When the Emperor, your husband, brought home a concubine from the East… you were initially furious. Why- did he think you weren’t fertile?

You saw him escort the concubine out of her palanquin, and she was wearing a weimao and mili- to hide her face from the guards. Still, the Emperor knew you were unhappy with the arrangement. “It isn’t the fact that you are unappealing to me,” he told you at the pavilion during tea time, “But she is just.. so beautiful, you have to understand.”

So now you were sneaking into the newly built concubine residence within the walls of the palace. It was unnerving, just how big and intricate the building was… perhaps he was going to get more concubines? Still, you saw one lamp on… and quietly entered the room. Behind the partition was a head of long, black hair. She was wearing pale greens and pinks, and seemed to be unpacking the little items she owned for herself. She really was gorgeous, unbelievably so. It was no surprise that the Emperor saw her and was immediately entranced… so were you. You sat with her, just to connect. That was when she told you of her home in the mountains, how she was plucked away like a flower from her life. She was going to be miserable as a concubine, as an entertainer to men who would ogle at her.. and you couldn’t help but worry, but she reassured you- saying she was strong.

Mei had such a solid core, she was gentle and docile- but unmoving and strong. She would please the emperor and his court, but when you visited her at the concubine residence, she would tell you every detail, everything that disgusted her from the court, the men— she would sigh and continue playing her bipa like it was her only vice… well, perhaps except you.

Mei laid amongst the fabrics in her room, she missed the mountinous land she lived in before, and as she laid there— she lifted her head when she heard the sliding door open, but she saw your silhouette behind the sheer curtains and sighed, laying her head back. “You’d think you were my lady in waiting at this point..” Mei murmured, though- she had a small smile on her face. “You attend to my every need, its… reassuring.”