From CEO to Concubine

Xiao De was waiting for Yan Zheyun at the entrance of Qianqing Palace, wringing the crumpled folds of his sleeves as he craned his neck to peer at the multiple doorways, uncertain which one his little master was going to appear from. His attempts to gather more information about his little master's whereabouts were thwarted when the other servants, who were all in allegiance with Cao Mingbao, ignored him. Xiao De had no choice but to hand the clean set of robes that he'd brought along to a snooty middle-aged maid and wait in nervous anticipation. 

It didn't take long before Yan Zheyun stepped out of the same side door he'd entered Qianqing Palace from the night before.

Xiao De greeted him with a huge smile and rushed forward eagerly, but he held his tongue when he noticed the warning glint in his little master's eyes, reminding him that now was not the time for questions. He also observed something odd. The eunuch that had accompanied his little master out was none other than Deputy Eunuch Zheng, who was considered very high-ranking in the palace. His show of respect towards Xiao De's little master was more than a mere noble lord would deserve. 

Xiao De wisely pretended not to notice. Godfather's lessons were very valuable and even though Xiao De might not be as good at them as his big brother was, he tried his best. 

It was already mid-morning and his little master was late to attend the daily assembly at Noble Consort Li's Changchun Palace, where the rest of Zheshan Palace currently was. 

"Would Little Master like to head over there now?" Xiao De murmured, once Yan Zheyun stepped into an awaiting sedan, which could only have been arranged with the emperor's permission, yet another sign of favour that was going to earn him even more hate. 

Yan Zheyun considered dropping in on Changchun Palace briefly before dismissing the idea. Although someone, probably the servants, had cleaned him up after yesterday's tryst, they had left out certain very specific areas. Yan Zheyun was very thankful for this acknowledgement of his privacy, which was so rare. But the lingering slickness was uncomfortable and he wanted nothing better than to take a hot bath. 

"No, head back straight." 

Xiao De hesitated. "If Little Master misses this first assembly of the new year, this servant is afraid that the noble consort will take offence…" 

Yan Zheyun was aware of this. But the damage had already been done and he didn't believe that his showing up would make a difference. As far as he could tell, the appearance of Sun Momo was indication enough that Noble Consort Li, amongst others, considered him a dangerous opponent. 

"No matter. At least for today, I have immunity." He had just woken up from a night of serving the emperor in bed. Even though nothing more strenuous than a jaw and hand workout had ensued, the other concubines didn't know that. The contents of the emperor's bedchamber affairs were one of the most well-guarded secrets of the palace, according to the teachings of the instructor momos. 

The emperor himself had permitted his lie-in. If Noble Consort Li were smarter, she wouldn't call Yan Zheyun out on this. 

The sedan set out at a stately pace. Outside, Xiao De walked next to its small window to continue their quiet conversation. He updated Yan Zheyun on what happened at the banquet after his abrupt departure. 

"After His Majesty left, no one's heart was in their performance." 

This was to be expected. The main audience wasn't around to watch, what was the point in putting themselves on display? 

"Did I miss out on anything important?" 

The corners of Xiao De's mouth turned downwards. "We're currently heading towards Little Master's new residence," he muttered. "It's the side house of Yuyang Hall, whose master is Gracious Consort Yao." 

The image of a figure in midnight blue tossing his wine back flashed in Yan Zheyun's mind. 

"Did Noble Consort Li announce these arrangements at the banquet itself?" 

"Yes, Little Master. Shortly after you left, the dowager and the other imperial relatives departed as well. Noble Consort Li held the harem back to inform everyone of their new residences." 

His eyes narrowed. "I'm guessing I've been separated from Hua Zhixuan?" Noble Consort Li must have spies within Zheshan Palace reporting on their every move. If he were her, he would split Hua Zhixuan and himself up too, to minimise their opportunities for future collusion. 

Xiao De's expression was uncharacteristically solemn. He understood the same logic that Yan Zheyun did. "First-class Attendant Hua has been assigned to stay in Yuanyin Palace under the administration of Imperial Concubine Pei." 

Yan Zheyun had no impression of this elusive imperial concubine but there were only two male concubines in the inner palace at the moment who were of high enough rank to stay in the main house of a palace. He assumed Imperial Concubine Pei was the sickly young man seated in the second position in his row at yesterday evening's banquet. 

"Did anyone cause trouble for Hua Zhixuan?" 

Xiao De shook his head. "Apart from one or two nasty comments, no one bothered First-class Attendant Hua. Most of their displeasure is directed at you, Little Master." 

