From CEO to Concubine

The inner palace was a place of intrigue. New mysteries cropped up every day before old ones were solved or, more commonly, had their secrets lost forever. Behind the walls of the imperial city, rumours were more run of the mill than the truth, and no rumour attracted more attention than that of where the emperor's favour lay. Concubines, servants, even the court, which was supposed to be removed from the matters of the harem, were personally invested in the gossip. 

'Since ancient times, the inner palace was not to interfere in government affairs'?

That might be the rule but the fact of the matter was that the inner palace was inseparable from government affairs, whether His Majesty liked it or not. 

As such, from the lowest of slaves to the highest of officials and consorts, a significant proportion of people were befuddled by the latest series of events, which took place outside Changchun Palace every morning without fail. 

A messenger eunuch from Tianlu Pavilion would approach Lord of Handsome Fairness Yue with an invite first, failing which, he would extend this to Talented Lord Hua. 

It was Talented Lord Hua who spent his days in the emperor's company now, that was for sure, entering Tianlu Pavilion after morning assembly in the inner palace, and, according to sources, staying until sunset. Every time he returned to Yuyang Palace, it was like he'd bathed in the emperor's incense, the scent so overwhelming that Yan Zheyun couldn't ignore it. Neither could Lord of Bright Deportment Chen, whose jibes, for want of a better word, were just salty. Yan Zheyun was certain that out there somewhere existed a poetic idiom that would characterise the pettiness of his words better but it eluded him. 

"Twice the scent, twice the time spent in His Majesty's embrace," Lord Chen had muttered in Yan Zheyun's ear before sneaking a glimpse at Yan Zheyun's face as though expecting him to burst into a flood of distraught tears. 

But Yan Zheyun had been too busy worrying about the emperor's sudden increase in the use of incense to pay him any heed. 

So it was that, overnight, Hua Zhixuan became the new hottest topic in the imperial city. But on the other hand, to say that Lord Yue had lost the emperor's favour would be a stretch. If the emperor's interests in him had faded, why would he still receive the first and foremost invite daily? But if he still had the emperor's undivided attention, why would Lord Hua be summoned in his stead? 

Over a couple of weeks, Yan Zheyun heard countless interpretations from Xiao De, who was always eager to regale him with the latest developments that he'd plucked off the grapevine. It seemed like no one could make head or tails of the emperor's intentions, which was probably the desired effect, although Yan Zheyun was also guessing here since the emperor was sometimes harder to read than his siblings had been whilst going through their moodiest phases of puberty. 

But Yan Zheyun chose to be positive in this regard. The emperor had told him to take his time, so he was going to believe, at least until proven otherwise, that this bizarre arrangement now was done with him in mind. Like this, Yan Zheyun could dictate the pace of their relationship, an honour he'd never thought someone as controlling as the emperor would willingly cede. And at the same time, it solved the matter of readjusting Hua Zhixuan to the matters of the morning court, which had been Yan Zheyun's recommendation in the first place. 

Simple yet effective. Yan Zheyun had always been able to appreciate a well-executed plan but…he'd never thought that he would find this efficiency…hot. 

Whatever the emperor's motivations, this situation continued for long enough that everyone was just about to accept it as the new normal, when the invites suddenly ceased. 

Neither Yan Zheyun nor Hua Zhixuan was called to Tianlu Pavilion anymore. No other concubine received an invitation either, much to their dismay and they saw fit to voice this during morning assemblies, the combined saltiness in Changchun Palace enough to turn a glass of pure water into the same concentration as the dead sea. Ordinarily, this would amuse Yan Zheyun, but the sudden radio silence from the emperor made him uneasy. 

He didn't think that he was being ignored. In fact, if that were the case, he would be relieved. A problem in their relationship was easily solved as compared to, say, poisoning from an assassination attempt. He might be overly paranoid from consuming one too many historical dramas in the past but he couldn't shake off the bad feeling that something had happened to the emperor. 

Hua Zhixuan hadn't noticed anything wrong though. "The incense?" he'd asked with a frown when Yan Zheyun had broached the subject. "I only detected high-quality sandalwood in the blend, do you think His Majesty will give me some if I asked?" 

"…you don't find the frequency of His Majesty's usage unusual?" 

Hua Zhixuan had shrugged. "It's very common for the physicians to create medicinal incenses for the wealthy. His Majesty does seem to complain of frequent headaches, perhaps the incense is a prescription from the imperial medical bureau?" 

"Perhaps." But Yan Zheyun hadn't been convinced. 

"Don't worry," Hua Zhixuan had reassured, with a sympathetic pat on his shoulder. "Brother Yan's concern has made you lose a little rationality. My gut feeling is that His Majesty's workload is just heavier now that so many big events are coming up. He'll send for you again soon, you'll see!" 

"…let's hope." 

But Hua Zhixuan was apparently not much of a fortune-teller because his guts weren't quite right. Before Yan Zheyun received any news from the emperor, Hua Zhixuan fell ill. 

It had started insidiously, creeping up on all of them so stealthily that no one had recognised the signs or symptoms before it struck. 

"Brother Hua, Brother Hua?" Yan Zheyun tapped Hua Zhixuan's cheek gently, heart sinking at the clamminess of his damp skin. Hua Zhixuan shuddered in response and tried bundling himself tighter into his blankets. 

It was already mid-spring and the weather was very temperate. Hua Zhixuan didn't have a cold constitution either. Yan Zheyun reached into the blankets to feel his hands and feet and found them icy too. 

