3 Months Later

She was beautiful. The most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon. Pale-faced. Long, healthy, straight black hair braided down her back. Slim, and tall. Sharp brown eyes. Naturally red flushed cheeks. She wore a robe of colors and unique designs I didn't think to exist, long and cut at the side, narrowed at her wrist with embroidered silk slippers. The same as those who accompanied her wore, but she stood out and she was the most vibrant. She wore a headpiece with beads hanging down the sides of her face and long red earrings reaching her shoulders. She was marvelous in every way and graceful with every step...and she looked like an Empress. Zian's Empress.

"Well, she is more than we expected," Shūfēi Yiyi commented under her breath and others began to quickly agree. I only heard her since she was standing directly behind me, but I silently agreed with her too. A lot more than what we expected and I don't like it.

I've heard many things about the Mongols and their ways of life. The bad and good and pictured them far different than us as I was told our people are more appealing to eyes than them, but I was not aware with her being here, flaunting her beauty from across the country, that I felt on the opposing side as I had no place in the standard of today's beauty...where she easily fits in.

But I wasn't the only who was dazed by her unmatched beauty; Zian stood tall with both hands below his back, dressed all nice and clean, slightly cocking his head with his lips parted as he found the princess amongst the crowd of her people. He heard the same stories as I had but his face held no disgust; he viewed her as if she was the only woman here. It made me anxious for many multiple reasons, chewing nervously at my bottom lip while I did my best to calm my heaving chest.

Be open, Peizhi. This was bound to happen one way or another.

I wanted to hold him closer to me, tighter if I could, but when I reached out to grab his arm, he was already down the steps to greet Princess Fan Xing of Zhendao.

Be..open...Peizhi...it's..going...to..be...just...fine.

"Welcome to my home, to Changqiu, Princess Fan Xing. I hope the travel wasn't prolonged by any unwanted guest and you arrived in a safe manner?"

I felt Shūfēi's son, Prince Son, watching me with this humorous look in his eyes. I simply ignored him.

A soft smile tugged her pink lips as she bats her eyes to the ground. She looked to the older woman next to her — her mother, I'm assuming, who was equally beautiful and culturally well-dressed — and gave a nod, allowing the princess to speak to Zian. "Because you sent your men to accompany me upon this exhausting trip, I am thankful to have been brought here in one piece." She spoke with an accent and mixed her words with a dialect that must've been native to her. "This is my mother whom you might heard of, Queen Meiyin of Zhendao."

Queen Meiyin greeted Zian as Zian respectfully greeted her back. "I am honored you chose to extend your invitation, Your Majesty. Not to be fret, but I cherish all my children dearly and as easy as it is to make them stay, it's even harder sending them away. Especially my dear Fan Xing who is beloved by her people and by her parents."

Zian offered Queen Meiyin a comforting smile. "I assure you, your precious daughter — " They exchanged a small glance. " — will be in safe hands and my home is open to you and your people whenever they wish to visit. You both must be famished and in need of a place to freshen up." He turned to the Princess who couldn't keep her eyes off him. "Will you accompany me up the stairs? There are some people I would love for you to meet before you be on your way."

She nodded.

Side-by-side, they walked up the stairs. Princess Fan Xing clung to her mother's arm making sure she didn't miss a step or trip over her long skirt. She exchanged a word with her mother who then looked to Zian — who paid no mind — then back to her with an agreeing grin, rubbing her daughter's hands. I stood tall, well I tried to appear tall and confident the closer they came, but I was falling apart. And I'm not ready.

But it was already too late. They stood before us.

"This is Shūfēi Yiyi, Défēi Wang Xu, their children, and the Grand Empress Dowager," Zian began to introduce us each. Everyone kept their greetings short besides Grand Empress Dowager who shared more than a few words with the princess and her mother.

Soon it was my turn to be introduced, forced to keep an open mind as this was Zian's world I lived in and one he couldn't easily escape from. As if he sensed the anxiety mixed jealousy sparing from out of me, Zian rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand when grabbing hold to lead me further than where the other consorts stood. The look in his eyes wished to reassure any feelings and thoughts I conjured up knowing my mind was a creative one, but nothing he will do will ever reassure me because I'm not stupid. I will merely become a distraction and I knew it.

"And this is my lovely Guìfēi Pearl. She is new like you and maybe you both might find a common interest within that range." It was an offer he was testing out, reading my clear expressions which told him otherwise for an answer he ignored.

