I kept on thinking about Jaxon and last night's unexpectedness. It wasn't as if I liked Jaxon. I didn't want to have any romantic commitment, nor have a small fling. I was here on a mission. A mission that I am still confused about, but nevertheless, I was on a mission. Jaxon and I only had each other in this place. How could I not want to be with him? I need him. We both need each other or else we wouldn't be able to go back home.

Jaxon. The name sounded so good on my tongue as I whispered it to myself in the morning. I wasn't falling in love with him but his soft satin-like lips pressed against mine... I wanted to go back into that moment and never pull away.

I'm just touch-deprived from the opposite sex.

It was the day. On the day of the gathering, I was a nervous wreck. We were lined up to get our body measurements checked, and this was when my heart raced and my anxiety kicked in. My body wasn't the skinniest. It wasn't 'ancient China' standards I don't think. I had a tummy. Not a flat stomach, and not a beer belly, but I had a fluffy stomach that was almost flat—just not flat enough to societal standards. My hips were wide, my thighs are thick, and my buttocks were on the thicker side.

"Next!" called a maid, and I looked around first before walking into a small section of the room. Another maid gave me a small bow before pulling a screen to block anyone else from viewing.

I stripped down to my bare skin. The room was chilly and my nipples hardened at the sudden cool air. My pubic hair looked like a lion's mane. I can't recall the last time I've shaved and neither did anyone else here. I doubt body hair removal was a tradition in ancient China. My mother would always scold me for shaving my pubic hair and I would never know why. It was a weird thing to scold your teenage child about. I should be uncomfortable in front of the palace maids but they didn't care about my body. However, I still felt vulnerable. I stood tall. The maid stretched a skinny rope and straightened my back. "We'll have to measure your height first, stand still for me, milady."

I held my posture and watched as she stepped on the bottom rope and lifted it. I wasn't the shortest nor the tallest. I was probably average, a whopping five foot four. Or, one point six metres if we're talking about a better system of measurement.

I felt the rope wrap around my waist, gently pressing above my navel. The maid knitted her eyebrows and checked a scroll. "Milady, have you gained weight? Your waist was at a twenty-four* last time, and now it's at a twenty-five. Your stomach—"

"I might have." I rolled my eyes. I guess Uncle Bin's late-night snacks were catching up on me.

"Hips," the maid says to the other palace woman that was keeping track. "Thirty-five."

I hope the Emperor likes his women with an hourglass body.

The maids finally let me out and I walked out to meet Jaxon. He leaned back against the wall outside a pavilion. "That was fast."

I gave a simple smile.

"Listen, I was researching a little bit. There's an old book about worlds," Jaxon whispered before pulling it out. "We can get back."

"Worlds?" I asked again while taking the book from his hands. It looked semi-new. The spines were a bit cracked, but that was it. Similar to other literature in the Imperial library, the book cover was a simple piece of paper with the Chinese writing of 'Worlds' on it. I flipped through the pages. Diagrams of mathematical equations that looked similar to physics equations, rough sketches of things I couldn't understand, and words. There were more equations than words. The book had white pages which meant they were fairly recent. I flipped back to the front cover and stared at it. The other side had the author's name written in English writing. 'Pax Mlanck.' It sounded familiar. I handed the book back to Jaxon and waited for an explanation.

"Now, I am a hundred percent certain we can get back. But see, we're not time traveling. The collision did not result in your soul leaving your body—it's not transmigration, for obvious reasons. The collision also did not throw you all the back in time. A man with the name Pax Mlanck wrote this book, and it scarily relates to our situation. I found it while I was browsing in the Imperial library. It was hidden, all the way in the back, and the only reason why I found it was because I accidentally pushed a book in too far," Jaxon flipped through the book and showed me a diagram. It looked like a mindmap of equations and timelines with branches sprouting off them. "He wrote about this one certain theory that's too long to explain for the sake of our time, but essentially, we are in a parallel universe that sprouted off a major event."

I followed along with his words while following him into a hall. "But what did us ending up here have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. There was no mention of that. I suspect it's a fault—a glitch in the matrix to end up in a different world, centuries ago. All I know is that," Jaxon stopped and turned around to face me, "this isn't time travel."

"Makes a lot of sense, but how do we know this theory is true? Has he confirmed it?" I asked as I seated myself on the chair.

Jaxon sat across from me. "Think about it. When you head off to a parallel world, there are some changes that can be minor, or they can be major. Speaking of which, a minor change or a major change can cause the world to branch off."

"Minor... like the butterfly effect?"

He nodded. "Yes. Anyway, one major change in this world is that there's no footbinding because an emperor from two dynasties ago thought the procedure was ugly and there were no benefits. There was no purpose for the footbinding to continue, hence why he banned it. I'm not sure why but the sexism in ancient China has decreased in this world."

"Women can't go to school, Jaxon." I cocked an eyebrow.

