There were numerous whispers about whom the most beautiful woman in palace could be. One might consider it quite an honour to have your name brought up in the conversation.
And amongst the names which came up often, one prominently won a majority of votes — only spiritually, of course.
A woman who was only a measly performer; a dancer who performed for the emperor perhaps once in a blue moon. Even so, it was almost universally agreed upon that she was an incomparable beauty whose beauty could not be rivalled.
One could hardly seek to compete for the affection the emperor bestowed upon her.
She was charming, they said — like the moon itself. They said her gaze was like the moon's beam, a faint light, bright and fleeting; they said she didn't walk but instead glided like a spirit, like one who did not exist in the mortal world with the rest of them.
Because of this, she was dubbed the Moon Spirit Dancer. Whispers claim her name to be Yuehua (meaning moonflower), though no one could tell if it was one she had shared herself or if it was only the product of court gossip.
***
"What a beauty," an old minister whispered to his companion as they watched the group of dancers perform in the moonlit pavilion.
Though their numbers were vast, no one had to guess which dancer the man was referring to. It was quite obvious in fact. Some might even say that, when she entered the room, Yuehua was the only person one's eyes could focus on.
She was a tall woman after all, the tallest among all her accompanying performers. Perhaps she was the same height as some of the men present. Still, no one seemed to shy away from her just because of that. If anything, it seemed to only draw them further in. Perhaps it was just a part of her charm.
Had she not been a court dancer, many were sure that such a beauty would have had no trouble being hired for various reasons by many nobles.
Many thought that it was only really because she was a court dancer and was unable to be courted openly, that she was not constantly being pursued by men, and possibly even women, at every turn.
Even despite that, it did not keep the eyes off her for even a second.
As the dance came to a close, Yuehua raised her arms, like a bird about to take flight, allowing the silk around her arms to fly up, enveloping the world in a deep red splendor.
Her face, like all the other dancers, was partially veiled for this performance. But even this did not stop the audience from gawking at her. Or from recognising her as the Moon Spirit Dancer that they had awaited the sight of since the moment they received their invitations.
"Truly, if only she were not a palace performer, she would not find it hard to find a man at all," the man beside the old minister replied.
***
The stories about Yuehua had emerged only in recent years, but had already become a legend that most treated like something of the ages. Even the lower palace girls whispered her name and prayed to become like her someday.
It was said that Yuehua, when she had first made her debut, had been privately pursued by a nobleman. Word said that she had backhanded the man hard enough to cause him to see stars, and promptly reported him to not just anyone, but the emperor himself.
Others said that her voice was silky smooth, like the silks she danced in. That her voice, delicate and pure as it was, was enough to draw a man in with a single word, whether or not they knew who she was beforehand. Because of this, it may even be said that perhaps this court beauty was more spirit than human.
Some even claimed she was secretly the emperor's lover, for who could resist such an elegant beauty?
As for whether or not any of these rumours were true, no one quite dared to say. And whether true or not, many agreed that Yuehua was certainly talented, whether that talent laid in dance or seduction.
And, of course, such a woman naturally held her secrets…
***
"Stupid Moon Spirit Dancer," the one who had been dubbed Yuehua tossed a hair pin onto the table with utter lack of care for damage to the golden ornament.
"Stupid old man."
"Stupid-"
The tall figure paused when the door to the room creaked open.
"Your Highness, it is late," a eunuch peeked his head in. "Should you not be in bed?"
"No!" 'Yuehua' wailed, her voice increasingly wavering as it went higher than its natural tone allowed.
They stared at each other for a few seconds before 'Yuehua' huffed and ripped the last ornament from her head, once again tossing it violently onto the vanity table.
This was, in fact, not the residence of a court dancer, nor was it the residence of a princess, as the eunuch's address might have made one belief. No, this was the residence of a prince. A prince who's name was possibly as well known as that of Yuehua herself.
Finally, "Help me change."
The one who spoke had been Yuehua. But the voice was that of one who was clearly a man.
Yes, this was Prince Xianyu. A young man who very clearly did not have a sense of propriety, with how he was currently sprawled across the floor with his dance robes halfway off his shoulders; and perhaps because he clearly did not mind going around dressed like a young woman.
Absolutely unbothered by his state of near undress, the young prince shook off the outer layer of his robes and turned over until he was laying on his stomach and spread his arms like he was a bird.
