A week had gone by since Qian Lan was chosen as the sacrifice. To make matters worse she had to stay within the palace for a month. As much as the king favored Qian Lan, she always turned him away and ignored his advances. Qian Lan would spend her days away sitting in her residence that was given to her by the king. Not to mention everyone except the king hated her. She was always fed left overs and molded food and her clothing were far from what the court women would wear. The only time she was ever taken care of was when the king was going to stop by.
"Sigh…. I'm so bored and hungry. How am I supposed to survive another three weeks living like this?"
The crown princess hated Qian Lan's guts more than anyone. There was not a single day where she never stopped by to taunt and bully Qian Lan. Just as Qian Lan was about to head out, the crown princess came stumping in.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Seeing as your so-called maids never brought me my dinner, I'm heading off to the kitchen."
"Hold it, how dare you ignore and not greet me? Have you forgotten who I am?"
"Ya Ya Ya, you say the same thing every day. Don't you ever get tired of it? You know I ignored you for the first week because I didn't want to start trouble but seeing as you're going to continue to torment me, then I won't hold back."
"Hah, what can you even do? I'm the prime minister's daughter and the crown princess!"
Qian Lan was done holding herself back. After ignoring and being mistreated for a week she knew she couldn't allow it to keep happening. Not to mention she was starving and easily annoyed right now.
"Don't forget you were also the favored concubine of the deceased king prior. I wouldn't act so proud if I was you."
"You!"
"What? I'm not saying anything wrong, am I? The king already told me he only pitied you and really has no plan to make you his queen. Are you jealous he's paying so much attention to me? I'm nothing of that sort with the king so you can stop harassing me every day."
The crown princess turns red from embarrassment and moves in closer to Qian Lan. Just as she was about to slap Qian Lan, a soft and low voice halted her.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Ah…my…my king. I'm just teaching her a lesson. She disrespected me and threatened me!"
"You're not the queen, how I handle my affairs inside the palace is none of your concern. Don't forget our deal is only temporary."
"Ho…how can you treat me so cruel but treat a commoner like her so kind?!"
"Yani, stop it! You know I hold nothing for you so why do you continue to torment the women I bring into the palace?!"
"My king, have you forgotten how we grew up together? You promised to make me your queen someday. Do you remember that?"
"That was when we were children. Times have changed and so has my feelings back then. The day you married my father, any emotions I had for you died. Taking you in as my crown princess has soiled my name enough. When I find someone worthy of being my queen, I'll set you free."
"Cruel…. you're so cruel!"
The crown princess runs off crying with her maids as Qian Lan remained silent. Just like a drama that unfolded in front of her, Qian Lan had no idea these dramas happened in real life as well. Once the king could no longer hear the sound of the crown princess footsteps anymore, he looms in closer to the quiet Qian Lan.
"Qian Lan, I've been busy with things and haven't visited you lately. Does this happen every day?"
"Er…well. Thanks to you I don't think she's coming back, but since you're here can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"What happened to all the girls that were with me in the temple? I've been wanting to know where Yuhan is."
"Yuhan? Ah, the girl who stayed with you at Xia Long's home. Well, we sent everyone home with some money."
"Really? Are you telling me the truth?"
"Qian Lan, I'm the king of this kingdom and a son of the heavens. I wouldn't lie about something like this."
"I see…..at least she went home."
Qian Lan turns to leave and was going to head back into her sleeping quarters when the king grabs hold of her left wrist.
"Qian Lan, what's bothering you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're not acting like yourself."
"I'm fine, your majesty. I will not be able to keep you company tonight so if you'll excuse me. I'm sure you have plenty of other women to accompany you."
"Wait, Qian Lan!"
Without looking back once, Qian Lan walks back into her bedroom. Taking a deep breath, she removes the outer layer of her hanfu and tosses it onto the ground before climbing into her bed.
"Growls."
"Ugh, I'm so hungry. I knew I should've gone to the kitchen and stole some food."
Qian Lan forces herself to sleep to forget her hunger. After a long night, Qian Lan finally forces herself up after hearing birds chirping outside her room and the footsteps of numerous people walking outside her palace.
"What is going on?"
