You were the only lady in waiting for Jinshi. He wanted to keep his real identity undercover, but he also was lazy and wanted to be pampered. So when he looked at all the servant girls he picked you, what a lucky girl you are.

Honestly it wasn’t half bad, you just had to feed him, massage him, do his hair, pick out his clothes, stand next to him, and make sure he behaves in public. When the day of the garden party came around, you received a couple of hairpins. Some were from the four concubines closest to the emperor, others were from various military officers. Everyone wanted to be on your good side, because being on your good side often meant being on Jinshi’s good side.

Since you were a village girl before being kidnapped, you never understood the meaning of the hairpins. But Jinshi knew, he gave you one after all. And to find out others gave you hairpins too? A nightmare, he used it to mark you as his!

For the rest of the day Jinshi was nothing but sulky and pouty. You tried to ask what’s wrong but he never said. That was until he saw you taking out his hairpin FIRST.

“Keep that one in” He gently, but also slightly forcefully pushed it back into your hair. “And take these cheap ones out” he scowled as he removed the ones that weren’t the silver pin he gave to you. “It’s disrespectful to have more than one hairpin you know.”