From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 135: Little Swallow

"Be careful, the midday sun is very hot today."

The brim of a paper umbrella cast a soft shadow over Yan Zheyun as he strolled along the meandering paths of the imperial gardens. It was too warm for any of the concubines to be out and about and Yan Zheyun, with only his trusted Xiao De for company, was a rare sight at this hour. Ordinarily, he would prefer to curl up next to the large bowls of ice that his station afforded him and take a nap to while away the uncomfortable heat but today Liu Yao had a task for him.

"Please watch your step, we’re almost there." There was a section of old cobblestones that was more uneven than others, signalling that they were in an old part of the gardens before the newer generations of emperors expanded upon it. Yan Zheyun didn’t trip but Xiao De was there by his side to negate the possibility altogether.

He had grown into his role as Imperial Concubine Yue’s personal eunuch. Where he’d once been too flighty and childish, he now used that cleverly as a disguise but only Yan Zheyun knew how sharp the mind carefully concealed beneath the surface was. A suitable ally, an excellent confidante. And he’d become accustomed to Yan Zheyun’s preferences too; when they were alone, he never referred to Yan Zheyun by title or honorific.

How should Yan Zheyun put this? No wonder Xiao De was worthy of being Liu Suzhi’s godson. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree that...adopted it. Or something.

"Conscientious," Yan Zheyun acknowledged before bopping him gently on the nose. "But not necessary. I’m not fragile." This elicited a bright grin that reminded him of the boy that used to run helter-skelter through Zheshan Palace when it’d still been empty.

It wasn’t all that long ago, he realised. People changed quicker than the seasons could.

Not for the first time in the last couple of days, his mind wandered back to Liu Suzhi’s story. He didn’t know how much of it was the truth and how much of it was embellished by hatred but it was hard to ignore the bitterness that resonated from within.

Slaves, eunuchs, maids, the poor, the downtrodden, the outcasts. How many of them were the protagonists of their own personal tragedy? Yan Zheyun wasn’t even sure if he could save himself, let alone others.

You have no obligation to either. But that self-reminder didn’t make him feel any less helpless in the face of this indomitable social construct, this hierarchy enforced by culture and protected by the heavy tenets of ’law’ and ’tradition’. Change wasn’t going to be as easy as just calling for a board meeting to discuss policies to improve employee welfare. The wars on the kingdom’s frontiers had ceased for now but morning they waged on in Liu Yao’s court.

Forget it. These matters would take time to resolve, could not be solved overnight. Baby steps were key. He shoved his troubles out of his mind and focused on the little job he had on hand.

At the northmost of the imperial gardens, beyond moongates to the left and the right, were the abodes of the princes who were still too young to be granted a rank and given their an estate in the capital in addition to land. They were the Eastern Six Abodes and the Western Six Abodes (1) respectively. With an emperor that was twenty-five years of age, one would expect a new generation of little princes to have moved in by now but they remained mostly empty. In terms of status, these residences of the princes should not be called ’palaces’ and yet...

...and yet, despite the ardent protests of his morning court, one of them had been fitted with all the luxuries afforded to the rank of ’consort’ palaces. The colours chosen were simpler, less opulent and more refined with a pine garden, a guqin pavilion and a little study in the side wing with a window that could be seen straight from the entrance. As though whoever had designed the place had wanted to check in on the little sulky figure seated petulantly at the desk just behind as easily as possible.

The thought made Yan Zheyun smile as he stepped past the threshold of the ninth’s prince’s palace—there was no denying what it was; Liu Yao’s love for his little brother showed as much in his strictness as it did in his doting.

The brushstrokes on the inscribed board that hung over the entrance to the small main hallway were familiar. Yan Zheyun saw it nearly every day, the same bold, unbridled strokes that never failed to gain his admiration. But the smile on his face dimmed as his eyes traced over the characters.

Tang Yan Palace. A swallow that had built its nest in the eaves of a hall. As far as he knew, this came from an idiom that meant to ’falsely believe one was living in safety and happiness, ignorant of impending disaster’. Should a fire suddenly break out in the hall below, the swallow’s family would perish without any forewarning.

Why would Liu Yao choose such an inauspicious name for his beloved little brother’s residence? The affection Yan Zheyun knew he harboured for the young prince wasn’t feigned. The very reason why Yan Zheyun had been sent to visit today was that Liu Yao had been too busy with whatever was consuming all his time in the day to drop by and wanted to ensure that Liu An’s studies were still on track.

Help me ensure he’s completing his lessons, Liu Yao had asked of him. And keep your eyes open.

The first part of the request could have come from any concerned, nagging older brother regardless of time and place; Yan Zheyun was guilty as charged, often breathing down the necks of Lixin and Liheng until he was sure that they were adequately prepared for their examinations.

But that second part was strange. Liu Yao hadn’t told him what he should be looking out for and Yan Zheyun wasn’t sure why he’d made it sound so ominous. This, coupled together with the name of the place sent a frisson of unease running through Yan Zheyun.

