Chapter 10

Consort Wang
Plum Blossom Palace

"Careful, My Lady," Consort Wang's court lady muttered, guiding her as they descended the stairs. It was a good day, the sun was up, clouds blue and no wind to tousle her hair. It was a good day that needed to be enjoyed with the emperor. Yet, he still wouldn't see her.

Dowager Empress Wang sat on a wooden stool, caring for her flowers. She enjoyed nurturing flowers as a hobby. Her attendants surrounded her, some holding seeds, some water and others idling, awaiting requests from her. This woman currently led the harem was the previous empress, and had up to a hundred servants under her command in Plum Blossom palace.

Consort Wang was nostalgic. This could be considered her future. Overflow of attendants and living in the most beautiful palace, the Phoenix palace.

"Consort Wang greets, Her Royal Highness, Dowager Empress Wang."

Consort Wang's retinue echoed her greetings, "Greetings to Her Royal Highness." They all folded their hands on their stomach, curtsying, while their heads bowed.

"No need for formalities," the Dowager Empress had changed from the formal robes she wore early morning when they had their usual Inner Court morning meeting. All the harem women, except the seniors, Grand Consort Shu and Grand Dowager Empress Wu were to come together at the Plum Blossom palace in the dragon hour(7am-9am) every day. In the meetings, Dowager Empress made announcements, solved grievances and concerns, and taught the women.

"How is the emperor, Consort Wang?"

Dowager Empress Wang's relationship with the emperor was non-existent. They only met in public for show.

"He attended his first morning-court today," Consort Wang reported.

It was to humour people and scorn the Dowager Empress when the dragon named Dowager Empress Wang's palace, Plum Blossom. Plums grow in winter, and the fragrance of the flower comes from bitterness and coldness. People speculated that he chose the name to define the state of their relationship or where the woman was headed in the future, isolation in the cold Frost palace.

"Is that so? I wonder how he started to recover so easily. One day he was near death and the next, he could eat and sit."

Consort Wang didn't know either.

At her silence, the elderly woman added, "He still will not see you?"

Ever since the night Princess Yang Liu caused a ruckus, she was not permitted to enter the Dragon Palace. All the reports came through the questioning of Eunuch Nam or Court Lady Nam.

Dowager Empress Wang was always direct. "If he still will not see you, then what is the difference between you and me?"

"Your Royal Highness, this servant is sorry."

"Leave it." The Dowager Empress dug a hole for her seeds. "Just concentrate on gaining favour again as a backup plan." Her gold pins rattled against each other as she speared the ground.

"What does Her Royal Highness mean?"

Dowager Empress Wang waved her hand and all the attendants dispersed, leaving them alone with their court ladies only. "Since you are useless. I shall focus on my daughter."

Princess Yang Liu was invariably a prince in the woman's eyes, what changed for the Dowager Empress to consider her a woman?

"That is true. Nothing better than to grow a bond between mother and daughter."

"Yes. Especially at a time like this." She sprinkled her seeds into a few holes, before covering them. "Yang Liu loves General Feng and like any man, General Feng may have the same feelings."

Consort Wang was not quite following where this was going but she agreed, "I have seen her infatuation."

"Imagine if they marry? Yang Liu would be happy and I would be appeased."

"You would?"

The Dowager Empress laughed dryly. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? General Feng is one of the best generals."

"True."

"And the Grand General position is in need of a person to fill it."

The puzzle fell in place. Bai Shen Hong was the Grand General when the fallen dragon was alive. Now that he was the emperor, he had to step down and focus more on state affairs and the people. It was a given that an emperor couldn't be the Grand General at the same time he was on the throne. Adding to that, the court was not happy the emperor used his position to entertain courtesans when out of the palace. His rendezvous was known when a courtesan publicised a popular book about their love escapades. This gave momentum to the notion that he should step down.

But if he did, who would take over?

"Think about it Consort Wang, who owns the people?"

"The emperor, Your Royal Highness."

"Who has the power?"

"The one with the military. The Grand General."

Dowager Empress snickered. "Good. My thinking exactly. So why must we bend our backs and strive for the phoenix seat when it is a dragon seat we may get?"

"Your Royal Highness, that is treasonous!" Consort Wang lashed before she could catch her mouth. The Dowager Empress wanted General Feng as Grand General so he could overthrow the emperor.

Dowager Empress Wang snapped her head at Consort Wang, her eyes narrowed with irritation.

