One of the earliest examples of a woman coming in power that could rival an emperor's authority is Empress Natsume Takahiro, her maiden name. The wife of the first emperor in Sang who established the Ryuu Empire. Her greed for power could surpassed...
Natsume stared at the imposing palace of Xue that stood proudly in front of her, painted in dark blue and white.
The Xue palace didn't fall short from the Nagataka palace. While the Nagataka palace has an intimidating red and black in color with designs and patterns meant for the warriors, it gives an aura of danger, a place meant for a tyrant King and his blood thirsty warriors, the Xue palace is a contradiction of it. It is elegant in designs, pleasant to look at, like a fairytale with its white and blue color. It brought a scholarly air, a place for scholarly men and elegant ladies.
And yet Natsume feels like she's in the death's door. The fairytale like palace makes her feel threatened and intimidated. No matter what, this is not her home, she's used to seeing the Dark colors and warrior like designs of the Nagataka palace.
Perhaps it was the feeling of not being in control of the things anymore, her luxurious red and golden robes, and Phoenix crown are not with her, she's not someone who can give the orders anymore. The tables have turned and she's at the losing end of it.
"My lady..."
A court lady came forward, bowing her head respectfully at her.
Her eyebrow's twitched.
My lady...?
It's not the way she addressed her but the way she said it. The people here are acting strange.
She came from an enemy state! No matter what, she's still a person of Ryuu, whether she's involved in political matters or not, it doesn't change this fact, she's also found in the Nagataka palace, trying to escape. So what's this courteous act now?
That Yuan Kang, he called her 'Natsume'. Now that she remembered it, she thought that she's the Xue's undefeatable general, Ping Shui. It turns out that he's the king himself, and the real Ping Shui is still in the Northern border, seems like Raiden is not the only King who also fought in the front lines. They're perfectly a match rival.
Natsume Nao, that's it, that was his beloved concubine's name that their state kidnapped to threaten Yuan Kang, to pull out his army for the time being in the Northern border. They share the same name, could it be that they have some similar points in physical appearance? This is just too much of a coincidence.
Yul Feng predicted that they might sneak into the Northern border if Natsume Nao is placed in there, so they placed her in Keito instead.
This kind of move from Yuan Kang is really unpredictable, to infiltrate the main palace of Ryuu and then kidnapped her. Perhaps he's planning to exchange hostages?
Exchange the queen of Ryuu for her beloved concubine. As an important hostage, she shouldn't be harm, not even a single strand of her hair, knowing that she's the only wife of Raiden, the first crowned queen of Sang.
But this kind of treatment is kinda...
The court lady led her to a hall. A hall meant for a consort. The court lady prepared her bath. Not long after, ten palace maids and two eunuchs were sent to her hall to serve her, carrying a lot of beautiful kimonos and jewelries.
Seeing this... Natsume came into a conclusion that Nao and her share the same face and Yuan Kang had mistaken her for Nao.
To confirm her suspicion, she asked the court lady who was the first one to serve her since she came here. The court lady is currently combing her hair.
"Tell me... Who am I?"
Since she's the first one that was send to serve her, she must know something.
"You're a Noble Consort, my lady"
She almost spat out blood. Noble Consort? Since when did she get a rank in the Xue palace harem?
Currently, there's no one occupying the Queen's seat. Yuan Kang's grandmother died early when he's young, followed by his mother after a year, so there's no empress dowager or grand empress dowager of some sort. So this Natsume lass is holding the highest rank position in the harem.
Just a commoner girl who climbed up in rank with no family supporters or clans. This girl must be born with luck, and she must be the heartache of every woman in the King's harem.
Thankfully, her own husband doesn't take concubines and has only one woman in his life. If we're talking about luck, perhaps she almost robbed luck. What woman in this nation wouldn't kill to get her position?
To summon rain and storm in the imperial court and have power in your grasp, even the king won't go against her.
Even if she's mistaken as Noble Consort Nao, this bruise her pride a little. Noble Consort... That was far from her position, is she only a woman who serve the king in bed? If she's going to compare her position in the state of Ryuu, this 'Noble Consort' title is nothing.
To further confirm this information, she specified it.
"what's my real name?"
The court lady was hesitant to tell.
"My lady, this..."
"What's wrong?"
"To say the noble consort's name from this lowly servant's mouth is improper"
Right. Etiquette in the palace is a most.
"Stop saying nonsense and just say it, give some details too while you're at it"
"My lady, you know your own name and background. Why ask this lowly servant?"
"You dare question me?"
Scared, she shuts her mouth. Although the court lady was confused of why the Noble Consort is asking for her real name, she still said it with reluctance.
"You're Natsume Takahiro, the only child of Lord Takahiro and Lady Chou of Takahiro village in the South and was bestowed the title of Noble Consort a year ago"
Natsume sharply turned to her and angrily raised her right hand, giving the court lady a sharp resounding slap.
"Insolence!"
The court lady look at her with teary eyes, her hand on her right cheek where she gave her a slap. She felt wronged, she only followed her order, what was the need to slap her? but no one could be more wronged than Natsume.
What nonsense is this? Natsume Takahiro is married to Raiden Ryuu, she became the first queen of the country and is the only wife of Lord Ryuu and never the wife of Yuan Kang.
"Natsume Takahiro is the wife of Raiden Ryuu, the current queen of Ryuu and Hoc. She's--"
Before she could go on with her sentence, the court lady covered her mouth with both of her hands.
"My lady... What nonsense are you saying?!"
She looked around, afraid that someone might hear them at this distance, looking terrified and alert, she leaned to her and said in a whisper; "You're his Majesty's beloved concubine, Natsume Takahiro is your maiden name and the queen of Ryuu's maiden name is Natsume Nao"
"You must have been terrified after your abduction so your head is a little bit muddled. You're home now, there's nothing to be worried about, his majesty will surely protect you this time"
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