From CEO to Concubine

Trouble never travelled alone. 

As the days passed, Hua Zhixuan's condition didn't worsen but it didn't improve by too much either. His night sweats seemed to become milder but some of the other symptoms he developed reminded Yan Zheyun of the flu, with its muscle aches, fevers, and runny nose. 

The imperial physicians seemed to think that the cause was a 'harmful wind', which was the old equivalent of the modern term 'cold'. But Yan Zheyun wasn't convinced. 

"This subject has to warn Gracious Consort Langjun and Lord Yue, there is a high likelihood that Lord Hua's illness is contagious and for both of your safeties, should be left to the servants to tend to." 

Neither of them listened, of course. 

Yan Zheyun sat on Hua Zhixuan's bedside and watched Gracious Consort Yao as he leaned against the carved mahogany bed frame and gazed down upon Hua Zhixuan's sleeping face. His usual mirth was replaced by a sombreness that looked foreign on him. Yan Zheyun, who had been getting strange vibes from the both of them ever since Hua Zhixuan had demonstrated that unusual reluctance to visit Gracious Consort Yao's house, narrowed his eyes. 

It wasn't like Gracious Consort Yao was going out of his way to conceal anything either. There was no way he wasn't aware that Yan Zheyun was watching him. Yet, he reached out a hand to cup one of Hua Zhixuan's burning cheeks, stroking a thumb over the top of a cheekbone that had only become gaunter after the unknown illness began. 

Heavy eyelids struggled to lift and it took colossal effort but Hua Zhixuan finally managed to pry them open to peer up at Gracious Consort Yao with bleary eyes.

"Langjun," he croaked. "You shouldn't be here, you'll fall sick—"

The thumb shifted down to press gently against Hua Zhixuan's lips, stilling them. Yan Zheyun had thought, initially, that Hua Zhixuan's recent avoidance of Gracious Consort Yao had been due to an aversion towards the man. He'd tried inquiring about it but Hua Zhixuan had been uncharacteristically evasive, shifty-eyed and dodging all his questions with a wiliness that no one would have guessed he was capable of. 

But now, looking at them both, Yan Zheyun wasn't so sure anymore. 

"Don't talk. Since you're awake, drink something." 

He gestured towards Yan Zheyun, who rose immediately and went to retrieve the teapot on the table, which was constantly refilled with fresh warm water. Hua Zhixuan's feverish hazes came and went, but always left him dehydrated. The bed shifted when he stood up and Hua Zhixuan must have detected something because he tried to sit up, giving up only when Gracious Consort Yao held him gently but firmly down. 

"What are you doing, Little Rabbit?" Gracious Consort Yao murmured. "Your Brother Yan has just stepped away and you miss him already? So clingy." 

Hua Zhixuan's protest was a quiet noise of dissent. "Langjun, take Brother Yan out with you—"

"No can do." This time, it was Yan Zheyun who interrupted him. "Gracious Consort Yao is right, hush and drink up." He handed the cup over to Gracious Consort Yao, who propped Hua Zhixuan up with one arm before bringing the edge to his chapped lips. 

Hua Zhixuan fell silent and took a dutiful sip. The water must have been blessed relief for whatever feverish heat he'd been feeling because he was soon gulping it down greedily. Yan Zheyun signalled for Shuangxi to bring another pot in and stood there to play the role of the attentive waiter, refilling the cup as and when necessary. 

It was only when Hua Zhixuan choked and started spluttering that he stopped, Gracious Consort Yao patting him on the back and guiding him back down. 

"What's wrong with me?" he asked drowsily, already tired again after just a short while of being awake. Shuangxi, who could no longer be persuaded to take any breaks at night, had reported that his little master had been experiencing insomnia in the late hours, which caused Hua Zhixuan to be consumed by a painful lethargy in the day. 

Before Yan Zheyun could come up with something comforting to say in response to that, Gracious Consort Yao spoke first, his voice a soothing whisper as he reached up to brush Hua Zhixuan's fringe out of his eyes in a gesture that was definitely too familiar. 

Yan Zheyun's alarm bells would have rung louder if Hua Zhixuan didn't reach up to catch at one long, midnight blue sleeve, nuzzling weakly against Gracious Consort Yao's knuckles like a sick newborn kitten that was looking for comfort. 

He lowered his lashes. How had he missed such a big development and when had it started? 

More importantly, did Hua Zhixuan not realise just how dangerous this was? 

No, he might appear naive but Yan Zheyun knew that he was no fool. He must have known. Was that why he'd tried to pull away? 

It wasn't long before Hua Zhixuan dozed off again but this time around, there was an unspoken tension in the room, a pressure that had built up because of the white elephant that had cramped itself into the space between Gracious Consort Yao and Yan Zheyun. 

