Volume 1: Chapter 2

...Northern Gate of the Imperial Palace...

  Standing infront of the massive opened gates, one cannot help but gasp at the sight. The rear palace truly is the royal family's home, even if it's just the gate's exterior it was already lavish.

Jin stood with his head held high. He was dressed in a gradient blue and white hanfu, made with the finest silk the well-known tailor near their town owned. His untamable hair was decorated with colorful pins, a few black strands flying as the air blew softly, quite a stark contrast to a healthy alabaster complexion. A sweet smile slowly formed upon those cherry painted lips as guards from the gates approached to greet the person that had returned.

"Welcome back, Noble Consort Li" the two guards greeted in unison. Jin nodded in response to the two as he stepped inside, eyeing the guards with caution hidden underneath the pair of coffee brown eyes that held nothing but softness on the surface as he heard the two guards whisper about how his looks.

'How shameless of them to ogle at the sight of me' the thought brought a bitter smile to his face.

Getting passed the guards was way easier than what he had predicted. It could either mean security wasn't tight or the similarities of him and his sister are eerily too similar, either way, he got in with no problem so now it's time to execute his phase two; find the people mistreating his  sister and make them go through the same thing until they learn to feel fear and avoid him, that way when him and his sister exchanges place again they won't touch a hair on her.

Jin made his way towards the butterfly pavilion, a personal manor the emperor gifted to his sister upon his succession.

The butterfly pavilion was a private section with a bit of distance from the east side of the imperial harem where most lower ranking concubines stayed. Jin briefly heard about it from his sister when he was about to depart but it did strike him odd.

Why would his sister be placed in such a slightly secluded area away from the rest?

It seemed like something so backhanded to him. Although, given his current circumstances this might make things easier for his plans.

He placed his luggage and sat cross-legged in a not very ladylike way on a chair, placing his head on the palm of his hand, grimacing when the fake long nails scraped the skin underneath his eye.

"Why did Xie Xie made my nails like this? she doesn't even have such long sharp nails" he sighed, scanning his eyes around the area.

It was a combination of western and traditional with the dirty white walls that has golden intricate designs running up and down, expensive gold furnitures, marbled floors and baby blue curtains around tall open windows that overlook a beautiful garden full of different spring flowers, the scent of said flowers wafting inside the manor everytime a gentle wind blows.

He inhaled all the scent around him softly as he stood up, making his way towards the garden, gazing at the beautiful scenery with such calm and ease.

"This is a nice place, it makes a person feel peace and tranquility..." he paused as the wind blew hard, his long hair flying freely, some strands coming off of the hairpins that clipped them in place making him chuckle. Even his sister can't tame his rebellious hair.

"I shall not get carried away with sight seeing. It's quite a pity that the other consorts and concubines living here are a bunch of intolerable people" he scoffed.

Then he saw a group of concubines strolling around with their handmaidens, laughing at whatever they were chatting about from a distance. The way they looked so friendly made Jin's smile falter, his brows furrowing in irritation. He immediately stepped inside and slammed the windows shut.

Just as he was about to turn his back , a mysterious figure stood behind him. Jin flinched at being caught off guard.

How was it that he never felt anyone's presence enter?

As the windows were shut, the manor was barely lit, casting a dark shadow on the figure's face making Jin unable to identify whether it was a man or a woman.

"Hello there, can I help you?" he asked, changing the tone of his voice into something more feminine and natural, like his sister's gentle calming voice. He took a few cautious steps towards the figure just in time for whoever it was to turn and look his way.

As the person's face came to view, Jin's mouth almost fell open. It was a beautiful woman dressed in layers of red and golden silk. Jewelries glint and sparkled around the woman's neck and ears, accessories of which only worn by the highest form of authorities inside the palace. It's facial features was something he recognized easily, a mature face with sharp jawline, plump lips painted blood red, high cheek bones and sharp silver eyes hidden behind a curtain of thick platinum lashes, the same color as her hair. He knew his guess wasn't wrong about who the woman standing infront of him is, considering the woman's aura screamed royalty and he instantly lowered his head in courtesy.

"Empress" he spoked softly and with respect, trying to shake off the feeling of nervousness creeping on every nerves in his body.

"I thought you'll be back in another week Mai, and how many times do I have to tell you to address me as Lady Khang when it is only us" the woman spoke, her voice strong and commanding yet so intimate like he regarded him as kin.

'Are the empress and Xie Xie quite close?' he asked himself, remembering that his sister never mentioned anything about being in friendly terms with the empress, or anything about the empress at all. He slowly gave the empress a shy smile, pretending to be bashful.

"I'm sorry for forgetting empre— I mean Lady Khang, it must've been because I'm feeling homesick after staying a few days back at home" he explained smoothly, keeping his voice in a higher note than his usual.

