Jie = older sister. Similar to noona, or unnie, but can be used by both es. Jiejie is simply repeating the word, and gives the one to whom you are speaking a more familiar term. Not necessarily related.

Mei = younger sister. Like dongsaeng in Korean. Meimei is simply repeating the word and gives the one to whom you are speaking a more familiar term. Not necessarily related.

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The moment the sad excuse for a carriage pulled up in the Forbidden City, the village girls were flanked with palace maids, the head eunuch leading them through. They were lead to the palace maid quarters, then into a room, where the head palace maid addressed them.

“It’s nice to see so many new faces willing to serve the Emperor. My name is Yiyun, I’m the head advisor to Imperial Noble Consort Qian. Here, I am the head palace maid, so you will all treat me with respect, and as your senior. Firstly, the other palace maids will be here shortly, to take your measurements to that uniforms can be assigned. Then you will all be undergoing a test. It is a simple test, which will designate to whom you will serve. I understand that you are all wanting to serve the Emperor, however understand that the Emperor has one already, and there are a lot of people before you. You will most likely be assigned to one of the Emperor’s concubines, or a prince, if you are lucky.” Yiyun said.

“Yiyun-jie* why are you the head palace maid if you only serve Imperial Noble Consort Qian? Shouldn’t the palace maid who serves the Empress be the head?” one girl spoke up, rather obnoxiously indeed.

Zitao took in a sharp breath, biting the insides of his cheeks. According to his extensive knowledge about the imperial palace during the Qing Dynasty, the Empress was dead, and the Emperor did not take upon another Empress because he loved the first one dearly and saw it as rude to her memory to take upon another one so quickly.

“Insolent child. Take this girl away, 30 beatings shall be given. Learn to hold your tongue, foolish girl. For your knowledge and the knowledge of the other candidates, the Empress is dead. The Emperor has not taken upon another Empress, but Imperial Noble Consort Qian is second to the late Empress. She has taken over the role of taking care of the other concubines, a task done by the Empress. Therefore, in the absence of the late Empress, Imperial Noble Consort Qian is the highest up out of all the Emperor’s concubines.” Yiyun said sharply, watching with cold eyes as eunuchs arrived to take the girl to dared speak up away. Zitao cringed, the punishments during the Imperial times were harsh, especially for servants, as they were easily disposable.

What had he gotten himself into…

***

The tests that Zitao and the village girls had to take… were to say, not for a man. They tested the stereotype for a girl back in the imperial times, which was where Zitao had landed himself. The measurements, were also not something Zitao wanted to recount. The palace maids and stepped in the measure Zitao, instantly staring at his tall height. Zitao shuddered, recalling it…

Earlier

“What’s your name?” a palace maid inquired.

“Huang Zitao.” Zitao replied, calmly smiling, praying that she wouldn’t catch on that he was a guy.

“Huang Zi…tao? Which Tao?” the girl said.

“The tao…” Zitao stuttered. He had forgotten that Zitao was a boy’s name, his Tao meant bow. “The tao that means peach.” He finally replied. The palace maid nodded appeased.

“Right, could you just stretch out both your arms…” she instructed, Zitao following them. The other two palace maids stared at Zitao, he stood at 182cm after all, towering over the girls.

“Poor girl, she’s so tall, she’ll never get a husband. Her family must be so ashamed to have someone like her.” One palace maid whispered to the other, both of them casting looks to his direction before snickering into their hands. Zitao bit his lip, wanting very much to kick the two maid’s asses right now with his wushu skills…but he must remain ladylike and not attract attention…not attract attention.

End

Not attracting attention indeed. Zitao was receiving much unwanted attention. Of course, there was because of his physical build, but also because of his unladylike skills.

The first test, was testing their embroidery. They were now all wearing palace maid uniforms. Taking measurements wasn’t so that there could be uniforms specially tailored to them, oh heavens no. It was just to know which size they would fit. Zitao, had obviously gotten a rather large size, a size that was rarely used. Most of the girls were around 150 or 160 centimetres, most of them a size small, or an odd size medium here and there.

