Bao Ji (Lia)
Waking up to the news that we don't have etiquette lessons was the best thing ever. I hated doing them anyway.
But this also meant the Emperor had more time to spend with Bao Si.
What am I going to do?
While I was getting ready in the morning to go and greet the Queen, my mind was full of worries. At any moment the Emperor will think to light the beacon towers just to make Bao Si smile. Then the nobles will come in full armor, but they will realize there is no danger. They will feel angry and humiliated. And because Bao Si smiled, he will do it over and over again. He will even remove the Queen just to put Bao Si in her place.
Then in 771 BCE, the Quanrong tribes, allied with the betrayed Marquess of Shen, will attack the capital. The Emperor will light the beacon towers again…
…but this time: no one will come.
They will think he does it for Bao Si again.
The Emperor will be killed near Mount Li.
Bao Si will be captured and later disappear from records.
Honestly, I don't feel bad for how Bao Si ends.
But I wonder… what if Bao Si did that on purpose? She must've known when they lit the beacons. She is a clever woman. Even when I was reading about it I could tell. But seeing her in person only confirms her cleverness. So maybe she knew how easily the Emperor can be manipulated.
So yes… I'm worried. I want to change it. I don't want that to happen.
"My lady, we are ready," my maid said, pulling me back to reality.
I just nodded while I started walking.
"My lady, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said.
Greeting the Queen
When I arrived, every concubine—including the Queen—looked at me.
"Greetings to Your Majesty," I said with a neutral voice.
I looked at Bao Si, who was sitting down, fanning herself while just watching me.
What is she thinking? Will she really reach the stage where she wants to see the beacons lit up?
I sat down quietly.
I could hear faint voices talking, but I was too absent minded.
Why is the Emperor this foolish?
"Lady Bao!" I heard someone calling me.
"Hm?" I looked up, searching for who spoke.
"Is Lady Ji feeling good?" the Queen asked.
I looked at her and gave a faint smile. "I'm okay, Your Majesty."
"Someone misses the Emperor," Lady Yan said, looking at me.
"Don't tease her. In the end each one of us wants to see His Majesty," Lady Lin said.
I wasn't in the mood for their jealousy card.
"It's not me who HAS to see the Emperor every day, otherwise—"
I looked at Bao Si, but I stopped midway.
I smiled at her and said, "I mean, since the Emperor has a favorite, we can't do anything about it. Some people hate sharing, I guess."
What am I even saying?
I would hate to share my man too.
But this is ancient times. It was normal for them.
So, it's not like I said something wrong.
But still…
God. Please kill me. Take me with you.
Bao Si was murdering me with her eyes, while the other concubines were laughing. Some agreed with my sentence and gave Bao Si the side eye, while the others were just watching the drama. I should've given them popcorn; maybe they would've enjoyed it more.
The Queen instead was silent.
Watching.
Analyzing.
Analyzing me like I was some lab rat.
Soon after the little "drama," every concubine left.
But I stayed.
When everyone left, I looked at the Queen.
"Your Majesty? How come the etiquette lessons stopped?" I asked.
"You miss them?" she asked, looking at me.
"God, no," I replied straight away.
But she just smiled at my answer.
"I was just curious," I added.
"It was pointless. Each one of you learned quickly. You've become better. There was nothing more to teach."
Good. It made my life a living hell anyway.
Suddenly her maid came and whispered something in the Queen's ear.
The Queen nodded slowly while thinking.
What was she thinking? What did the maid whisper?
"Concubine Ji?" the Queen asked.
"Yes?"
"Would you like to go for a walk with me?"
Why did she suddenly ask?
"Uhm… sure," I answered.
We started walking randomly. I didn't even know where we were going.
"Is concubine Ji feeling okay?" the Queen asked while looking ahead.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied with a tone I almost didn't recognize.
Her asking almost made me want to pour out my heart.
I really miss talking to someone about all of this.
I miss Elena.
"You look like you have something on your mind. Like you have something heavy on your heart," the Queen said, looking at me this time.
Yes, I really do.
I have to save all of you from Bao Si, but I'm failing miserably.
And it's not enough—
I don't understand why I time traveled.
Why I connected with a girl from this era.
Why I merged with her, but at the same time I feel we didn't fully merge.
Everything is starting to feel too much to bear alone.
"I just didn't sleep well last night," I lied through my teeth, hoping she believed me.
But suddenly I realized the Queen stopped walking.
I looked at her, then ahead—
The Emperor and Bao Si.
Sitting under a pavilion in the garden.
Really close.
I looked around.
This was a different path—the private garden path.
Don't tell me the maid whispered this.
This is not a coincidence at all.
She came here intentionally.
She hates seeing them together?
Why?
I tried analyzing her face.
No trace of jealousy.
Not even close.
Then what?
She senses something about Bao Si?
I came up with a plan.
I wanted to see what the Queen would do, so I started walking toward the Emperor and Bao Si.
She began walking too.
I waited for her to stop me.
She didn't.
When we were close enough, I turned my back around and started walking backwards.
The Queen watched me while I stared at her.
Then suddenly she stopped, turning toward a flower.
"Oh my… look at that orchid."
I looked around, then found another orchid.
"There's one here too. So beautiful."
The Queen looked my way.
"Be caref—"
Her warning came a bit too late.