"Langjun is very brave," Yan Zheyun said, deliberately using the term of address that he'd avoided for so long. 

Gracious Consort Yao inclined his head as though Yan Zheyun had praised him and he was acknowledging it modestly. "Lord Yue has overpraised me. This consort is merely serving his duty to His Majesty by caring for the concubines under my charge." 

Yan Zheyun let out a quiet laugh. "So you do remember that you're a consort? And that Lord Hua is another of His Majesty's concubines?" 

There was a long pause as Gracious Consort Yao adjusted the folds of his sleeves. His expression was carefully inscrutable and Yan Zheyun couldn't be sure what he was thinking. He had an endless number of questions that he wanted to ask Gracious Consort Yao and not all of them were about Hua Zhixuan. But until he was more certain of where Gracious Consort Yao's allegiances lay, it wouldn't be safe to bring up most of them. 

At last, Gracious Consort Yao seemed to be satisfied with the appearance of his attire because he looked up and gave Yan Zheyun a beatific smile that couldn't conceal the bags beneath his eyes. 

"I'm sure His Majesty wouldn't mind. Lord Yue walks in perfection and keeps His Majesty's attention wholly." 

"…" Wouldn't mind is not the same as wouldn't notice. Even if the emperor didn't seem to have any interest in the rest of his harem, this did not mean that he wouldn't take offence if he discovered that his concubines were canoodling each other in their palaces and that the hat upon his head was greener than the rolling grasslands that some of the nomadic tribes lived on. 

Besides, the entire harem inner palace thought that Talented Lord Hua had the emperor's favour at the moment. Why was Gracious Consort Yao so certain that he didn't? 

"Gracious Consort seems very privy to His Majesty's thoughts," Yan Zheyun ventured. 

Their eyes met. Gracious Consort Yao's crinkled as he fluttered his lashes, halfheartedly coquettish like he was trying to forcibly lighten the mood but knew it wasn't going to be of much use. "No need to be jealous, Lord Yue," he replied. "This consort is certain that you've already guessed why and it's certainly not because His Majesty and I are an old married couple." 

Yan Zheyun had. And it seemed like Gracious Consort Yao was hinting at the truth too, his reply all but confirming some of Yan Zheyun's suspicions. 

He lowered his voice further and leaned closer as he asked, "If it is as Gracious Consort implies, could this concubine inquire about whether Gracious Consort Yao has been in contact with His Majesty recently?" News of Hua Zhixuan's illness had already spread throughout the inner palace and still, there was no word from the emperor. To make matters worse, even if Yan Zheyun wanted to swallow his pride—which wasn't even on the list of his priorities by now—and seek the emperor out in Tianlu Pavilion, a eunuch had made an announcement during morning assembly saying that the emperor would entertain no visits from concubines until further notification. 

Others might be able to dismiss it as the two new additions to Yuyang Palace finally losing favour but it drove Yan Zheyun stir crazy with the notion that something might already have gone horribly wrong.

Gracious Consort Yao looked down at the floor. His reply was more solemn than he'd ever been before. 

"At the end of the day, Lord Yue, we're all just servants to our liege." He smiled wanly. "A good dog stays put when told to stay put, even if that dog is man's best friend. Do you get what I'm saying?" 

He was saying that his hands were tied by a command from the emperor himself? But why? 

Gracious Consort Yao shook his head in response to Yan Zheyun's inquisitive look. "No idea," he muttered. "But take my word for it, you're going to have a lot on your hands soon if His Majesty doesn't make a comeback soon." 

——————————

Gracious Consort Yao was right, of course. Two days later, kneeling in front of Noble Consort Li, Yan Zheyun couldn't help but begrudge just how right he was. 

"What brings Niangnniang all the way to this consort's humble abode?" Gracious Consort Yao drawled. "Surely you must be so bogged down with the running of the inner palace." 

Noble Consort Li's mouth flattened into an angry line. "Gracious Consort Yao knows that this consort is busy?" she said coldly. "Then you should apologise for the trouble your incompetence has caused!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Yan Zheyun, who kept his head low and his ears peeled. "If it weren't for your negligence, Lord Hua's suffering wouldn't have gone on for so long!" 

Even without looking up, Yan Zheyun could hear the disbelieving laughter in Gracious Consort Yao's voice as he asked, "Niangniang made a trip over on the behalf of Lord Hua? To lessen his suffering? By punishing his closest companion?" By the time Gracious Consort Yao had arrived in the courtyard in front of Yan Zheyun's house, Noble Consort Li had already accused Yan Zheyun of appropriating Hua Zhixuan's coal supply and delaying his recuperation as a result. 

