"Why do you want to be a slave?" I was completely dumbstruck. What kind of madwoman would willingly become a slave? In Rome and Constantinopolis, slavery was a fate worse than death for some.
"This is the only way this one can serve Your Highness while resolving Your Highness of any potential implications."
"Your Highness," Fatima leans close and whispers into my ear in Latin, "these two have too much weight attached to them. Taking them on would put us at risk." With them, at least I'll have someone I can trust more than you.
"I accept your offer of servitude."
The next few days are busy. Between getting new clothes for Xiaoyue and Zhangxiu, having doctors check on their health, and persuading Fatima to teach Xiaoyue how to work as a maid, the day to depart for the imperial capital of Luoyang arrives before I realize it. In preparation for our departure, the governor of Chang'an, a bookish dwarf named Dong Fan, has cleared out an entire street for our convenience. Before I enter my carriage, he appears one last time. A ploy to gain favor no doubt. Both Fatima and I agreed it would be better to avoid meeting him during our stay, afraid of ending up in some political struggle. Plus, a governor who leaves a sixth of his city in squalor is not someone I even want to share the same air with. However, since Dong Fan has completely cleared out the street we're trying to depart on, I can't simply pretend I didn't see him.
"Governor Dong, a pleasure." I greet him in a sweet purr, doing my damnedest to prevent any of my distaste from affecting my tone. He sweeps into an excessively low bow.
"Your Highness, this servant gives you a thousand thanks for having graced his city with your presence. This servant hopes that Your Highness will be so munificent as to relay this servant's hospitality to the Imperial Court." Dong Fan makes a gesture and a servant rushes over to give him a box. Dong Fan comes forward to present the box to me, smiling grovelingly the entire time. As Xiaoyue receives the box from him, I can see him purposefully brush a grubby palm over the back of her hand. I can see her spine stiffen. I'm going to tear this putrid governor limb from limb. Xiaoyue opens the box for me to see.
I can't help but gasp slightly at the object inside. A deep green jade hairpin, devoid of any impurities or flaws sits delicately on a golden cloth surrounded by a small fortune in rubies. The hairpin itself is engraved; the grooves painstakingly filled with gold. At the end of the hairpin is a vibrant explosion of rubies, arranged in the shape of a flower.
"A humble engagement gift from your unworthy servant, Your Highness." This is humble?
VOCÊ ESTÁ LENDO
The Foreign Empress
Ficção HistóricaA cold and potentially fatal marriage, an imperial court embroiled in assassination and conflict, a hidden conspiracy that could shatter not just a four-century-long peace but the empire itself. In the midst of it all, a girl whose struggle to survi...