"Jiang," Xianyu reached a hand to grab at his servant's foot when he came close enough. "I'm bored, play with me. I demand it."
The eunuch glanced down at him only briefly before reaching to take his shed outer layer from him and help the prince wriggle out of his remaining layers. This was, unsurprisingly, not proper court etiquette, but this was just how things were in this particular residence.
"Your Highness," the eunuch named Jiang sighed as he helped his master into the new robes that unseen servants had quietly delivered.
"Yes?" the prince blinked his wide hazel eyes — a feature quite unusual among the locals here — up at his servant. "Are you going to say no to me?"
He received no reply, though his head was promptly patted — an action he took as a signal to stand up.
"Jiang," he repeated the eunuch's name again. "I'm a prince."
"You are nearly an adult, Your Highness" the servant replied flatly. "I will not play with you like a child."
…
"Ahhhhhhh," Xianyu wailed dramatically as he grabbed at the servant's arms. "Play with meee!
"I could have you punished. No snacks! I'll not speak to you anymore!"
Jiang only gave him a weak sigh and shook his arms free from his master's grip. Xianyu's idea of punishments were weak at best and nonsensical at worst. Indulging him would do as little good as simply enduring the wails.
For his efforts, the prince received a solid bonk on the head and then was dragged across the floor by his surprisingly strong servant.
"I don't want to sleep yet," the prince huffed, crawling to his feet — mostly to lessen the burden on his eunuch servant than because he saw reason. "I'm a prince! An adult prince, you said so. I'll sleep when I please."
"Respectfully," the eunuch forcing the prince into a sitting position before helping comb his mess of deeply tangled hair, "I don't believe Your Highness would ever sleep if not told to."
"Untrue! Don't defame me, Jiang," Xianyu leaned his head back as his eunuch ran the jade comb through his hair. "I am disciplined. I'm so disciplined! The rumours say so, you've heard. They say Yuehua must have trained night and day to become so skilled. And who's she if not me!?"
Jiang glanced at his wailing master only briefly before sighing and gesturing to the hidden servants stationed in the shadows to take away the prince's discarded robes and tidy up the strewn accessories on the vanity table.
"Then," he started, "I suppose I must congratulate Your Highness on your ability to fool your audiences."
In return, he received a distressed wail as the prince flopped over dramatically, clinging to the bed like a dying child.
So, with that, the prince's poor unfortunate servant started his duties of coaxing his master into bed, as one might do with a child. He first started by patting Xianyu's back, once again, like one might do with a child, before convincing the young princeling to climb into the canopied bed.
"Play with me…" Xianyu huffed, reaching out from the covered bed and poking at Jiang's side. "You're my servant, listen to me!"
His wails were, sadly, not responded to — save for a firm flick to the forehead.
Of course, it was late and far past the hour the young prince would usually choose to sleep at. If he didn't sleep soon, it was likely he would wake up tomorrow, wailing about unsightly eye circles.
"Play Go with me…" Xianyu kicked his feet as he turned over onto his back and then rolled over onto his stomach again. "Or at least tell me a bedtime story."
"Your Highness is an adult," Jiang replied casually, helping his master pull the blankets up to his chin. "I do not believe you require a bedtime story before sleep."
To that, he received a flurry of kicked up blankets and a dramatic wail. The fluttering of fabrics looked ridiculous, like a child's tantrum or maybe a very angry cat.
"Punishment, I say, punishments!" Xianyu dramatically crawled out of bed again, diving head first off the bed and slithering toward his eunuch's ankles. It was clear his intentions were not ones a good mature prince would have. "I'll bite your ankles."
This kind of immaturity wasn't unusual from the prince, but that didn't mean that his dear attendant, Jiang, would be prepared to be tackled on a random midnight.
The eunuch lost his balance. They both ended up on the ground, Jiang only barely managing to not fall atop his master.
Xianyu peaked out from the blanket that he had dragged to the ground with him, wide eyes shimmering in the moonlight as he glanced up at Jiang. Then, he promptly crawled back under the blanket, with the look of a very sorry puppy.
Many distressed wails were heard from outside the room when he was, soon after, dragged out from the blanket by a very displeased eunuch.
"Jiang, aren't I cute?" Xianyu kicked him away and tossed the blanket at Jiang's face before scrambling toward the alcolved bed. "Aren't I adorable? Don't scold me!
"Ahhhh!!!"