Jaxon poured the tea into the vessel while I rested my chin on the palm of my hands. My eyes, unintentionally, scanned all the features on his face in pure silence. We were back in my chamber, like good old times.

My maids were dismissed, and I usually dismissed my maids. I know they were supposed to be with me most of the time, but I felt stuffed. I needed my space. And besides, Jaxon was not supposed to be here with me. It was completely dangerous. Every time Jaxon sneaks in here, he knows that he is entering dangerous territory.

"What do you want to talk about?" My enthusiasm shot up the roof.

"Your tactics."

"My what?"

"Your tactics... to coo the Emperor."

"That's all you care about?" I scrunched my eyebrows together.

I stood up. Our eyes linked, the room was silenced. He showed no emotions. He parted his lips to speak, but as a blank canvas, there was nothing. Heat rushed into my body and my head as tears began to build up. All he cared about was to go home, and he had to pressure me about it. I couldn't take it anymore. I felt pressured into seducing the Emperor. Yes, the Emperor was attractive and had a few qualities I liked, but I don't even like him. It's been a couple of weeks, it was best to be slow and steady. Did he not tell me that we had to take it slow? We both want to go home, but he was acting irrationally. Showing any signs that we were outsiders is incredibly risky. It wasn't like the modern world where there were some people that believed in time travelers. These were ancient times where everyone had crazy superstitions and beliefs that couldn't be backed by science!

Actually, we still have that...

Jaxon closed the lid of the vessel and raised his head up to look at me. "We both want to go home. Would you rather stall, or leave this place as soon as possible?"

"You can't just pressure me like this! It takes time for me to coax him in," I whispered aggressively with my fists clenched. "I can't make him fall in love with me in just a few weeks, and you know that! Stop pressuring me and let's just take it slow. Do you understand that I want to leave as well? You're not the only person who stresses. Think rationally! Do you really believe that getting out of here takes a bit of seduction and boom, we're out? No. It doesn't work like that. Our ingredient list is hard to get—we need the Empress's hair for Heaven's sake."

I paused. "I'm sorry. I just—"

"No, I'm sorry," Jaxon had his hands pressed on my cheeks. His face was too close to mine. "I deserved that."

He looked at me with a solemn expression while I was on the verge of tears. The weeks passing by us get so emotional and I can never be at least joyful for once. I've been going through an emotional hurricane and I'm starting to be emotionally drained. As my eyes bore into Jaxon's, I couldn't help but analyze our situation again. This is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. To get the Empress off my ass, to seduce the Emperor, to get his saliva and his wife's hair, I couldn't handle it anymore. If I was watching myself on a TV screen, I'd be laughing. I'd rather laugh than cry. Right now, I have to hold myself back from crying. I'm not going to cry in front of Jaxon again. As much as I felt like a ball and chain was holding my ankle, I wasn't going to fuss. I was so frustrated with myself that I couldn't even think straight. Every day I've been thinking the same thoughts over and over again; I shouldn't have taken that Uber.

And it hurts to think that if I don't get out of here alive, I will never—

I can't think like this.

One more negative thought and I'll have an anxiety attack, right here, in whatever-hundred-B.C China. I could cuss, punch a wall, hurl things across the room to conceal my fury but what good would it do? But as I look into Jaxon's eyes, as cliché as it can be, positive energy was already running through my blood, filling up my thoughts. I was not alone. It was a miracle that I was not alone. If I was alone, I think I'd drown myself.

"I—" I started. "We... can do this. Just give it time."

"Lady Ying Yue?" a eunuch's low voice flowed about the room.

Giving Jaxon one last look, I stood up and proceeded to walk towards the eunuch. "Yes? Who needs me?"

Jaxon was far from view.

"You are wanted by the Imperial Noble Consorts, follow me," he spoke and I did what he said.

