I Became a Mother in Another World

In the Fore Hall of the Palace of the Empress, Tianfengong, sat opposite rows of low tables with luxurious mattresses and cushions for seating, two rows on each side, six tables in each row.. The Empress - Xie Taiying - sat at the head of the two rows. The seating was determined by rank.

The Empress sat in all her glory, wearing ornate and luxurious clothes with hues of yellow. Only the Emperor and the Empress were allowed to wear the royal color, and the Empress’s had to be subtler. The crown on her head was surely smaller than the Emperor’s but no less majestic. Her protruding belly underneath the soft clothes belied her pregnancy. The vermillion dot on her forehead and the same vermillion carefully pressed onto the lid of her eyes only helped bring out the beauty of the heart shaped face. She was quiet, leisurely sweeping her eyes over the concubines that were gathering to give her morning greetings. They bowed respectfully before starting to take their seats.

On her right was the Imperial Consort - Yun Shuyao. When it came to beauty, she did not lose to the Empress. She wore purple robes over a pink undergown. Her hair was tied up into a bun and pinned into a place with a beautiful coral hairpin, a gift from the Emperor himself. Pink rouge tainted her cheek and lips but they did nothing to soften the sharp gaze of those phoenix eyes. She sat on the left of the Empress because she was the highest rank after the Empress.

On the left of the Empress was the next rank. Virtuous Consort Song Yuhan. She was rather plain compared to the ethereal beauty of the Empress and the Imperial Consort. She looked demure, but those who knew her knew better. She entered the Harem to improve the political position of her family and singlehandedly pulled them up from the bottom of the barrel. She did so by not engaging in harem politics, and winning the Emperor’s favor exactly by not vying for his favor like other concubines. Nobody knew why the Emperor liked visiting her so much when there were other, more beautiful concubines but a daughter came out of that union and she became the only Virtuous Consort for giving the Emperor his first child.

And then the seats beside the Imperial Consort and the Virtuous Consort were slowly filling up with the concubines of lower ranks and unranked concubines, and they sat alternatively on each row. The front rows were for higher ranks. The rows behind were for lower ranks. The highest number of seats in each row would be ten. But there was no need for that as not all positions of ranked concubines were filled. Today, however, another seat should be added on the side of the Virtuous Consort.

The Empress frowned. “Why is there no extra seat for our newest addition today?”

There was a pause. She looked back at her Eunuch and raised an eyebrow. As her assistant in all her duties, it was his duty to ensure everything went smoothly.

Eunuch Lang bowed. “Apologies, Your Majesty. I thought …”

She raised an eyebrow. “You thought? You thought it was acceptable to insult the Emperor by humiliating the Concubine he personally brought into the Inner Palace, who also happens to be the mother of his son?”

Eunuch Lang panicked and bowed deeper. “Deepest apologies, Your Majesty. I never thought that way. I shall arrange for the seats right away.”

“See to it,” the Empress said sharply. “The other concubines should be arriving soon.”

Eunuch Lang bowed and scrambled to add an extra chair to the front row on the Empress’s left.

“The Empress sure is generous,” the Imperial Consort spoke from the side, her lips curled in a pointed smile. “A commoner has made her way into the Inner Palace and the Empress treats her with such grace.”

Xie Taiying did not even look at her as she spoke. “I am only doing my duty as the Empress. All of us have the duty to ensure harmony and peace within the Inner Palace in order to ensure the satisfaction of the Emperor. I am doing my part. I can only hope that everyone else does theirs.”

She looked up as she heard more footsteps. “Noble Ladies, please move one seat to your left. The new Virtuous Lady shall sit beside Virtuous Lady Fu Caiyi.”

Lin Fang, the highest ranking of the Noble Ladies, paused for a moment before bowing and taking the seat to the left of the one she usually sat on. Oh, there were looks and noises of discontent. But they would not dare defy the Empress, especially not when Lin Fang obeyed without any protest.

As most of the concubines filed in, Xie Taiying wondered if the newest concubines would be late. Now, that would be a terrible first impression.