I tripped over His Majesty's feet and ended up in Bao Si's lap.
I tried to look shocked.
I stood up instantly and bowed repeatedly while apologizing.
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. I was reckless."
The Queen rushed next to me.
"I didn't notice concubine Ji would be reckless. I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry for disturbing your date with concubine Si," she said.
Is she with me or against me?
"Damn right you were reckless just now," the Emperor said angrily.
I messed up.
I've never seen him this angry.
"And Queen Shen! Next time be more careful. Pay attention to the concubines," he snapped.
Fuck.
"I will punish Lady Ji for her recklessness," the Queen said, bowing her head.
I looked at her slightly angered.
You really enjoy throwing me under the bus, don't you?
"I will take Lady Ji now, to give her the punishment," she said as she pulled me up by the arm.
"I'm truly sorry, Your Majesty," I said again.
"If this happens again, I WILL punish you," he said, still furious.
If I have to choose who punishes me, I will gladly choose the Queen.
I've read the Emperor is driven mostly by his emotions—and that can be dangerous.
"We take our leave, Your Majesty," the Queen said.
"Your Majesty," I echoed and got dragged away.
"I'm really sorry, your Majesty." I said towards the queen.
We took a right turn.
"Apologize one more time and I will really punish you," she sneered.
"Huh"? What… what does she mean?
Then I saw her hide behind a tree and peek at someone.
What the hell?
I followed her and peeked as well.
She was watching the Emperor.
The Queen was full of surprises.
We couldn't hear what they were talking about, but we noticed Bao Si saying something.
She bowed slightly and left.
The Emperor looked pissed.
Not furious—just deeply annoyed.
Did me and the Queen ruin their date??
God, this made me the happiest.
For this, I accept the punishment with open arms.
Suddenly we saw the Emperor turning toward where we were.
Fuck.
The Queen quickly grabbed my hand and we almost ran.
We arrived at the Queen's hall.
She pushed me down onto my knees.
"This is your punishment. Kneeling for six hours," the Queen said, looking toward the door.
"What?? Six hours??" I said, shocked.
"His Majesty is here," the Queen's maid announced.
I looked from the door back to the Queen.
She was just acting.
What she told me before peeking at the Emperor—
"Apologize one more time and I will punish you for real." She never intended to punish me.
I started acting too.
"I'm truly sorry, Your Majesty! Please don't make me kneel for six hours!"
At that moment the Emperor came in.
I needed real tears, so I pinched myself so hard I almost screamed.
But it worked.
Tears started running down my cheeks.
The Emperor sat next to the Queen.
I bowed while apologizing, asking not to make me kneel for six hours.
"You want me to add another six hours?" the Emperor asked, still pissed.
"What?? No! No! I accept kneeling just for six hours. I know I deserve it," I said, crying.
"In the end I ruined the perfect day," I added sadly.
"My Bao Si was sad. She told me her mood was ruined. She just wanted to go back to her chamber, to rest."
Like I care.
I looked up enough to see the Emperor looking down sadly.
I quickly looked at the Queen, who was looking at me with a little smirk.
I smirked back, then before the Emperor saw, I looked down again.
"I hope it will never happen," the Emperor said, standing up.
"It will never happen," I said, looking up with sad eyes, tears still running.
The Emperor stared at me for a moment, then left.
After the Queen confirmed he was gone, she signaled me to sit down.
We started laughing.
We started eating grapes.
We didn't talk about what happened.
But I was 100% sure the Queen didn't want the Emperor and Bao Si together.
But why?
After a few hours we noticed someone outside listening.
We weren't sure if the person would peek inside, so I kneeled back down.
"Did you learn your lesson?" the Queen asked while both of us were staring at the shadow outside.
These weren't exactly modern walls.
"I did, Your Majesty. I won't do it again," I said. Then whispered toward her, "Who the hell is outside?"
"Maybe the Emperor sent them," she whispered back.
That bastard.
When we didn't see the shadow anymore, I stood up and sat down again.
"God, I really need some wine," I said out loud.
"Same," the Queen said.
I looked at her shocked.
What did she say?
She looked at me.
"What? You think I can't drink because I am the Queen?"
"I didn't say anything."
"Well, your face said it all."
Before I could reply, the Queen's maid rushed in, whispering that the Emperor was here.
Me and the Queen looked at each other, surprised.
"Why is he here?" I whispered.
"How should I know?" she whispered back.
"Well, you're the Queen. You know him better."
"I can't look into his brain," she whispered.
Before I could reply, I dropped myself back onto my knees so hard that tears formed from the pain.
The Queen nearly burst out laughing.
The Emperor rushed in and sat down next to her.
He looked at me.
"It's enough. I can see you are truly sorry. You've kneeled enough. You can go back."
I swear I should be an actor.
The Emperor really believed me.
I could tell he was still in a bad mood.
But I didn't care.
I ruined his date—and that mattered.
My knees hurt so badly it took me almost an hour to walk back to my chamber.
When I arrived, I barely sat down when someone called my name.
What now?
My maid went to check.
When she came back, she was holding something.
"What is that?"
"The Emperor sent medicine. He noticed your knees hurt, so he sent medicine."
Huh…
At least he's thoughtful.
Punishment first, then acting all nice.
Pff… bastard.
But internally…
it still made me feel a little bit better.
Just a little.