The first she noticed as everyone had was my skin. Skipping the loving affections Zian gave me, her eyes ventured further down meeting the roundness of my belly which has grown tremendously over time that I could no longer sit and stand to my feet without help. Pregnancy is such a weird feeling I don't ever think I could get used to. Luckily, I have been surrounded by those who knew what they were doing. And though, I missed my mother and still cry for her return from the dead even now, I am more than happy I chose to stay at the Vision of Youth palace. Despite the circumstances, I found a form of peace while living there and had almost forgotten about this side of the world until Défēi Wang Xu came to visit with a set of hand-made gowns to try on as she broke the news I wished had never come.

The day the 4th princess of Zhendao arrives.

Queen Meiyin followed her daughter's gaze to my belly where my arms have now wrapped around feeling uncomfortable, and maybe it was only me who felt it, but there was definitely something in the air between us three...more with Queen Meiyin. And I caught the look Queen Meiyin shared with the princess which rubbed me wrongly — there seems to be a problem. Great. Now my peace will be no more.

Princess Fan Xing then smiled upon feeling Zian's intense gaze on her. "Lovely to meet you, Guìfēi Pearl. I believe you and I will get along well since I may need help adjusting here." She spoke calmly.

"As do I," I referred to meeting her. The lather was not in my book.

Introductions were cut short and Zian led the arrivals away to settle in their new palace and freshen up a bit before the Welcoming Feast begins to welcome the princess, the future Empress of this country, and the start of my hell.

I watched them bitterly as they strolled away and never left them out of my sight even while the other consorts were preparing their leave or when Grand Empress Dowager offered I hurry and sit down so that I don't put any stress on my body until they were nothing but a speck of dust.

"Your Highness..." I turned to Yan Ran who averted her gaze towards the Grand Empress Dowager waiting for me to move. "Do you feel well? Shall we leave instead and I send for the Royal Physician?"

"Uh, no, no, I feel well. We should go. Let's not keep everyone waiting."

Yan Ran took my arm and together we headed towards the large building where the Welcoming Feast will be held. I would have been running around like both consorts perfecting the decorations and checking in on last-minute changes to the meals, but because I was with child, I had the luxury of sitting down in the middle of chaos. I sat at a lowered angle, far off the side from where Zian's chair stood. The empty one next to him already told me who would be sitting there. And of course Grand Empress Dowager.

"...and he was always a good kid who never gave much trouble to anyone," Grand Empress Dowager indulged in another story about Zian, who sat next to me to pass by time while everything was being prepared. I try to block the princess from my mind and listen to her stories, ones Zian never spoke of or barely remembered. "But there was this one time when Xu Li Jun caught a fuss. Poor boy would eat Dim Sum at every hour, all day, no time for anything else. And the one day the former Empress took away his bowl to feed him something else, he was on the floor screaming everyone's ears off until he was given back his food."

My brow lifted. "He really cried? I don't think I've ever seen him shed a tear."

"Oh yes, he was such a crybaby when he was a child. He is good at hiding it now, but you see," She scooted in like what she was going to say next was something I wouldn't want to miss, so I met her halfway. "He was a calm boy but when you take away something he wants or already has, his cries would never dry and his tantrums were very difficult to stop. His caretaker would say he was an endless river the way he cried." She then pulled away abruptly with a soft laughter hidden behind her sleeve. "But he is not that little boy anymore, thankfully, he is a grown man who will do this country good. I can feel it."

I lingered in my leaned-in position a bit longer before I trailed back in my seat. "I believe so too." I smiled.

People were beginning to take their seats which only meant it was closer to time. Zian was nowhere to be found, and so I conjured up another conversation to waste more time and to slow my intake of water so I don't have to get up once again to pee.

"What was she like?" I began. "His mother? Is His Majesty anything like her? Was she beautiful?"

She was quiet for a moment but I knew she wasn't uncomfortable by my question. At least she was more willing to answer my questions and give me more than what I asked than anyone else. Yan Ran could only tell me so much since she came to the city years after the Blood War.

"She was beautiful; the most beautiful woman in the Inner City, and Xu Li Jun takes after many elements. Both her children do. Truthfully, I used to never be fond of her when she was around, but I slowly began to recognize her worth after she was gone. I used to think she was asking too much of my son until I realized she was only miserable." My head lifted from my cup with furrowed brows. "We all were. If not her children, I'm afraid she wouldn't have lasted as long as she did."

"What happened, if I may ask?"

