Chapter Text
Ajax came to awareness with a stinging sensation on his cheek.
“ Just a cairen 1 from a vassal state . ” The woman in front of him hissed, her delicate hand raised in mid-air. Her features were twisted in a moue of disgust, as if even the sight of him offended her. “And you dare to slight me? Come, slap his mouth!”
Before Ajax could even react, two servant girls standing behind her dashed up to him and delivered five resounding slaps to his face.
“Apologies, Cairen Li2 ,” one of the girls said insincerely, even as she hit him again. “This slave3 has wronged you.”
They may have been girls, but their slaps still hurt. Ajax swore his ears were ringing a little by the time they were done. But in a way the blows were a blessing in disguise, for his dazed expression and sluggish reactions would be taken as shock from being hit, and not from processing the rush of memories flooding his brain.
In his head, he let loose a string of curses so filthy that if his own mother heard him she would have washed his mouth out with soap. Fuck. Of all the things to happen to him, he never would have expected that he’d wake up one day to find himself occupying a random person’s body in an entirely different time period. He’s read a few transmigration and reincarnation novels in his free time, but that didn’t mean he wanted it to happen to him!
And of all the people to play meat puppet with, he just had to enter the body of a prince from a powerless vassal state, didn’t he? This body may have been a prince in name, but that was that – a prince in name only. Snezhnaya, a small country whose exports primarily depended on its fishing industry, relied on the protection of this empire, which was called Liyue. As such, being the fifth prince in a long line of princes, he was considered just expendable enough to be wrapped up in a bow and given to Liyue’s emperor as an imperial concubine. It was only the original body’s luck that he had been born with a pretty face and slender body, otherwise the emperor wouldn’t have spared him even a glance. And if that had happened, who knows what fate would have befallen him when he returned to Snezhnaya.
The original body had no power. Born to a mother of humble birth, he was disdained throughout his childhood, and so he grew up with a soft personality and weak constitution. Unfortunately, in the imperial harem, that was practically a death sentence. What was worse was that the emperor had never visited him at night nor gifted him anything, and that meant he had no favour.
In the harem, having no favour meant having no respect, and having no respect basically meant that you wouldn’t have a good life. Although he was a cairen, which was a low-mid consort rank, it was merely a hollow title that was bestowed to him because the emperor decided to give Snezhnaya a little face. With neither favour nor background, even servants with a bit of standing could push him around, let alone the other concubines in the harem.
Dammit, maybe he should have listened to Pulcinella and prayed more at temples or something. He’d never believed in karma – which was the average mindset of the people in his line of work, Pulcinella was just a freak –, but this whole situation was starting to make him think otherwise.
Gazing at Ajax’s stinging cheeks, which were now undoubtedly red and raw, the woman who had ordered him to be slapped smirked slightly.
“Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”
If he remembered correctly, this was Jieyu4 Bai, the daughter of a sixth-ranked official in the Department of Transportation. She was beautiful, with her large hazel eyes and long dark hair tied in a Wo Zhui Ji5 style, but who wasn’t beautiful in the imperial harem? Her looks managed to garner her some favour from the emperor, which elevated her to jieyu, but her background meant that she would rise no further than that. Seven years had passed since she entered the palace, and she was no longer young, yet still remained a jieyu.
Truly a pitiful woman.
Obviously she knew that herself, so she would often vent her anger at the situation towards the concubines of lower rank than her. Ajax, who was not only two ranks lower than her but also a foreigner who had trouble understanding Liyuean (and thus could not talk back to defend himself), was a perfect target. From the original owner’s memories, she was one of the major players who made his life a living hell, taunting him for his shaky Liyuean and punishing him for any perceived slight. In fact, this current debacle happened because she claimed he’d bumped into her while walking, when clearly he hadn’t even touched her.
Ajax’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
“This imperial concubine has been lacking in manners.” He bowed deeply, head hanging low and putting his hands together in a deferential salute6 . “This concubine thanks Jieyu Bai for teaching this concubine about the harem’s etiquette, and begs Jieyu Bai’s mercy for this concubine’s foolish clumsiness.”
