Chapter 56 - To Be A Successful Concubine

Great. She has realized that I wasn’t paying attention to what she had been saying at all!

“Yes…sorry…I’m just a little tired,” I said with an apologetic smile.

“Oh, that’s not a problem, My Lady. I was just saying that soon I will introduce you to your instructor. She will teach you the arts of water painting, dancing, and music as appropriate for someone in your position to master. Although I call her your instructor, she is just another more…experienced lady in this inner court,” Auntie said with a broad smile.

I sighed inwardly. To be completely honest, I had next to no interest in those topics that she mentioned. From where I come from those skills were reserved for the daughters of the rich and wealthy because they were skills necessary to attract suitable suitors. However, for a poor girl living on the countryside like me, such skills were unnecessary and does not lead to any income or use.

That aside, I had no personal interest in those arts. I was more interested in medicine and medical practices. My father and his influence on me were probably the start of my interest; however, as I watched my father work and started practicing medicine myself, I realized that what truly attracted me to it was the ability for me to become useful to other people.

I could help other people and…I could save lives.

Auntie went on to describe the nuances of the different arts and how “useful” it was to have such skill when living in the inner court. However, to me, that usefulness that she described didn’t seem like anything more than to gain Ren’s favor and hold his interest.

“It is important for you to hone these skills as to not bring shame to the crown prince. Successful ladies of the inner court have all gone through this training as the basic to entertain and please the prince. Remember, this is the key factor to your success in the inner court,” Auntie continued in a dignified voice.

I understood the concept of being a good wife. Although, I was raised quite separately from the other villagers, my father had made sure to install within me what was the expectation of being a good wife with the hope that if I do marry one day, I would become a good wife to my future husband. However, that concept was very different from the objective of being a successful lady in the inner court.

In other words, being a good wife wasn’t enough for you to be a successful concubine. The key difference that I had not failed to miss between these two concepts is the exclusivity of our relationship. In the village where I come from, a man only has one wife and infidelity is strictly frowned upon by the society. However, in this palace, a man has multiple ladies.

“Auntie, how many ladies are in this inner court?” I asked. This has been something that I had been curious about for a while now.

“Oh…there are around five hundred women right now in the crown prince’s inner court…” Auntie replied without batting an eye.

Exactly. So now, I’m supposed to sing and dance better than the other five hundred or so ladies to survive? Please tell me that this is a joke…

“I see…” I said softly.

I suspected that there would be many ladies living in Ren’s inner court but isn’t five hundred a little on the high side here?

“The crown prince’s inner court is much smaller than average and has been a concern for the emperor and his older brother when he was still alive. The emperor’s inner court used to have more than one thousand seven hundred women at its peak and his late brother’s had almost two thousand at its peak. Although the emperor’s brother is a little on the high side due to his…preferences…” Auntie explained.

Is she trying to make me feel lucky that there are only five hundred women competing with me for Ren’s attention compared to the thousands in the emperor’s harem? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh or cry at the outrageousness of all of this.

“I see. I’ll look forward to the lessons then…” I said vaguely.

I couldn’t care less about those lessons, but I could tell that I had to get through with it no matter what. However, a plan for forming in my mind. If I could take lessons in the arts, then perhaps…I could take lessons in medicine.

Then when I’m able to go home, I’ll be able to bring back some new medical knowledge. That way I’m sure that Uncle Gobei would be very pleased, and we can help heal so many more people from sickness.

If I asked Ren, would he help me?

…

After dinner, I was escorted back to my bedroom where I enjoyed the rest of the peaceful evening. This was another way of saying that I was bored out of my mind just sitting there in the silent room all alone. However, to kill the time, I decided to review the notes that I took on the herbs that I saw in the herb garden with Shin.

In the end, Ren did not turn up for dinner as expected. He must be so busy now that we were back in the imperial palace. I remembered that he seemed very preoccupied before we left for our trip as well. I guess it couldn’t be helped.

The maids came to help me prepare for bed when the time was right. They dressed me in a beautiful flowy light pink silk robe with a matching sash and let my hair down after combing it to perfection. After the maid had retired for the night, I was left alone once more in my bedroom.

I watched the moonlight shine in from the window, providing just enough light for me to see the inside of my bedroom. One candle was lit on the round table, making the room glow in an orange flickering light. I watched the candlelight dance around and realized after a while that I had trouble sleeping.

Night had started and it was all dark and quiet in the palace. Since I couldn’t go to sleep anyways, I decided that it was probably a good time to sneak out for a stroll around in the gardens. Unlike during the day, no one else should be up and about and I could spend some private time alone to think. Afterall, I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to get home and I was sure that I wasn’t a single step closer to getting home.

However, I was thankful that with everything that was going on, my neck was still intact…

--To be continued…