The Ant Woman Ch. 06

Wen didn't witness the more violent aspect of the aftermath. All she did witness was that excess charcoal, firewood, and unusually expensive tea was being sent to the Sweet Carrot Palace.

The tea was meant to be for Wen, but she gave a few bricks to Pollen Lady Kumi, who then distributed them to some of the other concubines in the palace. Re-gifting an "Imperial Gift," which was anything given by the Emperor, was generally against the rules, but food and beverages were an exception. Also, money. Money was meant to be spent. If the Emperor gave money, he expected you to spend it. Or at least save it for an emergency.

Wen did hear the gossip concerning what had happened at the Fuel Department. It seemed that the eunuch manager of that department wanted his tongue on every shoe of the highest ranking concubines and the Empress Consort. Living as a sycophant wasn't a sin, or at least Wen didn't think so. What had angered her so much was that in the process that eunuch had neglected and harmed a group of innocent people.

Every year, that eunuch manager would take fuel from the Sweet Carrot Palace's portion. Then he'd divide what he stole among the palaces of the higher consorts. This way, those consorts wouldn't each be given enough extra fuel to think, "Oh no, has someone been neglected?" But they would receive enough to think, "Oh, this eunuch is so thoughtful and kind. He always finds room to give me extra fuel."

Since the Emperor hadn't visited the Sweet Carrot Palace for so long, as least not until Wen arrived, the eunuch assumed the Emperor wouldn't care about the women there. And since Wen had purposely sent her maids to update the Emperor on her book, he didn't visit during the winter. This would only let the eunuch assume that whatever renewed interest he had in the Sweet Carrot Palace had evaporated.

For a servant to flatter and fawn over a high ranking Imperial Consort, that wasn't particularly wrong. It was even understandable. A consort with high favor from the Emperor, especially those with higher ranks, which brought higher monetary allowances each month, was a powerful woman. Technically, she wasn't allowed to influence the government, but she could do many other things. She could become a patron for an artist, student, or anyone else she liked. She could perform favors for her favorite people. She might even be able to influence the Emperor or even the Empress Dowager to do something for someone.

But that eunuch hadn't gone about it in an upright manner. Not only had he neglected a large number of the Emperor's women, lower ranking but still his women, the eunuch had also caused damage to Wen's hands, which was against the Emperor's decree. That eunuch was put to death, beheaded. Then another eunuch was given his position.

Emperor Shungjahe Shunlin had an outrageous conniption, or that's what was alleged. He'd knocked braziers over, thrown vases and plants about, and hollered so much that he was hoarse by the end of it all. He almost set the Fuel Department on fire, which would've been funny in a dark way.

Pollen Lady Kumi visited Wen's apartment after dinner that day, and she sat at Wen's dining table. "I can't help but feel grateful to you," she said as she took Wen's hands, which had recently been soaked in medicated cream. "Perhaps now the departments will be monitored with more careful eyes, and nobody will be neglected anymore."

"That can't be guaranteed," Wen said with a tired smile, "but at least, one day, the Emperor might give his grace to someone in this palace."

***

Another concubine, a fairly high ranking one. The Emperor was in her bed. She was adorable and submissive, pretty and warm. He'd sat down in a chair against a thick wall, and he'd told her to sit on his lap. But sitting might not have been a correct thing to say.

Her smooth feet dug into some low alcoves in the wall, where small vases or candles would normally stand. The Emperor had personally put those things aside to keep danger away. The concubine's thighs worked hard, but his grip helped her move. Her arms locked around his shoulders and her high-pitched squeals tickled his ears. Her jewelry bounced and clanged. She really liked her jewelry.

The vulgar words, the Emperor knew what they were. He thought he was too dignified to say them, but they echoed in his head.

This woman's cunt was like a vise. He loved it. Slick and nearly burning. Her smooth thighs lovingly ground against his.

A throbbing was in his balls. He was almost there, almost at the point where ...

A kiss ... couldn't he have one? Please?

His fingers dug into the heart-shaped coiffure, bringing her face closer. His lips parted, then lightly pressed over her bottom lip, where a drop of orange-red had been painted. He'd just gained a small taste of the clay, flower, rice, and other ingredients in the cosmetics when the woman jerked back and out of his grasp. She squeaked with fear and pulled off of his cock.

