“Wake up, my Prince,” Tao whispered softly into Yifan’s ear, adding in a glee little hum.

Yifan groaned and tried to swat the meddling servant out of the way, but it was of no use. Tao was still too close and would not move. Fed up, Yifan quickly scrambled out of the bed and away from the peskering Tao.

“Next time you wake me, Tao, don’t come so close,” Yifan croaked as he stumbled to his wardrobe.

“But, my prince, intimacy is the best and most effective way to wake someone up.”

Yifan sighed. “Just please don’t whisper into my ears like that ever again, okay?”

Tao laughed. “I can’t promise anything, my prince. But, anyways, we should get you dressed. Hmm...what color should we go with? What design? What style?”

Yifan shrugged. “No matter to me. Anything is fine.”

Tao shook his head. “No, no. What nonsense. Today will be the first day that you get to meet your concubines! It’s a special occasion! You need to be dressed well. Let’s see, let’s see...I say we go with the dark green zhiju with the cranes embroidered on it.” 

“Sure, sure.”

“And a gold belt? One with emeralds?”

Yifan nodded.

“Well, alright. I will go ask the palace maids to help you get dressed. When you’re done, I’ll have breakfast prepared for you.”

“Alright.”

“Very well then, my prince. I’ll be on my way.” Tao then bowed and took his leave. 

Yifan let out a deep breath once the servant was far away and he was finally alone. Sometimes he really wished he wasn’t the Crown Prince. If he were just a regular, normal prince, perhaps his life would be much simpler and happier.

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“My lady, I think you would look best in this mint ruqun. It’s light, refreshing, and not too bold. The embroidery is  so delicate and refined that it will certainly catch people’s attention, but at the same time it’s subtle and easy on the eyes.”

“Mm, you’re right, Suyun. The color and design are both very refreshing. It suits the warming spring weather very well.” Huili nodded in approval as she slipped into the ruqun. She gave a small twirl and smiled as the butterflies sewn into the hem of her skirt seemed to come alive and flutter at her feet. “It’s very beautiful.”

Suyun grinned. “Rather, it’s you who makes it beautiful, my lady.”

“You flatter me, Suyun.”

“I’m only speaking the truth, my lady.”

As Suyun helped Huili choose a pair of white jade earrings and a butterfly shaped hair ornament to match her ruqun, a eunuch from the Empress’s palace stopped by to announce that it was time for Huili to go to the Eastern Garden. Suyun quickly helped her lady up from her chair and ushered her out of the bedroom chambers.

While Suyun and Huili calmly made their way to the Eastern Garden, a voice from behind called out, “Out of the way, out of the way. Don’t you see that Consort Princess Mei is here? Move out of the way.”

Huili glanced back only to see that it was a young maid who was making such a ruckus, and of course the young maid belonged to the one and only Mei Ailin. Someone as arrogant and obnoxious as Mei Ailin would certainly have a servant who was equally just as arrogant and obnoxious. Huili frowned as Ailin and her servant stopped before them.

“Oh, what a surprise. It’s Consort Princess Mei.” Huili forced a small smile.

“Hm, Consort Princess Su,” Ailin acknowledged in return.

“Are you in a rush, Consort Princess Mei?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Oh, but aren’t you headed to the same gathering as I am? From what the eunuch told me, we still have plenty of time.”

Ailin scoffed. “Unlike you, I like to arrive at my destination very, very early. I’m a person who likes to be on time.”

“Ah, I see,” Huili replied. “Well, so am I, and since I’m a person who also cares about being on time, I can promise that I won’t make you late to the gathering. Besides, I don’t see a reason for me to move out of the way. I was here first, so naturally you would be behind me. You wouldn’t mind, would you?” With another forced smile, Huili turned around and continued walking, refusing to move out of the way so that Ailin could pass her.

Ailin, ready to throw a tantrum, turned to her young maid and demanded, “Biyue, push her out of the way.”

The young maid, although slightly hesitant, did as she was told. As Biyue shoved Huili and Suyun to the side, Ailin strolled past them, chin cocked up high in the air. Huili stared, eyes wide in disbelief. 

