Nanss

Meanwhile, more than three thousand kilometers northeast of Mountain Town, lay the capital city of the Kingdom.

The big city was surrounded by high walls and had many towers for defense as well as gates to control traffic into its main thoroughfares—the streets were wide enough for oxcarts, but it also boasted an underground waterway system that provided running streams from mountain springs through subterranean channels until they reached fountains at every corner where people could wash their hands before entering shops or houses; there were gardens too: parks planted with trees bearing fruit and flowers which bloomed all year round while other parts held statues made of granite, copper, silver, gold, even silk. In these places, one might see tigers battling bears, elephants playing polo with horses, and birds flying around giant tortoise shells; then again, perhaps just a simple stone lion standing guard over some little garden plot would do, since this particular kingdom had no shortage of those.

The buildings themselves ranged from humble mud huts to palaces so grand they looked out onto nothing but the sky. There were temples dedicated to gods who lived on earth (and whom men worshiped), gods who resided in heaven above (who received offerings only after death), and god-like beings whose existence depended entirely upon faith.

One temple stood atop a hill overlooking the entire city and commanded a view down along broad avenues lined with mansions built of marble and decorated with carvings of dragons and phoenixes, lions dancing on top of columns, women riding chariots drawn by wingless creatures called peafowls.

The palace itself contained numerous courtyards, halls, and chambers. It was guarded by soldiers carrying long spears and wearing armors of gleaming steel. The king's throne room sat near the center of the building. A large wooden screen divided the chamber into two sections, each section containing several rows of seats. These were arranged according to rank and importance. Each seat carried its own significance, though most of them did not have any practical use except when ceremonies took place during certain times of the day.

It was three in the morning. Inside a house miles away from the Royal Palace in Capital City, a woman was saying goodbye to his half-a-year-old boy.

This woman looked around 20 years old, her hair black and straight, pulled back to form a bun at the back of the head. Her eyes were brown, her skin white as milk, her face slightly pointed. She wore a red dress that matched the color of the flower pinned behind her ear. On either side of her neck hung two small bracelets shaped like fishhooks. They were made of gold, and she clasped them together whenever she spoke. Around 170 cm, her figure was plump in a charming way, neither fat nor thin, and the slightly exposed cleavage between her breasts revealed ample flesh and firmness. But what really drew attention was the way she walked, swinging her hips left and right, making her round buttocks more obvious. When walking, her knees bent forward, and her thighs swayed up and down. Every time she moved, her breasts slightly jiggled, emitting a sweet aroma. Although this woman was still young, she gave off an impression of maturity and self-confidence.

The woman bent forward her head a little and checked the baby who was sleeping and kissed him on the forehead; then, she turned to the man, her husband, and an old woman, her mother-in-law, who stood aside. —Take care of our baby, two of you, said the woman gently.

"I will," the man said, and the old woman nodded.

To her husband, an addicted gambler, she was disappointed rather than detested. He had lost everything he owned, including the house they were living, because of gambling. This was how she felt about him at the time, although once, when they first met, she thought otherwise.

Back in her previous life, she was a beautiful girl who used to be a servant. She had always dreamed of being a lady of leisure, but she knew that would never happen. That's why she worked hard every day and was proud of her achievements. Then, one day, she became pregnant and couldn't continue working. That was when she met her husband. An elderly man who owned a shop in the neighborhood, he was a good father to his child, and he treated her kindly. For a while, they lived happily, but eventually, he developed a gambling habit. Soon, they found themselves in a tight spot.

When she learned that her husband liked to gamble, she had nothing to do except tolerance. And besides, this was a country where everyone bet on games, so why should she expect anything different? So far, however, they hadn't divorced, despite the fact that he kept losing money.

The problem for this family then was and only was about money. Her husband's addiction prevented him from earning any income, and the mother-in-law wasn't able to support the son financially. Therefore, they needed another source of funding if things continued like this. For instance, the wife wanted to start selling herself, but the husband refused to allow such an idea. Instead, he brought up a message about the recruitment from Royal Palace in Capital City. If she could make it, they'd get a monthly allowance enough to cover their housing and food, which meant that they wouldn't need to worry about finances anymore. Even better, the job involved serving the royal family. What more could anyone ask for?

She didn't think much of the offer at first, thinking it sounded silly. Still, the salary offered was very generous, so she agreed to go. Although the work description was vague, surely, it couldn't be as bad as prostitution! Moreover, the opportunity to serve royalty was something special. As soon as she accepted, she got ready to leave.

