Emperor's Bloom (Yandere!Emperor! x Female!Reader!)

04: The Fateful Sake

                  "I'm really sorry, but the guy is too persistent!" Chunhua exclaims, clearly frustrated with how she had not handled things better. In classic 'Chunhua' fashion, the lady was dressed in her feminine eveningwear, which seemed luxuriously expensive due to the gold gilded edges. "I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with Xiaodan until I gather a new group of interests for you. He insists on spending time with you, he's like a puppy if I'm being honest. Please bear with him for the meantime, okay?"

"Fine, but please find me a new group of men to acquaint quickly. Given his first impression, he seems quite talkative and I would prefer to reserve my energy while I'm still settling in," You respond, letting out a breathy sigh.

"Look on the bright side, [Name]! The palace can get pretty boring. You're not exactly allowed to a different section of the palace without the Emperor's permission, let alone outside. If anything, most of your days are going to spent in the back palace. While I find the right match for you, I'm sure Xiaodan will keep you entertained. He used to be in the royal opera after all," Chunhua explains, hoping to at least make you keener to accept your current situation.

"Entertained, or annoyed?" You question her, already picturing what you would have to put up with if that dramatic blond really did decide to stick around for the meantime.

"For the last time, I apologise, and I'll see you tomorrow. It's getting late now, we should both head to bed. Goodnight, [Name]," Chunhua softly waves her farewell, stepping away from the opening of your private bedroom and allowing you to grab the handle of the sliding door.

"Goodnight to you too, Lady Chunhua," You reply before sliding the door shut, letting out a gentle sigh yet again, only to be caught off guard as the door hastily opens, this time revealing the blond you had just begun to dread seeing.

"Lady [Name], wasn't that some amazing news?" Xiaodan explains, also in some much more relaxed attire. As he stood in the warm glow of the apricot lantern, you noticed him to be wearing his golden locks down upon his shoulders as his outfit consisted of an ivory, silk dress shirt and mint-coloured pants that seemed to imitate a tranquil shade of jade.

"You should at least know it's rude to eavesdrop. Where did you even come from?" You interrogate him, slightly surprised by how he had managed to get here so quickly after Chunhua.

"I promise it wasn't my intention. I was on my way here just to tell you something, and I didn't want to interrupt your conversation with the lady. But now that I'm here, may I?" He asks politely, gesturing to your room as he remained standing in the hallway, suggesting you allow him inside.

Hesitating for a moment, you eventually nod your head: "Alright, but only for a few minutes. I need to get some rest," You remind Xiaodan as you step out of the way, allowing him passage to inside your room.

Swiftly proceeding inside your room, he wastes no time waltzing around and inspecting his surroundings with much curiosity as though he had just been given a pair of eyes, and was bursting with curiosity at this little, contained world of yours. You close the door gently as your [E/C] eyes follow him around your room.

Making sure not to cross any boundaries, he refrained from opening any drawers as his pale fingertips glided across the wooden surfaces with much care, his attentive pine green eyes taking mental notes of what sort of items you seemed to like.

"[Name], may I tell you something that has been on my mind?" He asks out of the blue, stopping in his tracks in front of the back wall, his emerald eyes linking with the green of the garden which was visible through the large windows.