The Love They Never Had

"My Lady, where have you been? I have been looking all over for you!" "Where else can I go other than to see the Imperial Gardens? And what are these bouquets of flowers here? Didn't the gardeners say that narcissi flowers were hard to grow this morning? Why are there so many here?" "Congratulations My Lady, your compliments in the meeting worked! The attendant service just came by to inform us that you will be serving His Highness in his chambers tonight!" "What? Me? I…" "This is your big day, that is why we have been gifted these precious flowers! The Imperial Kitchen also sent you donkey gelatine from the higher provinces! Come, let us get you ready for your service tonight…" "I didn't even think that he would remember me. Quickly, get something from my embroideries to gift it to His Highness, and to the Concubines Park and Attendant Kim for their help as well." "You are still being too kind, My Lady, even if they kept us waiting outside the His Highnesses chambers yesterday." "They are of higher rank than I am, it is only to be expected of them." "I am the one carrying an Imperial Heir, not some unknown Lady! So why did he ask for her and not myself! Isn't she being a minx and taking advantage of my pregnancy!" "Let Attendant Choi be, My Lady, she always bullies the weak. We haven't stopped hearing her spiteful words since moving into this palace of ours, so this is nothing new." "Spring is on it's way and it is getting warmer, and my time has finally come."

"…what brings you here? Has His Highness asked to see me?" "Attendant Choi, at His Highness's behest, he will not see you for he duration of your pregnancy." "But why! He promised to select me every single week!" "And now he wants to see The Lady Cho, since he is tired of being disrupted by your fetal movements, and it isn't unusual for Princes to change their minds. Perhaps His Highness wishes for you to have some more rest, lest you over-exert yourself and let something happen to this baby. What bad luck, I haven't run such an errand for years now, to return such a concubine…" "How dare you! And it seems that I have underestimated my neighbour…" "…just because there is no 'next time' for you, Attendant Choi? What a shame, you have dressed up so nicely as well, but there is nobody who cares to appreciate it. So His Highness selected you and regretted it, but we are all sisters, so we must get used to sharing, isn't that correct? Despite me being from a lowly family in your eyes…well, you have a lot to learn, don't you?" "You bitch!" "Attendant Choi! His Highness presents the punishment of depriving any concubine from her title and confining her for 2 weeks if they fight amongst each other!" "No! Please, forgive me! You are His Highness's eunuch! You have to help me!"

"…Noble Princess Consort! You must help me! Please!" "Well, I am sorry for what you are going through, but even I cannot change Royal Edicts, Attendant Choi, and my husband is not exactly knows for his mild temper." "He was very harsh on me with this careless slip that I made." "There may be someone else who is fanning the flames here, but you can only try again once your confinement is over." "But what if His Highness is no longer willing to see me?" "That is inevitable when he has a whole harem to entertain him." "Your Highness, what can I possibly to do regain my favour? Please tell me! I do not wish to be neglected!" "Well, I suppose that you always can always help yourself to make him notice you. 'A request made in person is hard to turn down." "But what should I do?" "Aren't you good at singing opera? Make yourself heard." "I think Your Highness for you advice! But now I must leave quickly in order not to be detected…." "Very well, hurry up now and do not forget my silvers."

"What are you up to now, Your Highness? Why are you helping your enemies?" "So that she can keep paying me for my help and help remind my husband of my existence, why else would I help her? She can also help me balance out this new favoured concubine, The Lady Cho, who was told to learn about household management after her first night with my husband. Attendant Choi should be successful after kneeling for half a night with her sore throat, just like a pitiful maid, and just in time for the seasonal banquet where my husband will e temporarily released as well to celebrate the end of the plague that I tried to prolong." "What about the enquiries of the dead maid that they will bring up eventually?" "I shall tell them of how disobedient they were when pulling my hair violently when serving me. I simply scolded her and she ran away and tripped in the well, that is all, unless she acted that way on somebody else's orders…" "well played, Your Highness." "Shut up and brew me some tea, if you are even capable of doing that much."

