Conquering the Emperor

I felt like falling into a deep slumber; however, there was something that I desperately needed to know before that happens. Breathing in deeply and using my last ounce of energy, I began speaking to Ren.

“What are you…so…mad about?” I asked, my voice coming out in ragged breathless whispers.

“I’m not…” Ren replied emotionlessly.

“My bad. That was the…wrong question. I meant, why…are you so mad?” I asked again, rephrasing my question. I knew that he was angry…

Ren looked away and refused to answer me. I knew right then that I was correct. Ren was very angry, and he was acting very stubborn about it. I tried to sit up a little on the bed, using my arms to support myself.

“Ren, I honestly just wanted to visit my hometown to see how things are…after the war. I…had no intention of leaving you and going back permanently…I know that our agreement is still in place, and we’ve still got to help each other so…” I explained to the best of my ability. This whole misunderstanding has to stop.

“Go to sleep…” Ren said as he got off the bed and headed for the door.

“Where are you going, Ren?” I asked.

I was sure that he heard my question; however, Ren never replied as he quickly strode out of the room. I sat there on the bed at a loss. It was clear that Ren wouldn’t be back for the night. I sighed loudly and then felt that it wasn’t enough to relieve me of my frustration. Grabbing the pillow, I buried my face in it and screamed as loud as I could. I screamed into the pillow so much and so loudly that my ears began ringing and I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes.

I hate this.

My first night in Ren’s palace ended with me sleeping all alone on his huge bed.

…

I was right. Ren did not return to his bedroom that night and I had no clue where he slept. Maybe the crown prince has several bedrooms. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are endless numbers of unused bedrooms in his palace.

At the sound of soft tapping on the door, I opened my heavy eyelids. Needless to say, I did not sleep well at all last night. On one hand, I cursed myself for not following Ren and trying to talk it out with him. After all, problems are best resolved as soon as possible, right?

On the other hand, I doubt that he would have spoken or listened to me. I rubbed the back of my neck as I started thinking of ways to talk to Ren about this. One thing was certain in this whole mess: the cold crown prince was back. After all that we’ve been through together, are we really back at square one?

The tapping on the door continued, I guess whoever it was wasn’t going to leave me alone. I let out a sigh as I swung my legs off the side of the bed and stood up. Time to say hello to another day.

“Come in!” I cried out to whoever was on the other side of the door.

Slowly, the door to Ren’s bedroom slid open and a mini army of maids entered with their heads bowed respectfully low. I appreciated their help in the morning but today I’m truly not in the mood for pleasantries.

“Are you here to help me bathe and get dressed?” I asked to make sure that we are aligned.

“Yes, Lady White Lotus. We have been instructed to serve you for the whole of your stay at the crown prince’s palace,” a middle-aged maid replied politely.

Guessing from her age and the uniform that she was wearing, she must be the most senior of the maids here in this room.

“I appreciate your help. Please proceed. Oh…and I would highly appreciate it if you could be done as soon as possible,” I said as I plastered on one of those beautiful lady-like smile that Jeely had spent so much time teaching me on my face.

From then on, I turned on autopilot mode as a large part of my brain zoned out from what was going on to focus on thinking of how to deal with Ren. I was certain at this point that Ren was offended by what I said when I asked to go visit my hometown. Although I did not completely understand why he felt the way he did, I still need to apologize to him and clear up the misunderstanding somehow.

After the maids finished bathing me, it was time to dress up. I requested for something simple for the day which made the maid look at each other in confusion before looking quizzically at me. I guess concubines aren’t supposed to look modest.

“My Lady, the crown prince has instructed that you follow us after your bath,” the senior maid told me after she had finished inspecting that my outfit was perfect.

“Is the crown prince in this palace?” I asked, unable to hide the anticipation in my voice.

“Umm…no, My Lady. The crown prince left this palace early this morning after leaving us instructions to take care of you,” the maid said with an overly polite bow.

“I see…” I mumbled my response. So where does Ren want these maids to take me then?

The only way to find out was to follow them which was exactly what I did. After following the maids down a very long hallway, we reached our destination. Our destination was a room that looked like a large living room; however, I doubt that it was the main living room of the palace.

Once in the room, I was immediately greeted by a eunuch that I have never met before. After he had greeted me, I smiled politely at him while I wondered what he wanted from me. Whatever it was, I need to get out of here as soon as possible so that I can look for Ren. If I waited, would he come back to see me?

--To be continued…