50 Serving Tea

The hall was initially silent. It was as if every breath I took ricocheted off the walls before being hurled back towards me in a hard blow.

"A'Mo! A'Xiao! Hurry and come in!" I was taken aback by the sudden exclamation. Who I presumed to be Empress Dugu was obviously glad to hear those supposedly secret whispers as she beckoned to us. "It seems that you two are much more loving than I could have hoped for."

"Yes, we have really outdone it for A'Mo." A man's voice chimed in. "Come and take a seat."

I glanced up to see a man and woman dressed in plain clothing that bore no accessory decorations nor embroidery. At most, a simple jade pendant was hanging from each of their waists. Yet, even with their nondescript clothing, a sense of authority radiated from them, directing each person's attention.

When I saw the emperor's face, I inched back a bit. He had bulging eyes and a mouthful of black whiskers that all painted an initial look of ferociousness. So though he was smiling, he still carried an aura of intimidation.

The empress, on the other hand, was as different from the rumors as one could imagine. If I had envisioned her as a frightening woman directed solely by jealousy, she proved to be more of a maternal figure, her eyes lighting up as she saw me.

I kept my gaze low, remembering previous pieces of information and tips. Even when she told me to act just like family, I responded with a standard answer of how one must always respect familial elders as it forms the literal backbone of society.

For that response, I was awarded with a look of approval from the emperor.

Per tradition, I was to serve both elders tea. The Prince of Jin subtly gave me hints, occasionally making it obvious and covering it up as if he was just lovestruck.

"As a child, I remember how Father Emperor complimented the green tea at Long Quan," he would then put on a meek grin, not stepping out of line but definitely making it apparent that he was pleased by his parents' choice for a wife. I suppose that this was why he never gave me instructions beforehand.

I carefully sifted the tea leaves and poured a crafted drink for both the Emperor and Empress. They each took a sip, and I awaited my judgment. I was rather confident in my skills, and surely it couldn't have been horrible.

"Hmmm…" With the emperor's prolonged pause, I froze.

An eternity seemed to pass as the moments ticked by.

Feeling his eyes scan over me, a shiver rippled through me, and I intrinsically straightened my back. It wasn't that he was glaring or even giving me a hard look. Something about the way in which he was posing was just sharp.

He just carried the poise of a natural ruler, one where you trembled with fear and felt the need to bow before him each time. It was so natural that it was hard believing he was but a duke the year before and not an emperor. If someone had told me that he was born in the royal family, I would have given the statement no second thought.

"Good." After a long silence, the emperor finally acknowledged my work.

I heaved out a sigh of relief, not knowing quite what lurked beneath the seemingly tranquil surface. Judging from the ways the Prince of Jin and A'Wu acted around this royal couple, though the emperor had no concubines, there must be something else about this family other than the general worries.

"I'm glad your fate matched with A'Mo's," Empress Dugu added with a faint smile. "You don't have the pretense of most princesses. It's easy to see that you have a good heart, one that matches A'Mo's."

I bit back a small smile. To even dream of the life of a princess a mere month ago would have marked me insane.

She guided me up and tenderly patted the Prince of Jin's back, making sure to maintain her position over him the entire time. Her affection for him was apparent, and I could only speculate that it rubbed off a bit on her perceptions of me, hopefully in a good way. However, there was still a certain sense of formality in the way she greeted him.

"Take a seat." She gestured towards the two propped cushions on the lower platform. Plates of dessert were already prepared along with cups of tea.

The Prince of Jin took my hand, blushing a bit as he did so, and led me to our rightful positions. Seeing him react in such a way, I did my best to match his acts. Blushing was too advanced for me to control, so I instead puckered my lips slightly and stared at the floor as if hiding a deep blush.

"It delights us seeing you two as such. We are eagerly awaiting our first grandchild." With the empress's words, a dome of pressure loomed over me. How was I supposed to produce a child when we had never wed?

But the place of a firstborn was exceptional, especially one in the royal palace. A day's difference could potentially be the hanging thread between an emperor and a distant duke as the titles would always be granted to the eldest child. No, I was getting too ahead of myself there. "Our hope is on you. After all, Crown Prince has seemed to have no luck yet."

"Ah yes, we are just so eager to meet our first grandson. I'm sure he will be quite the best and respectful one." The emperor chimed in approvingly.

Compared to normal imperial families, the emperor definitely had few heirs. Perhaps it was the fact that he swore only to bear children with the empress, a first in history. But compared to the number of sons that he had, the number of grandchildren he had was even more pitiful, bringing up to a total count of zero.

I remembered A'Huan giving me some insight regarding the family structure before the wedding, and of them all, the Crown Prince and Princess were the strangest cases. It has been more than three years since they wedded, but rumor has said that the Crown Princess was still a virgin.

So hearing the emperor and empress's words, a pang of guilt hit me as I realized that if this trend continued with their three other sons, their hopes of having a grandson might never come to life.

"Sit down and enjoy some pastries," the emperor instructed.

"Oh no, A'Mo, those aren't for you. Ever since you were young, you were always the mature one of the five, never having a taste for sweets," the empress reminded sincerely, and the Prince of Jin offered the plate to me instead politely.

"Of course, Father Emperor and Mother Empress. Even as a child, Your Humble Son still remembers how you have both reminded us that sweets are not good for the health. But I suppose A'Xiao is too heavenly to be concerned about such earthly issues. A red bean pastry couldn't hurt her." If it wasn't my imagination, his usually rough voice became silkier, and I couldn't help but notice how he addressed both of them.

Their relationship was not destined to be a simple one between a mother and a son, instead tainted by the constructs of court and the binds between a ruler and a subject.

"Mother! Father! Second Brother! Did you guys prepare the red bean pastries that I like so much!" A joyous and childlike voice broke whatever conceptions I had just formed of the imperial family.