But back to the task at hand. They were each given an embroidery ring, with a piece of cloth fitted in it as well as a small selection of coloured threads to select from. And a needle of course.

It was needless to say that an average boy, or even an average girl for that matter from the 21^st century does not know how to sew, let alone embroider. Zitao’s patch looked like a tornado had struck leaving the threads in a tangled mess on the canvas. The head palace maid observed them, and when it came for Zitao to show his, she raised an eyebrow giving him a look before moving on to the rest.

The second test was cooking. They had to cook a dish which they could cook well, but it had to stand out as well, not only in taste but in appearance as well. Zitao knew how to cook, but only a little. They were given split up and some people taken to other rooms for this.

“Hello.” Zitao jumped up, looking around for the source of the voice. The person laughed, giving Zitao a pretty smile.

“My name is Junmian. What’s yours?” the girl asked. The girl was of course dressed in a palace maid uniform. She was very pretty, her skin very pale and she looked like an angel. Her smile in particular practically lit up the room. Zitao could see the jealous glances the other girls were giving her. Zitao vaguely remembered her from the previous test. She had completely aced it, her embroidery so pretty the head palace maid called her out, praising her completely.

“Oh, my name is Zitao. Nice to meet you Junmian.” Zitao smiled, holding out his hand to shake. Junmian was a pretty tall girl as well, he noticed. She was probably a bit under 170cm, but in the Imperial times, that was considered as much too tall. The other palace maids obviously did not like her.

“Do you need help? I could show you a few things.” Junmian smiled.

Zitao stared at her. This was a competition, the other palace maids were unwilling to talk to him, and probably more intent on sabotaging those who were winning, namely Junmian, than helping. Then again, Zitao was already as low as low could probably get. If Junmian decided to sabotage him, there wouldn’t be that much to lose anyway.

“Thank you.” Zitao smiled. Junmian shook her head smiling, before moving to the station to help Zitao.

“Here, if you want to impress the judges, this is what I suggest you do…”

***

The time was over. The head palace maid started coming over, checking their food. They were standing in rows, behind a table which held their dish. There were 4 people to a row, in Zitao’s row was Junmian, and two other palace maids, the two that had been glaring daggers at Junmian.

“Junmian-jiejie, Minying and I were wondering if we could your dish?” one of the palace maid contestants smiled. Junmian smiled back.

“Sure.” Junmian lifted the lid of her platter, to reveal two roses.

“Wow! Are they edible? They look so real, right Xiuzhi?” Minying, the palace maid contestant on the other side of Junmian said.

“Yes they are real.” Junmian smiled proudly.

“How did you make it?” Xiuzhi asked, a sly smile on her face. But Junmian didn’t pick up on the meaning behind the smile.

“Well…” Junmian began. She turned her attention to the girl on her right, Xiuzhi. Zitao bit his lip angrily. Unfortunately, he was on Junmian’s right as well, so he couldn’t prevent it. Minying, on Junmian’s left had taken some substance out of her pocket, a white powder which Zitao suspected was salt and was sprinkling it over her flowers. Zitao turned his attention away, fuming. He wasn’t like he could do anything about if even if he wanted to. He may as well not keep looking at it and letting his anger build up.

“What do you have for me?” the head palace maid, Yiyun stood in front of Zitao staring at Zitao with a half-hearted expectation. She clearly remember that Zitao was the one who had flunked the embroidery test. Zitao lifted the lid, waiting anxiously as she picked up the chopsticks, bringing a piece up to .

“It’s good.” Yiyun smiled warmly at Zitao. He breathed a sigh of relief, which quickly left once he realised that that Yiyun was now in front of Junmian’s dish, having passed the girl next to Zitao.

“Wow, they are very pretty. I’m guessing that they’re a dessert?” Yiyun said, praising the appearance of Junmian’s dish.

“They taste different to what they look like.” Junmian gently smiled, bowing her head in respect while Yiyun ate.

The minute the food hit her tongue, Yiyun’s expression changed. Her warm smile disappeared, replaced by a neutral stare, a rather cold one which she had previously given Zitao.