Nothing surprising here either. Now that he was no longer stunned by waking up in the dragon bed, he could consider the consequences of his overnight stay at Qianqing Palace. It wouldn't take long before word of it got out to the rest of the inner palace if it hadn't already. How long more before the ministers caught wind? All it would take was one angry letter of complaint from a spoiled concubine to her powerful father and the capital's nobility would know that the convict's son Yan Yun had beguiled their emperor with his charms to raise in rank and gain special treatment. 

The emperor had to know what this would do to both their reputations. What was he playing at? 

He ran a hand inside the collar of his robes, where he knew the bruises the emperor had sucked into his skin were. They hadn't gone any further than rutting against each other in a frustrated frenzy, but the heat in the emperor's eyes and his grip on Yan Zheyun's arms and hips, hard enough to leave prints, was telling. 

Yan Zheyun leaned his head against the padded wall of the sedan. 25 years of singlehood and the first time he'd ever been attracted to anyone enough to consider making a move, it had to be a man with twenty wives. 

And yes, he minded sharing. There was no future in this, best not to dwell on it. 

The sedan stopped outside a palace that was far more magnificent than Zheshan Palace was, although after seeing the splendour of Qianqing Palace, even the bizarre bedchamber, this new residence of his paled in comparison. 

But the simple elegance of Yuyang Palace, the 'Palace of Rain and Sunshine', was refreshing. Instead of the garish golds and reds that some of the other palaces featured, the roof was a dark jade green and the pillars were of mahogany. A simple rock garden with a pond and pavilions in four corners gave it an erudite elegance that would have been more fitting for a teaching academy than the harem. Apart from the main house, there were four other side houses for the lower-ranked concubines and Yan Zheyun was led over to one of them, which had a train of eunuchs bustling in and out under the watchful eye of their supervisor. 

Xiao De caught sight of them and snorted. His usual genial tone was filled with disdain as he leaned in to whisper to Yan Zheyun. "Look at that, Little Master. The privy purse is singing a different tune now that they know you have the emperor's favour." 

The group of eunuchs bore trays of precious treasures to decorate his new chambers with. Their supervisor was a man with rat-like features. Yan Zheyun glanced around to see if Xiao Fu was present but he didn't catch sight of him. 

At the same time, the supervisor noticed Yan Zheyun's arrival. He rushed over with an ingratiating smile, signalling for his subordinates to do the same. 

"These servants greet Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue!" 

Their chorus thundered throughout the courtyard and Yan Zheyun fought the urge to grimace. He supposed he should be grateful that the other concubines were still at Changchun Palace and not around to hear the servants suck up to him. Granted, remaining inconspicuous was never a possibility for him but there was no need to go about broadcasting how much favour he had either. 

"Dispense with formalities." He frowned as he took in the sheer value of the gifts that were being presented to him and the supervisor misunderstood this for displeasure as he hurried to say, "If Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue finds these treasures to be too mundane, this servant will return them to their storage and bring another set out—"

"No," Yan Zheyun interrupted firmly. "They are more than adequate, thank you Gonggong." He looked over at one of the passing eunuchs, who was carrying a dark wooden guqin with thirteen golden string markers and jade pegs for the strings. Yan Zheyun felt his heart thump when he laid eyes on it. Traditionally, this was a representation of the pinnacle of guqin quality and the only treasure that he'd seen today that he wanted. 

The supervisor must have noticed his inclination towards the guqin because he sidled right up to Yan Zheyun, beckoning for that eunuch to bring it over for closer inspection. "Does this guqin delight Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue? The privy purse received word from Head Eunuch Cao that His Majesty had bestowed this upon you as a reward for your exceptional performance at the banquet." He gave Yan Zheyun an exaggerated bow. "This servant congratulates Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue for his accomplishments." 

"His Majesty is too kind," Yan Zheyun murmured, trailing his fingertips over the strings lightly and feeling how well they reverberated beneath his touch. He had already decided to file the previous evening's exploits as a 'one night stand' that might or might not evolve into a 'friends with benefits' type of situation depending on the emperor's interests. He wasn't going to allow himself to hope for more, not when Yan Zheyun was using the emperor for his agenda and the emperor clearly had hang-ups about him. 

But this present suited his tastes, at the very least. Even though it felt less like courtship and more like he was being doted upon by a sugar daddy. 

"This concubine shall keep this guqin," he said with finality. "The other treasures aren't necessary, I will have to trouble Gonggong to return them to where they belong." 

The supervisor wasn't expecting Yan Zheyun to refuse the sudden windfall of luxuries that had fallen into his lap. He chased after Yan Zheyun's swiftly retreating figure, calling out a perplexed, "B—but! Lord of Handsome Fairness! This servant was instructed to furnish your residences with such luxuries!"

