From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 131: As Good as Any Son

Lately, the imperial villa was a flurry of logistical upheaval. This wasn’t due to anything particularly exciting in and of itself; His Majesty, in a fit of whimsicality that made the nostrils of his older and more conservative officials flare, had declared during morning court that the imperial entourage would be returning to the imperial city as he had grown tired of the life in the mountains.

It was still summer so naturally, this decision had been met with faint protests from those members of the nobility, who were less keen on joining the less privileged suffering in the stifling capital.

But the emperor’s word was the law. And so it was that the eunuchs and the maids of the imperial villa were swept into a frenzy of packing and cleaning, just to ensure that their masters and mistresses would be on track for a timely departure and not incur the wrath of their very wayward liege.

Wilful, stubborn, obstinate. No one was brave enough to voice those thoughts out loud in front of His Majesty but Zhao Qiaoting could sense the dissatisfaction rippling through the air these couple of days and it had everything to do with the supposed real reason why His Majesty was adamant that they returned to the imperial city.

This Qixi (1), on the seventh day of the seventh month, Imperial Concubine Yue would come of age. This was a grand moment in the life of every boy where he would officially be regarded in society as a man and if the ex-Prime Minister Yan were still alive, the festivities in that household would no doubt be lavish on that day to do the capping ceremony justice.

But ex-Prime Minister Yan was dead, along with all the older male relatives of the fallen Yan Family and Imperial Concubine Yue only had a husband now.

A husband who was willing to go to great lengths to fill in for the missing fathers, uncles, brothers, and teachers despite knowing that it would be met with protest. From the secret glimpses she had taken of her father’s readings in his study, Zhao Qiaoting knew that a good, benevolent leader would not rule by whimsy. He would be just and fair to all his subjects and place them as a priority over himself. She knew, logically, that His Majesty’s actions would be met with disapproval and disappointment, that to much of his court, his behaviour was akin to that of a rash young lad with little consideration for others apart from his current pampered plaything.

But she couldn’t help but feel a little envious regardless. As a woman, she could only admire the love that she’d seen blossoming between them. As a concubine, she could only dream that she might ever experience a fraction of those feelings.

Unrealistic expectations, she reminded herself. You knew that from the very beginning. Even from that moment all those years ago as a little girl just twelve summers old, she had known that she stood no chance.

It had been the year when the northern borders had finally quietened down for the first time in decades. It had been said that across the kingdom, the people had lined the paths headed towards the capital to celebrate their valiant crown prince’s victorious return; in the capital, things had not been different.

Zhao Qiaoting would never forget the sight she’d seen from her view over the city walls, the soldiers of Great Ye’s army a sea that had flowed to the horizon. Riding at the helm upon a tall black horse had been a gallant young man in armour, the ribbon of his high ponytail fluttering in the wind behind him, the same shade as his crimson cloak. She’d found his stern expression intimidating, more still because of how everyone else had bowed as he’d passed, but her father had told her beforehand that this man was the country’s future, that he had done so many good deeds at such a tender age and was worthy of admiration.

And then, at the city gates, the young man had jumped off his horse abruptly, just in time to catch a slender figure in white who’d leapt at him, and the smile that had broken on his face had been brighter than the rising sun.

Zhao Qiaoting had felt her heart beating back then as it still beat now. But she wasn’t so misguided as to think that she had any right to what had never been hers to have.

"Little Mistress, it’s Imperial Concubine Yue again." Standing by Zhao Qiaoting was her closest maidservant and childhood companion, Lanyu. Her gaze was trained on the figure in white’s stately approach with a caution that Zhao Qiaoting could understand but did not agree with. Lanyu knew about her feelings towards the emperor and was indignant on Zhao Qiaoting’s behalf because she was a loyal, good companion who cared for Zhao Qiaoting like a sister and couldn’t help but distrust and dislike who she saw as Zhao Qiaoting’s biggest rival in the inner palace.

But Zhao Qiaoting couldn’t bring herself to hate Imperial Concubine Yue. Contrary to that, these recent meetings that she knew were engineered by the other had only proven to her that all the past gossip that had spread about Imperial Concubine Yue being a demon sent to beguile and seduce the emperor was nothing more than the product of jealousy and malice. She had always sensed that there was more to him than some of her other ’sisters’ and ’brothers’ were willing to acknowledge but now she had more than enough confirmation.