Jieyu Bai paused briefly. Ajax assumed she was taken aback by his sudden eloquence, which was to be expected; although the original owner of this body had studied Liyue’s language and culture extensively, the difference between theoretical knowledge and practical use of a language was as wide as the gap between the land and the sky.
Thankfully, although Ajax knew absolutely fuck-all about this country’s culture, what he did have was a strong grasp of the language. Years ago, he’d been assigned to a country whose language was extremely similar to Liyuean, with a few minor differences that he could easily adapt to, and so he’d learnt the language in order to facilitate the completion of his job. Never had he been so grateful for Scaramouche, that damned midget polyglot, and his language boot camps.
“Hmph.” Jieyu Bai finally snorted. Ajax could see the swish of her skirts as she turned around and left, her servant girls trailing behind her.
A pair of arms appeared in his line of vision, curling around Ajax’s own arm to support his body. “Master, Jieyu Bai has left. How could she hit your honoured self so harshly? What if it scars?”
He raised his head, looking at the young brown-haired girl who spoke. If he remembered correctly, her name was Lin Na, a mixed-blood child born from a Snezhnayan mother and Liyuean father. By a stroke of fate, she had been assigned to Ajax. She was more knowledgeable than he about the harem’s affairs, given that she entered the palace a year before he did, but she was only sixteen; she still had quite some way to go.
“It was only a few slaps, it won’t even bruise that much.” Ajax patted her hand comfortingly before reminding her: “In the future, don’t say such things where people can hear. The walls have ears.”
Lin Na froze and quickly bowed her head in fright. “This slave understands. This slave was ignorant.”
Ajax hummed lowly. “It’s alright. Just be careful in the future.” He turned to leave. “Let’s return.”
Lin Na followed him swiftly. Somehow, she thought, her master seemed different than he was from this morning, not at all like an eighteen year-old whose mannerisms showed his innocence and immaturity.
Her master’s long hair swayed in the wind, a flaming orange the shade of autumn leaves. Although he was dressed plainly, he somehow looked dignified: his posture was languid, speaking of a comfortable confidence in himself, and he walked at a steady pace. His expression was calm, his deep blue eyes unfathomable, and she wondered what he could be thinking about beneath those blue depths.
Realising that she had been about to speculate about her master, she ducked her head deeper, banishing those thoughts from her mind.
Amituofo 7 , she should be punished.
Despite its name, Shanchi Courtyard8 was not a very large place. It was a small residence located a stone’s throw away from a pear blossom garden, and aside from the garden its only other feature of note was the clear pool of water in the backyard. It clearly wasn’t as luxurious as the residences of the more favoured concubines in the harem, but it was clean and tidy – yet, due to its close proximity to the pear garden, people tended to avoid the residence9 . Ajax, however, cared little for such superstitions, and decided that he was quite satisfied with this quaint little residence for the time being.
He watched as Lin Na served him a few boxes of food, uncovering them to reveal its contents: a small plate of greasy stir-fry, a few pieces of cold pastries, and a bowl of thin mushrooms.
“Master…” Lin Na inhaled sharply. The people working in the imperial kitchens10 were really quick-witted at their jobs, she thought resentfully. Depending on how favoured each concubine was, they would be given different treatment – why else would they serve such a lacking meal to her master, an obviously unfavoured cairen ? And what was worse was that as a low-ranked cairen, her master did not have access to his own personal kitchen, so he would be forced to eat whatever the kitchens served him!
Before she could say anything else, however, Ajax waved his hand absentmindedly. “Don’t fret so.”
He reached forward and took a bite of the stir-fry, chewing thoughtfully. It was alright, he mused, disregarding Lin Na’s outraged expression on his behalf. It was cold, oily, and seasoned too heavily, but it was worlds better than some of the swill he’d been forced to eat while on the clock. He could definitely deal with this for now.
When he was done with his lunch, he took a sip of tea and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Lin Na,” he said, “what is your Snezhnayan name?”
Caught off guard by his sudden question, the girl floundered for a moment before replying. “It’s Ekaterina, Master.”
