Rivals

Diamond Pavilion

"What's with all the fuss?" Xioting asked, annoyed as she walked towards the numerous maids that were currently moving things around in the crystal pavilion, packing every thing that belonged to her mistress and carefully placing them in the spacious living ,that was now empty, for eunuchs to carry.
"Lady Xiaoting.." One of the maids greeted while bowing.
"We received order from the Empress to move everything that belongs to the Precious Imperial Consort to the Diamond pavilion." The woman stated making the higher rank maid's jaw drop in shock.
"Diamond pavilion?? That is reserved for The Emperor's chosen empress consort, well , the Empress's chosen empress consort basically-.. Ugh this is so hard to process!" Xioting groaned , massaging her temple in hopes of preventing the head ache she was more than sure she will get upon trying to sort the title out.
Having an empress instead of an emperor could be confusing at time especially when it came to titles.
"Does that mean Imperial Consort Tzuyu will be the empress Consort???" Shuhua asked curiously as she made her way towards the two maids that were talking.
"We don't know yet lady Shuhua, the only instructions we got is that the Precious Consort will now be living in the Diamond Pavilion." The maid said, bowing once again before she got to work.
"Oh I can't wait to rub this in Momo's face! She won't like this at all!" Shuhua giggled.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WILL BE MISTRESS OF THE DIAMOND PAVILION FROM NOW???" Sana's voice was so powerful the five maids felt like the whole ruby pavilion in all his glory shook as she spoke.
"W-we just got t-the news mistress.. it was the empress's request.." Sakura found some courage in her to speak, eyes fixed on the ground as her face was shielded by the long sleeves of her dress, just like the other girls.
"WHY?" Sana asked, not her maids, it was more of a question to herself.

"Your outbursts are a good reason for it." A voice made Sana look behind her to see no other than the Empress herself looking at her with a smile on her face.
The maids quickly bowed before the empress gestured for them to walk out of the room which they quickly did , leaving the two alone.
"Sana, my ray of sun , we have talked many times about this haven't we?" The woman spoke gently, making the consort look down as she bit her lip feeling defeated.
"I'm sorry your grace.. I just don't understand why.." Sana mumbled before her gaze met the woman's sparkling eyes.
"Have I fallen out of your favor Nayeon..?" Sana asked nervously, making the empress's gaze soften upon hearing her name being called by the younger woman, her palm resting against Sana's cheek as she caressed it, which put the consort at ease a little.
"It's not that Sana, you know it. Don't see Tzuyu's promotion as a punishment for you, I'd never do anything to bring reason for discord between my favorite girls." Nayeon said before planting a soft kiss against Sana's forehead as the consort sighed before the older woman pulled her into a tight embrace before starting to spread soft kisses all over Sana's neck making her laugh as she pulled away slightly, glaring at the empress playfully.
"Frowns and sadness don't look good on you my love, I'll make sure I won't ever see those clouding your beautiful face." Nayeon said tenderly while kissing Sana's hand before she took her leave as the consort watched her with the characteristic bright smile in her face.
She knew Nayeon never had malicious intentions when it came to her but still, she couldn't help but feel jealous.
What did Tzuyu have that she didn't?
Yes, she was younger and her beauty was unmatched with her slim and tall figure and long jet black hair, that not even Sana could deny.
The young consort was smart too and she was in theme with everything that happened in the outer court, but so was Sana.
Although Tzuyu had the advantage of having royal blood flowing through her veins, reason why she didn't start from the bottom like Sana did when she was brought here.
Tzuyu got the title of Imperial Comsort as soon as she came to the palace, Precious came soon after.

"Ugh it's driving me crazy.." Sana sighed softly as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Kazuha fetch me some water!"

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"I heard Virtuous Consort Sana was so upset this morning her screams echoed throughout the whole rear palace!" Ning Ning said amused, making Yiren laugh as well as they arranged everything in place around the pavilion.
If the crystal and ruby ones were huge and extremely beautiful, the Diamond pavilion was ten times better, and the garden was filled with asters and forget me nots at Empress Nayeon's request since those were Tzuyu's favorite flowers. Making sure her Precious Consort was happy was a priority.

"I don't appreciate the gossiping." Tzuyu's soft yet intimidating voice made the two maids freeze before they quickly turned around and bowed to their mistress.
"You may gossip all you want about other maids as long as it doesn't reach my ears, but gossiping about a High Consort is unacceptable." Tzuyu scolded in a gentle tone that made the two young girl embarrassed about what they did rather than scared.
This was Tzuyu's way of disciplining her young maids.
She didn't want them to obey out of fear.
No.
Fear creates traitors, that's what her father always told her.
Nayeon often joked about Tzuyu 'gentle parenting' the young maidens and she didn't mind.

"We are terribly sorry Mistress Tzuyu.." the two apologized at the same time, still looking down both looking genuinely sorry.

Tzuyu smiled slightly before she hummed softly.

"It's alright. You may rest for now, let the other girls know as well, settling everything down must have been tiring." The consort said and the two maids were quick to thank her before making their way out of Tzuyu's chambers and wondering around the pavilion to let the others know of their mistresses order.

"So she was mad .. hmm" Tzuyu hummed to herself before making her way out of the impressive building to take a stroll around the garden.
Although she wouldn't let it show, she did find certain rumors amusing, especially if they were about Consort Sana, which Tzuyu considered very amusing as well, especially when mad because, thanks to her peculiar hair color, Sana looked like she was on fire when upset.
Tzuyu had to admit that she did appreciate Sana's beauty, and often wished she could posses her unique hair or cheerful and bright personality.
Nayeon seemed to love that about Sana a lot, besides her body of course, Consort Sana was blessed with a slightly more voluptuous figure, which Tzuyu was a bit jealous of but also admired along with her sharp and beautiful features.

Thinking about it, she didn't really hate Consort Sana.
She just disliked certain aspects about her, like her love for drama and gossip or her impatience and short temper.
Outside of that , Tzuyu didn't care much.

"I hope the arrangements made here managed to meet your expectations.." Tzuyu was about to turn around upon hearing the familiar voice , but two arms wrapping gently around her waist from behind stopped her from doing so.
"Did the garden make you happy?" Nayeon asked, her chin resting against the slightly taller woman's shoulder who caressed her arm gently.
"I'm happy with everything that you do for me your grace.." Tzuyu said before turning to face the older woman who was looking at her with such love that Tzuyu couldn't help but smile.
It wasn't often when she smiled, but when it comes to Nayeon she couldn't  keep her serious facade and today it was no exception especially when the woman raised an eyebrow at her as she smiled, playfully judging her cheesy reply.
"Ah there goes my favorite sound!" Nayeon chuckled as she watched Tzuyu laugh.
"Am I that funny hmm?" She asked teasingly before pulling the consort closer, who took a deep breath before placing her hands on the empress's firm yet delicate shoulders with a bright smile adorning her face.
"Ah, you can't even imagine."