"Forgive this wench, Consort Wang has spoken poorly." Consort Wang bowed.

The older woman exhaled. "It is not only you who is the problem. General Feng recently killed a court lady sent by me to monitor Yang Liu. He is also a problem if I can't control him."

"Consort Wang doesn't understand Her Highness." Consort Wang wasn't good with riddle speaking.

Dowager Empress Wang dropped her tools and on cue, her court lady brought her a dish of water to wash her hands. A patterned cloth to wipe her hands clean. "I already saw you at the morning meeting, why are you back here?"

"Oh, Your Royal Highness, would you consider having Grand Consort Shu move here?" She didn't like the emperor's mother being in Hougong. It was uncomfortable to have her, as it made it difficult to exercise control over the harem when everyone was feigning over the woman.

"Not possible," the Dowager Empress refuted.

"The middle ground has three palaces in it and the Cherry Blossom palace is empty." The whole palace was divided into three grounds, the upper, middle and lower. The upper ground, the most expensive, had the Dragon and Phoenix palaces alongside the Dragon practice grounds. The middle ground had the Cherry Blossom palace which was empty, Rose Flower palace for the Grand Dowager Empress Wu and Plum Blossom for the Dowager Empress Wang. Banquet space, the Hall of Festivals, the Palace gardens were all in the middle ground. Then the lower ground was where Hougong was, and the rest of the palace departments behind it.

Hougong had the harem women, and Consort Wang wanted control over it without the Grand Consort Shu always in the way. Concubines gave the emperor's mother attention and liked spending time at her quarters. Their intention was for the emperor to see them when he would visit his mother.

They should be in her quarters, asking for her favour as she was the only Consort. When the emperor visited Hougong, Grand Consort Shu always whisked him away, ending it with him spending half the night chatting with her and finding himself too tired when he left her quarters. Thus he went back to the Dragon Palace without visiting any concubine. She was a blockage.

And it was irritating to see that lowly slave of hers, Li Lian, practice dance with Princess Yang Liu. They seemed to be getting close more than any other concubine had been with the princess. It was annoying to watch.

"If Grand Consort Shu moves here that will be declaring her to be a refined senior of the harem. I don't want that." Dowager Empress Wang played with her nails. "Rather, your concentration should be on the oncoming banquet. I heard that Li Lian will be dancing. We can't have any loose threads."

Consort Wang fully understood. At dances, women tried to snatch the dragon's heart and win themselves a night with him. Li Lian won people's hearts the last time she danced and luckily the dragon was absent.

Although it was not nice Her Royal Highness dismissed her plea to move Grand Consort Shu, Consort Wang faithfully answered, "I have been organizing something for that rebel, Li Lian."

"Hao. Make it clean. No dirtying our  hands."

"Definitely, Your Royal Highness." Consort Wang smirked thinking of how she could use the hatred the Harem Senior Court Lady had for Li Lian. Because of Li Lian, the Senior Court Lady was forced by the emperor to kill innocent lives accused of poisoning Princess Yang Liu.

The truth of the matter struck Consort Wang as she walked back to Hougong. If General Feng took over the throne, then where did it leave her as Huizhong's consort? The Frost Palace.

People speculated Dowager Empress Wang was going to be cast out to the Frost palace, punishment for lying about Princess Yang Liu's identity. If the emperor was not in a good mood, he was also going to strip her of her title. This was why Dowager Empress Wang was grasping for straws by having her focus on the throne, as that would preserve her position. The vile woman was sacrificing her to save herself.

"His Majesty does not take the sedan when visiting Hougong, Your Highness," Consort Wang's court lady walked side by side with her.

"He prefers to exert his body physically where possible."

"Walking from the Dragon palace to Hougong takes a person half an hour, twenty minutes if one walked fast."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning beside Grand Consort Shu, any woman he would walk such a distance for, instead of summoning her to the Dragon Palace, is worthy."

Consort Wang stretched her hand, resting it on her court lady's alleviated hands for support while walking. "He has done that for me. Visit my quarters." When she was pregnant.

"No other woman of his has received this special visits except you, Your Highness."

And she could get more of those visits if Grand Consort Shu didn't steal him whenever he was in Hougong. But who was she kidding? If the emperor was indeed there for a woman, Grand Consort Shu would not be able to stop him. His visits were intentionally for his mother, and no one else. Thus if she had his mother leave Hougong, they would not hear from him for quite a while.

Better Grand Consort Shu stayed in Hougong.

S.V