Looking back at the baby, she seemingly made the decision finally and went outside her house, directly into the carriage waiting in front of the door.

"Let's go," she said to the coachman and never looked back. Her destination was the royal palace, two hours away by horse­drawn coach.

It was very early in the morning. The sun had barely risen yet. However, there were plenty of people going about their daily business, moving slowly toward their destinations. Those heading to work passed the carriage without paying it any mind. Others on their way home seemed to be in a hurry, hurrying past the carriage, no doubt eager for breakfast.

The coachman started the horses, and the carriage rolled down the street. There were few vehicles on the road, and the sound of hooves reverberated.

The woman stared out the window, watching the scenery pass by. She had been awake since the night before, unable to sleep. She was nervous but excited. In fact, she was quite happy with the turn of events. After a long journey, the carriage stopped, and the driver helped her alight. The palace grounds were vast, and she followed a path to an entrance until she saw a crowd of women lined up in front of, instead of the gate of the palace, a small back door that would be closed before daybreak. She followed up the line, waiting silently.

The wall's thickness was several meters and its height was tens of meters. The guards patrolling the area were heavily armed. Their hair was tied back and their faces were covered with armor, which made it impossible to tell what race they came from. Perhaps they were members of the same race as the people who lived here.

A middle-aged eunuch stood by the door, facing them. No one talked, no sound at all. Occasionally, he went inside through the door to check something, then came out and stood there in the same spot with the same posture. Finally, he said in a high-pitched man voice, "Come up!"

The first woman in the line went up and gave him an envelope. The eunuch opened it, drew out a piece of paper, and checked it under lantern light beside him. He seemed out of patience or, maybe, tired—he just scanned it for only three seconds. Then, the eunuch waved his smooth white hand to suggest the woman go inside.

Seeing what was happening, she took out the envelope prepared in advance by her husband and hold it in her hand, afraid of dragging the line down when it was her turn. After another few minutes, she was next in line.

They were following a teen eunuch forward along the foot of the high and thick wall surrounding the palace, which was so spacious and quiet that they could hear their footsteps and their only echo. Ten minutes it took them to reach the front of a room, along which no one dared look around or make a sound even a cough.

At first, she was taken aback by the sight of the inside of the palace, but after seeing the interior of the palace, she realized she was in the right place. There were many more women than she had expected, and they wore dresses that suited the situation they were in. Some of them were servants, while others were gardeners or maids. The atmosphere inside the palace seemed to be tense.

After passing through the room, they entered a hallway. The floor was tiled and the ceiling was painted with a mural depicting scenes of various mythological beasts. At every corner, there were statues of gods and goddesses. It was like entering a museum filled with art treasures.

The second eunuch waited for them at the end of the hallway and led them into a large hall, also decorated with murals. There were some people there, all dressed similarly to the ones who escorted her.

After a teen eunuch arranged everyone in the hall in lines, the middle-aged eunuch went in front of them, beginning to preach principles that they needed to observe strictly--no looking around, no walking around, no laughing loudly, no smiling, no touching other people, no talking with anyone except being asked, no taking anything from anyone else, no drinking water, and so forth. He finished by saying that if they failed to follow these rules, they would be thrown out immediately.

This was how they spent the morning. Every woman was standing, waiting for her name to be called and led away out of the hall by a eunuch.

Even though her husband promised her that she fitted the job requirements perfectly and was perfectly qualified for the job, she was feeling a lot of pressure, because the competition for the job was high. This job could not possibly need so many people, because, even in the Royal Palace, they won't need wet nurses so many at the same time.

All she had to do was wait for her turn.

Finally, "Nanss!" someone called her name, and she stepped out of the line.

She followed a eunuch out of the hall through its back door. He didn't speak or look back, and just walked pretty quickly in front of Nanss. When they reached the end of the corridor, he stopped and led her into a room on the left.

Inside the room was a table covered with papers, and the eunuch sat down on a chair behind it. He was an older one who did not resemble the younger ones. His expressionless face was calm and tranquil, just like the translucent cloth barrier hung behind him.

The young eunuch who escorted her here exited and closed the door behind him.

The eunuch sitting at the desk looked up from his papers and said, "You are Nanss, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Nanss answered.

He pulled out a sheet of paper from the envelope and began to read to himself.

After he finished, he raised up his head from the sheet and said coldly, "Make yourself completely naked!"

Nanss froze. She hesitated.

An odd sensation ran through her. She had heard about this job but never thought that she would be expected to go through such an ordeal to get it. Nevertheless, she could hardly say no.

The eunuch's eyes stayed focused on her.