"Back when this prolonged war was much worse than today, my son, the former Emperor put all his focus on war and succeeding his victories for more land and more trades and more peace. He often neglected his consorts, more so the Empress herself, and those he would visit became more important than the Empress despite her high-ranked position. It's why he is the only Emperor in history to have fewer children. As much as he was powerful and did much for this country and the war during his reign, he was as well easy to overthrow in a home he never lived in. I only wish she was here so that I could tell her what an amazing job she has done. But Xu Li Jun is a different man—he will be a different man." Her warm hand found my bump just as I was being served a small bowl of grapes and continued with the same line as before. "I can see it already."

I rest my hand on top of hers, no response came to mind so I smiled.

I wasn't worried that Zian would become like his father since given the stories I've heard, he's far from becoming that kind of man. I was afraid he'd abandon me like his mother and live out my life in misery with only my family's last living breath keeping me sane, but I don't want to live that way. And I don't ever want to give anyone the power to make it happen.

I left early during the Welcoming Feast. I could no longer put up a good face and watch from the sidelines pretending as if I was okay with it all. I promised Zian I would keep an open mind and understand his world from his viewpoint, but I didn't promise him I would find a common interest with Princess Fan Xing and become her common buddy. That was a line he continuously crossed, multiple times tonight. And so I left. But I was also tired as well. A perk to being pregnant, I was always resting which meant I could leave early without suspicion.

But instead of turning in early like I said I would, I went on a short walk with Yan Ran through the Royal Garden. The open air of nature was a form of meditation for me and I often went outside to practice breathing methods and release out all the negative energy. It was a form Gho taught me whenever she came to visit which was almost every other day. She grew worried my tears would not dry after the news of mother's and Fen's death, so she taught me another way of grieving without harm. And it helped most times. But sometimes...I just needed to cry.

After we walked around and I listened to Yan Ran's stories of such, we sat a few feet away from the lake I had once dipped more than my feet in. It was where I first taught Wanue how to swim and the start of her never getting out of water.

"Do you think she is pretty?" Out of nowhere, I asked. My toes scrunched the grass in between, tugging it from its roots and releasing it to start over again.

As if Yan Ran knew who I spoke of, she then smiled like a dream, twisting a flower between her index finger and thumb. "Her beauty could inspire the world and causes its own wave which follows each step she takes, and..." Feeling my hard stare burning her face, she quickly backtracked. "But she is nowhere near compared to you, Your Highness. While she inspires the world, you inspire the heavens to — "

"You don't have to make me feel better, it was only a question." A question I wished I never asked.

The soft paddles of her knees could be heard scuffling off the ground so that she had filled my view when I chose to look elsewhere to sulk in my feelings. So much for meditating.

"But it is true, Your Highness," I turned my head so that I was staring out toward the lake — her small head poked through. I had no choice but to look at her. "You know that you are beautiful so why question your worth? You mustn't feel threatened yet, His Majesty only has eyes for you. And you know I do anything to make sure it stays that way."

But what if his eyes begin to linger on her? What do I do then when I have lost the man I love to a woman who just got here? I should be the last to speak of disloyalty when I broke my promise to my husband and kissed Mo Lian Tan, but it was in the moment and I've repented for it. Things between him and I shifted since that night. We hadn't spoken a word to each other besides acknowledging our presence and I'm sure Zhao Ji has kept him away for my sake. I went on to focus on my health and he did his job in silence. But it was for the best. I believe it to be. It's not possible for a woman to be fond of more than 1 man when you are bound to another. It will only complicate things furthermore.

"I have been searching for you since you left early. Was told you love nature and came here by luck."

Over my shoulder, we followed the voice that frightened us and ruined the peaceful scene. My eyes bulged out of my sockets when seeing it was the 4th princess of Zhendao. Princess Fan Xing. She was the talk of everyone's conversation all night, and if I had a drink for each time I have heard her name being mentioned, I would be drunk in a grave.

"Princess Fan Xing," Yan Ran jumped to her feet to help me stand and greet her properly since she was technically a rank above. Or soon to be. But when doing so, she raised her hand stopping my action. I was relieved because I was comfortable and getting up was too much work, but even my heart discovered my panic hoping she didn't hear the conversation Yan Ran and I had just minutes before. And though I kept my expression composed and calm, I was freaking out inside.

