The Summon

[Yang Meihui]

Meihui entered her chambers tiredly, letting the weariness she had spent the past few hours hiding slump her shoulders ungracefully. Her ruan was placed gently in a corner, to be re-tuned at a later time by one of her servants. She had spent much of the past hour playing to the compliments of the court, a plastic smile pasted upon her pretty face.

She called for a servant girl, only unwinding marginally as the girl let down her braids and slowly brushed her hair. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, tilting her neck back ever so slightly. She loosened her tunic slightly, enough to be comfortable without being indecent. A hint of a smile crossed Meihui's face when another servant girl picked up an ornate fan and began to waft cool air toward her face, her servants truly knew her too well.

If it had been another night she might have relented to the pampering, allowed herself to be prepared for bed and have retired. The day had been anything but relaxing, caught between one political gambit and the next. The court was bordering on chaos with no one on the throne, and it was all she could do to keep things running from day to day. She frowned as she caught the beginnings of a tension headache forming.

There was one growing concern bothering her more than the state of the court at the moment, however--the mystery of a man, her uncle-in-law Sze Liuchao. He seemed inconsistent, not blatantly so, but enough to arouse her intuition. Meihui did not trust the man. For lack of a better word, sometimes he just looked so hungry. For what she wasn't quite sure, but she felt like it could bode no good.

Making up her mind she signaled to yet another of her servants, "Go and fetch the one by the name of Yu Fai. I desire an audience with him, tell one of the eunuchs to stay at the door."

As the servant hurried off she turned to the girl working on her hair, "A simple braid will do for now."

[Yu Fai]

Fai was resting against the palace's wall with his chin down against his right collar bone. His eyes were closed in concentration, noticing there were fewer spasms when he barely moved. There was a chill outside that brushed the heat from his forehead and his hat hung slightly over his eyes. He was trying hard to get rid of the horrific images of a passing death that would soon be his. Everything around him seemed to grow dark until a faint echo aroused him. His left hand snapped up to throw the hat from his head. To the right of him was one of the guards, dark eyes staring down at him.

"Her Majesty has summoned you," the guard said. Fai leaned up from the wall and tilted his head to the left, seeing one of Meihui's servants walk off towards the Empress' court.

"Thank you," replied Fai as he walked off in the same direction. It was a rare occasion to be summoned by the Empress and it started to a slight commotion within his head. At first he stuck close to the walls, trailing his fingers along the stone before he turned in. Lately, there had been an increase of guards and eunuchs. He wondered if there was an absent person aside from Kamying. It took him awhile to get the summon and even longer to make it across the palace's grounds.

Overall, it probably took him about a hour to make it to Meihui's doorway. When he got there he slowly leaned forward, startled when the door opened for him. He peered in, noticing the room was lit by little candle light. Behind him was a young servant girl, ushering him in.

[Yang Meihui]

Meihui sat in the middle of the room, seemingly ringed by the candlelight. It was an intentional configuration, the flames dancing highlights over her silky hair and accentuating her features. She looked up as Fai was ushered into the room and gave him a small smile.

Guesturing to a floor pillow she spoke, "Please, be seated Yu Fai."

She sent a servant girl for tea, carefully studying the man before her. Her frown was hidden as she noted the minute clues that the man was falling victim of the same illness as her husband. This she added to her growing lists of why something was wrong in the Empire.

This is too much to be a coincidence.

She carefully kept a pleasant mask about her, not wanting Yu Fai to catch on to the precise nature of her thoughts. As the servant girl returned with tea, she decided she had already put things off long enough.

Taking a sip from her cup she watched Fai for a reaction, "I have heard that you volunteered to act as guard for my esteemed Uncle-in-law."

[Yu Fai]

Taking slow strides into the room, he seated himself to the appointed floor pillow. He would have gone into a bow but instead he nodded his head in thanks. Fai never really got the chance to speak face-to-face with Meihui. On special occasions he would sit off to the side of the imperial rulers but nothing more. He also knew it was improper to even witness the Empress' face but Meihui had insisted. In the mean time his eyes lifted to gaze at the other's face.

It was true. What everyone had said about Empress Meihui. She had that aura that everyone wanted to be by but there was also something fierce behind the woman's eyes. Like she knew more than what she expressed.

Fai's reaction was a simple smile. "It is an honor to do so, Empress Meihui." Though when he looked at Meihui he was reminded of Kamying and a sinking feeling ensued. Because of Meihui's status, he was not allowed to speak unless spoken to. So, he simply watched her graceful gestures - wondering if this was the last time he would see them for a while longer.

[Yang Meihui]

Meihui decided to take this carefully, taking the time to gauge from Fai's reaction whether or not he had firm loyalties to Liuchao. If, in fact, he did, she could not trust him as a pawn. She set her tea cup down and answered him with a smile.

"It is always an honor to serve those close to the throne," she replied neutrally. "The whole court is abuzz with the news, it's not often one of your caliber, or indeed any at all, put themselves forward with such . . . ," she paused slightly to pick her word carefully, "zeal."

She smiled at him kindly before baiting her hook to see if he would bite, "I wonder, do you feel my Uncle-in-law is in some sort of danger?" She paused, debating going further before deciding this would do for now.

After all, this interrogation had only just begun. If she was too forward she would show her hand far too early. The man before her was no idiot, if other court rumors she had heard bore any truth.