What was going on? He was no doctor and had no idea whether this was a cold or flu—did they even have the flu yet? What on earth was happening? 

He had to force down his panic as he turned to Shuangxi, whose eyes were so red from crying he resembled a frightened rabbit. He'd run over to Yan Zheyun's house first thing in the morning to plead for help. 

"How long has this been going on?" Yan Zheyun asked. He'd already sent Xiao De scurrying for the imperial physicians. 

Shuangxi sniffled. "In—in response to Little Master Yue—"

A frisson of irritation, driven by the fear of potentially losing the first close friend he'd made in this world, caused him to snap. "Enough with the formalities! Get to the point!" 

No one had ever heard Lord Yue take that tone with the servants before. Shuangxi fell to his knees before he could stop himself, along with Qiu Ji, who was just behind him. Yan Zheyun sat down on the edge of the Hua Zhixuan's bed and shut his eyes to try and block out the aggravating sight. 

All this useless fanfare…he knew that it was ingrained in them, that they couldn't help the knee-jerk response, but it wasn't going to save Hua Zhixuan. 

[You're overreacting,] he tried to comfort himself. [It's probably just a mild cold, will be gone in two days.] 

But the gnawing worry persisted, especially after Shuangxi started reporting what had been going on. 

"Li—Little Master had complained of a slight headache a few days ago," he stammered out. "And he said he felt like throwing up too but apart from that, he was fine during the daytime so…" 

It didn't sound like a cold. But what would Yan Zheyun know? Were diseases in this novel even the same as the ones in real life? 

"How about at night?" 

Shuangxi kowtowed. "This servant was in the wrong," he said, voice thick with remorse. "This servant should have insisted on keeping watch, this servant deserves to die…" 

Yan Zheyun let out a quiet sigh and covered his face with a hand. Of course. Hua Zhixuan had picked up the habit of dismissing his servant at night too, which he'd learnt from Yan Zheyun, had admired Yan Zheyun for it when he'd found out. Yan Zheyun still didn't think there was anything wrong with allowing Xiao De to sleep in a nearby pallet as opposed to standing guard at the entrance of his bedchamber. But if Hua Zhixuan hadn't copied the example he'd set…

They might have noticed that something was wrong earlier. 

"It's not your fault," he muttered, even though he knew that it was poor comfort for Shuangxi, who wouldn't be able to see this as anything but his failure to protect his little master. "If you wish to beg for forgiveness, do that later when Brother Hua is well again. He needs you to care for him now." 

This seemed to get through to Shuangxi, at least. He nodded and staggered to his feet, mumbling something about retrieving fresh bedclothes for Hua Zhixuan, since the current set he was wearing was soaked through with cold sweat. 

It felt like forever before Xiao De returned with a physician in tow. Yan Zheyun hurriedly dispensed with formalities and backed away from the bedside to give the physician more space to work with. He paced by the window, studying the crease on a wrinkled brow, which deepened as he assessed Hua Zhixuan's condition by looking, listening, asking, and feeling for the pulse (1). Hua Zhixuan wasn't lucid enough to answer his questions, so that task fell to Shuangxi, who didn't know much. 

By the end of his checkup, Yan Zheyun could tell that things weren't looking good. 

"Reporting to Lord Yue, this subject is incompetent and unable to determine the nature of Lord Hua's illness." Trepidation made the imperial physician hesitate before pressing on in a less confident voice. "Lord Hua's symptoms are very generic, this subject can prescribe medicinal remedies for some of them but…if we don't manage to determine their cause, this subject is afraid that we would only be treating the tip of the branch instead of addressing the root of the problem (2)…" 

Yan Zheyun's mouth tightened. He knew that it was going against protocol to ask about the emperor's health, that even an innocuous query about his medications could be punishable by death if it reached the wrong pair of ears. 

But he couldn't shake off his suspicions. 

"Lord Hua accompanied His Majesty often in the last couple of weeks," he said, keeping his voice as neutrally as he could. "This concubine had the opportunity to do so previously as well and had noted that His Majesty frequently used that particular incense. Could there be anything in it that might have made Lord Hua ill now that he's no longer exposed to it?" 

He deliberately phrased his question ambiguously because he knew what he was hinting at could bring disaster upon a lot of people, even and especially innocents, if he wasn't careful. 

As expected, the imperial physician paled upon hearing Yan Zheyun's words and he collapsed onto his knees.

"Lord Yue, this subject is not privy to His Majesty's health records! But Lord Yue is surely wise and would know that the physicians in charge of His Majesty's prescriptions would not dabble with anything dangerous to the dragon body! Please render fair judgement upon us!" 

He really shouldn't be asking. But if Hua Zhixuan was in danger, if the emperor were in danger—

He felt his heart constrict. If they were in danger, then as an ally, friend, and perhaps lover, he wouldn't be able to look at himself if he prioritised his safety over their lives. 

"There's no chance that there would be something causing these side effects in the incense? Nothing that might make them crave more over time?" he asked hoarsely. 

"The-that incense…a-as far as this subject is aware, it's just a light remedy for His Majesty's headaches and sleeplessness…anything more, this—this subject really doesn't know, Lord Yue! Please forgive me!" 

He looked back to the figure curled up on the bed. Shrouded behind the curtains, it looked too small and helpless, nothing like the refined, energetic young man who greeted him with a bright smile every morning. 

"Forget I asked," Yan Zheyun said tiredly. "There is nothing to forgive. If anything, this concubine should apologise for pressuring you."