“Ekaterina.” Ajax repeated, his voice taking on a reflective tone. “This concubine remembers you saying that you were taught ballet among other dances as a young child, much like your namesake11 . It’s a good name; perhaps this concubine will have the chance to see you perform in the future.”
“This slave doesn’t dare.” Ekaterina ducked her head, but was unable to hide her flushed expression of joy at his praise. “This slave thanks Master for his undeserved praise.”
“Maybe it is undeserved, maybe it is not.” Ajax laughed, teasing her. He stood up and allowed another servant, a young woman whose name was Gan Jing12 , to clear his empty dishes away, and then beckoned her along with Ekaterina to follow him. “Come, let us take a walk. This concubine needs some exercise to digest all that grease.”
The pear blossom garden bloomed beautifully in the current spring season, and Ajax took his time appreciating the view as he walked through the garden, despite Ekaterina and Gan Jing’s chiding that the place was bad luck. What use was living in the palace, after all, if he couldn’t even take advantage of the view?
For a garden that most people avoided, it was surprisingly well maintained. The grass below his feet was trimmed short and clean, the colour a healthy deep green, and the numerous trees stood tall and straight. Clusters of white pear blossoms bloomed on the trees, forming a beautiful picture against the backdrop of the bright blue sky, and Ajax paused to take the scene in, transfixed.
A soft gust of wind blew through the air, bringing a shower of blossoms down from the trees. As the flowers scattered from above to dot the green grass below his feet, it almost seemed as if it was snowing. He raised his hand and watched a single blossom drift down to his palm, and carefully grazed its velvet petals between the pads of his thumb and index finger.
And I was alive in the blizzard of the blossoming pear 13 . The quote came unbidden to him, both familiar and bittersweet. He had never been one for poetry, but he always had a soft spot for this particular poem when he was still attending school.
“Master,” Gan Jing stepped forward, “shall I pluck a branch of blossoms to take back to Shanchi Courtyard?”
Ajax turned towards her without replying, as if pondering over her offer.
“No.” He finally said, turning back towards the trees. “The beauty of nature is in the moment it is alive, after all.”
He tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes.
Maybe the truth was that he was in some weird version of purgatory, or he hit his head too hard on the job and this was some vivid hallucination, but under the pear blossoms, in an unfamiliar land and an unfamiliar body, Ajax thought this was perhaps the most alive he had ever been.
A short distance away, hidden behind a cluster of trees, a man watched the boy with orange hair and blue eyes smile, holding a pear blossom gently in his hand. It was a genuine expression, a smile full of joy for just a single flower, and the man found himself struck by the brilliance of that pure happiness.
“If We14 remember correctly, he is the tribute sent from Snezhnaya.” He said. His voice was deep and he spoke with a measured cadence, the mark of a man who knew himself well. “Is he unaware of the superstition behind this garden?”
Long hair spilled over his shoulder in a dark fountain, tied in a low ponytail with a jewelled clasp that was the same shade of glowing amber as his eyes. When he moved, the fabric of his brilliant yellow robes, woven with the most exquisite of silks and embroidered with the image of a dragon, rippled like the surface of a tranquil pool of water.
Behind him, Zhao Gao bowed. “This slave doubts so, Your Majesty. Cairen Li is said to have some knowledge of our nation’s language and culture; he should be able to understand why most people prefer not to visit this garden.”
A flurry of noise sounded from the garden as the two servants beside the young boy suggested that they leave, their expressions pinched with worry. The boy only laughed openly, a bright, pleasant sound in the quiet of their surroundings.
“How silly. It’s just a small homonym; what a pity that such beauty is wasted because of such a frivolous superstition.”
Zhao Gao paled, ducking his head deeper and not even daring to glance up at the man in front of him.
What bold words to say! Did no one teach this concubine how to talk? And to act so unabashedly in the emperor’s favoured garden –!
However, the emperor showed no displeasure at the Snezhnayan boy’s bluntness. Rather, unbeknownst to Zhao Gao, he was even smiling slightly, his gaze drawn to the figure underneath the pear blossom trees.