The mood was gone.

The Emperor sighed and let his fingertips graze the side of her throat.

***

The Empress Consort's birthday was at the end of winter, and a celebration similar to the Empress Dowager's dinner had been scheduled in the Peach Cream Hall. All the concubines had to give her presents. Wen made hers. She drew certain images in clear wax on a thick paper canvas. Then, with the dried wax serving as a protective layer and a stencil, she painted a background of a purple and dark blue night sky with bright stars. Later, she peeled the wax away and painted a pale full moon with a shadowed tree branch.

At the dinner, Wen's gift was as well accepted as the others of her rank, but she did notice that the Empress Consort gave the smallest of smiles as her green eyes glossed over the image.

The Emperor's birthday was in the beginning of spring. Wen made a gift for him too. It was a simple scroll of a calligraphy painting. On the upper left corner, she painted a waiting spider with thin legs and a large abdomen waiting in its web, which was covered with dew drops. As for the calligraphy, she'd surrounded the meticulously written characters with leaves that also had their share of dew. Instead of copying something, Wen had invented her own aphorism.

"The diligent ones should eat well."

The Emperor accepted this gift without any smile, but he did say that it was well made and the written statement was very true.

During all this time, the Sweet Carrot Palace hadn't had any visits from the Emperor. At most, he'd sent a eunuch to check up on Wen. She'd been commissioned again for another book, this time a love story.

As for her last book, the Emperor had said it was fine and rewarded her with a beautiful new inkstone made of a large river stone. This stone was crystalline and resembled jade. The corners of this inkstone had been carved into shapes of clouds, a full moon, a flying dragon, and a few butterflies.

When her birthday arrived in the middle of spring, Wen knew not to expect much. The Emperor's concubines didn't normally have birthday parties. However, a gift was sent to her from her father. It was a simple comb, meant for grooming the hair, made of wood coated in shiny black lacquer. It was on this day when Min Ji went to the Sweet Carrot Palace and said to Wen that the Emperor has permitted her to go to one of the gates of the Tree Cage's main outer wall and have a short visit with her father.

Wen didn't really want to do that, but she thought if she didn't go then people would think ill of her, especially since this was a considered to be a generous offer from the Emperor.

With Nuan as her escort, Wen took the long walk to the gate at the arranged time, close to when her Father would be leaving for home. Higher ranking consorts would be carried in sedan chairs, but Wen was one of the women who would have to walk. Thankfully, Nuan had packed some canteens of water to keep them hydrated.

At the gate, the women sat on collapsible chairs and waited. Eventually, Wen saw her father for the first time in a good while. He hurried over to her, his eyes looking slightly less droopy than normal. Then he actually half-knelt to her, which made sense. Wen was now significantly higher than him on the social scale, and while she still needed to be respectful, she didn't have to be particularly humble.

"Greetings to Seafoam Attendant Wen," he said quite formally.

"Good afternoon, Father." Wen stood up. "Have you been well?"

With a grin and a nod, Father replied, "Yes. A good family has given me their daughter as a concubine. Her name's Bao."

"I hope she's adjusting well," Wen coolly said.

"She is," Father said. "Your mother's been very kind to her."

Wen assumed so. "I've received your birthday gift. It's very pretty. Thank you."

"Yes, I couldn't forget my most honorable child," he said, seeming unaware of how it stung Wen's heart. She could never view her older sister as less honorable even if she did kill herself.

"Please speak to Mother for me," Wen said. "Tell her I'm well and safe."

"Certainly," Father said with part of a bow.

Wen sighed and looked away. "I can't linger. If I do, I'll be abusing the Emperor's kindness."

"Of course," Father said with a bow. "Goodbye, Little Daughter."

Her black teeth grinding against each other, Wen left quite smoothly. Sad images were invented in her head. Her mother forgotten in her room, lonely and not likely to have anymore children. All affections put on the concubine.

Wen knew her father well enough. He wasn't the sort of husband who would treat all his consorts fairly. He was easily seduced, easily tempted. A weak man.

She hoped her mother would live well even without her father's favor.