It occurred to him that Liu Yao might mean this as a warning. Not to Liu An, whose innocence had been well-preserved despite his difficult past, but to Liu Yao himself.

And now Yan Zheyun. Perhaps this little swallow, still fluttering his wings in his tiny golden cage but too weak as of yet to fly to freedom on his own, was in greater danger than he’d previously thought. At the end of the day, Liu Yao’s power was not as absolute as it needed to be and maybe this was how Liu Yao reminded himself day after day that one slip-up could result in inconsolable loss.

Heart heavier than it had been mere seconds ago, Yan Zheyun headed in, Xiao De remarking in surprise that there were no eunuchs outside to announce the arrival of Imperial Concubine Yue. In normal circumstances, concubines without children would steer clear of this area of the inner palace, not wanting to accidentally implicate themselves should anything happen to these precious male dragon offspring. Given how lax the security around here seemed to be, Yan Zheyun couldn’t say he was surprised that ’accidents’ did happen.

He narrowed his eyes. Something didn’t seem right. Liu Yao wouldn’t be this careless, the eunuchs that served in Tang Yan Palace had either grown lazy with Liu Yao’s extended absence or something bigger was afoot.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out where they’d gone. As he stepped into the reception hall, he could hear laughter from the clearing beyond as well as cheers. His mouth twisted into a frown as he headed over. It was just past midday and the weather was scorching hot. Children were more susceptible to dehydration and heatstroke in this infernal weather, not to mention that according to the strict schedules of the inner palace, Liu An should have just had his meal and should be preparing for a gentle stroll through the shaded corridors to aid his digestion before taking a short nap and recommencing his studies after.

Instead, the little prince stood drenched in sweat in the middle of his courtyard, eyes bright with zest and mischief as he watched his eunuchs kick a jianzi (2), a shuttlecock with colourful peacock plumage back and forth, squealing in delight every time he was given a shot at it. To the right, his wet nurse, whose square-jawed face Yan Zheyun could hazily recall from their one brief meeting that winter’s night, watched on with an indolent smile as she lectured a row of young maids in a grating voice.

"This old servant has never seen such useless wastrels as the lot of you before," she continued. "Only relying on your pretty faces to try and get you places in the inner palace, but I’m telling you now, dream on! Your new master is His Highness the ninth prince, what gives you the right to contradict him? Who gave you the guts?!"

Her beady gaze bored into one of the girls in particular, who fell gracefully to her knees and apologised.

"This servant begs for forgiveness for her mistakes, this servant was only informed that it was His Highness’ rest time and thought to ask..."

Yan Zheyun glanced over. Her voice was familiar; sweet but not saccharine, calm even as it faced adversity. Her physique fit the mould too—could it be? But regardless, it would be inappropriate for him to look for long, even worse for him to go over to clarify but his heart soared even at the slightest possibility. He’d asked this favour of Liu Yao long ago, back when he hadn’t dared to trust that Liu Yao would deliver and Liu Yao had promised, had probably delivered given the rumours in the capital that Xiao De had gone to great lengths to fish out for him, but then so much else had happened, he hadn’t thought that Liu Yao would have the time.

Don’t get your hopes up just yet. He could confirm who she was later, right now, he had to take care of Liu An, who wasn’t in good hands in the least.

The shuttlecock landed next to Liu An’s feet as his wet nurse’s scolding caught his attention and he shuffled on the spot, brows knitted together in a tiny furrow.

"Wet Nurse, is it really that big a deal?" He shot a look of concern over at the maids. "These big sisters just arrived...even if they make mistakes—"

"Your Highness," the wet nurse interrupted, not realising or more likely not caring that she was not displaying the impeccable manners a humble servant should have towards their master. "Don’t fall for their tricks. If you show them such leniency so early on, they’ll soon learn to walk all over you." She put on an ingratiating smile. "Listen to your wet nurse, you’ve grown up under my watchful eye, I only wish the best for you."

"That’s right," one of the eunuchs piped up, picking the shuttlecock up and waving it tantalisingly in Liu An’s direction. "Tang Yan Palace is Your Highness’ territory, whatever Your Highness wishes should come first! Your Highness wishes to play, then who is a mere maid to tell you otherwise—"

Liu An’s pout grew bigger. "But this prince still doesn’t think they were in the wrong—"

Was this what Liu Yao wanted him to settle? Had he suspected that the rot of the palace had extended over to his youngest of brothers and if so, who did he think was behind it?

He supposed he was here to solve this mystery for Liu Yao.

"It is reassuring to see that His Highness the Ninth Prince is capable of good judgement despite being surrounded by sycophants."

A small commotion broke out at Yan Zheyun’s interruption. He’d stopped Xiao De from doing the job of the door eunuchs and the abruptness of his entry meant that they had no time to school their expressions before he could catch a glimpse. His eyes didn’t miss the flicker of panic across their faces, the flashes of guilt.

Very good. Whatever was going on here, it was up to him to get to the bottom of it.