True to his word, Xiao Yu did not show up the next day.

At first, Ju Li had suspected it had something to with her behavior. Perhaps her acceptance of his invitation had put him off in some way. He must have thought that she would have been more stubborn than that. But that assumption was dismissed in light of the personality she knew him to have. His flamboyance would have been the only thing offended by her attitude, and at that, it would be marginally so.

Her next course of thought was that she had been figured out. Perhaps he had heard talk of her family marrying off both she and Xiao Li. He might have assumed that she was using him all for the selfish sake of not being married off to a stranger. But, Xiao Yu was still very much a stranger to her, as well. There was not much that she knew of him, save what she had asked of him and what he had told her. There was still the air of mystery surrounding him that was both intriguing and frightening. Her instinctual fear of the unknown was what kept her from delving deeply in matters that she should not.

A sigh slipped past her lips as she watched a customer walk off, awaiting the arrival of the next. The day progressed slowly without Xiao Yu around. His magical pull on others kept business moving smoothly, but his absence left them faltering. She concluded that it was his jewels that drew them in. The sight of a man so dim as to wear such expensive things around here must have been enough for them to want to see. Or maybe it was the thought that he was rich, and spending his precious time being cakes from a poor stall. It could only ensure that they must taste better than all the food he could afford. Or, still, they could be coming over to see if there was something happening that they could gossip about.

The three possibilities had always been on Ju Li's mind, mostly because she wished to preserve the flow of business on the days that Xiao Yu was not around. It would mean that they would not be dependent on his presence, and that maybe things would return to how they had always been. A regression to previous times, when there was less to worry about.

The murmur and bustle of the market came to a halt, breaths drawn in and held. Ju Li noticed this a moment too late, glancing up only to find a three-man row of officials headed her way. Maybe they were going to someone else. They passed by the stalls, one by one, and with each step that drew them closer to her, her optimism faded.

The blue robes of the officials glimmered, the silky material catching the light so well in approaching dusk. Atop their heads sat their black hats, signaling their position long before their words did.

Ju Li's heart pounded against her chest, a hollow sound that rung through her ears. It grew worse as they got closer still—and stopped just in front of her stall. They turned, as if with some mechanism, in unison and bowed deeply towards her. When they lifted their heads, agonized expressions contorted their features. It was evident that they wanted to be there as much as she wanted them there. Maybe they would leave quickly, then.

The first of the three officials shuffled forward in that apparently court-worthy way they did. Ju Li flinched as he drew something from his sleeves, to which she saw the other two attempt to hide smiles in reaction. Instead of a mandate that may have marked her unfit for business, the official instead produced a letter sealed with wax.

He handed it over to her gingerly, yanking back his hands as soon as the letter had touched her palms. The overt worry on his face made her want to throw rocks at him. He was acting as if he had been stained by her touch—which had been nonexistent due to his careful maneuvering. He passed a murmur over to his two companions, and, once more in unison, they bowed. Turning the same way they had come from, the trio left a very confused Ju Li in their wake.

The market retained the silence it had taken up in their presence long after they had left. Eyes bore holes into Ju Li as she looked up to meet the respective gazes. They must have expected her to open it right then and there, with them as an audience as they had been for the arrival of the letter. But they would not be.

She took a moment to examine the seal, curious as to who might have sent it. The design pressed into the wax was unmistakable with its great dragon imprint. This was far more important than she had realized, and perhaps that was why it had taken three officials to deliver to her. They must not have wanted prying eyes seeing it, or for it to be stolen. The officials were notorious for remembering faces when it came to their own goods, and many wondered if the same was true for anything that involved their duties. Perhaps those that did wonder just didn't work up the courage on this occasion to test the theory.

Glancing up at the other merchants, she tucked the letter away in her frock and went about her business as if nothing had happened. The market fell back into a jolted rhythm that lasted throughout the day, worsened by the curious eyes of sellers and customers alike. She could see that one of her own customers had thought to ask her, mouth opening to pose the question, but they shut it promptly after receiving their cakes and walked off.

Finally, the time came for Ju Li to close up shop, and never had she waited so long for it. The process of locking up went much quicker than it usually did, hastened by her impatience to get home and report the news to her parents. Whatever was in this letter was best read with her parents if it had the imperial seal on it.

Her feet could not have brought her faster home, just barely restricted by her own clothing. The fabric caught and tangled around her legs, hindering movement for a second or two before she was up and running again. Her voice rang out as she called for her family.

"What is it? What has you so worked up," her mother inquired, although it sounded a lot more like she was being chastised.

"A letter," she managed to get out.

"From who," came her father's question as he strolled out to meet them in the garden.

Ju Li could not reply, but instead produced the letter in question. Presenting it to her parents with the seal facing upward, she watched the shock set into their faces. She was not prepared for the look of immense anger that followed on her mother's face.

Without having any time to turn away, she was struck quickly across her back. A soft cry of surprise left her just as another smack found its way to her bottom. Lash after lash rained down on her before her mother spoke.

"What have you done," her mother's voice cried, "You have doomed this family!"

"I did nothing," Ju Li protested.

"Xiao Li! What have you done?"

"Nothing," came her sister fearful reply from somewhere inside.

"Then who did what?"

"I do not know, Mother, but please, stop hitting me!"

At last, Ju Li's mother ceased in laying hands upon her, looking between her visible family members with a look of both worry and rage. Ju Li could not help but join in the thought that perhaps something wrong had been done, and they would be punished for it. It would seem that their fate was not looking quite so well these days.

Ju Li and her mother looked toward her father, who now held the letter in his hands. His eyes drifted between the two of them and the offending object in his hand. She could make out the quiver of his fingers as he reached to open it up. As if drawn in by some cue, Xiao Li came running in time to see their father break the seal and read carefully over the contents.

His face remained blank for a time, unreadable to those outside of him. He looked between the three women before him, back to the letter, then up to Ju Li. She could feel her mother preparing to take another swing at her as her father opened his mouth to speak.

"She has been invited to be an Imperial Consort."

// and there's the kicker. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and thank you all for reading ^-^ I'd really appreciate feedback, especially on the pacing of the story. am I going too slow, too fast? another thing I'd like feedback on is the setting. I am not entirely knowledgeable about Chinese history, but I would like for my story to be as accurate as I can make it. don't be afraid to call me out one something, because that could really help me improve this story and my writing. again, thank you all so much for reading! cheers, rem.