Jaxon opened his mouth to say something but closed it not very long after. "You're right. But also, the arranged marriage culture isn't prominent in this era. It's not perfect, but it's better than what we know about ancient China."

"That is true."

Jaxon stared blankly at one of the pages of the book. I tilted my head to get another angle of Jaxon's undeniably attractive face. I loved looking at him when he was in concentration. His eyes would glare at what he was looking at and his mouth would slightly purse, it was very flattering on him. It led me to wonder if any other maids or concubines thought he was attractive as well—if they had ever pursued him. I know maids were riskier than concubines and would most likely try to flirt with him. As he looked down, scanning the pages with the deepest concentration, I couldn't help but be curious if Jaxon was eye-candy for them. "."

"Hmm?" he flips the page without looking at me.

"Do girls ever want to talk to you here?" I asked.

"Why? Are you jealous?" he smirked.

Jaxon caught me staring at him and I would've looked away if I wanted to, but I refused to. His earthy light brown eyes were directly in front of me. The pair of small planets in front of me captivated me. Could NASA just let me get inside a rocket and launch me in his eyes so I can get lost in them? I internally laughed at my lame joke.

"No! I am not." I crossed my arms.

Jaxon kept the smirk on his face. He folded the right corner of the page and closed the book. "Well, since you asked, yes. The answer is yes. Young palace women like to swoon over me and some of your fellow concubines like to—"

"That's all I needed to know," I interrupted before getting up promptly. "I have a performance to get ready for. It was nice—to talk to you, I mean. You did a good job with the research, I have to say, and the findings are enlightening. In no time, we'll get out of here. Thank you."

"Yes," he responded simply and stands up after me. "We are in this together."

"Yes," I pushed my hair back. "Let's hope the Emperor chooses me to accompany him tonight. So, I could get his spit."

Before Jaxon could say anything, I left the room.

My palms were clammy and warm whilst my maids did my hair. They had to do the best of their ability. While my maids ran their fingers through my hair for preparation, I was patting down my face with a large amount of powder, in hopes of hiding my shame and embarrassment. I patted my eyebags down. Staying up all night to do your best for a simple man was something I've never known I'd do. I picked up a small brush to draw a red flower symbol in the middle of my forehead.

"You look stunning, milady," Guan Shu said in awe as she carefully adjusted my hanfu.

"That's due to you four," I replied. I checked myself again in the mirror before reaching into my jewelry box. "Where's the hairpin His Majesty gifted me?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but the empty box alarmed me. My heart stopped. My hands roamed around my table, touching everything and anything. I patted myself down and frantically rummaged through boxes and boxes.

Chen Xi grinned before holding the gold pin with the jade stone to my face. "Did you think I'd forget about this?"

"Chen Xi! You gave me quite a scare!" I scolded before sitting back on my chair.

My mischievous maid shivered before kneeling to me, almost instantly after I sat down. "Please forgive me, milady, I thought it would be—"

"Get up, I was only kidding around," I lifted her arm as I continued sitting on my chair. "I must leave soon, please hurry."

The entire hall was crowded. We were at a palace near the water, where most performances usually take place. The building the audience was in had a missing wall so there was a view of the lake. They sat in and out of the building; they sat depending on their ranking. The performances usually took place on the large deck but they decided not to let us dance on it. It was relatively chilly outside with the slight breeze against my clothing. We waited patiently, tightly packed together. The Emperor couldn't see us. I covertly poked my head out a little to see what was going on. There were a few unfamiliar faces, that I've never seen before, sitting closer to the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager.

I had a sinking feeling in my heart. My foot continuously tapped the ground impatiently. I couldn't help but think about when I tripped over the concubine a few weeks ago. I chewed my bottom lip as I stood slightly closer to a Consort that closed her mouth during the incident.

Deep breaths in. Deep breaths out.

"Send the performers in!" the loud voice of a eunuch is heard, and in a haste, I wiped my sweaty palms on the side of my new hanfu.

***

The group of concubines all sashayed in harmony and took their places behind the deck. In a well-organized placement, the concubines began to dance in harmony with the instruments. Every woman wore an identical rosy pink hanfu that swirled and flowed with the breeze acting with them. It was as if the wind and the women were in harmony, feeling the connection of impressing the Emperor.

"How are you enjoying it so far?" Empress Zhang brushed her lips against her husband's ear to whisper to him.

There was a tone of jealousy in her voice, but she buried it under her concerning attitude. Ever since Dong Mei announced her pregnancy, the Empress hasn't been receiving enough of the Emperor's devotion. The Emperor would visit Dong Mei often. The child was going to be his firstborn and he believed if he gave enough love to Dong Mei, there would be no stress in her system to carry it onto his offspring. If a concubine from the rosy pink cluster of women twirling around in front of her becomes pregnant, she'll lose her sanity... and she was on the verge of having a breakdown. Sleepless night, mumbling in her sleep, and mumbling to herself when she was awake, her sanity was slipping through her fingers and vanishing into thin air if she kept it up. When she saw the dark circles under her eyes in the morning, she screamed. The more she stressed, the more her beauty faded, she believed and she could not handle losing her beauty.