“Did you just see that, Suyun? Her servant pushed me! She made her servant push me! How low! How despicable! How—”

“—awful,” a voice finished.

Huili turned around, expecting a second Mei Ailin to appear, but what she found instead was a young girl who seemed to sympathize with her current situation.

“You...you must be Yu Silan.” Huili suddenly realized.

“And you must be Su Huili,” the young girl answered.“I-I mean, you must be Consort Princess Su. I apologize for not using your title.”

Huili was taken back. “No, it’s fine. Honestly. I only addressed you by your name as well. We’re all of the same rank here, so you don’t need to be so formal with me.”

Silan smiled. “That may only be true in terms of titles, but everyone knows that I am really the lowest ranking consort princess, no matter what my title is.”

Huili made a small frown. What Silan said was true; however, Huili still did not like the fact. “It’s not right. It shouldn’t have to be like that. We should all be equals here, no matter what our background is.”

Silan sighed. “Well, what can we do about it? I was born into this life. It was meant to be. Oh, but anyways, time is running out. We should get going. We can continue our conversation, but we mustn’t be late to the gathering.”

Huili nodded. “You’re right.”

The two then hurried off on their way to the Eastern Garden as they chatted with each other excitedly, eager to get to know one another better.

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In the Eastern Garden, all five consort princesses were seated underneath a large pavilion facing the garden’s pond. Yu Silan and Su Huili, after bumping into each other on their way to the gathering, have gotten close and were busy chatting away. On the other hand, Mei Ailin was busy glaring at the Wang sisters who were also busy glaring back at Mei Ailin.

Huili was the first to notice a large group of servants approaching the pavilion. Realizing that the Empress had finally arrived, she quickly stood from her seat and lowered to a curtsy. The other four consort princesses, noticing her sudden change in behavior, quickly followed her lead.

The Empress smiled as they greeted her. She quickly ordered them to rise and return to their seats. Then, the Empress made her way to her own seat. Glancing around, she nodded in approval. “I’m glad that such beautiful and elegant ladies were selected to become the Crown Prince’s concubines. I see that the Crown Prince is not here yet. I hope you won’t mind his tardiness.”

Huili, again, was the first to reply, “We understand that the Crown Prince might have other important things to attend to.”

“That’s right,” Ailin cut in, “We don’t mind if he is late.”

The Empress nodded. “It’s good to see that you are all so understanding. In the meantime, while we wait for him to arrive, why don’t we bring out the tea?” The Empress turned to her personal maid, who then called for the other palace maids.

As the maids came around and poured each consort princess a cup of tea, the consort princesses rose from their seats and formed a line in front of the Empress. With their cup of tea in hand, they curtsied as they recited their blessings to the Empress. 

Mei Ailin, the first in line, was also the first to offer the Empress her cup. Next were the Wang sisters. As Wang Yina and Wang Jingna neared the Empress’s seat, Huili, who strategically placed herself behind them, stretched out her foot, but before she could do anything, a eunuch announced the arrival of the Crown Prince. Huili immediately pulled her foot back and lowered into a curtsy. The other consort princesses did as well. 

“Greetings, Crown Prince,” they addressed in unison. 

Yifan, heart pounding, quickly allowed them to rise. He cleared his throat before speaking, “Uh, I apologize for being late. I...”

The Empress frowned. “At least you made it.”

Yifan bowed to his mother before he nervously ambled his way to his seat beside her.

“Well, now the Crown Prince is here, why don’t we skip the rest of this process and go right ahead to look at the new pear blossoms? I don’t feel much like drinking any more tea anyways. Let’s get going. Shall we?” The Empress rose from her seat with the help of Yifan and walked out of the pavilion with her servants trailing behind. Huili let out a huge sigh of relief before she followed the Empress out of the pavilion along with the other consort princesses.

Looks like Consort Mei’s plan to sabotage the Wang sisters will have to be put on hold for now.

Author's Note: I am so so sorry for the long wait! I was busy with studying for my finals for the past few weeks and looking for a job, so I had no time to update the story. But now that I have more time expect to have regular weekly updates again! Thanks so much for all the support! I love reading your comments! Please leave some more and let me know how you feel about this new chapter :)