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Followed by a train of maids carrying chests and boxes, Jiayi hurried towards the Red Lotus Pavilion, where the future wife of Emperor Taxian-Jun was being held. Jiayi had been given the task of helping the bride-to-be dress and prepare for the ceremony, and she knew perfectly well what would happen if she was to perform her job poorly. The previous empress had met a terrible fate for having incurred her husband's anger, and Jiayi was nothing but a servant - she would not be spared from a dire punishment if she failed in her duty. So she led the train of young women to bring the things the bride would require - clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, and everything else that might be required to celebrate this occasion. Although the atmosphere was not very celebratory... A tension hung over the court, one that threatened to snap at any moment.
Jiayi had never seen Consort Chu, or at least had never seen her face. She had been present when the Emperor married the unfortunate late Empress Song, the same day he had had taken Chu-fei as a concubine, but of course she had been veiled at the ceremony, and as a maid, Jiayi had been far to the back, so her only recollection of the woman was as a rather tall and elegantly slender figure, though not as tall as the Emperor of course. If the Emperor had chosen her, though, she must be very beautiful, Jiayi imagined. After all, he could have had anyone he wanted, and yet he had only taken one concubine, the mysterious Chu-fei. It was very romantic, Jiayi thought, for him to be so devoted to one particular person that no one else could capture his gaze. He had no other concubines, and did not dally with any servant girls - every girl in the palace knew that they were safe at least from that kind of threat, although his temper could be erratic. His relationship with the late Empress had been rather cold and distant, and everyone knew that he rarely visited his wife's bedchamber, preferring instead to go to the Red Lotus Pavilion.
Chu-fei stayed all alone in the Red Lotus Pavilion, except for when the Emperor visited her of course. Even the servants who were tasked with taking care of that place - cleaning, bringing food, and so on - rarely glimpsed her. Jiayi was curious about what captivating power she must hold, that she had so bewitched the Emperor.
It was very unusual for a concubine to be elevated to the position of Empress, but of course, the Emperor could do whatever he wanted. If he had wanted to marry a peasant girl, or a criminal out of a jail cell, or even a cat, then he could do as he wished. It was Jiayi's job to make each and every bride as beautiful as possible, regardless of how she started out. She just hoped that she was right in her guess that Chu-fei must be a beauty - it would make her task easier.
At the door of the pavilion, she hesitated, not wanting to simply walk in, but uncertain how best to proceed. Cautiously, she called out, "Mistress, this servant is commanded to come and help prepare you for the Imperial wedding ceremony."
There was no response.
"Lady Chu, are you there?"
Silence was all the answer she received. Behind her, the young maids carrying the heavy supplies shuffled and murmured among themselves, and Jiayi shot them a stern look. She was their senior, and she was responsible for making sure they didn't misbehave. After all, she was twenty-three, and they were only teenagers, so she was in charge.
A few more tentative knocks and calling out for Lady Chu elicited no answer, so at last, not knowing what else to do, Jiayi walked into the Red Lotus Pavilion, indicating that the other girls should remain outside. As she walked through the courtyard and into the building itself, she tried to resist the urge to stare, having never seen inside its walls. It was not as grand as she might have expected, elegant to be sure, but with signs of wear and tear, indicating it had not been cared for as well as other parts of the palace. She supposed with so few people being allowed access, it was bound to mean that the floor mats became a little threadbare, the wooden carvings a little dusty.
Venturing further into the pavilion, however, the signs of disrepair grew harder to ignore. There was a hole in one of the paper screens that looked as though someone had put a fist through it, a cup knocked to the ground and not righted, and strewn on the floor were several scraps of cloth that looked like they had been ripped from a robe - as though there had been a struggle. It was eerie, she thought, to be in such a setting. She wondered how it must feel for Chu-fei, who was so often alone there. Perhaps it wasn't so romantic to be the Emperor's chosen one.
"Who are you?" came a frosty voice from the bedchamber. Jiayi almost jumped out of her skin.
"Lady Chu, your servants are here to help prepare you for the wedding," she said, trying to keep her voice steady and not sound too nervous.
"Wedding?" A soft, mirthless laugh rippled through the chamber. "Am I not already a concubine? What more of a wedding is needed?" The lady's voice was charming but not high-pitched, and her tone was sharp enough to make Jiayi tremble.
"T-to raise you to the position of Empress, my lady. His imperial majesty commanded that we make you ready."
"Empress?" There was now a hint of genuine surprise in Chu-fei's voice. "He wouldn't dare. What happened to the other one?"