"Please, stay as you were. You are with child, I could not make you stand. I come to you." And she did. She plopped down in the smelly grass as if it was nothing and brushed her fingers along the grass my toes danced in and inhaled the fresh air. "I see why you like it here; it as well reminds me of home. Though it is slightly different and the architecture is less advanced but colorful and cultured. There is less freedom here. You know, where I'm from, women can rule. They are sometimes respected more than men and have a say in political conversations."

It was awkward being next to her. Next to someone I have loath for months while she had no knowledge of my existence or this burn I felt towards her. "Shouldn't you be at the feast? Many worked hard for months to prepare it for you, be a shame to miss out on their efforts and upset them." I pushed, wanting her to leave. Yan Ran dismissed herself but she wasn't far and I knew she was listening to our conversation.

"I will be back soon," She waved her hand without care. "I came here to chat with you."

Me? What was there to talk about? I don't even like her. Maybe she was here to finish the job and have this world and Zian all to herself. I felt at ease when catching Zhao Ji's shadow hidden near a bush keeping a close eye. I sometimes forget she's there lurking from afar.

My eyes adverted to the lake. Her long braid was on my hand.  "About what?" I moved my hand from underneath.

"Us," She stated with a smile, a smile that could melt hearts instantly. "I know you don't like me."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. We just met today."

Despite my panic being, Princess Fan Xing released a laughter like she caught my lies. "You can admit it, it's okay. Men may be oblivious to such things but women knows all and I know you have a hot sword at my neck." She continued. "I came into your life, into your world without warning, and now I take away your man and you are not okay with that. I understand your hatred, but you have no choice but to accept me. I could have turned a blind eye but I come here to chat."

I snorted. "Are you here to address me? Because that is your first mistake."

"I am here as an ally. I wave my white flag if you can see it." She motioned her hand as if she was holding a flag. She assumed the action would make me laugh or lighten the mood but it failed so she stopped and continued on to what she came here to say. "I was betrothed to Xu Li Jun before I was born, you see. Barely formed my first heart beat before I was bound to a man who knew if not I was he or she. I catered my childhood learning of his world, speaking his language, learning his ways, until BloodWar happened and he was pronounced dead. At 4, I thought out loud 'I am finally free to love who I love and wed whom I loved and play like a real child'. Years later, I did find someone I love. My father gave his blessing and we were to wed months from now when he returned from his long journey...until news of the Crown Prince, the man I was betrothed to before my birth was alive this whole time and has taken his rightful throne. I knew it, by the look my father gave, whom I loved didn't matter because I now have a duty to my parents, to my home, to my people. And if I refuse, he would lock up the man I love and would starve him to death if needed to be."

This was the first time hearing her background story than from out everyone's mouths who knew nothing but her name and her people's customs. It was more than enough to sympathize with her, and I did. She left behind her home and the people she loved to come here and marry a man for the sake of her people's future. I as well left my home and the people I love to be with Zian, but then I remembered the way Zian looked at her and the way she looked at him, and where I will be if I don't make myself known.

I sighed, moving my braids from off my shoulder. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, playing with the grass between my fingers.

"Because I want no bad blood. And I want you to know that I will do what's needed of me to save my people from endless bloodshed. And that I don't love the Emperor, but I do need him as he needs me." We finally met eyes. She — left vulnerable for coming here and opening herself to me. And me — feeling that hatred decreasing. "You are the most favorable woman in the Inner City, being the Empress is nothing if he worries about only you. The way you feel of me navigates the way he treat me and my people. I don't ask we become friends, but so we tolerate each other so you keep the man you love and I make my people happy. Can we do that?"

My mind thought back to the story Grand Empress Dowager spoke of about the former Empress. I was so worried that I will be forgotten that I didn't realize there could be someone else in the same shoe. But I'm selfish. I don't want to give Zian away, nevertheless share him with another who might be more interesting than me. But I also don't want her to suffer because of me, while I don't want to suffer because of her.

This was a difficult situation where I finally held the keys, but while also being forced to adjust myself for someone else. I don't know what to do so I agreed. Friends, I will not do. Tolerating, I can try. But as soon as she gives me a reason to not trust her, it will be the last time she asks me for favors.

Catching my nod of agreement, she smiled. "Great. I need to get back to the feast, I know you want to be left alone." She brushed her hands together as she stood to her feet. I as well began to stand since I was tired and the Vision of Youth was quite a journey from here. "This was a nice chat. I hope we both get what we want."

"I too."

•••••••

I know a lot of y'all are surprised rn LMAO. Y'all was expecting her to be really mean and a big bully, but I thought making her this was would be better....for now mwhaha