From CEO to Concubine-Chapter 147: Grown Up Overnight
The world wasn’t fair. That Xiao Ma had understood this as early as he’d learnt to walk was a testament to the fact. Born as a nobody, raised as a nobody, and single-handedly forced to ruin one of the few moments of solace in his life, Xiao Ma had always believed that there was nothing more tragic than being trapped within the tall walls of the Wu Household.
But today, the world taught him a new lesson. It was Qixi, the day of lovers. What his new young mistress was up to was a far cry from the festivities that the young, carefree men and women roaming the street stalls of the capital were enjoying.
Yutao Pavilion gleamed in the moonlight, a remarkable private establishment that courted the interests of a particular type of elite. Purple gauzy curtains swayed in the breeze, obscuring just enough of the art-admiring parties that went on in its intricate pavilions to make the hearts of onlookers quiver with delight as they tried to sneak peeks at the men who drank wine and made merry within as they gazed upon the portraits of beauties mounted upon delicate folding screens.
Like a blushing maiden, gazing shyly at her lover from behind the lovely neck of her pipa (1).
Except, the beauty of the moment was lost on someone as coarse as Xiao Ma and even if he could comprehend it, he didn’t have it in him to appreciate it. After accompanying his young mistress here once, he knew that those portraits weren’t art, they were merchandise. He knew that each breathtaking face—none of them the most beautiful he’d ever seen, since he’d laid eyes on the fairest of them all before—belonged to someone kept locked away in a cage somewhere in this maze-like estate.
He had one of them on the bed in front of him right now, blindfolded and bound, writhing in ecstasy as rude moans slipped from his lips, his hips thrusting up wantonly into the woman sitting on his lap.
This woman was his young mistress. Or she should be, in reality, but right now he was fulfilling the important task that she’d assigned to him, even though the pretence made him so nervous that he’d already spilt tea on himself once.
If ever he thought that the world had treated him poorly, he could no longer say the same after seeing what she had gone through. The despair in her eyes the day he arrived in her care would haunt his dreams for years after. She had taken him into her bedchambers, still ridiculously dressed in a maid’s outfit that put shame on his face. She had sat him down at her table and gently cleaned the makeup off his face and finally he had felt less like a street-performer clown ridiculing himself for everyone’s entertainment. And when his face had blanched in horror when she’d told him what she’d intended to do, her eyes had crinkled with sympathy too.
"Don’t worry," she’d said. "I won’t hurt you."
She hadn’t. Instead, she’d chosen to hurt herself. Xiao Ma wasn’t sure what he would have preferred.
Big Sister Liansuo had protested at the change of plans. She’d raised her voice at her young mistress for the first time, insisting that Yutao Pavilion was too dangerous, that it was the crown prince’s territory, that the risk was not worth it.
His young mistress hadn’t seemed to care.
"What risk?" she’d replied, a hint of scorn in her small smile. "The risk of Liu Wei making a big fuss and ruining his reputation? The risk that he would take revenge on my family?"
There had been an excited glimmer in her eyes that told Xiao Ma she would look forward to such a thing. She’d called it "if you don’t enter the tiger’s den, you won’t be able to steal a tiger cub" (2).
Naturally, no one had managed to stop her from proceeding. Xiao Ma certainly had no right. He was aware of the lengths that his young mistress had gone to protect him, for no reason other than that the world that had sought to break her spine hadn’t managed to kill her kindness.
If what she needed from him was the company of an extravagantly wealthy southern silk merchant’s dandy son with peculiar tastes to satisfy, then he would pour his very being into the role granted to him.
It wasn’t all out of gratitude. The old man was safer without him but he was also a bargaining chip left in the hands of the Wu Household, a hostage that Xiao Ma had no choice but to consider every time he made a decision.
With a wanton groan, the male prostitute came with a shudder into the warm, wet heat above him. Xiao Ma had been the one to blindfold him and tie him up personally before his ’maidservant’ clambered onto the bed to put on a show for her ’master’. This was what the spoiled dandy’s interests were; he enjoyed watching more than he enjoyed participating.
For it to be believable, he liked to send for the same prostitute each time, said that the reason for the blindfold was that he did not appreciate the idea of his property, his girl, being admired while she provided service for his pleasure.