***

The fresh green leaves of the Godly Tree had beautiful pink flowers. Sometimes, a little petal would fall away and be carried by the wind to the roads inside the Tree Cage. It was considered good luck to have a petal land on any part of one's body. Sometimes, even the lowest maid from the Hard Labor Department would look up and hope that a petal would fall on her shoulder.

Wen considered it to be proper inspiration for her next book, as many artists in this culture would. She thought of pale pink rouge against white makeup.

One morning, as Wen was finishing a chapter, Moto went to her side and whispered, "Seafoam Attendant Bora's been saying unpleasant things about you. Everyone's talking about it."

Putting her page aside to dry, Wen said, "There's no need to fret. Let her embarrass herself."

"But Mistress, what if she grows too bold?"

"Then everyone will know she's too bold," answered Wen. "Where's Nuan?"

Quiet, Moto turned her head away.

Wen wanted to pick up her inkstone and throw it against a wall, but that wouldn't have been wise. Ink would've splattered everywhere and a few things would've been broken. A gritty sigh came from her throat before she asked, "Has she gone to meet her lover again?"

Moto only folded her hands and looked down at her shoes.

Damn it.

Wen rose and said, "I'll have to have a chat with her lover, then."

An hour and a half later, in a small alley between two workshops, Moto had the sleeve of a particular guard, and she led this surprised guard behind a tall fence.

Wen was waiting for them there.

It was only a short conversation. A warning. Stop this relationship with Nuan. It was against the rules. It was dangerous. There's no point to it. Everyone involved, except for perhaps Nuan, understood that this wouldn't bloom into a marriage.

The guard took the scolding fairly well, actually. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't sad either.

Wen regretted that conversation on the next day.

Min Ji personally arrived with a few eunuchs to the Sweet Carrot Palace. Firmly, he demanded that Wen go to the Emperor's palace immediately. It was a serious issue.

With her maids at her sides, and basically everyone else's eyes on her back, Wen left for the Emperor's home.

It had a name. Dragon's Nest Palace. Most people didn't like to say the name aloud. They were often afraid that their unworthy lips would curse the place. Wen had always thought that was strange. In fact, she'd only recently learned the palace's name. That's how uncommon it was for people to say it.

She was thinking of dragons when she walked through a side entrance, wondering if there were any trees big enough to hold them. Maybe she should've had more mature thoughts, considering she'd already sensed that a bit of trouble was in the air. But she didn't know what the trouble was at the time.

Wen and her maids were put into a small reading room, and they knelt down before the Emperor. That man was in a casual, honey colored robe with a pair of soft slippers. A few open books and scrolls were on the table near his seat. It was as if he'd been reading and then someone had only just recently told him some terrible news. He stood with his chair behind him, his hands forming fists.

And he didn't tell Wen to rise.

"Little Seafoam," the Emperor forced out through tight teeth, "someone has said you were seen discreetly talking to a guard."

Wen's heart froze for a second, but she said, "This is true. This concubine has spoken to a guard."

"Well," the Emperor said, "then explain this."

A eunuch quickly approached and put a folded piece of paper on the floor. Wen picked it up, opened it, and read the paper.

"Meet me in the Hard Labor Department. From, Jiafahn."

Wen almost giggled to see it. "May this concubine ask, how many times has Your Majesty read this message?"

She heard his slippers scrape against the wooden floor. "What does that matter?"

"It matters a great deal, because I know I didn't write this note."

One of the scrolls was knocked onto the floor. The cylinder rolled along, leaving paper behind. The Emperor snapped out, "What are you implying?!"

"If His Majesty would kindly look at the last book I wrote, and compare my handwriting to this note, then the truth should be made clear. The true author of this note did try to imitate my handwriting, but it's imperfect. The flaws are quite visible." Wen had several drafts and note in her apartment. It was highly possible that someone had been bribed to break into her apartment to steal some of those papers. Right there, she decided to later invest in a damn good lock for her door.

Grumbling, the Emperor told a eunuch to give the note to him. When he held the note again, he went over to a shelf, where Wen's book apparently rested. She heard the leather being dragged over wood. Then she heard some pages being flipped.

Wen thought the minutes weren't very painful at all to experience. She was amazingly comfortable as she knelt there, again thinking of dragons. When the Emperor called on her again, his voice sounded dazed. "Seafoam ... who wrote this note?"

On her left, Moto had to choke down a giggle.