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"Your Highness, why don't we have the new concubines all play out their talents so you can see what beauties you have before your very eyes." "Very well, let us draw some lots and see what I am dealing with here." "I have already drawn some up, and the very first name that I have here is the new Companion Cho. Why don't we have her preform The Dance of the Startled Swan?" "A dance performance, Attendant Choi?" "Why not? She has already proved herself to be as graceful as a swan, and I has caused a profound sensation in the past, despite it being a very difficult routine to learn. Whilst a good performer can move like a swan, a bad one can only be said to move like a duck, isn't that right, Companion Cho?"

"Your Highness, the new Companion Cho is very young, how can she be expected to learn this dance? It is quite demanding with quite a lot of pressure on the performer herself." "Fret not, Concubine Kim, the new Companion Cho is surely very talented to work her way up to her title in a short amount of time already. And any talented concubine can dance it, which is what you have to be to be elected to enter the palace anyways, isn't that right? But if Companion Cho cannot do this, then she can just admit defeat, it isn't like we will be too strict with her performance. A family such as ours will not let anyone incur any ridicule, or refuse to give us face in front of all of these esteemed guests, isn't that so?" "There is no need for goading and talks of disgrace and impedance." "But Third Brother, I have long heard of your praises of this beautiful and talented woman, and I would very much like to see the performance myself. Or is she dull and cannot keep up with my own lowly concubines? How can she possibly to fit to serve if that is the case?"

"The lack of talent is the virtue of a woman, why do I need to display my virtues in front of strangers?" "Then you do not deserve to be praised for your talents then, Companion Cho? For it shall show that His Highness is shallow for choosing shallow concubines, which will besmirch us all, wouldn't it?" "Your Highness, it is rather difficult to achieve proficiency in the dance, may we change this to something else? The Companion Cho prefers poetry over dance, maybe she can simply recite something for us all instead?"

"Your considerations will never go unnoticed, and that is why I promoted you to Concubine Kim, but this palace hasn't seen a performance in a while now and we would all like to see one today, and it can be performed in any way that one can do it, Companion Cho." "Then please allow me to get changed, Your Highness." "I hope that she is not giving us the slip…" "Shut up Fifth Brother."

"My Lady, it isn't that you do not know the dance, but there is no escape for now." "They want a startled swan, just as I had been warned about before. A fleeing bird is what they are after; servants go and request The Concubines Park and Kim to play the zither and Attendant Choi to sing for us." "Attendant Choi? Are you sure, My Lady?" "Let us get this farce over with once and for all." "Very well, His Highness has agreed to the conditions and has even agreed to use The Endless Longing Zither and The Flute of Eternal Promise." "His late mother's instruments, so there is a lot more riding on this dance than I thought. And how fortunate I am to receive this honour."

"…well, her moves do replicate the original dance quite well; in the night, she becomes a lotus burning above the emerald water. It is rather graceful indeed…but unoriginal." "It is more important to be respectful to the dance than imitate someone else outright, Second Brother. It is a marvellous dance that was imitated by the previous concubine who did it…" "Do not speak as if you were paying attention to that dance brother, because I remember what we were both doing on that day…" "I may not have practised marshal arts or weaponry as much as you did back in the day, I did spend my time wisely by studying…" "we conquer the country with weaponry, not books brother…" "The Companion Cho deserves your praise, don't you agree, Second Brother? Doesn't she dance just like the previous concubine?" "If I recall correctly, Attendant Choi hasn't been around long enough to remember that particular performance, so how could she have come up with such a concept? And how could you possibly compare the 2 dances?" "Forgive me Your Highness…!" "Men! The Companion Choi is tired and will be escorted from this banquet and right back into confinement for another 2 weeks to make sure that she has learnt her lesson this time." "Husband! Please forgive my eloquent tongue that is unable to vindicate myself…!" "Husband? It is quite clear now who gave you that concept after all. She also needs another lesson learnt, so pick her up from the cold palace once again and bring her to my chambers for dinner."