She rose to her feet as Imperial Concubine Yue strode into the pavilion, accompanied only by the young eunuch who was never far from his side. This was a simpler entourage than the rank of imperial concubine could afford him; Imperial concubine Hui, for example, never left her palace without at least two of the four maids that were allocated to her (2) and a eunuch. However, this was not to say that Imperial Concubine Yue’s modest entrance was demeaning. The unassuming but confident manner in which he carried himself belied the years of servitude he suffered. If his past wasn’t something that the entire capital was familiar with and even cruelly adopted as after-dinner conversation, Zhao Qiaoting would believe that this was a young master from a wealthy and influential family who had never experienced the harsh realities of the world for himself.

"This little sister greets Imperial Concubine Yue." Zhao Qiaoting made to curtsy but was quickly halted in her actions and ushered into her seat with a reassuring smile.

"Let’s dispense with the formalities," Imperial Concubine Yue said with an easy smile. He had a knack for making the people around him comfortable if he wanted to, Zhao Qiaoting realised, could see why even someone as stern and unyielding as the emperor would enjoy his company. Compared to the endless turbulent waters of the inner palace, where strife and discord and the ugliness of humans were painted over with white powder and red rouge, he was tranquil like an evening by a still lake.

He was an excellent conversationalist too—or at least, he was alarmingly good at catering to her tastes.

Zhao Qiaoting might be a woman, a pampered, sheltered daughter of a powerful man, but he was a good father and he did not raise her to be a fool. Although there was nothing wrong with a male concubine having tea with a female concubine out in the open where everyone could witness that their behaviour fell well within the boundaries of propriety, it was customary still to avoid placing oneself in a precarious position. Certainly, she was sure that her company wasn’t so valuable that Imperial Concubine Yue would place himself at risk of wagging tongues just to talk about female values and her favourite readings day after day.

It would invite the emperor’s suspicion too. Unless, of course, the emperor already was aware that there was nothing to be suspicious about.

She lowered her lashes and beneath the table, smoothed out the wrinkles on her skirt from where her hands had tightened subconsciously earlier on. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Yue Langjun is too polite, this little sister is grateful for the companionship," she said, after receiving an apology from him for disturbing her reverie once more. She looked out towards the dragonflies chasing each other through the water lilies, a hint of forlorn wistfulness draping around her like a shroud. "My day is monotonous otherwise." Moving from the imperial city to the imperial villa, the only change she had experienced had been in the scenery; it was still the same cage.

Not for the first time, she found herself thinking about how Imperial Concubine Yue must feel. Or Gracious Consort Yao, or any of the other male concubines that had been sent in by their families to serve their liege in a different manner from what they had been brought up to believe. It was the destiny of women to be kept at home by men but what about the men who ought to have had brighter futures outside of the tall walls of the palace?

But it would be inappropriate to ask. She was not one to satisfy her curiosity by plucking at the scabs of others.

"This concubine had a little sister," Imperial Concubine Yue said out of the blue. He was watching Zhao Qiaoting as he spoke, eyes soft with a fondness that was meant for someone else. "Forgive my forwardness, but you remind me of her."

Zhao Qiaoting felt her heart squeeze with the sour ache of pity. Just like how everyone knew Imperial Concubine Yue’s story, everyone knew that the Yan Family also had one other little criminal, too young to be executed but not too young to be punished for a fault that couldn’t even be hers.

She fought to keep her voice steady as she asked, "In what way?" She didn’t accuse him of associating her with a daughter of fallen nobility or try to deny any similarities with a young lady who, more than likely, had led an unfortunate life since she lost all her protection at a tender age.

Imperial Concubine Yue grinned. It had a surprising effect on his face. Zhao Qiaoting was so used to seeing his breathtaking beauty and had long since accepted that he outshone even the loveliest Attendant Zhang, whose fairness was renowned in the land, that she was taken aback by this sudden boyish charm.

"She’s very smart," he said, his tone so familiar to Zhao Qiaoting that it didn’t take her long to realise he sounded like her father whenever he spoke proudly of her to their relatives. "Ever since young, she proved herself to be bright in her studies, even though she was often too mischievous to settle down and revise her teacher’s lessons for long."

A sharp jolt of excitement coursed through Zhao Qiaoting and she looked at him in incredulity, so surprised that she forgot to mind her manners in front of a higher-ranking concubine for the first time since entering the harem.