But she needn't have worried.

A new figure clad in blue and white walked into the room, a smaller figure walking alongside her as he clutched her hand nervously.

---

The day was almost a repeat of the previous day, minus the lazy breakfast. Apparently, they had to have the morning tea with the Empress. And any breakfast would come after that. Lian hurried them along, as they could not afford to be late today.

But she had to admit, for how hurried the entire affair was, the maids dolled her up quite prettily. They used minimal makeup at her request, mostly because she knew she would look like a ghost with all that white powder on her face. Manu - who insisted on wearing the same blue as her - looked so handsome and cute at the same time that her heart melted.

She held his hand. “Ready?”

The determined nod from the child made her smile softly.

Lian led them to the Tianfenggog - the Palace of Celestial Phoenix. Such a majestic name. Considering that in this culture, the Empress was considered the phoenix that rose above all and nurtured the nation, it was fitting.

“You must go up to the Empress and bow,” Lian said. “Just like yesterday. But the Prince must address the Empress as Imperial Mother.”

Samaya blinked at the new information. “Imperial Mother?”

Lian nodded and looked at Manu for a moment before turning her eyes to Samaya. “The Empress is considered the mother of all the children of the Emperor. As such, all children must address her as Imperial Mother.”

She paused. “That’s … unexpected.”

After all, which woman would want to be called mother by the children her husband had with his other wives? But … oh well, she supposed it was the tradition of this time. If she was even the least invested in the Emperor, she might have hated such tradition, As it was, she could not care less.

“You got that, Manu?”

“Yes, mama!”

“Mother,” Lian corrected him. “It is alright if you call her mama in private. But on occasions like this, you must be appropriate and call her mother.”

Manu nodded seriously. “Understood.”

Samaya suppressed a smile. Her hand tightened around Manu’s as they approached the Palace. Lian instructed all the other maids to stay outside and entered with her. Apparently, only one maid was allowed and even they had to move back and be a wallflower.

Samaya could not help but sigh in irritation. So many rules. There was a time when she used to delight in breaking the rules. Now, she had to follow them. Becoming a mother really did change people.

They walked up the stairs and she heard Lian announce her arrival.

“Virtuous Lady Qing Samaya enters the Home of the Empress.”

She paused when all eyes turned to her. And then to Manu. He could see the widened eyes, and hear the almost inaudible gasps. She could feel Manu’s tacky hand in hers. She squeezed it in assurance and walked inside. She walked between the rows, the path leading her to the Empress. She looked even more beautiful here, at home. Samaya knelt and put her hands on the ground, bowing her head. She heard Manu do the same beside her.

“Qing Samaya greets Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Huang Xu greets Imperial Mother.”

Fortunately, the woman did not keep them in that position for long.

“Rise.”

They both did. Samaya felt the woman’s gaze on herself. It moved quickly, no doubt now examining the boy in front of her.

“I was unable to properly see the Prince during our last meeting,” she said softly. “He really does bear a striking resemblance with His Majesty. Good for you, is it not?”

Samaya resisted the urge to sigh. This again. She gave a shallow bow. “I am eternally grateful for the opportunity the Emperor has bestowed upon me. I never knew the man who gave me the greatest gift of my life,” she rested her hand on Manu’s head, “was the Emperor. I had once prayed for my child to have good fortune and prosperity in life. The Heavens have granted my prayers after all these years.”

Samaya spat the bullshit as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It was not hard. She was a trained professional in spitting bullshit. Especially, when she could throw in some half-truths in there.

“I see,” she said softly. “Please do take your seat. You have a lot to learn here. Don’t worry, we are all here to help.”

Samaya bowed again as one of the Eunuchs behind the Empress came to her to lead her to her seat.

“As for the Prince, would he like to sit beside me?” The Empress asked just as they were about to get up.

Samaya turned to her son to see him looking up at her with wide eyes. She could see the nervousness in them and in the way that he reached for her sleeve. She glanced at Lian, who was subtly shaking her head. So, this was not something they could refuse. It sounded like a question, but Samaya was pretty sure it was an order. They could not deny the Empress’s request in front of all these concubines.

