The Emperor's deep voice snapped Feng Yao out of her thoughts.

"I remember hearing a strange tale being passed around during that time. A story about a pair of two birds. A female bird and her mate.

The female bird was truly one of a kind. With beautifully vibrant feathers and a chillingly haunting cry, her exotic nature attracted hunters from all over the continent. But her mate was the complete opposite. He was ordinary. Plain. Just like one of the many other birds in the sky."

Feng Yao lazily laid back onto the grass as she listened. The Emperor turned to look at her and chuckled with a warm gaze. With a small shift in position, he laid himself down next to her on the grass. The sun filtering through the trees gently played across their faces.

"One day, a hunter succeeded in separating them and capturing the female mate. She was placed into a cage like a trophy. Every night, she would cry out into the darkened sky in hopes that her mate would find her. And one fateful day, he finally did."

His Majesty gave a sigh and stared at the sky.

"Her mate followed her cries for countless weeks until he finally stumbled upon her locked up in that small cage. Using his beak, he broke open the lock that held the door shut. 

She flew out, ecstatic at seeing her lover. But the moment she came near him, he flew towards her and pierced her heart with his own sharpened beak. Within seconds, her life and love for him had bled out of her small body as she fell lifeless to the floor."

Feng Yao looked at the Emperor, but her eyes showed neither surprise nor shock.

In a quiet voice, she casually commented. "People say that a caged bird often dies due to isolation and loneliness. But people forget to realize that sometimes the cage is protecting the bird from the outside."

A small smile came to her lips as she continued. "Because the people that you can trust the least are often those closest to you."

The Emperor paused before bursting out into laughter. His eyes were twinkling as he gazed fondly at her.

"You're the first person to have ever said that. Perhaps you're the only person to have ever said the same thing Zhen did when Zhen first heard the story too."

She continued smiling, but her eyes were hard to read. Flickering shadows from an overhead tree made it look as though her expression was ever-changing.

"Your Majesty. Forgive my rudeness for interrupting, but there is still a large stack of documents needed to be read and signed in the imperial study." The voice of an eunuch suddenly broke the moment.

Feng Yao glanced over at the Emperor who was lying next to her in the grass. His face had turned gloomy from the eunuch's words as if the mere thought of having to shuffle through so many documents made his brain ache. He finally let out a sigh.

Turning towards Feng Yao whose face was only inches away from his, he whispered, "Zhen has to leave. But please take care to not catch a cold out here. Although it may seem warm, the night often brings a chilly wind."

Her lips tilted upwards into a smile as the wind softly blew her hair. He looked like he wanted to reach out towards the stray strands falling across her face, but he refrained from touching her at the last second. His eyes met her clear gaze once more before he stood up and left.

Before she knew it, he had already disappeared. Feng Yao let out a deep sigh as she rested her head back onto the fluffy grass. 

Sigh...Perhaps I'll just sleep out here tonight...  

Eventually, a whole week went by. Feng Yao and the Emperor soon developed a strange sort of friendship. 

Everyday, Feng Yao would head out into town looking for information about Mu Yun. And every night, the Emperor would await her return to play another game of Go. Their talks often left any listening servants with a hurting head.

Today, she was currently sitting at an outside pavilion by herself with her legs neatly crossed. In her hand was a steaming teacup.

"She dares to take advantage of His Majesty's grace? How long is she expecting to stay?"

"That peasant girl barely classifies as a guest. I don't know why His Majesty hasn't kicked her out yet. All she does is waste our resources!"

"Shhh! Shut up! Don't you know that His Majesty lets her stay because he doesn't mind? If our Emperor wishes for her to stay, then we'll say nothing."

Behind her back, Feng Yao could feel the condescending stares and hear the hushed whispers of the servants. Feng Yao pretended not to understand as she continued to sip her cup of tea. 

Sigh...I'm getting all the blame, yet it's completely His Majesty's fault that I'm still forced to be here.

The sweetly scented steam rising off of the liquid in her hand gently played across her unreadable face.

"Have you heard about the new concubine that recently entered the inner courtyard?"

"Who would've thought that the Emperor would have agreed on actually bringing in another woman!"

Feng Yao paused as traces of their conversation trickled over towards her. 

"Isn't this the first concubine that our Emperor has actually chosen? All of the others in his courtyard were from the previous Emperor, correct?"

"That's what I heard too! Apparently, the beautiful daughter of General Zhao was chosen out of hundreds of other willing women. Can you imagine how ecstatic the Zhao family must be feeling right now about having gotten the Emperor's favor?"

"I do wonder why she was picked though...aren't there many other families with equally as beautiful women that also have a better family heritage?"

Feng Yao took another sip as she leaned back comfortably against the marble post. The cool touch against her back felt good against the warm humid air.