It was all just the unreasonable whim of a man. A vulgar man, whose accent was as rough as his manners, educated only in the ways of earning money and still reeking of the scent of coppers (3).
Where had this money come from? Xiao Ma hadn’t asked but his young mistress had mockingly thanked her husband for his kind contribution to his downfall.
"Master, did this servant please you today?" The pale, womanly figure on the bed rose and retrieved a jade ornament, which she slid gently between her legs to stopper the white seed that threatened to trickle down the inside of her creamy thigh. She redressed herself before coming over to take Xiao Ma’s arm gently in her own. She was his y mistress, but yet her voice was sweet like tangerines as she spoke to him, so reverent and submissive to an uncouth low-class merchant that no one eavesdropping would even guess that she was the fourth prince’s proud concubine and a daughter of one of the old noble clans.
She’d been here before, apparently, but when he’d expressed concerns over whether she would be recognised, a funny look crossed over her face. He couldn’t interpret it but she’d patted his arm and reassured him that no one would even look twice at her. He supposed it was because no one would recognise a phoenix if it suddenly turned into a sparrow.
Xiao Ma stiffened up when she pressed against him. He could feel her soft curves but couldn’t appreciate them. She was pretty and watching her earlier on, he had felt a stirring in his gut that he understood the meaning of. He’d been instructed by her to touch himself too, to act the part to the fullest so that their guise would be more convincing, but it had been halfhearted, a couple of rough tugs he’d spilt into his hand.
Enough that the prostitute would smell his release and know that he’d gotten what he’d wanted from the encounter, was satisfied enough that they could return for a third time if she still failed to swell with child. These sessions would have to be few and far in-between; his young mistress could not keep using the excuse of her birth mother’s illness to ’visit’ her father’s household.
Once back in their nondescript carriage, Xiao Ma mentioned his worries.
"What if this takes too long?" he fretted. "Young Mistress, a long night is fraught with dreams (4)." It was one of the few wise words he’d picked up from Yan Yun.
"It shouldn’t. They’re very virile." His young mistress shifted her weight with a slight grimace. "There are sick perverts in this place that enjoy...watching women get forced against their will and carry a child as a result. Compared to them, your so-called ’perversions are nothing. You’ll find all sorts in there, I pray you never meet them."
Xiao Ma didn’t know what to say to that.
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The world wasn’t fair. This was the collective thought that most of the imperial harem shared after a long sleepless night made sour with envy for the emperor’s favourite. This sourness turned to bitter ash in their mouths when dawn brought along with word of Imperial Concubine Yue’s new title.
Imperial Noble Consort Yue. The head of the imperial harem and keeper of the phoenix seal in the absence of an empress. Just yesterday afternoon, they had gloatingly mocked him for having been bestowed a courtesy name that suggested he was nothing but a shadow of the emperor’s true love. But so what if that were true? Even if he were just a substitute, it hadn’t stopped His Majesty from granting him the status they craved, the power they wanted, the prestige they would do anything for.
Whether they were eating their livers in envy or not was of no concern to Yan Zheyun. Thanks to Liu Yao’s enthusiasm, he had woken up feeling very much like he had when he’d first transmigrate; ran over by a fast-moving vehicle with no consideration whatsoever for his back, hips, waist, certain overused and very specific parts of his body.
It was almost noon by the time he’d opened his eyes again. Yan Zheyun had vague memories of Liu Yao leaving to attend morning court and also returning to press soft kisses to his forehead and tuck the blankets more snugly around him. The emperor hadn’t been present when he’d finally woken up; only marriage with an empress, acknowledged by all, would grant the poor overworked young sovereign a three-day honeymoon from work (5).
Yan Zheyun had slept right through Noble Consort Dou’s last day of holding court in her palace. Not that she was of the sort of disposition to begrudge him for his absence but after a light meal of bird’s nest porridge, he went to Lijing Palace anyway.
Despite being entitled to a long train of servants by now, Yan Zheyun visited only accompanied by Xiao De because that was how he preferred it. After exchanging quick pleasantries with Noble Consort Dou—he was quick to stop her from bowing—he made it clear that he was here to see Talented Lady Zhao.