“Very different indeed…” Yiyun said, moving on. Junmian’s face look crestfallen, and incredibly confused. She picked up the chopsticks, bringing a piece of her flower dish to as well. She spat it out the minute it entered though, staring at her food in confusion before looking to the two girls at her sides. They gave Junmian identical smirks, taunting Junmian. Junmian returned her gaze to the dish, not saying anything, as she couldn’t do anything after all. Zitao clenched his fists angrily, incredibly annoyed at how low the girls were stooping.

***

After those two tests, Yiyun had them gathered in the hall while she read out their names and who they were being assigned to. Zitao listened anxiously, as well as Junmian next to him. The two had become pretty fast friends, especially now that Zitao trusted her.

“ Zitao, you are assigned to work under Consort Jia. Junmian, you are assigned to work under the 4^th prince, Yixing.” Yiyun said.

There was instant uproar at Junmian’s assignment. Junmian had a big smile spreading across her face, like a girl in love and Zitao couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. The 4^th prince, and the future Emperor Yixing was his favourite character, and he was a bit envious that Junmian got assigned to him. But he pushed it aside, friendship came first and he clapped and smiled for his friend.

“Yiyun-jie, why does Junmian get assigned to 4^th Prince Yixing? I did better than her!” Minying yelled out, Xiuzhi nodded vigorously beside her.

“How do you know that you did better than her?” Yiyun raised her eyebrows.

“Because her dish was---!” Minying started, before was covered with Xiuzhi’s hand. Minying understood the warning, instantly becoming quiet.

“Because her dish was…?” Yiyun pressed.

“Nothing Yiyun-jie. Forgive me.” Minying muttered. Yiyun nodded, satisfied.

“As you know, serving 4^th Prince Yixing is not an easy task, and Junmian has the right calm and collected temperament which would befit her of this task. I understand that you unusually did poorly on your cooking test, Junmian, so I am putting much risk at allocating you to this position. Should you fail, and you shall be disposed of immediately.” Yiyun said.

Junmian bowed her head. “I will not disappoint you.” Yiyun nodded in approval returning to call out the rest of the names.

“Minying, you are assigned to Consort Jia. Xiuzhi, you are assigned to Consort Jia as well.” Yiyun continued.

Zitao was going to be working with those two? He had realised that the girls were manipulative and cunning, doing anything they can to get into the higher rankings. The reason they were there was probably so they could themselves onto a prince and get them a rank of a concubine. Those kind of girls disgusted him, they were not different from the strippers in modern, 21^st century clubs.

“Alright, because I’m feeling generous today, you will start your work tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be escorted to meet your master, or mistress. For now, you will be shown to the palace maid quarters. You are free to wander around the Forbidden City, HOWEVER, do not go into the Inner Court, as that is where the Emperor and his family dine. If you see anyone from the Imperial family, you are to bow, your left knee touching the ground and your right knee up, your hands are to be folded over your right knee, your head bowed and you are NOT to make eye contact. You may wander the Outer Court and the Palace Gardens, as well as the very outskirts of the buildings, to familiarise yourself slightly with the surroundings. DO NOT make any racket, any conversation should be kept to a whisper, should you disturb a member of Imperial family, the consequences will be severe. Do I make myself clear?” Yiyun barked. The newly recruited palace maids nodded, thoroughly frightened by now. Yiyun nodded in approval, excusing the maids as she moved to get back to her mistress, Imperial Noble Consort Qian.

***

The only good thing that had happened so far, Zitao thought, was meeting Junmian. Junmian was the nicest person he had ever met. The problem seemed never to end however. They would be rooming in pairs, at the palace maid quarters. That would be fine, but Zitao was a guy. It would be sufficiently awkward if he was rooming with a girl, even if he was gay. Well technically bi, but more into guys than girls. And since that encounter with that annoying girl who arranged a marriage with him, her name was Weisun or something. Either way, that girl had completely put him off women for the time being.