"Well...there's a rumor about why she was picked..."

Oh? What's this? Juicy gossip?

Feng Yao's ears perked up as the servant ladies continued to talk among themselves.

"The Emperor didn't state why he chose her. But once servants began seeing her after she was brought in, they began to speculate something."

"Well? What is it? Spit it out! Don't keep us in suspense!"

"All right, all right! You'll understand once you see her face...but she looks a lot like someone. So close in appearance that they could almost be sisters."

"Who is it? Who are you talking about?"

Suddenly, there was silence. Feng Yao's curiosity was piqued. Why had they stopped gossiping?

She slightly glanced up only to see that all three of them were staring straight at her. When they noticed that Feng Yao had looked up, they quickly bowed and hurried away.

They were looking at me....I don't have a good feeling about this...

Feng Yao sighed, but proceeded to try and ignore her suspicions as she slowly finished her cup of tea. When she finally got bored, she decided to stand up and stretch. A yawn escaped her mouth as she extended her legs and arms. 

"You there! How dare you not greet His Majesty's concubine! Don't you realize that it is against etiquette to not bow to someone above you!?"

A shrill voice suddenly rang out. Feng Yao quizzically turned her head only to see a group of young woman standing at the side of the walkway next to the pavilion. 

In the middle stood a proud young woman dressed in striking colors of yellow and red. Her elegant face had been beautifully painted in makeup making her look like a goddess. Her hair had also been put up into an elaborate twist decorated with countless pins and dangling jewels. 

The maid standing at the edge glared at Feng Yao as she continued to scold her. "Do you not know who my Young Lady is!? She is the beautiful daughter of the Zhao family, and was personally selected by His Majesty to enter the imperial harem. You still insist on not bowing!?"

Feng Yao blinked at the maid before glancing at the woman in the center who was staring back coldly.

Hmm...this woman looks oddly familiar...

"Preposterous! You dare make eye contact with my Young Lady? Who do you think you are!?"

Feng Yao lowered her head into a bow as she answered the maid.  

"My deepest apologies. I was just too taken aback by the amount of beauty I saw and could not refrain from taking another look." Her voice seemed much more subdued than usual and held a certain element of elegance despite her straightforward words.

Feng Yao's sudden noble demeanor that perfectly followed each rule of etiquette contrasted against her plain appearance. The maid looked slightly taken aback.

"Y-you...who are you?"

At that moment, the beautiful concubine finally spoke up. Her voice was warm and quiet as if she hadn't just been coldly staring at Feng Yao earlier.

"Young Miss, I apologize on behalf of my maid for her lack of respect towards another noble woman. We had mistakenly thought that you were simply a disobedient maid. Please, will you grace us with the chance of knowing your identity?"

Feng Yao paused before a small unreadable smile came to her lips. She didn't care that this Concubine Zhao had just insulted her. She was more interested in the sound of her voice.

It makes sense now. About why she was the only one chosen by the Emperor out of hundreds of others.

Feng Yao didn't answer their question and instead bowed slightly lower. "Replying to Concubine Zhao, I am but a simple peasant girl that the Emperor has allowed to stay as a guest."

She finally looked up at them and smiled. The wind lightly blew at that moment making the remaining cherry petals on the trees fall around her like a gentle painting. 

"I am called Feng Yao."

Suddenly, the concubine's face twisted up. Her gaze that stared at Feng Yao narrowed as a multitude of emotions fluttered through them. Even her maids were now looking at Feng Yao as if she was their worst enemy.

"You...are Feng Yao?"

Feng Yao calmly nodded once before replying. "I am."

The young woman continued to coldly study her. Feng Yao didn't seem to be concerned at all even though there were five death glares aiming at her. In fact, she seemed perfectly at ease with a peaceful expression as she returned their vicious glares with a smile.

After a moment, Concubine Zhao finally choked out a reply through her gritted teeth. "I see..." 

Immediately afterwards, she turned her head away and walked away. The four servant girls hurried to catch up to her.

Silently, Feng Yao watched as she left. Her eyes seemed incredibly clear in the light as she followed Concubine Zhao's disappearing figure.

The Emperor sure has good tastes. To choose a concubine that resembles me in looks, body figure, and even voice must've been a hard task. 

She blew out a small sigh as she turned to walk out of the pavilion and back towards her residence.

Another storm is coming. I'd better prepare.

Feng Yao suddenly remembered about a hidden grove she had noticed the other day as she was returning from outside the palace. It was the perfect place for planting flowers. 

Perhaps a bed of crimson roses would do just nicely.  

Her eyes were twinkling as she turned around and called out towards a little servant girl who had been shrinking back into the shadows. The little maid had succeeded in evading everyone's notice except for Feng Yao.

"Will you fetch me some seeds of red roses?"