She sighed softly and then cupped the boy’s cheek. “It’s alright. Go sit beside your Imperial Mother.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his other cheek before whispering, “I’ll be right here, okay?”

Samaya felt the boy take a deep breath and then nod. She pulled back and then patted his shoulder. She then followed the Eunuch to the empty seat in between two concubines in the front row on the left of the Empress. She had heard from Lian that the seating was arranged according to rank. So, she was probably higher than … she counted … five of them. She jumped ranks here. They wouldn’t be happy. She did not miss the dirty looks some of them sent her way as she sat down, keeping an eye on Samaya.

“Welcome to the Harem,” the woman on her right spoke up. “I am Fu Caiyi, one of the Virtuous Ladies.”

Samaya nodded. “Nice to meet you. I am Qing Samaya.”

Fu Caiyi tilted her slightly, perhaps at the strange greeting, but then she shook it off and gave a smile. “I hope you are adjusting well. The Imperial Harem can be a harsh place.”

She resisted the urge to chuckle. Compared to the shit she had to face both in her original world and this one, this was almost like a recess playground. Of course, there were politics surrounding her child and there was danger for him almost everywhere. But the Imperial Harem and their petty games for the Emperor’s favor held no importance to her.

Despite her spiteful thoughts, she smiled back at her. She had a feeling that this woman was genuinely trying to help her. “Thank you for your concern. I am adjusting as well as I can.”

She nodded, letting out a soft sigh. “If you need anything, let me know. I may not be able to do much, but if it’s within my limited power, I shall do my best.”

Before Samaya could reply, the Empress spoke up. “Well, it is time for our tea. Let us not delay the morning affairs. We have an entire day ahead of us.”

Samaya’s eyes moved from the Empress to Manu sitting beside her. He was now rigid and looking as if he was in the middle of the most important event of his entire life. Samaya had to suppress another smile. Her sweet, cute little boy.

The Empress raised her cup and the concubines followed suit. Samaya followed them and then took an almost dainty sip from the cup like the rest of them. She tilted her head towards Fu Caiyi and asked if she could “please tell me more about my fellow sisters?” She wanted to know more about to make sure she did not “do anything wrong.”

She had to ask Ah-Liu to gather the proper information but a primary idea of them won’t hurt. Fu Caiyi, bless her heart, gladly complied.

Yun Yuhao. Imperial Consort. Daughter of Prime Minister Yun. She had the most power after the Empress and no one dared say anything against her.

Song Yuhan. Virtuous Consort. Gained the Emperor’s favor through her wisdom and grace and gave the Emperor his first child. A daughter, who was now six years old.

Yi Yingxiu. Beautiful Consort. A quiet and graceful woman, she did not vie for the Emperor’s favor like others. Perhaps that was why the Emperor liked to spend time with her sometimes.

Hou Tianjian. Beautiful Consort. The menace of the Imperial Harem. Liked to harass and beat down on the lower ranking ones, but was docile as a lamb in front of the Empress and higher rank concubines. She also had a daughter, five years old.

Fu Caiyi would have continued but Samaya heard an unfamiliar voice address her.

“Lady Qing.”

She looked up to see the Imperial Consort staring at her. Her eyes seemed eternally narrowed and her lips were on the verge of a smirk. She tilted her head.

“I wonder, has His Majesty arranged an instructor to teach you and the Prince etiquette?”

Samaya paused, wondering where this was going. She shook her head. “No, he has not.”

A scoff. “I do not blame him. He is already doing so much. We cannot expect him to pay so much attention to a peasant he picked up from the streets.”

Ouch. That would have hurt anyone other than Samaya.

“Imperial Consort,” the Empress called, her voice soft but holding a hint of warning.

“Oh, I apologize, Your Majesty,” the Imperial Consort said, unfazed. “I only meant to say that we should try to ease His Majesty’s burden, as is our duty. If you permit it, I can arrange etiquette instructors for both the new Virtuous Lady and Prince Xu.”