As I walked through the empty halls and into the room, I couldn't help but feel queasy. I was going to encounter the two women that were well respected by the harem. They were just one rank above me, but one rank below the Empress, and I was still struggling on whether to treat them with the highest respect or a medium amount of respect. Probably the same amount of respect for anyone here, to be honest.

Dong Mei and Chang Ying were both sitting in front of each other at a table. Both of them didn't speak at all. I made my presence clear to them and waited for them to face me. I almost forgot to bow.

"Greetings to Your Graces," I got on my knees and bowed.

They both turned to look at me.

"Oh, please don't stand on ceremony," Chang Ying quickly got up to help me up. "You are the Lady Ying Yue?"

"The? I don't need such a title, I—"

"Nonsense. The Emperor was in great danger and you risked your life for him," Dong Mei chimed into our conversation swiftly. She placed her cup down gently on the table. "May I ask, how did you learn how to fight? And why?"

"U-Uh," I paused to think. What was my story again? "Well... I... It was just something I was interested in..."

My father was the one who taught me the basics of fighting. He was always trying to persuade Cara and me to learn self-defense. In the end, he didn't take no for an answer. When I was ten, I was hit by a girl in my class. I didn't hit back. I only argued with her because I was raised to never start something firey like that. But my father didn't like the idea of me backing down but had nothing to say to me about it. What pushed him to drop everything and strictly push us into martial arts was the child abduction videos he'd watch online. He taught Cara and me to be respectful but still assertive. Every Friday, we'd wait for my father to come home from work and practice simple self-defense techniques with him. That wasn't enough. So when it was the summer break and all the kids went out to amusement parks and played outside, I was kicking and punching in a respected martial arts class. Cara joined five years after. Throughout my years, I continued perfecting my fighting skills because it helped me control my anger. It was also good exercise.

I never got to use it until I got into a big fight with this guy at the mall. He took a video of Cara in this green, floral dress she wore and I couldn't let him do that. My father didn't spend money on martial arts classes just for us to let that man walk without being injured. I walked up to him and told him off. Cara was by my side when it happened. The man grabbed my arm, gripped it to the point where it left red imprints and tried to hit me. Cara and I had him on the ground until the mall security came.

A few people passing by cheered for us.

When our parents picked us up, we went and got ice cream.

"Weird for a lady to be interested in that," Dong Mei muttered.

"That's absurd," Chang Ying glared at Dong Mei. "Women should be able to defend themselves. What happens if you are alone in your chamber and something happened? If I wasn't a gift to the Emperor, I would have fought as well."

A what now?

A gift?

What does that even mean?

"Gift?" I got a word out, which quickly disrupted the quiet bickering between the two consorts.

Silence.

Dong Mei had her eyes glued to her feet, her head tipped down slightly. The front of her silky hair was held back by her fine jewelry, which, may I mention, did not hide the smirk she had on her face. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as I observed the two. There was silence in this large, unoccupied room, and quite frankly, it did make my palms sweat a little. Did I say something disrespectful?

My teeth dug into my lips as I chewed nervously. I couldn't read Chang Ying's facial expression. Her lips curled into a delicate smile. She was looking at everything in the room, everything except for me. The environment in this room was... something. Weird, peculiar, like tension was rising but it wasn't at the same time. Dong Mei still had a rudely amused look on her face, Chang Ying looked like she wanted to say something but didn't, and I looked like a confused asshole.

It wasn't long before Chang Ying finally opened her mouth to speak.

"Three years ago, my father did something... He broke a rule which dishonoured our family and humiliated the Emperor himself," Chang Ying calmly whispered, brushing her hair out of her face as she spoke. "Father worked for the Emperor.. he was a government official. He fell in love with one of the Emperor's consorts. They were in love. My father met this woman every night, sneaking into the harem to have fun with her. And to this day, I don't know how he did it. Their covert relationship halted when the Emperor had suspicions and sent a spy."

Chang Ying took a deep breath. "The Emperor executed the consort, after all, she was just a consort to him. She drank the wine and died peacefully. But my father, he couldn't take no for an answer. He would do anything to prevent himself from getting executed... even if it meant sacrificing me."

