Empress Yi and her Guards

Empress Yi walks in with a couple of eunuch Palace guards. Naturally, pretty much every male in the palace was a eunuch with the exemption of you, the recently declared Emperor Xue Yun. Only ten years your senior, Empress Yi held an air of authority around her, and an amazing body to boot. She wore an elegant cheongsam that was fitting for an authority of her level, and it hugged her curves beautifully. Her hair was hip-length, but held in an intricate way above her shoulders with a number of accessories within it. Her pale skin contrasted her dark eyes, so dark they did wonders at pulling in your gaze despite the sweeping curves of her body.

“How long do you plan on sleeping in, boy? Today, you are to sit in court for deliberations on the storm brewing in the west.” Said Yi, her tone condescending and harsh.

“I’m not sleeping in!” You retaliate. You had been awake for hours, but the robe on you was still your sleeping attire.

More Eunuchs walked in behind her guards. These men were dressed more elegantly. The “maidservants.” They walked to you and began removing your garb and readying a new one to replace it with.

“Well, whatever you call your sloth, your presence is needed.” Yi smirks as the eunuchs strip you bare for your next outfit. Eyeing your groin, she says, “Or would you prefer I sit in your place like I had to for that impotent father of yours? You do share his diminutive traits.”

“W-What do you mean?” You ask defensively, You did not like her insulting your father Emperor Dai, but you did not correct her because you insulted him the same way a lot of times. What worried you is that it sounded like she might have been insulting you.

Yi’s smile falters as the Eunuchs cover you with the new gown. It was beautiful and exquisite. Practically a waste since no one that would be present in the courtroom would see it. As Emperor, you sat behind an intricate, translucent wall of art that was in front of you on the dais. Yet it was not quite translucent enough to see through it well. In fact, you would not even speak during the whole deliberation, just listen to others make the decisions for you.

“I mean that this gown will have to do. We need to get you something not quite as ancient, made in the future.” Says, Yi. She then turns to one of the eunuchs, “Make sure to acquire the pygmy boy’s measurements and have him made something glorious enough to radiate the grace of the Celestial Empire.”

The eunuch simply bows, no verbal response was needed.

As you become completely dressed, your hair gets tidied as well, and a dash of makeup or two gets applied to your eyes. You look like an Emperor of the Grand Celestial Empire now. You see yourself in the mirror and are unsure why Yi thinks this gown inadequate, it practically sings elegance.

Yi approaches you and uses her bamboo fan to move certain portions of the gown to inspect it, and then does the same to move your face and inspect it. She smiles, “Yes, You can almost be mistaken for a man now.” She then turns sharply and orders everyone in the room, “Come!”

As an entourage, you, Yi, the guards, and the eunuchs head through your personal quarters and down the labyrinthine corridors and stairs of the Imperial Palace. This was basically your whole world. You have not been outside these walls since as far back as you can remember. During your journey, you eye the swaying hips of Yi through her cheongsam. Since becoming emperor, you have grown more conscious of women, as you’ve been seeing them more. The fact that your dad could not bone the beauty in front of you made you pity him. Soon, you enter the Dais of the Throne room from the back, already covered by the artistic wall that blocks you from the outside world. It was bustling as you entered, but quieted in seconds as you entered.

You sat on a comfortable cushion in the center. To your right, Yi took her seat, a spot normally reserved for your wife, if you had one. To Yi’s right was seated Yaomei, a fox spirit with silver hair that served as your Celestial Priestess. To her right was Liu, a spymaster of sorts that excelled in intrigue.

To your left was what could be called your steward, Chen. He was also a eunuch, who managed the Palace and your concubines, which you were not actually sure was a thing yet. To Chen’s left was Háojié, your Marshal, and to his left, Zhangnǚ, your Chancellor. Zhangnǚ would be doing most of the speaking today as far as your council was concerned. The others whispering to themselves and to Zhangnǚ should they want anything spoken as a concern.

Now came the boring part. Zhangnu started the proceedings of the court. There must have been hundreds of people in the throne room, you just lacked a visual on them. Maybe thousands, the Imperial Palace was certainly big enough.

As the proceedings about treaties with the Sun Emperor to the east, you began to think on your council a little. Liu and Zhangnu were the only non-eunuchs allowed into the Imperial Palace’s deepest chambers. Although they could not go into the concubine room, they were allowed into your quarters should there be a reason to. Yi and Chen, were allowed anywhere in the palace regardless if there was a reason. Given Chen was more than just your steward, but also the one managing your concubines, he of course was allowed into the Concubine quarters to do his assessments. Yaomei and Haojie could not go past the governing spaces of the Palace. They had their designated workstations to manage the military, and in the case of Yaomei, manage spirituality and magics.

At some point, the proceedings of the court did catch your interest. The topics of your heirs and concubines were brought up. Apparently, promising women from all over the Empire, and some beyond, were lining up to be concubine hearing that a new “functioning” Emperor was now instated. As for a wife, the great families that were present in the court talked about the most promising candidates.

“Do not look so hopeful, little boy.” Yi whispered into your ear so that no one would hear. “We’ve yet to prove your potency or your virility. Given your Emperor Dai’s son, I wouldn’t be so hopeful if I was you.”

Your father Emperor Dai was hardly a man at all. He almost singlehandedly shattered the Celestial Empire due to his impotency. If not for Regent Empress Yi, and her overcoming the challenges that met her on the throne, the Celestial Empire might not be as peaceful as it was right now. Thanks to her, you might just get to live a life of breeding women with no consequence. But was the peace an illusion?

The topic of your Concubines and Wives was interrupted by a more pressing matter. A bold member of one of the great houses brought up something about a storm brewing in the west. What was this storm everyone kept talking about though? A natural disaster? A rebellion? Or some foreign invasion?