The main questions were, how had the additional coal arrived in his stores, who had reported it, and for what purpose? 

And really, it was already mid-spring, Hua Zhixuan might require the coal because he was ill but Yan Zheyun certainly did not. But unfortunately, his frail constitution was recorded in the imperial medical bureau, as was his fear of the cold, and all this could now be used as a weapon against him. 

"Niangniang," Gracious Consort Yao marvelled. His tone was admiring but there was a funny edge to it that made Noble Consort Li turn warily to face him, subconsciously uncomfortable to have him behind her back. "No wonder you've been tasked with the management of the inner palace. You're so efficient, you even know the amount of coal each house in each palace has in their stores." 

He all but accused her of spying. Even as the holder of the phoenix seal, she had no right to plant informants in the inner palace as this could and would be regarded as plotting against the emperor. 

Naturally, Noble Consort Li was aware of this. She shot him a glare and drew herself up self-righteously. "This consort will have you know that I received a report from Second-class Attendant Ling regarding the theft of Lord Hua's coal," was her retort. "If Attendant Ling hadn't taken pity on Lord Hua and come straight to this consort, who knew how much longer Lord Hua would have to bear such ill-treatment?" 

Attendant Ling who? A small crowd had gathered by now, including the other concubines who lived in Yuyang Palace. Yan Zheyun looked around until he noticed a small, scrawny figure shying away from attention directed towards him suddenly. His features were plain and he looked like a mousy little thing with such faint presence that Yan Zheyun hadn't paid him much attention before. If he hadn't been dressed in attendant-level livery, he might even have mistaken him for one of the servants. 

Yan Zheyun opened his mouth to defend himself but before he could get a word out sideways, a lord scoff interjected. 

"Hah! Just a creature that lives off the food offered on the inside but crawls on its knees for another master on the outside (1)." Surprisingly, the speaker was Lord of Bright Deportment Chen, who sneered as he gazed at Attendant Ling with so much disgust that Attendant Ling visibly flinched. 

"T-this concubine was just trying to help L-Lord Hua," he mumbled but Lord Chen was having none of that. 

"Help Lord Hua? Do you even know what Lord Hua looks like?" He rolled his eyes. "This concubine has never seen you in Lord Hua's house even once after he fell ill, I suppose it's because you've been spending all this time holed up in Lord Yue's stores counting the coal?" 

[…the residents of Yuyang Palace, Ladies and Gentleman, each one with a mouth bitchier than the last.] Despite the ridiculous setup, Yan Zheyun found himself in at the moment, he couldn't help but feel a frisson of fondness for them. Especially Lord Chen, now that he was directing his poisonous tongue somewhere else. 

"Enough!" Noble Consort Li shouted. "Where is your decorum, Lord Chen? Bickering without solving any problems, no wonder Yuyang Palace is in a mess!" She glared at Yan Zheyun. "Lord Yue's selfishness has harmed Lord Hua—"

"Niangniang," Yan Zheyun interrupted. "Forgive Yan Yun's interruption but you haven't proved anything yet. Just because coal has disappeared from Lord Hua's stores and coal has shown up in Yan Yun's stores doesn't prove that Yan Yun was the thief." He glanced up to meet her eyes squarely just as he said with slow deliberation, "Just like how, Niangniang, just because a star fades for one person and a star brightens for another doesn't mean prove that the latter stole the place of the former." 

There was a collective intake of breath. 

Noble Consort Li had gone very silent. Her face was pale and her eyes were expressionless. They looked at Yan Zheyun as though they were looking at a dead man. Perhaps that was her intention all along, to make use of the emperor's negligence of the inner palace to get rid of him early. Or maybe there was something more sinister to this and he just hadn't managed to fathom out what yet. 

But Yan Zheyun had a point to make and he was going to do so in public so that she would have no choice but to administer justice on his terms. 

He smiled. His face was still filled with the same youthful beauty that had driven men crazy at his dance during the fourth prince's banquet but no one who heard him today would think him a helpless pet that could be controlled on a master's whim anymore. 

"Of course, this concubine isn't saying that that is what Niangniang thinks," he added in the lightest of murmurs. "Niangniang is honourable enough to hold the phoenix seal and will do it justice. Thus, this concubine trusts that until Niangniang concludes a fair and just investigation, without the senseless use of torture, you wouldn't make the mistake of punishing this concubine, would you?" 

He blinked up at her with wide, innocent eyes.. "After all, they say that the empress is the 'Mother of All Under Heaven'. Punishing a child without knowing whether they really were in the wrong wouldn't be the action of a good mother now, would it?"