Tears began to roll down her cheeks, and Dong Mei, who stood there at ease, took a step away from her. I clasped her hand between my hands, then giving her a tight squeeze.

"So my father told His Majesty," Chang Ying began. "'My daughter is an outstanding woman. She is beautiful and gifted with intelligence and talent. I am giving you my daughter. As a return, I want to live. The Emperor thought about it and accepted it after he had seen me paint. He said my paintings were beautiful, but they would never match my beauty. I was flattered, but there was a slight intrigue in His Majesty as well. Everyone compliments me on my beauty, but not too much of my paintings. I was interested in His Majesty, but at that time, I was not interested enough to marry him. It was only when my father raised his voice at me and threatened me, was when I wanted to live in the harem. When I arrived here in a sedan chair, the Emperor greeted me immediately. I didn't know life in the harem would be filled with so much... envy," Chang Ying's eyes were noticeably red and glossy. "I thought I was just a low ranked consort, just like the woman my father was seeing, and that the Emperor would throw me in here and never want to see me again. I was wrong. I was his favourite. In a short amount of time, I was already an Imperial Noble Consort."

She looked up at me and smiled. "I was content, but the hatred and the evil glares by the women in the harem... was unbearable. I was so unhappy with myself because I could never find anyone to be with. I wanted friends. To this day, I don't have a lady-in-waiting. Your friend, Imperial Concubine Lee, is an amazing person. She would attend my chamber every day and make me laugh. Her personality could light up any dull room. Even when the Empress constantly tried to put me down, Su Yin would stand up for me."

Dong Mei stood up. "I believe I have something to attend to."

My question was already answered, but she continued onwards. Chang Ying was broken, I could already tell. Although she had power, wealth, and respect in the Palace, she was pitiful.

"Ying Yue, there's something about you. Someone I could trust in this competitive place. I see potential in you." Chang Ying paused and looked around the room, perhaps to see if Dong Mei was still here.

"Your Grace, I don't understand..." I slowly removed my hands from hers.

"The Empress is a nasty woman," she whispered. "You can do so much for the harem... for the entire Palace..."

This keeps getting crazier and crazier.

An empress? She wants me to be the Empress? I am an eighteen-year-old girl who did not sign up for this... Then again, I had time. Scratch that, I don't. Jaxon wants—

Forget what Jaxon wants, me being treated like a well-deserved queen sounds like a fantasy I never knew I'd experience.

A wave of sadness punched me across the face. My family, my friends, the Internet, better morals... I miss them... I miss it. What if I'm just in a coma right now? Definitely not... I was drowning in decisions I had to make!

"You're saying I should become Empress?" I whispered nervously while playing with my sleeves.

"Correct."

How am I supposed to fulfill her wishes while I can't even fulfill mine? If I became Empress, how the hell am I going to manage the entire harem when I can't even handle my job! This is bizarre. I'm not thinking straight and I'm already stressed. Besides, this could be a trick to see if I was against the Empress. The Empress could've sent Chang Ying to catch me in the act of usurpation. After Su Yin's warnings, I knew not to trust too many people here. However, Chang Ying was not like the Empress, I had to remember. Su Yin liked Chang Ying, and not once had Chang Ying ever offended me and had a moment of weakness where she slipped up as her true character. Perhaps she was another person I could trust in the harem.

I closed my eyes for a while, before opening them again. Chang Ying was still staring at me with a worried look on her face. I didn't know what else to say to her. If I refused to, she could turn against me. If I attempt to take Empress Zhang's spot, I'd have to stay here longer. But either way, I still had to have the Emperor wrapped around my finger. "I'll think about it, I shouldn't try for things like this. When it happens, it happens. Forget about this talk, I'm here for etiquette and mannerism?"

Her eyes brightened. Throughout the entire session, none of us brought up the previous topic again.