Conquering the Emperor

My feet hurts and my body aches. I guess sleeping in the cave wasn’t as comfortable as I wished it to be, and my body was paying the price. I flopped down on the wooden sofa before sighing loudly. Once again, I asked myself how I ended up here.

Soon after, I heard a few soft knocks on the door and knew that the maids must be here to help me wash and dress. It wasn’t like I couldn’t do that by myself since I’ve been doing it by myself all my life, but I had learnt that it was better to go with the flow rather than fight everything. I had to pick my battles wisely if I wanted to survive and go back home.

Since the maids could not speak the whole ordeal went by in silence. They professionally cleaned my body, dried it, and then began the process of dressing me and doing my hair. I couldn’t care less what I wore or what ornaments they put in my hair. However, my job was to select what I wanted based on the pile of dresses they had to offer and trays upon trays of jewelry and hair ornaments.

The fabric and pattern of your dress and the jewelry you wore and had in your hair showed your rank and position. Essentially, they became a part of your identity. Thus, refusing to wear the right elements was considered wrong. The position of Lady White Lotus came with its own dress code.

I pointed my fingers randomly at the dress which was later put on me. I did the same with the jewelry and the hair ornaments. The maids professionally did the rest.

The final touches were make-up on my face. I hated this part the most because I wasn’t used to wearing make-up at all.

“I don’t want to wear make-up. Is that, ok? Can you tell me the way to the hot springs instead?” I asked.

It was already late afternoon. I wasn’t going out anywhere so perhaps not wearing make-up was a choice at this point? I didn’t want to soak in the hot spring just yet, but I wanted to see it. I’ve never seen a hot spring in real life before. I’ve only seen paintings of it.

“Oh right. You girls can’t speak…” I muttered to myself as I realized my mistake.

“Umm…I can show you the way, Lady White Lotus,” a timid voice spoke up softly.

My eyes widened in shock as I placed a hand over my mouth. The maid just spoke!

“You can speak?! How is that possible? Your tongue was cut off…” I asked in confusion and shock.

“We can speak, My Lady. However, we are only allowed to speak if directly spoken to,” another girl said so softly I almost couldn’t hear her.

“But Ren…I mean…the crown prince…” I started saying before I caught myself.

I can’t believe this! Ren tricked me! His jokes are horrible…

However, I was happy that it was just a bad joke, and these women still had their tongues. I closed my eyes as I sighed with relief, pressing my hands together in silent prayers.

“Show me to the hot spring!” I cried excitedly.

The maids looked wide eyed at each other as they seemed confused by my uncomposed way of speaking. Well, I am probably the most outspoken lady they have ever served.

After looking at each other hesitantly, the maids decided to show me the way to the hot spring. Although the hot spring was located on the palace grounds, I learnt that it wasn’t located in the palace, but it was outdoors, a short walk away from the palace through the gardens.

When we arrived at the entrance hall on our way out, we ran into Shin. He bowed and I quickly bowed back as I offered him a polite smile.

“Where are you girls taking Lady White Lotus?” Shin asked, he was clearly friendly with the maids.

“Lady White Lotus has asked us to take her to the hot springs,” one of the maids answered politely. The maids seemed more comfortable around Shin than around Ren and I could understand why they acted that way. Compared to Shin, Ren was outwardly very cold. Then there’s also the matter of him being the crown prince.

“Isn’t it a little early to soak in the hot springs?” Shin asked, directing the question at me.

“Indeed, it is. I just wanted to go see it since, to be honest, I’ve never seen a hot spring before…” I replied shyly.

“Is that so? What about I take you somewhere a little more interesting before I take you to the hot springs?” Shin asked with a bright smile as a brilliant idea seemed to have crossed his mind.

“Umm…if that’s ok with you then…” I replied a little hesitantly.

“You girlss can get back to work. I’ll take care of Lady White Lotus from here,” Shin told the maids before they bowed low and excused themselves.

“Where are we going, General Shin?” I asked.

“Haha…no need for formalities with me. When we’re alone, just call me Shin. No need for all that ‘General’ stuff,” Shin said with a laugh. His smile and laughter brightened up his whole face and it made him seemed a lot younger. I couldn’t help smiling along with him and his carefree attitude.

“I’ll call you Shin if you agree to call me Rin,” I said with a small smile.

“Ok ok…but only when we’re alone,” Shin replied with a wink.

“So…where are we going?” I asked once more.

Shin had started walking out of the palace and I followed him dutifully. I was curious where he wanted to take me. Ren never mentioned when he would be back, and I had to find something to occupy myself with so…

“I heard from Ren that you’re knowledgeable and interested in medicine and herbs and the like. I’m not an expert like the palace doctors but I do know a few things. I thought it would be nice if I could show you the medical garden of this palace,” Shin suggested.

“There’s an herb garden in this palace? Wow…I would love to see it!” I exclaimed excitedly.

--To be continued…