It wasn’t like Zitao could tell Junmian that he was a guy. In the present day, she probably would have been a bit shocked, but accepted it. In the Qing Dynasty, in ancient China, that would be something shocking. Homoualism wasn’t something that even modern society accepted, much less Imperial society. But, Zitao concluded, even if he did get caught, he would much rather be caught by Junmian, to whom he would be allowed to explain his side of the story, than be caught by Minying or Xiuzhi. If one of those two caught him, they would instantly rat him out and he would be castrated, labelled a ert and then banished and sent into exile. And probably forced to change his name to ‘rat’ or something. That was actually the methods of punishment used in Imperial times. Zitao would know, he loved history after all.

 Right, thus Zitao wouldn’t tell. He would just… be extra careful. Thankfully, they did get to choose their partners, Zitao and Junmian instantly forming a pair.

“Junmian-jiejie, I’m going outside for a walk ok?” Zitao said. Junmian looked up from her arranging of her minimal amount of things which she had brought in, and nodded.

“Take care of yourself, Zitao-meimei*” Junmian smiled, waving Zitao off as he put his shoes on and left the palace maid quarters. They had been permitted to wander the Outer Court, but they just couldn’t disturb the Imperial Royal family. Of course, back in those times, class was a very important matter. The class differences were very distinct, and it was almost impossible for one to make their way into other classes, other than through marriage, of course.

Zitao was thinking his history facts through, that way it could aid him in his strange journey to the past. But he was sharply pulled from his train of thought when he walked into something quite solid but slightly soft as well. He walked into that object with a hard enough impact to send him thudding to the ground. His wushu, self defence skills instantly kicked in, he twisted his body around to land on his hands, unconsciously lashing one leg out as well and he felt it connect rather painfully with the object which he had bumped into. Then he picked himself up, safely gotten himself out of injury and turned back in the direction he was going.

It turned out that it wasn’t an object that he had bumped into. In his path way, stood 3 men, one of them rubbing his shin. The one in the centre, the one which Zitao assumed was the one he had kicked, looked very angry and annoyed. The other two on the right and left of him, looked shocked, one of them looking at the one in the centre, the other giving Zitao a ‘you’re so dead look’. Zitao stared at their clothing, trying to decide what their place in the palace was.

“Stupid palace maid, do you not have eyes? Can you not see where you are going?” the one in the centre hissed, his eyes narrowing and glaring at Zitao. Instantly, all of Zitao’s reason and logic flew out of his brain. He was easily angered and that comment had done enough to get him very pissed off indeed.

“You were the one in my way! Why should I have to move?!” Zitao retorted back, crossing his arms angrily.

The other two stared at Zitao in disbelief, before one of them burst out into laughter.

“Us move? Do you know who we are?” the one not laughing said, challenging Zitao.

“No, why would I want to know someone as arrogant as you?” Zitao shot back.

Now all three of them stared at Zitao, all wearing expressions that were a mixture of shock, disbelief and amusement.

“Oh, should I introduce yourself, then my lady?” the one that had been laughing before said, mock bowing to Zitao. Zitao didn’t take that very lightly, he didn’t like being mocked.

“I don’t want to know you.” Zitao said, about to turn on his heel and walk off.

“Oh but you need to. You’re a palace maid aren’t you? And shouldn’t palace maids, serve their masters well?” the non-laughing one said.

Zitao froze, turning slowly back to the trio. Please tell me this isn’t happening Zitao prayed.

“10^th prince, Canlie…” the laughing one said.

“9^th prince, Baixian…” the one on the other side said.

“and 8^th prince, Yifan.” The one in the centre said with a smirk.

“at your service.” They said in unison, Baixian and Canlien mock bowing while Yifan just kept smirking.

Kill me now Zitao thought.

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A/N: and Prince Yifan appears. I'm pretty sure all my lovely readers knew that Zitao had walked smack bang into Yifan the moment you read that he walked into something right? Cos that's just how stories work, with endless coincidences... XD And for the record, Junmian is nice. In case you are doubting her, but she's nice. Of course, Junmian is Suho, why would I make an EXO member a ? XD