"Prime—" Realising she was about to make another social blunder by mentioning Imperial Concubine Yue’s father by his old title, she floundered around hastily for suitable words, thankful that his patience seemed unending. "The girls of your family were...given the chance for education?" Despite the accusations levelled at ex-Prime Minister Yan and the overwhelming ’evidence’ of his crimes that had surfaced out of nowhere to become the flame upon which the entire Yan Family was cremated in the end, Zhao Qiaoting’s father had always maintained, in the privacy of their home, that the Yan Guozun was a good man, an innocent man.

He sounded like a good father too.

Imperial Concubine Yue didn’t answer her question directly but Zhao Qiaoting could empathise. This was a painful topic for him, and even though he was the one who brought it up, she allowed him to deflect the conversation.

It was what she wished most to hear about anyway.

"Why shouldn’t girls be given the chance to pursue knowledge in the schoolyard and contribute to the kingdom to the best of their abilities?" Imperial Concubine Yue said lightly. "There have been historical dynasties where women have become officials—"

"Yue Langjun," Zhao Qiaoting interrupted with a subtle, wary glance around. She pressed her lips together tightly, her emotions at war within her and threatening to break through the tenuous hold she had on them to loosen her composure. "His Majesty is magnanimous but to discuss previous dynasties..."

Imperial Concubine Yue shook his head and laughed. "It is of no matter," he comforted. "If anyone were to let His Majesty know that we have treacherously compared his rule to those of previous emperors, he would let them know to mind their own business and that he had, last night, contributed his opinion extensively to the topic by discussing the limitations of female official roles in the Rites of Zhou(3)."

Zhao Qiaoting wasn’t familiar with the Confucian canon but had not had the opportunity to peruse the Rites of Zhou herself. It came unbidden to her mind that if she lived in a world where what Imperial Concubine Yue had suggested time and again to her came true, she might be able to discuss this with him too, long lengthy debates with wisdom and reasoning that might one day conclude in something beneficial for the people...

"But everyone in society has a role to fulfil," she heard herself say instead, so frightened of how much his ideals resonated with her that she had to force herself to calm down. "Men are the pillars of society and women their support in the house—"

Imperial Concubine Yue raised a wry eyebrow. "If the most pampered concubine in the imperial harem can be a man, it stands to reason that the most powerful official in court can be a woman." He must have realised that his bluntness had shocked her because he chuckled immediately after saying that. "I’m just stating facts, Lady Zhao. "The traditionalists of His Majesty’s court can go on and on about what is an appropriate role for the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, men and women, but the truth of the matter is that the lines have been blurred a long time ago..." A glint of harshness flashed in his eyes, so swiftly that Zhao Qiaoting wondered if it was just the trick of the light.

"...all it might take," he concluded, "is a bit of a push to destroy those lines altogether."

At last, he finally made it clear why he was here. She could hear the unspoken message in his words, the hidden edict that was meant to be conveyed to the Zhao Clan through her.

She smiled helplessly. She couldn’t deny that it was what she wanted badly. Women in power? Women participating in matters of the state and having an alternative to minding the affairs of the home, bearing sons, and raising children?

"The morning court is not going to approve this." She had long given up trying to steady her hands; the wrinkles in her skirt were going to be embarrassing later on her walk back to her quarters. "Is that why...? My father’s support would be crucial...and I am his only child." His only choice. After her older brother had passed away from an illness years ago, her father had no more male heirs. She had plenty of male cousins, to be sure, but few who truly committed to the same political principles her father did; loyalty to the throne.

She expected Imperial Concubine Yue to either admit or deny it but the look of disapproval he shot her made her blink.

"Have some confidence, Lady Zhao. We have approached you because of political reasons, yes, but also because Left Prime Minister Zhao raised a daughter as good as any son." Imperial Concubine Yue neatened the sleeves of his robes, looking every inch a whimsical, carefree gentleman with not a burden in the world, but Zhao Qiaoting knew that from today onwards, she would never be taken in by appearances again.

There was one part of the rumours that was true, at least. Imperial Concubine Yue—no, Yan Zheyun, the only son of ex-Prime Minister Yan Guozun and the last surviving male descendant of his clan, did indeed manage to amass the power everyone said he coveted greedily. Not only was he involved in court politics, but the emperor also trusted him enough to include him in the machinations.

But Zhao Qiaoting had to admit that she’d been swayed. If what he was suggesting was possible, if the emperor truly supported such an unimaginable but alluring future...

Outside of the cage was a world of endless possibilities. She wanted to see it with her own eyes.

"What would Imperial Concubine Yue advise this little sister to do?"