The Last Concubine Read Online Free PDF Page B

Lan’xiu asked.
    “They must if we do not care to wear our tea rather than drink it,” Mei Ju said firmly.
    Lan’xiu smiled as she watched the children fall upon the tray like ravening vultures and then tear out of the room clutching their cakes. When the sound of the childish voices faded, her smile did as well. “They are all so beautiful. Are they all yours?”
    “I have six still living,” Mei Ju said with understandable pride. “My eldest son trains to be a soldier and diplomat, like his father. All my sons stand in line to carry on Governor Qiang’s noble heritage and serve the emperor as he does.”
    “You have indeed been blessed,” Lan’xiu said.
    Mei Ju looked at the beautiful face. This girl was intelligent, that was clear. In fact, being a gambling woman, Mei Ju was almost ready to back her against the machinations of Second Wife Ci’an already, without even knowing how this girl might think. With all her intelligence, an innate sweetness radiated from Lan’xiu. Despite her apparent misery at being consigned to the lowly position of seventh concubine of a man with whom she had never yet exchanged a word, Lan’xiu seemed genuinely happy that she, Mei Ju, first wife, had supplied their lord and master with four fine, healthy sons and two beautiful daughters.
    Lady Mei Ju was also willing to wager that when Lan’xiu bore her own sons, she would accept their position as lesser sons and would not lift one of her slender fingers to advance them within the household, although she had no doubt that Lan’xiu could do so if she chose.
    Only the fact that Second Wife Ci’an had borne just one daughter, and a sickly one at that, had enabled Mei Ju to allow her children out of her sight for even a minute. If Ci’an had managed to produce a boy, all bets would have been off.
    She poured a cup of tea and offered it to Lan’xiu. “Jasmine. I hope you like it.”
    Lan’xiu reached for it, sniffing delicately. “The fragrance is lovely. Like a flower.”
    Mei Ju looked down at her own plump, but shapely hands. Lan’xiu’s hands were a bit large for so delicate a girl, and she displayed unfortunate calluses at the base of her right thumb and fingers. Another of her flaws, and Mei Ju reproached herself for being glad to see it. “Do you like needlework?”
    Lan’xiu immediately set down her cup and slid her hands within her sleeves. “Alas, I have no talent for it.”
    “I only wondered because of your hand. You should use a pad to guard against the needle,” Mei Ju said.
    A blush colored Lan’xiu’s face like a rose. “I do not sew well.”
    “Third Wife Fen, although of noble lineage, was forced to work in the fields before she came here,” Mei Ju said, hoping it would lead to a confidence from the princess.
    “She must enjoy her life here in contrast,” Lan’xiu said.
    Mei Ju took pity upon her evident discomfort. “Forgive my curiosity. It was not to pry that I invited you here. Instead, I will tell you about the household and your position within it.”
    “I know that I am the seventh and most humble concubine,” Lan’xiu said, her voice giving away nothing.
    “I am first wife, as I told you. I lived here as Hüi Wei’s wife for ten years before he took another.”
    “That would be Ci’an, second wife, if I recall,” Lan’xiu said, with an adorable tiny wrinkle between her arched brows.
    “When Hüi Wei first achieved success on the field of battle, nobles of neighboring states who did not wish to take their chances meeting him in war sent concubines as a peace offering. Ci’an, Fen, and Huan all arrived at nearly the same time, and as a gesture of welcome and courtesy, I permitted them to be called wives. They are in reality only concubines. I am the only wife Hüi has married.”
    With a deep sigh, Mei Ju added, “I will be frank with you and take my chances on your discretion. Ci’an was a mistake. Hüi Wei conquered a province to the northeast ruled by a barbarian. It was a