Under the sunlight, the boy’s hair almost seemed as if it was aflame, shining a fiery red. His features were young but there was a certain elegance to his movements not unlike a dancer’s – or a warrior’s. And yet, something in his expression as he gazed up at the shower of pear blossoms was unspeakably gentle, like the dew that beaded upon the flowers and grass in the early dawn.
Zhongli’s gaze deepened. What he could be thinking was anybody’s guess.
But of course, no one would dare – who would dare to speculate on the thoughts of Liyue’s ruler?
“How interesting,” He said.
“Your honoured self spent a long time in the garden today, Master.” Ekaterina said, combing Ajax’s hair with a sturdy jewel-encrusted comb. “Would Master like to visit it again tomorrow?”
Ajax opened his eyes lazily, staring at himself in the mirror. This body truly hit the genetic lottery, he mused. Soft pale skin, large blue eyes framed by long lashes; a delicate nose and a plush, red-lipped mouth…he knew a lot of women back home who would kill for even a fraction of his looks. It was a pity about how dull his eyes looked under the light, but no one was perfect, he supposed.
“No.” He yawned. “It’s best not to go there too often. Its owner isn’t someone I know how to approach just yet.”
Ekaterina made a sound of confusion, but Gan Jing shushed her quietly. It seemed that the older woman was quick on the uptake, Ajax noted appreciatively. That was good; Ekaterina was competent enough, but she was a little too naïve about certain topics. It was fortunate that he had Gan Jing to complement her.
Like he had observed earlier that day, that garden was too well-maintained for a place that people actively avoided. Someone had to be maintaining it, and someone with considerable authority; not just anyone could be allowed into the concubine’s residences, even if Ajax was only a cairen. But if it was another concubine, they didn’t need to be so secretive about it, as Ajax ranked so low on the harem’s hierarchy that he could not reasonably do anything to stop them if they had wanted to maintain the garden.
Therefore, that person must be someone who wasn’t a concubine, with enough power that they had the authority to walk into a concubine’s residence, and yet didn’t want to be seen passing by too often.
So, who could that be? Ajax initially assumed that it was some high-ranking harem official, but after screening the original owner’s memories of the imperial court, he supposed that there was one other person who could technically fit that criteria. He had no way of verifying that guess – and it was a pretty wild guess. After all, why would someone who the entire harem revolved around want to avoid being seen by them?
He yawned again, showing those thoughts to the side.
Little by little, the reality of his situation was sinking in. Trapped in a body and world that wasn’t his, he had no conceivable way back home. Not that he had much that he’d left behind, but the fact remained that that was his world and his life that he’d been stripped off, and forced to occupy this weak shell of a body that only knew the barest bones of self-defence. How the original had survived in the Snezhnayan imperial court with these measly fighting skills escaped Ajax.
The feeling of something digging into his palm made him look down at his hand. Unknowingly, he had clenched his hand so tight around the armrest of his chair that his knuckles had gone white.
He took a deep breath, releasing his grip.
This must be some sick version of karma. Because why else would he be shuttled into this nightmare? The life of an imperial concubine was one that depended entirely on the whims of the emperor. Hundreds and maybe even thousands of men and women all wasted their entire lives in the palace, fighting over scraps of favour from a single man, just for the opportunity for a better life.
And like hell was Ajax going to take that lying down. He’d always been a fighter. Always had been and always will be. He’d survived his childhood on the streets, he’d survived the Fatui’s grueling training programme, and he’d survived its selection process and crawled his way to the top of the ladder rung by bloody rung. He’d damn well survive this, too.
Since he was forced into this dog-eat-dog farce of a competition, he was going to make sure that he’d be the sole winner and live the best life that he possibly could. Luxury, security; power…he would have it all. He not only owed it to himself, but also the original owner of this body.
As to how to achieve that goal?
He thought back to that afternoon in the plum tree garden: a flash of yellow robes, more brilliant than the sun. Long dark hair with the slightest tinge of gold, gleaming as bright as his gaze while he watched Ajax delighting in the pear blossoms. A measured, confident stride, interrupted by just the slightest degree at the sight of the white blossoms in Ajax’s hair.
Ajax smiled.
Well, he was an imperial concubine, wasn’t he?
