Bao Ji
The next morning, I woke up to my maid shaking me desperately.
"What's wrong?" I asked, still half-asleep.
"Concubine Si is outside. She wants to have tea with you."
"What?" I opened one eye to look at her. "Tell her I'm asleep."
"I already did. But she said she'll wait until you wake up," my maid replied.
"Is she serious?" I asked in disbelief.
What is she planning this time? Ugh… I would love to punch her. Just once. It would feel so good.
"Tell her she'll have to wait a bit. I need to wash up and get ready," I said.
My maid nodded, smiling slightly. I'm pretty sure she already knew I wouldn't come out anytime soon. No one disturbs my sleep. Not even the emperor. Even if I like him a lot… my first love is still my sleep.
When I finally woke up again, my maid informed me that I had slept for two more hours.
"Is Bao Si still here?" I asked.
"Yes. Still waiting outside," she said.
"Help me get ready," I sighed, rolling my eyes.
Internally, I wanted to make her wait even longer. The idea sounded so satisfying. Every bone, every fibre, every muscle, every organ in my body agreed. I knew her well. Now that she had been pushed aside, her ego was wounded. And I was sure she would do anything to regain her position—to become the favourite again. I just didn't know how far she was willing to go. And that… scared me a little. But at the same time, knowing the emperor was on my side—that he would do anything to protect me—gave me confidence. Jealousy didn't exist in my dictionary. Not after seeing how much he loves me. Honestly, it's probably obvious even from Mars. But to be honest… It scares me sometimes. Being someone's anchor… their oxygen… Knowing his mood depends on me… I can see how much attention he pays to me. Every little thing that makes me uncomfortable, he removes without question. He adores me. He idolises me. So I don't blame Bao Si for wanting to become the favourite again. Maybe she thinks she can have what I have now. But jokes on her. No one can replace me. No one can take my place beside him. Not even God himself.
After about thirty minutes, I finally went outside. Bao Si was sitting there… talking to another concubine.
Great.
"You didn't tell me another concubine was here," I whispered to my maid.
"She wasn't here last time I checked. She must have just arrived," my maid whispered back.
"Good morning," I said with a polite smile.
"Good morning," both Bao Si and the other concubine replied.
What was her name again? I don't know. I forgot. And honestly, I don't even care.
"I heard Concubine Si waited for a long time," the other concubine said.
"No one told her to come so early," I replied calmly.
"It's already eleven," Bao Si said.
"Okay… and?" I asked, confused.
"You missed the morning greeting," the other concubine added.
"Well, if Concubine Si was waiting for me all this time, that means she missed it too," I pointed out.
"I hope Her Majesty isn't angry," the concubine said.
Are they serious? They teamed up to bully me? Even my dear cousin can't handle it alone?
"We can go and ask Her Majesty," I said.
"I don't think she was angry," Bao Si said quickly.
"How do you know? From my perspective, she was," the other concubine insisted.
"I see we have different opinions. So the best solution is to go and ask," I said.
Before they could stop me, I turned and walked away. Straight to the Queen's hall.
When I arrived, the Queen was already there with the other concubines. I don't like showing off that I'm favoured… that I have protection others only dream of. But in situations like this? I can't help it. They thought they could intimidate me using the Queen? Please.
"Your Majesty," I said with a smile.
"I was waiting for you," she replied warmly.
"I'm sorry. I overslept," I said, bowing my head slightly.
"Why are you apologising? I'm not angry," the Queen said.
I glanced at Bao Si and the other concubine, a small smirk forming on my lips as they looked annoyed. Before I could speak, Bao Si stood up.
"I don't think it's fair that she comes late to the greeting. It seems like she has no respect for Your Majesty."
"Each of you has been late at least once. And I don't recall punishing any of you or making a scene," the Queen replied calmly.
"But—"
"It's strange that I know Concubine Ji better than her own cousin," her majesty interrupted. "She is not the type to be disrespectful. If she appears so, then the question is—what did you do? What annoyed her enough to make her act this way?" She paused, then added, "Also, you were late as well. Does that make you disrespectful too?"
"I was late because I was waiting for my cousin," Bao Si defended herself.
"You could have waited here. If you noticed she wasn't ready, you could have attended and waited for her afterward. Instead, you chose to be disrespectful and shift the blame onto her," the Queen said firmly.
God, I love Her Majesty in moments like this. Watching her put Bao Si in her place? Absolutely satisfying. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
"I wasn't trying to be disrespectful. I'm truly sorry. I apologise to my cousin as well. I misunderstood her," Bao Si said.
Then the Queen turned to me with a gentle smile.
"How did you sleep? If you're still tired, you can go back and rest."
Without thinking, I walked over and sat down right beside her.
"I'm fine. I can rest later," I said with a smile.
The moment I looked up and saw all the shocked faces staring at me, it hit me— I wasn't sitting in my usual place. I was sitting next to the Queen. I looked at her, unsure what to say, ready to stand up— But she stopped me.
"Just sit there," she said.
"I don't think it's appropriate," I replied.
"Just sit there," she repeated.
If looks could kill, I would've been dead by now. The jealousy in the room was so thick it could suffocate someone.
Thirty minutes passed. The concubines barely spoke. Instead, they kept throwing murderous glances in my direction. I ignored them, calmly eating grapes and sipping tea. Suddenly, a eunuch rushed inside, panicked.
"Concubine Ji! Please come quickly!"
Both the Queen and I stood up instantly. The other concubines followed.
"What happened?" I asked.
"His Majesty is out of control. He's extremely angry," the eunuch said.
Before we could even react— Bao Si ran out first. Everyone, even the eunuch, looked at me in confusion. Then we all started running as well.
"What happened? What made him so angry?" I asked.
"I have no idea. But… why did Concubine Si run ahead?" the Queen asked.
"Why do you think?" I replied.
"Don't tell me she thinks she can calm him," the Queen said.
"Ding ding ding. Exactly. She wants to prove she has control over him," I said.
"She'll only embarrass herself."
"I know. But since Bao Si started making her moves, I'll just step aside for now. I don't even need to do anything—she embarrasses herself just fine," I said.
"This will be interesting to watch," the Queen said.
"Not interesting," I corrected with a small smile. "It will be fun."