From CEO to Concubine

Rain was a rare sight in the north during springtime but today the skies were overcast with grey clouds that hung low over the capital like an omen. The first droplets of rain splattered against Wu Zhong's cheek and he tucked the hot basin of water under his arm and hurried into the main chambers of the madam's residences. 

Earlier, Liang Hui had complained that her joints were acting up again and irritated by his wife's constant bemoaning, Wu Shengqi had pleaded with His Majesty for an imperial physician to be sent to the Wu Household to attend to her. As an official of the 'Upper Two' rank and a member of one of the six old noble clans, Wu Shengqi was entitled to visits from the mid-tiered imperial physicians. Not to mention that Liang Hui was a 'Gaoming Madam'—in other words, a 'Titled Lady'—which was an honour granted upon her by the late emperor after her marriage to Wu Shengqi. Her rank was equivalent to her husband's and she could share his benefits too. 

Whether this was fortunate or unfortunate for her was harder to say. On one hand, she had access to better treatment than the common folk. On the other hand, say if someone, such as Wu Zhong's real master, wanted to exchange information with him on a regular, she became the easiest means to accomplish this by. A slow and steady addition of cold-based ingredients into her meals and the stagnation and stasis pains (1) in her bones flared up conveniently from time to time. 

Such as now. 

A large folding screen had been brought out into the centre of the main chamber. Upon entering, Wu Zhong could feel a chill from the dank mustiness of the house, which was a sign that it hadn't been aired out well. He recalled that Wu Shengqi favoured milky skin and that all the women in his backyard did their best to hide from the sun, going so far as to keep the windows barred against the light. Liang Hui had herself to blame for the rapid worsening of her condition. 

Wu Zhong had to thank her for saving him a lot of the trouble. 

The imperial physician was an unassuming man of unremarkable stature. He sat on a chair in front of the screen and gave instructions to the maids behind on how to give Liang Hui's arms and legs a proper hot bath. To protect Liang Hui's modesty, even male servants weren't allowed near because her sleeves and trouser legs were drawn up. As such, Wu Zhong passed the basin over and stood next to the physician to await further instructions. 

A maid gave him a beady glare. "What are you lingering around here for?" she asked nastily. "Reeking of the oil of the kitchens, are you trying to make Madam feel even more ill by upsetting her stomach?" 

Wu Zhong kept a straight face. "This servant was instructed to fetch water and as when necessary," was his wooden reply. 

The maid seemed to consider the benefits of this. The basin was very large and very heavy, it was just as well that the kitchens had sent some poor sod along to carry out the grunt work. 

"Fine, but stay far away, don't stink up the madam's chambers," she warned, before darting back behind the screen to tend to her ailing mistress. 

Wu Zhong was finally left alone with the imperial physician. The man was still calling out to Liang Hui now and then to make further medical enquiries but the index finger on his right started to move in tiny, rapid gestures against the tabletop that it was resting on. 

Neither of them spoke but they didn't need to. 

[Kill two birds with one stone.] Was the first line of the newest message that the master had for Wu Zhong. His mouth flattened into a thin line as he considered what this meant. Over the last couple of weeks, he'd been put on high alert, told to wait for an opportune moment to ruin the alliance between the Wu and Guo Families. He'd assumed that he would sooner or later be asked to engineer Guo Zhen's death. But it was starting to sound like there was a slight change in plans. 

[Save Little Horse and Bright Moon.] 

Xiao Ma and Mingyue. Wu Zhong's heart shuddered against his chest as a long-lost warmth seeped back into it. There was only one person who could be responsible for such an order. 

The night that Yan Yun left the Wu Family, Wu Zhong had despaired at the thought of what would happen to him in the fourth prince's bed. Wu Zhong's master's reach wasn't infinite and what they'd managed to discover about the fourth prince's household was limited. But the Brocade Guard had reached out to him to investigate the incident on Wu Bin's wedding night and it hadn't taken Wu Zhong long to uncover exactly what had happened, down to the nitty-gritty. 

