Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 85: Coming to the Attention of the Harem

Chapter 85: Coming to the Attention of the Harem

The beautiful Noble Consort Ling sat languidly in her chambers, surrounded by her servants and a handful of lower ranking concubine hangers-on, when one of her allied eunuchs entered the room.

He kowtowed to the senior consort, "Noble Consort, I have some news," he said slyly.

She waved her hand, dismissing the hangers-on and only leaving her most trusted maidservants in earshot.

"Go ahead," she yawned lazily.

"A new Court Lady has entered our Lord’s service; the only daughter of Commander Mei. She was supposed to be a tea-lady, but this morning he already requested she help fix his hair."

Ling Lumei sat up straight, her face taking on a sharper countenance.

"Go on."

"She’s a great beauty. Her beauty is commented on wherever she goes. Before she entered the palace her nickname around the capital was Wang Zhaojun."

The Noble Consort pursed her lips in displeasure.

"Any more bad news?"

"Her father pulled strings with the Chief Eunuch to get permission for her to bring her pet dog into the palace."

This was getting worse and worse; she thought with annoyance. Another beautiful rival and getting close to the Emperor by stealth instead of competing on a level playing field with the other concubines in the harem!

She would head straight over and lay eyes on this little upstart!

Meili was serving the Emperor tea in his study in the afternoon when the Chief Eunuch announced the arrival of Noble Consort Ling.

"Show her in," the Emperor, who was reading memorials, waved his hand at Eunuch Feng.

The beautiful Ling Lumei sashayed into the Emperor’s presence and curtsied.

"My Lord," she fluttered. "I’ve brought you some wandouhuang, made with my own fair hands. I know it’s not spring, but knowing how much you enjoy this dessert, I thought it might tempt you."

"Very thoughtful thank you, Lumei," the Emperor motioned at one of the servants to collect the dessert and place it on his desk.

Ling Lumei’s eyes fastened onto Mei Meili like a hawk sighting its prey.

The Emperor raised one quizzical eyebrow. This consort of his had one of the fastest lines of communication in the palace. Nothing of interest escaped her notice for long.

Still, it wouldn’t do for her to take too much interest in his little wildcard. Lumei was a dangerous woman, and difficult to control. She acted on emotion rather than logic, like most women, and it made her difficult to predict.

The consort’s eyes widened slightly on seeing Meili. Hmmph. What was her Lord pretending at here? This girl was beautiful enough to compete with even the Imperial Noble Consort. Had he taken her as a personal servant to keep her close? She must get to the bottom of this mystery!

"You have a new Court Lady, Lord?" she asked innocently, indicating none other than Mei Meili.

Meili, who had had her eyes downcast, looked up in surprise, finding the Noble Consort staring directly at her.

Why would such a senior consort take any interest in a Court Lady like her?

"I see that word travels fast, Lumei," the Emperor replied cynically. "Miss Mei Meili, meet Noble Consort Ling Lumei. Miss Mei is the only daughter of Lord Mei. She was called to the palace to serve me as a Court Lady, starting this morning."

The Noble Consort nodded slightly at Mei Meili, who curtsied deeply.

"A mere Court Lady?" she raised an eyebrow. "Has she been through the concubine selections yet?"

"Not yet, but of course, this service to me may buy her a leave pass."

Meili looked with surprise at the Emperor.

That was good news, and the first she had heard of it. Although she had no concerns about the concubine selections, it seemed that quite a few of her friends and her brothers were concerned by it.

She knew that it would be welcome news to them to hear that she might not even need to participate if she served the Emperor well.

"A leave pass because she has served you and been rewarded a marriage, or a leave pass because you’ve taken her into the harem sooner than the trials?"

"Lumei," the Emperor chided her.

Always to the point, when her ire was provoked, he thought.

Meili looked between the two like a puzzled child; ’rewarded a marriage’?

She hoped the Emperor would not hand her off to some horrible man who treated her with disdain or abuse. She shuddered with fear.

She must tell her father so he could try to ensure any man selected for her by the Emperor was someone her parents favoured too.

"Whichever it is, will be for me to decide, Lumei. It doesn’t concern you. You’d do well to remember to keep your nose out of my affairs or it won’t go well for you," he warned the little minx.

She thought she could get away with murder, literally, because she was so pretty.

While he had spent some enjoyable nights with Ling Lumei, he would bring her into line so fast she wouldn’t know which way was up, if she upset his plans. And she hadn’t borne him a child yet, so her position was far from cemented.

"Lord," she bowed her head in acknowledgment of his reprimand. "You must come and join me for tea, Miss Mei," she said to the girl, in a voice that suggested she actually didn’t want her to come.

"Thank you, Noble Consort, if you’re inviting me of course I will come, if the Emperor can spare me?" she looked to the Emperor, uncertain what the protocol was for a Court Lady to take tea with a Noble Consort.

"Find your feet in your new role for a few more days, and then we’ll see," he said protectively.

The Noble Consort withdrew from his study. "Bring your famous dog, too," she called to Mei Meili as she left.

Meili looked after her with concern.

Her mother had told her not to trust any of the concubines and consorts, no matter how kind they appeared on the surface. She said they were all in a fight for power and security and that their intentions were always dangerous. She must keep her head down and attempt to stay beneath their notice.

This didn’t seem like a good start at all on her first day...

The Emperor watched the emotions chase across the girl’s face one after the other. He could read her like a primer.

She was scared, and so she should be... At least her parents had taught her that much, he reflected.