"The Longevity Festival is almost here, isn't it? I have nothing of value to offer, so I can only try to perform for Your Majesty."
Jiang Xian said.
The Emperor was slightly startled. Concubines most often cried to him about cold, lonely nights and a lack of favor. Or they had been wronged by others and begged him to seek justice for them.
This was the first time one had cried to him about being poor.
After all, most of the concubines whose names he chose for the night, the ones who had the chance to speak with him, did not come from poor families.
"The provisions from the Imperial Household are always complete, and the food and clothing are even more refined than what I had at home. I shouldn't be wanting for anything," Jiang Xian said, lowering her head slightly and doubling down on her plea of poverty. "But there are far more expenses in the palace than this concubine ever imagined."
The Emperor considered this and agreed. "No matter. I came here today precisely to give you rewards. My beloved concubine is short on funds, and I cannot have you be so constrained as to be unable to reward your own attendants. There is gold among your rewards; take it to the Imperial Household and have it made into gold melon seeds."
Beside them, Liang Yuyin lowered his head even further.
'The Emperor's rewards were typically valued for their rarity. Gold and silver were considered too common, and it wasn't as if the concubines were short on them. That long gift list was just a pile of beautiful but impractical items... Still, it's nothing but a word from the Emperor. I'll just add the gold to the list later.'
Unaware of this, Jiang Xian looked up in surprise.
Gold!
It wasn't that Jiang Xian had never seen a boss so generous with bonuses, but they were rare. Her eyes instantly lit up, filled with the joy of a great talent finally being recognized by a true connoisseur. She was about to sing the Emperor's praises when Daji's voice in her head cut her off: 'Keep playing weak. Emperors always fall for it.'
Taking the expert's advice, Jiang Xian recalled a time when her boss had skipped town with the money right before payday. Her eyes immediately reddened and filled with a misty layer of tears. "In this palace, I don't know what I would do without Your Majesty."
'This company would collapse without the boss.'
'And it would be even worse without the boss's money.'
Jiang Xian's words were completely sincere, and the Emperor could hear it. He pursed his lips. "I, too, hold Shu Changzai in high regard."
The Emperor had revealed his feelings.
'In romantic relationships, what women often want is the right attitude. That's why you see so many cases of "romantic charity"—"He might not have a job, a degree, or a rich family, but he says he loves me, and he's good to me!" Attitude, by its very nature, is something vague and ethereal.'
'Besides, they'd only slept together twice. Where was all this "high regard" coming from?'
'Rewards and promotions were the only tangible benefits.'
'An employee can use "attitude" to suck up to their boss.'
'And a boss can use those same sweet words to make empty promises to their employees.'
'So, any praise that didn't come with a promotion or a raise was just an empty promise. Jiang Xian was deeply moved, and then she rejected it.'
Seeing the Beauty's somewhat lukewarm response, the Emperor felt a flicker of surprise.
'From my perspective, gold, silver, and jewels are all external things. And Mrs. Jiang is madly in love with me. She should have been particularly receptive to such a sweet sentiment. Why aren't things going the way I imagined?'
The usually generous boss was starting to make empty promises, and Jiang Xian felt a surge of annoyance. She pressed closer into his arms, too lazy to speak.
Holding the warm, fragrant, supple woman in his arms, the Emperor began to ponder.
'First, let's eliminate the possibility that Shu Changzai doesn't love me at all.'
'That's impossible.'
A lightbulb went off in his head. The Emperor understood.
'My dear concubine is feeling insecure.'
'Even the poorest County Magistrate heads an official family, and Mrs. Jiang is a legitimate daughter from one. Her skin is so soft and delicate that the slightest pressure leaves a red mark—she's clearly never known hardship. To suffer so much for my sake, and now to lament that she has no worldly possessions, no precious gifts for my birthday... it's obvious. She feels inferior.'
'Her not daring to look up at me is ironclad proof.'
Convinced he had figured it all out, the Emperor took her ice-cold fingers and carefully warmed them in his palms. "You want to learn to dance, and I will help you. But you can't just find any strong, clumsy old woman to assist you. What if you get hurt? The loss would far outweigh the gain. I will find a female instructor from the Inner Music Bureau to teach you personally."
He gave the order for everything to be done in secret.
It was never a respectable thing to be known for only "serving with one's beauty." If word got out, Jiang Xian would surely be mocked by the other concubines. If the news leaked in the morning, by evening the Noble Consort could summon Jiang Xian and order her around like a common Dancing Girl. She'd then leave a one-star review known throughout the Six Palaces and buy sponsored hit pieces to trend on the palace attendants' hot search: "She tried to serve with her looks and couldn't even do that right. Go back to Meize County and be a farmer!"
"As you command."
After Liang Yuyin acknowledged the order, the Emperor continued, "I know your rank is low and that life in the palace isn't easy. Promoting you again so soon would be against protocol and draw too much attention. I fear it would do you more harm than good. Wait until my Longevity Festival or the end of the year. I will see the dance you perform for me then and reward you accordingly. Practice well. As it happens, there are some rare satins on your list of gifts. You can use them to make a costume."
Learning to dance wasn't something that happened overnight, so the Emperor didn't have high expectations.
Liang Yuyin's eyelids twitched.
'The Emperor is just finding an excuse to promote Shu Changzai. The scene he witnessed in the front hall must have been so tragic it moved him.'
'Having served in the imperial court for so long, he had gotten quite good at divining the Emperor's tastes. The Emperor was a complete sucker for a good self-torment ploy.'
'The more one was willing to put on the line, the more likely one was to win his favor.'
'But his standards were high, too.'
'Don't be fooled by the Emperor's casual tone, telling her just to dance however she pleased. In reality, he had a very strict internal benchmark. If Shu Changzai truly presented a mediocre performance, the Emperor would likely still reward her as promised, but his affection for her would diminish.'
'The Emperor... what a difficult man to please.'
'Even for the woman sharing his bed, a single moment of carelessness could cost her points.'
'I wonder if Shu Changzai can see through this.'
'Then again, what if she did?'
'To go from a complete beginner to performing a dance that could stun the Emperor in such a short time... how much hardship would that entail?'
"Please wait and see, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint you."
At his words, Jiang Xian, still nestled in the Emperor's embrace, tilted her face up, her smile as radiant as a blooming flower.
'As an employee, she had submitted a project proposal for "Dance Training."'
'The boss had approved her proposal, allocated a budget, hired a professional consultant for guidance, and even promised a project bonus and a promotion track. The future was clearly bright!'
'The deadline for project review was just a little tight.'
'But that didn't matter. The women of the harem had nothing but time, and she had plenty of it. Besides, she wasn't afraid of hard work!'
The thought of having something to do again—something with a clear objective—made the worker bee in Jiang Xian feel completely at ease.
Jiang Xian was a natural beauty, and as she smiled with her face tilted up, she looked even more radiant. The sight smiled its way right into the Emperor's heart.
Every day, he faced his civil and military officials. He could see clearly who was working with dedication and who was merely going through the motions.
'Shu Changzai truly wanted to give me a surprise.'
'She loves me so much.'