A monster like that wouldn't treat Yan Yun right. Ever since that mid-autumn night, when he'd lost Yan Yun in the crowd and had seen the colour seep out of his life, he'd been forced to acknowledge what he felt. He'd thought that he'd just needed Yan Yun to wait for just a while more. These were turbulent times and it wouldn't be long before he would be able to fulfil his duties and collect merit. Then, instead of a monetary reward, he could ask the master for a boon instead. 

But time and tide waited for no man. Wu Shengqi's shamelessness knew no bounds and it was without warning that Wu Zhong suddenly received news about Yan Yun's dance training. 

For the first time since he'd sworn his loyalty as a child, Wu Zhong had considered taking Yan Yun and running away, somewhere far from the seat of power and the endless warmongering that surrounded it. 

But Yan Yun was right. They were slaves. They would spend the rest of their lives hiding in the gutter like rats, never venturing too far into the light for fear that their identities would be revealed one day. Worst still, if they failed to even make it out of the capital, if one of Wu Zhong's colleagues had caught wind of his plans and turned on him, they would be dead by dawn. 

Even if he'd been willing to risk it, Yan Yun had made it clear that he was not. So that was that. 

It had alleviated some of the pangs in his chest to learn that Yan Yun had ended up in the dragon bed instead. The worry and heartache had been replaced by a bittersweet mix of feelings, disappointment and self-disgust at his own uselessness warring with stark relief. His master was stern and unyielding but he was a better man than the fourth prince would ever be. Even though the inner palace was filled with treachery, Yan Yun would have a better shot at survival in there than wasting away from the violence of the fourth prince's greedy lust. 

Wu Zhong just hoped that he was happy. 

Beyond the imperial city's sky-high walls, a favoured Yan Yun was safer than he would be at the mercy of the Wu Household. But he was forever lost to Wu Zhong. He'd thought that he would have nothing to do with Yan Yun ever again but this contact had brought along with him a nice surprise this afternoon. 

Save Yan Yun's friends and somehow use this to create discord between the Wu and Guo Families. Wu Zhong was more than willing to comply. He wondered, idly, whether Yan Yun had included him in the list of people that needed rescuing. But he didn't allow himself to dwell on this tempting thought for long. 

[Any news?] 

Wu Zhong lowered his gaze. He coughed three times. Later on, this imperial physician, or perhaps someone else in the network, would head to an ordinary-looking tree in the western marketplace, where Wu Zhong sometimes was sent to carry out errands concerning the kitchens' spice supplies. There, nestled in its roots, they would find a letter from Liang Hui to her daughter Wu Yusi, which Wu Zhong had intercepted and copied before allowing it to continue on its way into the inner palace. 

All in a day's work for him. Except that every time he wrote anything now, it was with a frisson of guilt at having lied to Yan Yun about his literacy, just so Yan Yun would grip his hand and teach him how to write those ingenious, simplified characters of his. 

Liang Hui had deliberately kept the letter's contents vague, which proved that she wasn't as stupid as she sometimes gave Wu Zhong the impression of being, but there was still enough information in there to be valuable. He'd recorded something about Liang Hui's approval of Wu Yusi's plan to frame someone as a 'fox demon' and her warning not to do anything rash until they met and discussed the issue thoroughly. 

It all sounded rather harebrained to Wu Zhong but he knew just how vicious the politicking could get, had seen it for himself in the Wu Household's backyard. And the inner palace was the biggest, grandest 'backyard' in the country. 

The hot bath water cooled quickly and Wu Zhong was soon sent back to the kitchens to fetch more. On the tedious journey to and fro, he debated his options. It would be ideal if he could complete his mission by whisking off both targets into the night but this wasn't feasible. Both Xiao Ma and Mingyue were directly related to Yan Yun, who was the sole reason why Wu Bin kept them by his side nowadays. If they were both to suddenly disappear, it would point fingers directly at Yan Yun and Wu Zhong's master. While the Wu Household might not be able to gather a lot of evidence to make a complaint in morning court, it would highlight to everyone paying attention that the eyes and ears of Wu Zhong's master had extended so far into their territories. 