Soon to be Imperial Concubine Zhao, he thought, as he skimmed through the long detailed scroll that Talented Lady Zhao handed to him with quiet confidence. She had every right to be; the task she’d been assigned had been completed beautifully. In her delicate but elegant calligraphy, she’d written down a list of names that would serve Liu Yao’s new education agenda well. Which of her female noble acquaintances were most well-versed in the literary arts and had worldviews rather in alignment with her own. Which of the palace maids she had subtly investigated through the use of her own trusted servants had been sharp, keen, and demonstrated the ability to work hard if given an unthinkable opportunity.
"This little sister understands that what His Majesty and Yue Langjun are trying to achieve is phenomenal but I have a concern, " Zhao Qiaoting said with a thoughtful frown.
"Feel free to speak your mind," Yan Zheyun encouraged. "Lady Zhao’s input on this is invaluable." In many ways, if Liu Yao could be likened to the chairman of a company and Yan Zheyun his CEO, then Lady Zhao was undoubtedly the team lead spearheading this project on their behalf. It would take a while but he believed that with some ’corporate’ training, it wouldn’t be long before she was taking the initiative.
A pink flush coloured her cheeks but it wasn’t the same romantic naivety he’d seen on many of the young concubines but a bashful sense of accomplishment that came with the recognition of her abilities.
"My father has had the good fortune not to disgrace the mission assigned to him (6)." She was referring to her father’s set-up of trial ’government’ schools on Liu Yao’s behalf, dedicated to educating the masses through free education. As a renowned scholar and prominent member of the court himself, Left Prime Minister Zhao had a huge following of capable students and disciples, some of whom came from humbler backgrounds themselves and were driven by loyalty and idealism to volunteer for lower-waged employment as a teacher in these schools, rather than hold on to their court official roles.
Their contributions would not go unnoticed by Liu Yao, of course.
"This system would certainly appeal to families with sons," Zhao Qiaoting continued. "However, this little sister feels that it would be a lot more difficult to convince them to grant their daughters the same opportunity." She let out a mirthless laugh. "After all, as the saying goes, ’the daughter you marry out is the water you toss out’."
It was uncommon for families of this era to invest in their daughters. Yan Zheyun understood this even if he didn’t agree with it. Rather than allow her to attend school, she was more useful in their eyes as another pair of hands around a house. Or in the case of more affluent families, as a means of securing an alliance with another prominent family.
"I’m still considering our possibilities," he replied. "For now, whoever we get, we won’t turn away if they demonstrate a thirst for knowledge and the ability to work hard and persevere."
Zhao Qiaoting nodded firmly. "I understand," she said, the lacquer on her lips doing nothing to conceal how they were set in determination. "I will write to my father and ask him to check the suitability of the children at the lonely gardens (7) too."
Yan Zheyun nodded in approval, even as he shifted as subtly as he could to alleviate some of the embarrassing discomfort that was radiating from locations that he didn’t want Zhao Qiaoting to even think about. Sitting down and chatting for long periods on wooden chairs, no matter how intricately carved, wasn’t something he could appreciate today.
Liu Yao hadn’t been...rough exactly, had even been thorough when it came to preparing him. What was throwing Yan Zheyun off was more the way that area still felt like it was being stretched open by something foreign, the presence of Liu Yao lingering long after the fun was over.
"Yue Langjun?" Zhao Qiaoting’s worried voice pulled his wayward thoughts back to the conversation. "Is everything all right? Your face is...red." A funny look crossed her face before an awkward silence dragged out between them. Yan Zheyun didn’t have to be a mind-reader to know that they were both suddenly thinking about the fact that yesterday night was some sort of open secret pseudo-wedding night for him.
Yan Zheyun coughed. "I’ll update you on the idea I’ve got after I think it through a bit more thoroughly," he promised, rising to take his leave because it wouldn’t do to stay for too long even if they had made sure to keep Noble Consort Dou and their respective servants within sight, as a witness that they weren’t hooking up behind the emperor’s back. It wasn’t foolproof but with Liu Yao’s trust as the sturdiest safety net, it would do.
Time to go to his new palace and find the nearest noble consort divan and lie down for the rest of the day. While he was at it, he could brainstorm how to incorporate women’s protection services and a shelter into their all-girls school model without sending the entire country into an uproar.