Yan Zheyun paused at the entrance. "They are too lavish for one of my station—"

"What's this? His Majesty's new favourite has some self-awareness?" The scathing remark was made by an amused voice that interjected from the main gate of Yuyang Palace. Yan Zheyun looked up and saw the boy with the beauty mark at the corner of his mouth, who had been seated on his left at the banquet. As all members of the harem below imperial concubine rank had their status elevated in the latest round of promotions, this Lord of Bright Deportment Chen was still one rank superior to Yan Zheyun. 

Accordingly, Yan Zheyun paid him the due respect owed to that one rank difference, which was a slight bow. "Lord of Bright Deportment Chen," he greeted perfunctorily. 

Lord of Bright Deportment Chen cocked his head. "Oh, there's no need to reject such finery just because you used to be a slave, Noble Lord Yue—" he interrupted himself with a false laugh. "Ah, sorry, I mean, Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue. My, you really are good at climbing the hierarchy and…beds." 

Yan Zheyun gave a modest shrug. "This concubine is average compared to Lord of Bright Deportment Chen." 

"If Little Brother is average, then where does that leave the rest of us?" Lord of Bright Deportment Chen's smile grew sharp even as he switched to a more affectionate term to address Yan Zheyun, possibly with the intention to disgust. It was rather effective. "Little Brother must teach me your ways when you have the time. You might not know, but us sons of noblemen weren't instructed in the methods of seduction and will lose out to Little Brother in this department." 

Xiao De bristled by Yan Zheyun's side but the insult slid off Yan Zheyun like water off the back of a duck. "Big Brother is too modest," he replied cheerily. "This little brother finds your appearance more alluring than that of the Queen of Flowers (1) Yu Lan, you must be a natural." 

A splotch of red coloured Lord of Bright Deportment Chen's cheeks. "How dare you insinuate that I'm akin to a whore, I am His Majesty's concubine—"

"Who here isn't?" was Yan Zheyun's even reply. "Big Brother, this little brother was merely complimenting your appearance."

The barbed exchange could have continued if Gracious Consort Yao hadn't chosen this exact moment to saunter into the courtyard, hand barely covering a wide yawn as he stretched the kinks out of his shoulder. Unlike the ornate hairpins that Lord of Bright Deportment Chen used to decorate his hair, Gracious Consort Yao's hair was let loose, fastened only at its ends with a silver clip that looked a bit tribal. 

"Chen Qi," he said in that characteristic slow speech of his that was Yan Zheyun found instantly recognisable. "Stop bullying the newcomers, it's not going to make you more attractive in His Majesty's eyes." 

Despite chastising Lord of Bright Deportment Chen, there was little heat in Gracious Consort Yao's voice. Yan Zheyun expected Chen Qi to retort petulantly or to just ignore the mild warning. But even though Lord of Bright Deportment Chen fell into a spectacular sulk, he listened and stormed out of Yan Zheyun's doorway with one last, dark look at him. 

This made Yan Zheyun reevaluate Gracious Consort Yao in a different light. As far as he knew, Yao wasn't a surname related to the 6 noble clans or any important officials in the emperor's court, although this latter understanding could be outdated because this host body's information only extended up to 14 years of age. Yao could very well be a new aristocratic family. 

And this Gracious Consort Yao appeared to have a thing or two up his sleeves when it came to handling the other concubines in Yuyang Palace. It was best to play it safe. 

"Yan Yun greets the Gracious Consort," Yan Zheyun began, dropping into a deeper, more sincere bow than the one he'd offered Lord of Bright Deportment Chen. "Yan Yun has just moved in and was intending to pay Gracious Consort a visit after freshening up." He wanted that lube out. 

Gracious Consort Yao wrinkled his nose. "Another visit?" he muttered, waving off Yan Zheyun's formalities as he walked into Yan Zheyun's chambers without so much as a by-your-leave. Not that he required it but this lack of propriety was shocking in this day and age. 

He was an interesting individual. Yan Zheyun didn't comment on his behaviour, just followed behind in obedient silence to see what he was he was up to. 

The answer was…nothing much. He planted himself on a divan by the table and gestured at Xiao De to serve up some tea. 

"…if it would please Gracious Consort Yao, Yan Yun can entertain you first?" Yan Zheyun was already resigning himself to an afternoon of feeling uncomfortably oily in unmentionable locations but Gracious Consort Yao shook his head. 

"No, no. Go bathe and nap or whatever you require to feel more alive after a whole night with His Majesty." He shoot Yan Zheyun such a long, knowing look that Yan Zheyun nearly caved and defended his purity, which was still intact albeit clinging on to its last vestiges. 

"But Gracious Consort Yao will just be…sitting here?" 

He nodded and gestured at poor Xiao De again. "This fellow here will be more than sufficient company." 

Xiao De's eyes boggled. "This servant?" 

"Exactly that servant. Tell me, how good are you at chess?"