"It's quite unknown, Your Majesty," Wen said, "but I know our Emperor is wise. Certainly, now that time has passed and tempers have cooled, another question can be asked. If I wanted to write such a dangerous, scandalous note, why would I sign my old name on it? Or any name connected to me, for that matter?"

But a sound destroyed Wen's good mood.

On her right, Nuan suddenly curled over, trying to block something in her mouth with her hands.

The smell of vomit hit Wen before the spraying liquid emerged from between Nuan's fingers.

The Emperor called for a doctor immediately.

Some minutes after that incident, Wen, Moto, the Emperor, and Min Ji all impatiently waited in one of the reception rooms. Min Ji was the most visibly upset. He paced back and forth for a long time, grumbling about how Nuan was "wasting the Emperor's time" and "taking advantage of his kindness."

Wen was trying to keep herself from shivering. Her eyes pointed down to the floor as she sat in a chair. Behind her, Moto stood. She didn't have to turn her head to know that Moto was wringing her hands together.

The doctor went into the room soon, and he said with a tired voice, "That maid is pregnant."

Wen could only think of one thing to do.

She couldn't give the Emperor time to think.

Wen actually hurt her knees as she got down. Then she practically shouted, "Your Majesty, this concubine has only one request!" She prostrated herself before the wide-eyed Emperor. "Please don't have my maid beaten!"

The doctor knew better than to hang around. He half-knelt and left the room with an apology.

The Emperor's voice rushed down to her. "Did someone force her?"

Wen didn't want to answer that. She heard Moto get down too, as if she too wanted to give a request, but she was quiet. Wen tried to keep her voice from breaking. Her forehead pressed jitters out of her fingers. "Your Majesty, this pitiable, weak-hearted concubine can't bear the thought of a pregnant woman being caned. The innocent child would suffer."

The Emperor said, "Generally, a maid that had an affair would be beaten then banished, pregnant or not."

"It's such a cruel law," Wen said. "This concubine would never suggest that a careless maid should live without punishment, but how wonderful it would be if the punishment was changed! Normally, this concubine would never give a bold opinion concerning the law, but this involves the Imperial Harem, which is within the rights of the consorts to speak of. And so, this concubine must risk angering Your Majesty for the sake of the innocent."

There was a moment where all Wen heard was her heartbeat and breath. Then Min Ji spoke up. "Majesty, oh Majesty! Such a odd woman this is! Is it possible that the guard she spoke to is the father of that maid's child?"

"That ... that would explain why she would be seen with a guard, but ... Seafoam Wen?" The Emperor's voice softened when he addressed her. "Someone took advantage of that to try to frame you. Since you've been wronged, I'll have recompense for you soon."

Wen could've gotten up, but she didn't. She kept her body humbly low, her forehead still on her hands. "Would His Majesty please tell me what the recompense is?"

Footsteps, their vibrations moved through the floor and under Wen's body. She trembled.

"First," the Emperor said, "if you tell me who the father of your maid's child is, I'll have him banished from the Tree Cage. Then, I won't have your maid beaten, but she will be expelled. I'll even see what can be done about changing the law concerning illegal relationships in this palace, at least for situations where a maid becomes pregnant."

There were a few seconds where Wen didn't believe what she'd heard. When she'd pleaded for Nuan, she half-thought it wouldn't work, but she was certainly going to try. There wasn't anything for Wen to lose by trying. At the worst, the Emperor would've refused her request but also chided her for coddling a maid.

Warmth, almost like a streak of daylight, it enveloped Wen's body and mind as she realized what she'd accomplished.

A little virgin concubine with almost no affection from her husband.

The Emperor had promised that he'd ... show mercy to someone he didn't care about ... and he'd even try to have a law changed.

Because she'd begged him for it.

"Rise, Little Seafoam," the Emperor said so gently, like a parent trying to soothe a child to sleep. "You have a position to fill now. Pick a maid from any department you like."

Wen still looked down as she got up to her feet, and she shyly asked, "Majesty? Who presented that false note to you?"

His clothing's hem fluttered and his feet backed away. His voice turned harsher. "Seafoam Attendant Bora. If she had a higher rank I'd demote her, but I'll have her caned ten times instead. Then she'll be confined to the Moonbeam Palace until autumn begins."