Xu YanLi

"Are we boring you?" She asked, with the sole purpose of pulling him back into the conversation. As much as she would have liked to exclude him, Erchen, the Emperor had already had questions about their schedule.

It seemed to work, because his eyes met hers before he averted his gaze. "Forgive this one, your Highness."

No honeyed words. Or excuses.

YanLi wanted to bang her fist on the table in frustration, but she dared not. No need to start rumors. Managing the inner court was a delicate task and one she had to work with finesse, lest problems arise. So, as much as she'd like to be human and show how frustrating it was looking at his impassive expression, it would only cause her grief down the line.

It had been six months since she'd taken the Phoenix Seal from the Dowager, reluctant as the woman had been, and still her actions were painfully scrutinized, though that wasn't too odd considering she was a foreigner.

But then, like a sign from the gods, an opportunity fell onto her lap and just when she was loosing all hope to rectify the mess that was surely upon them.

Wang Yi Chen.

He was pretty enough, she supposed. Pale as the moon, curiously pale brown cat eyes and soft features. He was effortlessly elegant and quite appealing to the eye. But he was a man, and though only obvious at third glance, he looked like noble despite the eunuchs' insistance of his commoner status. He did not look like one, he did not eat like one nor did he speak like one, not like how she'd observed the common concubines. She smelt a conspiracy and her instincts told her it was connected to Erchen some how.

Though one could guess at this point.

"We will now begin discussing our schedule for servicing His Majesty, the Emperor."

The discussion itself was short. She did not allow their input nor was she friendly with them. These vultures...women, give them an inch and they'll devour a mile. They were best kept at a distance. "We will serve His Majesty for six days each, except for our newest sis... brother." She corrected herself, though she'd done it on purpose. "He will serve His Majesty only when whoever was in his service completes a cycle."

She continued. "We will continue with this schedule until further notice." That notice being pregnancy or death, though the last one hadn't yet happened in Erchen's dynasty, not yet at least.

"I would ask Concubine Wang to stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed. Do enjoy your day."

They would no doubt be scheming soon.

The room was emptied very quickly, until only she and Wang Yi Chen remained. Well, there were guards stationed around them but Xu YanLi couldn't see nor be bothered to look for them as there was no need. They would not be overheard. Her guards were loyal. They had been thoroughly vetted and tested before they came under her employ. And they were regularly tested for disloyalty, they would not tell anyone her secrets.

Though one can never be too careful.

"Consort Wang must be wondering why this one has limited their days so, no?"

"This one did wonder, your Highness." He replied.

"And yet you did not raise a query."

"Only because I trust in the Empress's wisdom in managing his Majesty's harem. I would never presume to know better than she."

YanLi hummed softly, giving him a once over. There was something different about him today. He had met her gaze twice already, twice more than he had done before, which was never.

He had always seemed lost in thought.

"Yes, I could run the harem much better if more of his Majesty's subjects knew their place."

YanLi almost rolled her eyes when there wasn't so much as a twitch in his expression. Either he was as unambitious as she'd pegged him from the start or he was bidding his time. That Ping wench would've been frothing at the mouth like a diseased mutt at the slight by now.

"The reason why I've limited your days so, is only to give you a chance to recuperate. I've... noticed that you seem less yourself on days after servicing His Majesty." She said with feigned awkwardness. Truthfully, she couldn't care less what the Emperor did on his own time. She just wanted a reaction. And—

Ah! Finally, there it was. Though miniscule and almost indiscernible, she had seen it.

Unease.

"I don't exactly know what cutsleeves do behind closed doors, but I would suggest you visit the Concubine Training Halls. There is much to learn there on such matters."

YanLi had much more leeway with the concubines in training, no one really cared about them until they were chosen by the Emperor during the Spring Selection. It was because of that reason the harem only consisted of the 8 of them. The Emperor had infants girls with all his wives. Having sired so many girls might be why He's gotten greedy, but that was not the point. Wnag Yi Chen barely had any training. Being a man did not exempt him from that. He'd have to go there for lessons if he wanted to survive the inner court.

YanLi had deliberately made it so no concubines would join them, since there were so many vulnerable children and the possibility of assasins and poisoning had risen with each birth, there was absolutely no need to further complicate the situation by adding more people. Let the children grow a little first, she reasoned. She had at first thought the Emperor was sly when he brought a man amongst them instead. But something about the whole thing had struck her as 'convenient'. And so they were here now, with her slowly drawing webs around Him, praying He was none the wiser.

The boy sighed, before saying. "This one will keep her Highness's words in mind."

YanLi watched him for a while, just to see him squirm, but eventually chastised herself for indulging in such power plays. She was far above such things. She had gotten nothing from this conversation and needed to consider how she could ingratiate herself with him. He was wary of her, with good reason, so it would not be easy. "You may leave."

He got on his feet, bowed to her deeply then saw himself out.

"Zhoa Zhen," she called one of her personal guards. "that one bears more watching. Also, keep me appraised on the others."

The man bowed and melted back into obscurity.

Yes, she had much to think on.