what to do. It's been killing me. 

        My anger has been repressed but I'll unleash it very soon. The Empress is undeniably begging me to go to war, and I am a woman who enjoys fighting. If anybody is going down between both us, it's going to be her. Most definitely. Guaranteed. 

       Niu Lin was laughing at something a girl whispered to her. She took a gentle sip of her wine and placed it down slowly. The Emperor chose her because she was beautiful. That's it. Maybe she had talents, or whatever, but the only thing that was ever good about her is her beauty. I had my eyes on her for a while now, with the Empress on my mind.

        There's no one who loves drama as much as Niu Lin does.

        She took a piece of fish and put it in her mouth, her face in delight as she chews slowly to absorb the flavour. Niu Lin is capable of doing many things, evil things, if she was bribed. There's no doubt about it. Pieces of hair fall loosely on her face while she bends her hair to put the rice in her mouth.

        I sip on the wine while watching her tuck her hair behind her ears.

        Niu Lin can be bribed, easily. 

        The banquet ends, and I leave to go back to my palace. The doors open and I enter, my designer sneakers tap rhythmically against the hardwood floor. Hua Er notices my worn-out face and offers me a warm cup of water.

        "Thank you," I say, allowing one of my maids to lead me to my seat to write. 

        Hua Er is awfully quiet. She doesn't speak at all. She's still flipping through books I've given to her. I've arranged literature classes for Hua Er so she can accompany herself. She can read, but there were still difficulties as she was only a farm girl.

         My goal as of now was to avenge Guan Shu, and other people the Empress had done wrong. She messed with the wrong person. She really did. The Empress had this smug look on her face whenever she saw me, like she was going to get away with everything. My job is to not let her get away with everything.

         But one of my concerns was the soft-hearted person Hua Er acted like. She wasn't able to speak up to authority nor anybody for that matter. She clung to me closely and relied on me and anyone else who associated with me. Chang Ying is one of my closest friends here, and Hua Er is still hesitant to speak to her.

        If I want to bring the Empress down, I'll need my lady-in-waiting to understand my motion. I'll need Hua Er to toughen up and start living fearlessly.

         "Hua Er," I called, firmly, brushing one last stroke of my sentence.

        "Yes?" Hua Er peered up from the book she was reading.

        I cleared my throat. "I am going to take down the Empress."

        "Yes, you've said that... many times," Hua Er smiled. "I believe you."