Wu Zhong's master was still in a precarious position. He wasn't high enough in the hierarchy to know the full details but he was aware that they weren't ready to openly oppose the nobles yet. Subtlety was the key. 

Neither Xiao Ma nor Mingyue was in an enviable position, but the latter was in more danger. Wu Zhong had heard the kitchen maids gossiping furtively about a second abortion that had been forced upon Mingyue by the young madam and Wu Zhong had seen enough pettiness from Guo Zhen to know that Mingyue's days were numbered. 

He was also biased. Yan Yun might be forgiving but Wu Zhong still couldn't forget Xiao Ma's betrayal. He understood why Xiao Ma had made that choice but it hadn't stopped him from nearly losing control of himself after learning the truth. If his sense of duty and his consideration of Yan Yun's feelings hadn't stayed his hand, he might have risked blowing his cover to kill Xiao Ma for what he'd done. 

Xiao Ma could suffer for a while more. Wu Zhong would get him out as soon as was feasible but he was going to prioritise Mingyue. 

That night, with a little help from some spare mafei powder that he'd stocked up from his contacts amongst the physicians in Gongzheng Hall, Wu Zhong's roommates slept even heavier than usual. They might even remain sluggish at work in the morning but Wu Zhong's mission was to save Mingyue, not to care about the lives of every single innocent person in the Wu Household. 

Wu Zhong's master might have honourable ideals but honourable ideals weren't always realised by honourable means. That was where people like Wu Zhong came in. 

Wu Bin's residences were quiet. After her most recent 'miscarriage', Mingyue had kept to the small house she'd been allocated in a secluded corner, insisting that she was too ashamed of her failure to bear a child for her young master and too frail to serve him in bed for now. After a couple of nights of making a dramatic din, Wu Bin had grown tired of her theatrics and started spending his evenings rotating amongst his other concubines and bedwarmers instead. 

It was a stroke of good luck for Wu Zhong, who slipped between the sparse guards and stole into Mingyue's chambers without much difficulty. 

Mingyue's sole maid was crouched by the door of her bedchamber, nodding off against the frame as she mumbled sleepily to herself. Wu Zhong gave her a good night's sleep with a night cloth coated in the same mafei powder. She might remember fainting when she woke up the next day but would have to chalk it up to a bad dream. 

He walked in. 

"Who's there?" Mingyue called suddenly, voice trembling in terror. Wu Zhong paused in the shadows. The only noise that had been emitted so far was the quiet thud Mingyue's maid slumping bonelessly onto the floor. He hadn't expected Mingyue to be this sensitive to sound. 

Perhaps she had good reason to be though. Her husband's erratic nature left much to be desired. 

"It's me," he said softly as he stepped closer to her bed. She was huddled with the blankets drawn up to her chest, eyes darting left and right as she searched through the inky darkness for any sign of the intruder. Her vision wasn't as trained as his but upon hearing his familiar voice, her shoulders relaxed a little, even though she still kept as far away from his direction as she could. 

"…Wu—" She caught herself suddenly and didn't finish saying his name. 

[Good girl,] Wu Zhong thought. She was appropriately cautious. 

"I can't linger for long," he said. He handed her a slip of paper with his instructions on it. "Burn it as soon as you're done reading." There was nothing in it that would implicate him but should she be careless, it would make his job that much more difficult. 

"What's going on? What is this—"

"Freedom." 

She fell silent. But even in the hazy shadows, he could see disbelieving hope stirring in the depths of her eyes, rekindling a faint spark in the dullness that had permeated them ever since she'd started her bedwarming duties. 

"Why?" she croaked, voice thick with emotion. "Why would you help me? Who are you—"

"Don't ask questions." He didn't see the need to explain any more than necessary. Everything she needed to know had already been written down for her and he wasn't asking for her opinion because she didn't have a choice in the matter. Saying too much could compromise his mission and his master, and from a tender age, a large part of his training had involved knowing what to say and when to say it. 

"Burn it once you're done," he repeated his warning, before disappearing as suddenly as he came.