I know this is totally unrelated, but did anyone here ever watch love o2o? It's soooooo good I love it so much ,go watch it. 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 SORRY let's get on with the story😍😍😍 Thanks for the reads;))) ❤️  I feel like emojis today...~aurum autumn

I rush up to my bedroom and sit on the bed. Wu Mei and Gao Ling follow me. Gao Ling closes the door and sits next to me, her face alight with excitement. "So what happened?"

I smile at them and lift my skirt to give myself more space to move my legs. Wu Mei gasps in shock. "Don't do that! It's unladylike!"

Gao Ling rolls her eyes. "You're still younger than us. Plus, we're alone now."

Wu Mei frowns at us. "As ladies, we need to behave ourselves at all times."

She sounds eerily like my dead grandmother. My grandmother would have said the same thing if we were born in a rich household and were proper ladies.

I say "Gao Ling and I aren't even real ladies, Wu Mei."

Wu Mei looks slightly angry. But she stops talking and Gao Ling nods at me to go on. 

I tell them about the tea session with the Emperor and promise to try and recommend them to him. Wu Mei curls her fingers, which are on her lap, and smiles at me. "Okay."

I smile back, relieved that she isn't angry anymore. Wu Mei offers to tell us more about England, where she went for two years. Wu Mei is really well-read. She may be only 14, a few years younger than Gao Ling and I, but she has been educated, unlike us. Gao Ling and I admire her, even though we don't admit it. 

Wu Mei tells us that the people in England speak a foreign language, and that language is called English. She tells us about her big house there and the weather. It sounds cool.

"Do you know English?" We ask.

Wu Mei shakes her head. "It is too hard."

She seems reluctant to talk more, so we continue with our work. I quickly go back to the main room downstairs, where I am supposed to learn a Chinese dance. 

----

Wan En, the maid, guides me to the Lotus Gardens and I see a shaded spot already set up. There's a pretty table with a gold Chinese tea set, and two chairs. Great. I feel nervous already.

I glance at the tree next to the table. It's the tree Liang Wen took a leaf from, and on that leaf he wrote a message to me. It feels like he's here, watching over me. I feel a lot more confident now. Liang Wen- he would have wanted me to charm the Emperor properly. He always wanted me to have a good life.

I stop there, if I think any more about Liang Wen, I'm scared I'll start crying. 

Just then, Wan En squeals a little and whispers in my ear "He's here, he's here!"

I frown at her. "Manners, young lady."

We laugh, and the Emperor walks up, followed by a few guys. He waves them off and then I tell Wan En to go too, since he wants us to be alone. 

He smiles at me kindly. "Well, do you want to sit down?"

"O-of course, Your Majesty," I gasp, and sit down. 

Then I realise maybe I should have pulled out his chair so he could sit. Oops~

The Emperor carefully pours out some tea and I sip from the cup delicately. Hope he doesn't see that I'm a country girl and scorns me or something.

Too late, I spill the tea. 

Luckily, on the grass.

I gulp and look up at the Emperor. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!"

He laughs. "No reason to apologise, my dear. Have another cup."

As he pours out more for me, he asks, "I assume you are not from the capital?"

I shake my head. Since I probably messed up my chances of ever impressing him, I'll just entertain him. "I'm from the poorer provinces of China. I don't really use teacups back home."

The Emperor raises an eyebrow. "Indeed. What do you do there, anyway?"

It kind of scares me to hear him talk so casually, actually. Plus, it's just the two of us now.

I take a deep breath to calm myself, and then tell him about feeding chickens and plucking weeds and farming. 

He laughs and asks questions. But all along I'm thinking, he called me here to have tea with him and I'm telling him about how smelly chickens can be. Great.

The Emperor and I sit there for a long time. It feels surreal. I never thought I'd actually talk to the guy who ran our country. 

Then he leans forward until we are barely more than a few inches apart. "I'd like to invite you to become my 8th concubine."

I blink. What? No- "Thank you, Your Majesty," I say automatically. Then a thought occurs to me. I hesitate, but decide to ask. "Why, Your Majesty? I'm not trying to be rude, just curious. Also, how about La- Concubine Lin? She's the 8th concubine..."

He continues looking me into the eyes. I think it's supposed to make women's hearts melt. But after Liang Wen I don't think he'll succeed. Let's face it, the great mighty Emperor just isn't as nice as a poor village boy who I loved.

He speaks softly. "My 5th Concubine has passed on, and my 7th Concubine has been infected by the plague. She, too, will die soon. I hope to find new concubines. I care deeply for you, Wang Min. And I am intrigued by your stories of the countryside."

These people and their hard vocabulary. I mostly catch what he says, though.

Great...I'm a replacement Concubine. And if I'm only there because he likes my stories, what if I run out of stories to tell him? Will I be thrown away too, like the other Concubines obviously were?

I feel even more nervous about entering as an official Concubine. I have heard stories of the viciousness of the ladies...

Then I remember one more thing. I force a smile onto my face, and say sweetly "May I recommend you some ladies, Your Majesty? They are my friends, and they are very talented. Perhaps more than I am."

"No one could be as perfect as you, my dear," The Emperor says, but his gaze wanders off to the distance. 

Ha.

I take that as a sign to continue. "If you please, their names are Wu Ze Tian and Gao Ling."

The Emperor looks back at me. "Your friends, you say? Interesting. Not many girls in the palace have friends."

I smile nervously at him. 

After a while, he says "And isn't the Wu lady the Chancellor's daughter?"

I nod. Wu Mei had told me about her father. A cruel tyrant, I hated him. He hates women, especially me! But at least he got me this spot in the palace. One day, when I become Empress, I will make sure women are better than men in China. I hear Wu Mei's clear voice in my head and smile. That girl.

The Emperor leans in some more and kisses me on the cheek. "I will take your words seriously, my dear. I'll let you take over Concubine Lin's duties soon, and I hope to see you around in the palace, yes?"

I nod and smile back. The Emperor stands up, his long robes brushing against the table. Then he's gone. 

I breathe a sigh of relief and sit back down in the chair. Wan En rushes up. She whispers "What happened? It's been 2 hours!"

That fast? I smile and look at her. "I'm a concubine now."

"Promotion?" Wan En asks hopefully, then claps her hands. "Good job,  Lady Wang! I knew you could do it!"

Behind us, someone clears his throat. "Sorry, but His Honoured Majesty has ordered for this table to be removed now."

I jump up guiltily and Wan En springs to a walk. I notice her peeking back to check out the guy. A guard, wearing a blue robe. A blue robe is the third highest level for guards, out of the 14 levels. That's what I've learnt, anyway, with Lady Lin.

Oh my gosh, that means I have to take over Lady Lin's duties as she moves ranks up! I will be in charge of the Jade Building. I can set new rules and all. With Wu Mei and Gao Ling!

I grin and Wan En looks at me. Her voice goes softer. "Can I ask a favour, Lady Wang?"

I nod. "No need to be so formal, Wan En."

She smiles. "Can I be your personal servant? Like a real one!"

"Of course! And one other, right? Concubines always have two."

Wan En nods. "I have the right person. She is my twin."

I widen my eyes while strolling along the paths of the palace. "You have a twin?!"

Wan En giggles shyly. "She is called Wan Ru."

We pass by a group of guards just then and fall silent. 

Then we cross back past the Marble Building. The place where 2nd concubine Mai stays. Just as I was thinking that, we see her.

She glides over to us, a poisonous smile on her face. "Why, hello, 8th concubine Wang!"

Yay!