Qian Lan throws her hanfu back on and slowly props her doors open. To her surprise there were maids lined up with gifts and food.
"Wha…what's the meaning of this?"
An older looking maid walks out and introduces herself as the head maid. She had to be in her forties as she had some fine wrinkles and strands of gray hair showing on the side of her head. Dressed in a plain hanfu, she was a maid yet dignified and loved what she did for a living.
"Good morning, lady Qian Lan. I am the head maid. You may call me Sue. We were ordered by the king to tend to your needs from now on."
"La…lady?!"
Qian Lan had no idea why everyone was now calling her a lady. Not to mention the six maids that were present were different from the ones that had tended to her for the first week.
"I…I see. You may all come and put the gifts away."
"Yes, my lady."
The head maid instructs all the maids to clean up the palace and help Qian Lan get ready for the day. Just as the maids were about help dress Qian Lan, they hear her stomach growling endlessly.
"Growlssssssss."
"Ha... Ha Opps! Guess I should eat something first."
"My lady, did you not eat dinner?"
"No…no one brought me any."
Sue was shocked and could barely believe someone had the guts to starve a favored woman of the king.
"Don't worry, from now on we will make sure you're taken care of."
"I...is that so."
The maids all quickly unbundled the fruits and snacks they brought with them; Qian Lan quickly sits down on a table and munched on them as she waited. Meanwhile, Sue orders a maid to head into the royal kitchen and bring Qian Lan her meal. Qian Lan watched as everyone worked diligently to clean and refurnish her room. Unable to resist her desire to ask Sue questions, Qian Lan decided it wouldn't hurt to talk with Sue.
"Sue, can you dismiss everyone? I have something to talk to you about."
"Very well, my lady. You all heard her. Leave us."
Once all the maids were gone, Sue walks towards Qian Lan and stands in front of her.
"What do you want to know, my lady?"
"Sue, why is the king doing this for me? You know, don't you? I'm only here temporarily anyways."
"I am aware. The king did inform me of what to expect in three weeks. He wants to make sure you're relaxed and enjoying yourself as time is limited."
"Hah…. I see…he's definitely more soft-hearted than me."
"Soft-hearted? I've never heard anyone use the word to describe the king. Do you not know how he came to be our king?"
"I do, more or less. He killed his father, didn't he?"
"Not only that, but he's a war hero to us. Although he wasn't first in line, the people loved and supported him."
"So…. what happened to all his brothers?"
"This is the royal family. It's not uncommon for brothers to plot and kill each other."
"Yikes, just like in the dramas."
"Drama? What's that my lady?"
"Uh…it's nothing! That's all I wanted to ask you. I'll leave everyone to do their thing then."
Qian Lan quickly goes back and munches on fruit as the head maid leaves to notified the other maids to come back in and finish their given tasks.
After twenty minutes, the maid finally retuned from the kitchen with a tray of food for Qian Lan. As Qian Lan happily ate, an unexpected visitor came knocking at her door. The head maid quickly motions for everyone to leave as to give the two time alone. Qian Lan glances up and could see the king standing at the door entrance.
"What brings you here, your majesty?"
"I can't visit you?"
"I just saw you last night. Unless you have something else to tell me."
The king smiles and pulls out another chair. Seating himself across from Qian Lan he watches as she stuffed her face with food.
"For someone so thin, you sure eat a lot."
"You think so? I think it's normal."
"Do you like the palace food?"
"Well, I think I cook better but the food isn't bad. I rather like these picked green and pork. If only you guys had ramen."
"Ramen? What's that?"
"Hmmmm…. like noodles. Usually noodles made from flour."
"I've never heard of such a thing, but maybe you can cook it for me sometimes."
"Sure! I'll make you the best version of it!"
Qian Lan finally gulps down her tea and burps in satisfaction. After starving all night, Qian Lan was now feeling refreshed and energetic. As she quickly piled up the dishes, she remembered something from last night's incident.
"Hey, I just noticed something. You're a king but.... don't you have a name?"
"Ha Ha, Qian Lan don't you know it's rude to ask me that?"
"What? How is that rude? You wanted me to stop calling you your majesty and king so using your name is my best option."
"You can call me Ah Meng. It's what my mother used to call me."
"Ah Meng?"