"Ah?" The girl jumped. Timidly, she replied, "B-but Young Miss, isn't it a bit late in the season to be planting flowers? The leaves will soon be falling off of the trees..."

Feng Yao laughed and waved her hands. "No, that doesn't matter. These flowers are veeery important to me. I'll meet you at the empty grove that is along the path that the servants use. Please hurry along~"

The servant girl rushed away to get the seeds that Feng Yao asked for. Meanwhile, Feng Yao had begun to walk in the opposite direction. 

The little meadow was almost too-well hidden. Feng Yao ended up walking past it before realizing she had to back-track. 

Yep, I knew it! This is a perfect place to plant my crimson flowers. 

When the maid finally found her, the sun had already gone down. The little girl was covered in sweat as she panted.

"Young...Miss...I couldn't find you...My apologies..."

Feng Yao hadn't even noticed that the girl had been late. In an excited voice, she invited the servant girl over to where she was sitting in the dirt.

"It's okay! Come here! We're going to plant some flowers!"

"Ehhh?" But the servant girl had no time to question her before she had already been pulled down by Feng Yao. 

Together, the two of them sat in the dirt and methodically planted seeds in the holes that Feng Yao had previously dug. By the time that they were done, the sun had almost completely disappeared.

The servant girl looked up at Feng Yao and suddenly burst out into giggles.

"Hmm? What is it?" Feng Yao asked in confusion.

The servant continued to giggle. "Nothing. It's just that the Young Miss has dirt all over her face."

Feng Yao reached upwards to wipe at the patches of dirt on her face, but only succeeded in smearing it more. The servant girl giggled again making Feng Yao also laugh. 

Suddenly, the girl's eyes opened wide as she jumped up.

"Y-y-your Majesty!"

Feng Yao turned around to look at the direction that the girl was facing. Sure enough, the Emperor was standing there along with a group of heavily-panting servants and eunuchs. 

The Emperor's chest was also slightly heaving, and his cheeks were tinged with pink as if he'd been sprinting.

"Your Majes--?" But Feng Yao didn't have time to finish her words before the Emperor had suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her and embraced her tightly. All the servants went wide-eyed at the Emperor's actions while Feng Yao's mouth was slightly open in shock.

"Zhen thought that you had disappeared. Zhen couldn't find you anywhere in the palace." 

His voice was quiet as if he was trying to reign in his emotions. Feng Yao could feel his large breaths against her chest as his grip tightened around her.

She was too stunned to say anything making the Emperor incorrectly guess that she was upset. "Are you angry at Zhen? Is it about the new concubine Zhen was forced to take in?"

He continued to blurt out sentences in fear that she would refuse to listen. 

"Zhen is sorry. The court of officials were upset at Zhen for having neither an Empress nor a heir. The addition of another concubine to the inner palace was the compromise Zhen had to agree to in order to have more time to decide."

Feng Yao stopped his rambling by lightly patting him on the back as if comforting a child. With a bit of laughter, she said, "It's okay, I'm not angry. I only came here to plant some flowers."

He suddenly moved backwards so that he could look at her. His eyes were bright as he said, "You enjoy flowers? Zhen could have a whole garden planted in front of your residence if you wanted. All you have to do is tell Zhen."

Feng Yao smiled at him. In the last few rays of sunlight, her face seemed to glow beautifully making his breath catch in his throat.

"Your Majesty, would it be rude for this lowly girl to ask you something?"

He smiled warmly. "You alone are free to ask anything. Zhen will not hide anything from you. Unlike the tale of two birds, Zhen will not betray you."

Feng Yao paused at his words. But he didn't seem to notice her hesitation.

"Then," she cautiously began. "Would you tell me why you chose Miss Zhao to enter the imperial harem? Would it happen to have anything to do with me?"

He studied her eyes for any displeasure but sensing none, he let out a chuckle. His arms reached out for her and pulled her back into his embrace.

"At the time I had to choose from the women in front of me, she had seemed to resemble you the most. I thought that you'd enjoy having a new source of entertainment."

Feng Yao fell into silence as she pondered over what he meant. He had chosen the Zhao family's daughter simply because she resembled her? Did he even realize what he was implying?

A moment of silence passed as he held her in his arms. Suddenly, the Emperor broke the silence.

"...Feng Yao."

"Mhm?"

"Would you ever want to be Zhen's Empress?"

Feng Yao froze at his words. All around them, the servants quickly looked away and pretended not to hear what he had just asked.

She was still in his arms so she was unable to see his facial features to know what he was thinking. Perhaps he had even hugged her on purpose so that she wouldn't be able to read his eyes.

Eventually, Feng Yao let out a strained laugh. "Your Majesty, please don't tease me. I almost thought you were being serious."

There was silence before he finally answered in a low voice. 

"Zhen almost was."