I was the most beautiful woman in the Palace. She thought to herself. I must be. If I am not, I will lose myself.

The Emperor lifts her chin up with his index finger and plants a light kiss on her lips. "I am enjoying every second of it... With you, my love." The simple statement was enough to keep Nian Shu silent and crimsoning.

The dulcet tones of the guqin, pipa, and guzheng blended together nicely. The concubines who played delicately couldn't stop glancing over to wait for the Emperor's approval, and hopefully a smile. But, the Emperor wasn't paying attention to them at all. His eyes wandered off to the radiant woman in the entire room. It was her role to be in the middle now and she shone. The concubine raised her arms up to snap twice, then leaning her head back to smoothly rock her hips. Without ending the seductive eye contact with the Emperor, she slyly smooths the opening of her hanfu down to reveal a small part of her cleavage, before twirling around hesitantly.

With a frown, the Empress solemnly placed her hand on the Emperor's hand.

Her twirl was in sync with the guzheng solo. It was almost perfect; it was like she had been practicing for months. Her finishing move was to gently but swiftly extend her left arm out with the back of her right hand against her chin, before jerking her head up to the left and switching positions with another.

Nian Shu attentively listened to the Emperor's gulp. And she squeezed his hand, already knowing she had lost.

~~~

After the performance, we all bowed and beamed at the audience. I sighed to myself as it was over. The loud applause, the nods, and the big grins on everyone's faces left me satisfied. At least I didn't trip over someone this time.

It was getting dark. The callings of the insects were fading. An old eunuch quietly approached me before suggesting to walk me home. "Lady Ying Yue, would you like me to lead you back to your estate?"

"Please," I said while taking his hand. I placed the palm of my hand on his. I don't quite understand why this was etiquette. It's like they think women aren't capable of handling themselves. Whenever my maids try to lift me up when I kneeled to bow, I always swatted them away.

We had been walking for a couple of minutes in silence until the eunuch, this time, started a non-making-anxious conversation while we walked together. He had a small grin on his face. "You did excellent today, milady."

"Really? You think so?"

"I don't think so, I know."

I raised my eyebrows in shock. "I don't—I don't really know if what I did was too much or—"

"You mustn't worry, milady," the eunuch replied before raising a hand for the guards to let us in. I was slightly embarrassed but felt joy from his words. The Emperor immediately appeared on my mind as I arrived outside my chamber. The eunuch bowed before I got inside. "Good luck, milady."

He smiled with his eyes and turned to leave. I hesitated to ask for his name but it could be a bit inappropriate since he never assisted me. I cleared my throat. "Thank you but wait! May I have your name?"

"Lian Ying, milady," he replied politely before walking back.

I stepped inside of my chamber to spot Hua Er sitting down with her guqin in front of her. A sorrowful look played on her face until she looked up to smile at me. She was going in for a bow but stopped herself. "How was it?"

It was also a rule to bow although we had a close relationship. I never allowed Hua Er nor Lei Shu to bow if it was just us three in a room. "Cold," I groaned while I leaned against my large chair. Hua Er, who sat down shortly, quickly stood up to prop a blanket over me. "At least I didn't trip."

Hua Er sat herself down on the bed facing me. She chuckled before reaching in to remove the pins from my hair. I blocked her hand with the back of mine. "The Emperor hasn't chosen anyone yet."

"They're still celebrating right now?" Hua Er asks frantically, then shooting her eyes to the burning incense.

"They're finishing up, that's what I think. I don't know. I'm assuming we'll have to wait until a eunuch pops in the door and tells me I've been chosen," I quietly sipped on the warm soup. "And that's only if I get chosen. I can wait for ten minutes, but after the ten minutes are done, I'm going to sleep."

"If you do, are you going to..." Hua Er began but her voice ends up fading. Her head tilted away from me while she looked in another direction.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes.

"T-To..." she starts to say but shuts her eyes tightly. "To sleep with the Emperor!"

I gaped at her with my eyebrows raised at her innocence. She refused to look directly into my eyes and was only eyeing the little window in my chamber. I burst out with laughter. I threw my head down and exploded.

Hua Er's eyes stared blankly at me. "Why are you laughing?"

"You—" I caught my breath. I struggled to find my balance sitting down. "You should've seen the look on your face! Why were you so embarrassed?"

My innocent lady-in-waiting attempted to stay mad at me, with her lips pursed. She gave in to me and giggled at herself.

***

"What concubine for tonight, Your Majesty?" Eunuch Lian Ying said patiently to the Emperor, setting down a wooden tray of listed concubines.

"Noble Consort Han," the Emperor replied, sharply.

Eunuch Lian Ying smiles broadly and bows. "Of course, Your Majesty."

---

* The ancient Chinese used a different unit of measurement but using inches can give a better understanding for the readers.