The Unfavored Daughter

In the Kingdom of Emperor Jing of Ki, there is a legend. Prime Minister Fang had a daughter whom was completely hidden away from others. They said that she was deformed, that she was killed by her Mother, she was an evil demon and by the power of the Arch Priest Wei she was sealed beneath the courtyard she was born in.

None of that could be further from the truth. Suu was not hidden away, but she was not shown either. She was quiet and withdrawn, and unless requested formally by her Elders, Father or Mother would she step out of the small courtyard that she shared with her Concubine Mother. Suu and her birth mother Kasi were something of a shame to the household of Prime Minister Fang. Kasi was slight of build, but was full and curvaceous, her skin was the color of the Earth, dark and not fit to be shown to any guests. Kasi had been a refugee whom had from the war torn homeland that had soon after ceased to be after she was captured by slave traders.

Many barbarians were captured during the conquering of their native land, Quwu. At first it was simple, Kasi had been bought by luck with a few other slaves after showing her ability to do delicate needle work and make outfits such as the ones worn by the people from Ki. The Madam Fang has been impressed with her ability and had taken her in, she was pleased with the embroidery work that Kasi did for a few years, until she saw the young girl develop into such a voluptuous woman. She then confined the young girl to the seamstresses quarters, not allowing her to freely walk about any longer. And this has worked for a few years, she still treated the girl well with her meals and pay but could not tolerate the idea of her husband being overcome with desire for such a body.

Kasi followed her Mistress's wishes, and stayed within the seamstresses quarter for a few years without coming out. But one night upon returning home the Minister fought with Madam Fang over his choice to not help her maiden family overcome a hard issue, he stormed out and did not pay attention to anything as he wandered the property. When he came to he could hear a strange yet beautiful singing, enchanting and lively. His curiosity got the better of him as he opened the door to look inside, stunned upon seeing a naked woman in the middle of cleansing her body, who was dark like the fertile Earth. Her pitch black hair was as though made of springs and fell down her back gently swinging back and forth, her breasts were so large that it made him itch to caress them and see how they felt, a tiny waist, flared hips, her buttocks as rounded as her chest, her thighs were large and well muscled, and when she turned he could clearly see the muscles of her arms and stomach.

She was so full of softness and muscle; he wondered why he'd never seen her before... so he exorcised his rights as the owner of the Estate, and took her for himself, overwhelming her by using his knowledge of pressure points and the opposite sex to lull her into a state of heightened inebriation and arousal. The young maiden stood no chance against such a forceful method.

Upon waking in the morning, the pain between her legs and the blood that stained her bed showed her that she was no longer pure. Kasi was surprised, horrified and angry at Prime Minister Fang. She knew why Madam Fang had confined her here and she had followed all of her Mistress's commands to avoid being seen by any of the men in the estate, to avoid being alone with men and to generally keep a low profile. While she was sad that she wasn't allowed to go outside like all the others she understood that she was different from the women of this country, thus an 'exotic commodity' as her Mistress had once explained. She had never expected that even while following the instructions set by her Mistress that she would encounter such misfortune.

And so when her Mistress's Mother-in-law ordered that someone would score her face, and wash the wound with lemon and salt water to keep her from ever finding favor with Fang Li ever again, Kasi did not protest and instead thanked her Mistress and the Matriarch for their kindness in not killing her or throwing her to the dogs. They did not punish her any further, for she had been loyal and hard working, her only fault was being too tempting to men.

But when a month after it was found that she was pregnant, her Mistress grew alarmed. She never would have thought that the preventive medicine would not have worked. Even Madam Fang could not bring herself to force Kasi to lose her child, as she had asked for nothing and accepted her punishment without so much as an expression of pain or a whimper. But that did not mean that she would treat the child as she did the other concubines children; all of their children were treated as her own children were, for the sake of family glory they were raised as ladies of deportment and men of honor. This was what kept her husband happily by her side through the years, but she could not tolerate that he had used her maid when he had enough women to satisfy his needs, and all he had to do was tell her that he wished for a new concubine and she would do all of the work herself in finding someone presentable along with her Mother-in-law.

Kasi has seen how hard Tang Jiu worked. And so she strove to simply give birth to her child in peace and to never appear before any of the respectable family members, she simply requested a small courtyard where she and her child could grow quietly and away from the hustle and bustle of the Household. Madam Fang granted her wish and placed her at the southernmost courtyard, away from the rest of the Masters children, women, and the Fang Elders. They were not afforded any affection nor favored in anyway, they were to be treated simply as servants with a special status.

Nine months later Kasi gave birth to Fang Suu, a small pale brown girl whom was smaller than all of her siblings had been. The midwife predicted that the young girl wouldn't live to see her fifth birthday. Having seen all of the tricks and twists that such honorable families employed and the treatment of illegitimate children, she figured that the baby had been poisoned. And in fact she had been as she had nearly been removed from her mother's womb from the efforts of Madam Fang, but she held on tightly to her mother. She didn't cry or make any noise even when they smacked her bottom, the midwife felt that the child was a bad omen and quickly collected her pay without informing the new and inexperienced mother of things that she should watch out for.

The journey ahead was long and arduous; Kasi was so much weaker after having fallen from favored seamstress to unwanted concubine... her meals and clothes were not as good as before and her 'husband' didn't care about her and their child after he had gazed upon her now scarred face. She struggled to keep her baby alive many times and often had to prostrate herself before the Elder Hall to beg for a doctor and medicine for her daughter. They were only pleased when she was shamed and humble to them. She harbored resentment in her heart for these people, they treated her as though she had asked for her innocence to be taken. She had only wanted to be able to live comfortably and peacefully. Kasi cried silently to herself many times as she heard her daughter coughing day after day...