The empress surprised him by wrapping her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close and literally burying his head in her chest.

She's tall!

"Oh Mai, that's why I gave you permission to stay for two weeks in your home, I know you've been feeling homesick and definitely missed your family" the empress stated, stroking his hair almost like she was treating him like a child, making his cheeks taint pink.

Suddenly, Jin felt his lower garment getting uncomfortably tighter, he hurriedly pulled away, fanning his flushed face with his arm, thanking the God's above that the gown he was wearing has many layers or the thing in between his legs would've blown his cover.

He felt shameful and embarrassed to act in such a way towards the empress, he knows his libido was not high and he has never succumb to the desires of being a man so he can't help but mentally scold himself, yet he was surprised once again when the empress laughed softly.

"Still getting flushed as always, how adorable can you be Mai?" the empress stated, taking a seat and grabbing his arm, pulling him close to take a seat beside her a little way too close for his comfort, making him hold his breath, trying to act as normal as possible.

"L-lady Khang, isn't this way too close?" he asked, slapping himself mentally when his voice cracked and stuttered yet the empress just giggled playfully, a mischievous smile making its way into the empress's plump lips.

"If you keep acting like that, I would suspect that you prefer woman over men my sweet Mai" the empress teased, and right now he was a hundred percent sure he was red as a beet as he tried to get away from the empress's teasing.

'XIE XIE YOU DIDN'T WARN ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE EMPRESS!' he screamed in his head as the empress continue to tease him playfully.

...---...

...Li Manor...

"Achoo!" Mai sneezed, wiping her nose with a napkin while she munched at a piece of drumstick.

"I wonder who's thinking about me" she murmured thoughtfully, shrugging as she continued to eat the large platter of drumsticks in her lap while her personal handmaid shaked her head in disapproval to her master's behavior.

...---...

...Rear Palace; Butterfly Pavilion...

"One more!" the empress cheered as she poured his cup to the brim with trembling hands, spilling a few droplets of liquor here and there.

"My lady I think this is enough, you're quite drunk yourself" he whispered, gulping down the heavy liquor from his cup in one go, savoring the burning feeling of it going down his throat.

"Oh hush now, I can drink more!" the empress stated, her voice getting a little sloppy. She wasn't even staring at him but at the maid who continuously shook her head to the Empress's attempt to toast, making him sigh. He waved his hand, calling the attention of the empress head maid to come fetch the empress and get her back to the palace safely.

The head maid called some female attendants and they hurriedly obeyed, bowing their head apologetically at him before grabbing the empress carefully, steadying her before they carried her out while she mumbled incoherent words that sounded like asking him to refill her cup and go for another round. He slowly looked down, rubbing his stomach and feeling the liquids inside shake making him grimace.

'Even if the empress asked for another jar of liquor, I still won't be drunk' Jin thought almost feeling a little proud of himself. He carefully stood up from his seat, ordering one of the servants that serves his sister to clean up the mess while he go and drain the liquids in his bladder... secretly, cause he may need to pretend and act as a woman but he will never use the toilet the way a woman does, unless it was an emergency.

As Jin finished emptying his bladder, he made his way to the garden, he enjoyed his walk towards there, the floral scent of each individual flowers were so calming and the peace and tranquility it provided helped clear his mind and made it easier to tinker on what steps to make as he execute his plans, the sole reason he was here.

Thinking about it, it had just been a day and it may take quite some time so he needs to stay alert at all times, specially when he's around other consorts and concubines. His thoughts slowly came to the time he spent with the empress, her teasings, playful banters and the emotions in her eyes were genuine and those things brought a smile to his face. The Empress, the one who sat at the pinnacle of inside the harem was on good terms with his sister, it was good.

Very good.

"My love, you're finally back!" a deep husky voice spoke from behind startling Jin, almost making him jump a few inches off the ground.

He clutched his beating heart as he tried to shake off the shock that came along with whoever just sneaked behind him.

That's the second time he didn't notice someone's presence.

It felt odd for Jin but that wasn't the problem right now. The voice that spoke behind him sounded familiar, it was similar to the familiarity he felt when he recognized the empress. Infact, it was so familiar he almost didn't wanna believe it even when he already knew who it was.

"Emperor..?" He asked, voice small almost like a whisper as he turned to face the person behind him.

His gut wasn't wrong as the face of the man he dreaded to see finally came to view. Xian Khang, previous crown prince now emperor. Born from the late emperor and former empress dowager.

The emperor stood in all it's glory, a wide harmless grin plastered on his face but to Jin's mind it looked like a venomous sneer.

"My love?" The emperor spoke again, making Jin's ears hurt even when it wasn't that loud. But that wasn't what made him frown, it was the fact that the way the emperor refered to him, or his sister almost made his jaw fall to the floor.

His what now?!

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