Jiayi bit her lip, not wanting to answer. "The late Empress Song has unfortunately met her end, my lady. Emperor Taxian-Jun now wishes to have you by his side as his consort. The ceremony will take place this afternoon. So... we must hurry to make you ready," she added with some trepidation. If Lady Chu refused to cooperate, what was she supposed to do? It wasn't as though she could force the lady to dress and put on makeup. But neither could she return to the Emperor and tell him that she had failed in her assigned task. Jiayi realized that she was trapped in an impossible situation, unable to either go forward or turn back.
Finally, to her immense relief, a figure in white emerged from the dimly-lit room. Chu-fei's long hair was rather bedraggled, and her plain robe clearly had been slept in, but Jiayi could see the beauty in the austere lines of her face, her slender figure, her proud bearing. Her age was difficult to discern - she was surely older than Jiayi, but how much older was unclear. Jiayi bowed and said, "May I begin to dress you, my lady?"
"I can dress myself," Chu-fei said.
"Very well," Jiayi said. "Then let me bring in the maids so we can assist you with your hair and make-up, at least."
Lady Chu hesitated for a brief pause. "I would prefer not to have a large group here. They can bring in what is needed, but then let them be gone. You can assist me alone."
Jiayi thought this sounded strange, but she couldn't very well argue back. She was just relieved that the lady had agreed to get ready. "Of course, mistress," she said, bowing again as she retreated to the door to have the supplies carried in, then ordered the other maids to wait outside. She wasn't certain that she wouldn't need their help after all.
As she had promised, Lady Chu retreated into her chamber to dress herself in the lavish red robe, heavy with gold embroidery. She was in there long enough that Jiayi began to get nervous again, wondering if she would ever emerge. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she stepped out slowly. The gown was indeed beautiful, and Jiayi couldn't help smiling. "My lady, the colour suits you."
Chu-fei stepped forward and gazed at herself in the polished bronze mirror. "Does it?" she asked, sounding as if she didn't believe it in the slightest. Still, she held her arms out, staring at her reflection for a long moment before turning away. "Do what you need to do."
Jiayi made haste to comb her hair and style it in an elaborate, elegant style befitting a future empress. She wished she had some of the other girls there to help hold things for her, but she was skilful and managed to do well enough on her own. When she had finished, she was able to see a single red earring adorning Lady Chu's left ear. "Mistress, one of your earrings is missing," Jiayi said. "Let me help you look for it..."
"No need," Chu-fei said, waving one hand dismissively. "There is no mate for this one."
Jiayi wavered, uncertain. "Then, may I find you another pair?" Surely it wouldn't be appropriate for a woman to go to her wedding with the Emperor imperfectly adorned in any way. Jiayi could imagine being raked over the coals if anyone thought she had made a mistake - or even worse, perhaps stolen one of the jewels for herself.
"I will wear this one," Lady Chu said. "But... you may find another one to be worn on the other side."
Relieved, Jiayi looked in the cases to find another earring that would complement the red one. There was nothing quite the same, but she was able to find a gold one similar enough that would pair with it, fastening it to Lady Chu's right lobe.
Then she turned her attention to the lady's face. She would be covered by a veil before the court, but the emperor would see her without it, so of course she needed to look perfect. "Do you have any preferred cosmetics that you would like me to use, my lady?"
Lady Chu laughed with brittle, unhappy mirth, sitting down before the mirror. "No. Whatever you have will be fine, I'm sure."
"Of course, my lady." Jiayi brought out the case of cosmetics, the jars and brushes, and began to paint Chu-fei's face. It was only once she was this close that she began to notice a few hints that not all was as it appeared. The sharp lines of her jaw, the faintest whisper of stubble beneath the surface of that pale skin, the knot in Chu-fei's throat... Jiayi couldn't help but suspect there was something unusual about this concubine. But what could she say? Are you actually a man? It didn't bear consideration - revealing such a secret could only bring her to danger.
And more than that, she could see traces of fading bruises and reddened eyes that spoke of much darker secrets that Chu-fei must bear.
"Lady Chu," she said cautiously, daubing a patch of colour onto one high cheekbone, "are you excited about becoming the new Empress? It will mean many changes to your life, will it not?"
"I have already been through many changes in my life, what is one more? What does it matter any longer?" There was no change in Chu-fei's expression, still as icily distant as ever. "A captive will still be a captive even in a more elegant cage."
Jiayi thought of those words over and over, as she watched the wedding take place (from near the back corner of the room - she was of course not important enough to be anywhere prominent). As Emperor Taxian-Jun took Empress Chu's hand to present her before the gathered court, his fist curling around her outstretched arm and crumpling the fine fabric, Jiayi tried to imagine herself in those red silk robes and elegant jewels, and found she was very glad to be nothing more than a servant, unnoticed and unimportant, but free.