https://www.ancient.eu/Wu_Zetian/  Btw, that's the website I got the info from. Happy reading! ~aurum autumn

Wan En sighs and we start walking away. Concubine Mai glides forward again, her eyes never leaving me. Her voice is sharp. "Look at me, 8th Concubine."

"My name is Concubine Wang," I say. The words sound foreign in my mouth but I force them out. 

Concubine Mai laughs shrilly. "So proud already, yes? Managed to seduce His Honoured Majesty?"

"If you don't mind, I have other things to do," I say politely.

She snaps her fingers. A servant comes forward. "I offer you some traditional Chinese biscuits."

Wan En and I exchange a glance. This must be a trick. I decide to be rude. "No thank you, Concubine Mai. It is appreciated. Now, I'm very sorry but I have to go."

She glares at me. "You watch out."

Then the unpleasant lady storms back into her Marble Building.

I finally reach Jade Building. Once I'm there, all the other girls crowd around me. How did nes get around so fast?

"His Honoured Majesty came!" a young girl of about 13 years squeals. "He said you are promoted to his 8th concubine!"

He came? Why would he?

Gao Ling sees the expression on my face. She takes my arm and gently leads me inside. "He came to tell Lady Lin, you see. She's moving to the Earth Building, which is the place of the 5th concubine."

The dead one. So Lady Lin is just going to move in? And she'll move into the place where the dead concubine once lived? Creepy.

I make a list in my head.

Empress--- don't know her yet

1st Concubine--- don't know her yet

2nd Concubine--- the lovely Concubine Mai

3rd Concubine--- don't know her yet

4th Concubine---don't know her yet

5th Concubine--- Lady Lin

6th Concubine---don't know her yet

7th Concubine--- the dying one

8th Concubine--- me

Okay, I obviously have a lot to learn. 

Lady Lin sees me just then. She's in the kitchen supervising some servants, who are making pastries. She hurries to me, unsmiling. "Lady Wang, I'll need to talk to you privately for a while."

Gao Ling nods understandingly and squeezes my arm in reassurance. "I'll go find Wu Mei, you can use our room."

Lady Lin closes the door and sits on a chair in our room, the only chair we have. I sit on the bed. She stares at me for a while. I think I see sadness and pity in her eyes. Then she finally says "Well, Lady Wang, I've enjoyed teaching you. You do deserve the Emperor's attention. I think you've seen enough of this place to know how to run it. Just supervise the servants, help the new girls. Try to help them attract the Emperor's attention. That's all. You will move into my bedroom, on the first floor."

I nod. But i sense that she still wants to talk. I stay quiet and wait. Lady Lin says "You're okay here. The Jade Building is safe, no other concubines come here. It is the lowest rank, after all. I just want to tell you that I may not be here very soon."

"What?" Her words shock me. I lean forward in alarm. 

Lady Lin shrugs and adjusts her hair. "6th Concubine Qin Shi is angry that the Emperor promoted me to 5th Concubine when she should have been promoted to that position. She will try to get rid of me. I will be careful, but I cannot trust anyone in the palace."

Her voice turns slightly dangerous. "Do not tell others of this."

I nod quickly, but I'm worried for her safety. Those stories about the palace concubines- could they be true? Would they really want to destroy each other just to win the Emperor's heart?

I ask Lady Lin about the different concubines and fill in my information list. 

Empress--- Empress Lan Hua

1st Concubine--- Concubine Yu Zhu. Secretary to the Emperor, helps him in his work.

2nd Concubine--- the lovely Concubine Mai. Responsible for the two palace gardens, Lotus Garden and Pearl Garden.

3rd Concubine--- Concubine Jing Yi. Responsible for the palace servants' well-being. 

4th Concubine---Concubine Shan Xian. Responsible for the palace musicians. 

5th Concubine--- Concubine Lin. Responsible for palace clothes. Works with the 3rd Concubine to give the servants similar clothes and all.

6th Concubine---Concubine Qin Shi. Responsible for the palace library. 

7th Concubine--- the dying one, no one speaks her name anymore. Her duties have been removed. 

8th Concubine--- me , responsible for the new girls arriving and the Jade Building.

(a/n: I bolded the ones that will be important in the later story. Sorry it's basically all of them)

Lady Lin also tells me that the 3rd and 4th concubines are best friends, they always support an help each other. She says that the Empress is nice, but rarely appears. 

I feel relieved, actually, that I'm here. I'm just going to run this place. It will be okay. 

But I wonder why the Emperor never visited Lady Lin. In the time I've been here, which is about 8 months by now, he never came to see her. Will he neglect me too?

Lady Lin stands up and gives me a bitter smile. "Concubine Wang, I'll give you all the authority now. I'm moving in two days."