Mulan was standing in the center of the room. Those with her were the same men from the night before Qin Shao and Zhang xian she already knew, the maids talked about the prime minister and the great general so she had some notion of their identities, as for the third man, Mulan would know who it was even if not be told.
Only a man in that world to which she was taken could wear a dragon's cloak and sit above the prime minister and the great general of the land. The man she unknowingly kicked out of bed the night he arrived.
THE EMPEROR
Mulan didn't know how to act or what to do. Hong was gone and she felt like a rabbit thrown into the tiger's lair alone. She was scared.
- Your Majesty! – A eunuch entered and looked askance at the four people in the room – The empress requests an audience.
- The empress? – Qin Shi frowned – What does she want?
- Your Highness the Empress, you fear that etiquette has been broken and that the protocol for women entering the palace is not being followed - As the eunuch spoke his voice disappeared under the emperor's sharp gaze.
- Tell the empress not to worry, I won't blame her - The emperor said - If she has any more business to attend to, the prime minister will be happy to serve her.
Qin Shao looked at Qin Shi, what he hated most was dealing with the women of the harem. Now he was the one being thrown into the tiger's lair. When the eunuch left to report, Qin Shao immediately protested.
- Why? – Shao looked at the emperor like a wife hurt by her husband.
- I noticed that you have been very unoccupied – The emperor smiled – Mulan, right? Zhang xian give her a chair. I'm not impolite enough to let a woman stand up just to talk.
As soon as Shao left to deal with the empress issue and Mulan sat on the stool Zhang xian had arranged, the interrogation began.
And it can be called interrogation, because sitting on top of the emperor looked seriously at Mulan who was feeling intimidated below. Now she understood the so-called "Emperor's Courtesy" was just a way of intimidating her without properly saying it was intimidation. Shao left to make sure no one else got in the way, while Zhang xian stayed behind to ensure his monarch's safety.
- Let's start at the beginning, okay? – The emperor spoke stripped and smiling, like a tiger playing with its prey before eating it completely – I recommend that you don't lie