Chapter 7:
Upon fulfilling her duties at dawn, Juying was to immediately report to Xuanji Palace to serve the Heavenly Emperor. Kuanglu ushered her in on the first day.
"Kuanglu greets Light Immortal Juying," she said and gave a slight bow.
Juying waved off the formalities. "There's no need to greet me. For the next three days, I'm no longer considered an immortal of high rank. You and I are equals. Just call me Juying."
"Huh?" Kuanglu hesitated. "I'm afraid that would be inappropriate-"
"Why, not at all," Juying smiled and looped her arm through Kuanglu's.
"Light Immortal, what are you doing-" Kuanglu started but was hushed by Juying.
Juying clicked her tongue, "Oh, haven't I already told you? Call me Juying, you have my permission." She pulled a confused Kuanglu along through the gates of Xuanji Palace, beaming. "Let's be friends."
"Juying greets the Heavenly Emperor."
"You're here," Runyu momentarily glanced up from his work, then did a double take. A frown creased his forehead, "What are you wearing? Go get changed."
Juying stared at him puzzledly. "Get changed? Juying doesn't understand-"
"As a servant of Xuanji Palace, shouldn't you be donning the proper attire?" Runyu looked at Juying's flamboyant robes of pink, white and gold, encrusted with precious jewels at the hems with distaste. He nodded at Kuanglu, who presented a plain, creamy white uniform to Juying apologetically.
The fire qilin looked at the Heavenly Emperor in dismay. "But... but why do I have to put on the uniform while Kuanglu is allowed to wear her own clothes?"
Runyu, who was holding a brush pen, paused mid-stroke. "Are you refusing an order?" Juying bit her lip and shook her head sulkily. "Then go get changed. Don't ask so many questions," Runyu gestured towards the servant's uniform with his chin.
A few minutes later, Juying returned to the main hall of Xuanji Palace dressed in servants attire. "Turn around, let me take a look," Runyu instructed as she stood before him.
She did as he asked. Runyu nodded and emitted a sound of approval. "This servant's attire fits you well. Plain and simple, unlike the gaudy apparel you enjoy wearing so much." He returned his attention back to his work, feeling satisfied with the knowledge that the size he had picked out for her was a perfect fit.
"Does your majesty have any instructions for Juying?"
"Nubi.*" He corrected her.
Juying gritted her teeth. "Does your majesty have any instructions for nubi?" How humiliating. Just a day ago, fairies and immortals alike would address her respectfully by her formal title. Now, the heiress of the proud fire qilin clan was referring to herself as a servant girl. Her mother would certainly give her an earful if she heard of this.
"Go brew some Longjing tea for me," he replied with a hint of a smile on his face. Juying suspected that he was enjoying the sight of her in a submissive position. The thought made her blood boil with indignance. "Either he's a megalomaniac or a sadist."
"Yes, your majesty."
If showing the Heavenly Emperor that she had learnt some humility was all it took for her title to sooner be restored, then Juying made up her mind to do a fantastic job in serving him. She could keep up an act for a day or two.
Juying meticulously brewed the Longjing tea. "Serving tea to the Heavenly Emperor," she said as she presented it to him.
Runyu took one glance at the tea set on the tray and shot Juying an incredulous expression. "Were you not taught the art of tea when you were younger? Black ceramics do not pair well with pale green tea. Use the white jade porcelain tea set instead."
"Yes, your majesty," she mumbled, flushing red. It was known that the Heavenly Emperor was a tea connoisseur; extremely well-versed in the art and philosophy of tea.
An education on the art of tea was something that all celestials belonging to the upper class had to receive. Unfortunately, the karma for Juying playing a fool or sleeping through those lessons had returned to bite her.
Juying did as he asked and presented the tea before him again. He took a sip, then set it back down with a distasteful expression. "It has gone cold since you changed the cups. Heat it up."
"Nubi shall do it now."
She returned to his side with the now-warmed tea. "Is this alright, your majesty?"
As soon as Runyu took a sip, he spat it out almost immediately. "It's scalding hot. Are you trying to burn me?" He asked crossly.
Juying sank to her knees and bowed her head. "Your majesty, calm your anger! May the Heavenly Emperor forgive me."
The dragon spirit dabbed his scalded lips with the back of his sleeve. "It doesn't matter. Go make a new cup," he replied curtly.
Starting afresh, Juying decided to abandon the stove and painstakingly warm the Longjing tea to the perfect temperature using her fire magic instead. She returned to the Heavenly Emperor, praying that she had finally gotten it right. Alas, his only response was "Too sweet."
"Then make it yourself!" The fire qilin screamed internally. She shot an exasperated look at Kuanglu, pleading for help.
Kuanglu looked at Juying sympathetically and dutifully spoke up, "My Lord, perhaps it's best if I brewed your Longjing tea-"
"No," Runyu responded brusquely. "I want her to do it." He smirked at Juying, relishing in his unbridled capacity to torment her.
Juying drew in a deep, shaky breath, forcing herself to keep her cool. "Yes, your majesty."
It took several more attempts, with the picky emperor dismissing each amendment with "Too sour", "Too mild", "Too gritty", "Too watery." When he finally accepted Juying's offering, she nearly burst into tears of relief. She was already mentally, physically and emotionally drained. And it had only been two hours!
"The books in Xuanji Palace haven't been sorted in quite some time," Runyu said before she could even catch her breath. "Go and arrange them. Kuanglu will show you the order."
Simply thankful to be doing something other than brewing tea, Juying accepted his order gratefully. As she was leaving, he added in a softer tone, "If you see something you like, you may just borrow it. No need to ask."
After sorting through the books and picking out a few that interested her, Juying assisted Kuanglu with a few more chores. She grew to like the daughter of Immortal Taisi, who was considerate and good-natured.
At around Weishi,* the Heavenly Emperor summoned her back into the main hall of Xuanji Palace, where he was still tirelessly at work. "Come here," he instructed when he noticed her at the doors. Juying obeyed.
"These letters have to be sent out to my generals by today. So far, I've only finished writing half of them. I need you to help me copy the other half while I tend to other official documents." Runyu passed her a sample letter, several sheets of paper and an ink brush. "When you're done, pass them to me. I'll check through the letters and stamp them with the Heavenly Seal."
"But your majesty, nubi usually writes in Grass Script.* I'm afraid that I won't be able to replicate your handwriting well," Juying replied. He raised an eyebrow at her, as if to ask "So? What's the problem?"
"Then practice until you get it right," he answered simply. "I usually write in Running Seal Script.* It's not that difficult to learn."
Apprehensively, Juying took a seat beside the Heavenly Emperor, as instructed by him. She practiced writing in Running Seal Script for a while, then began writing an actual letter. When she was finished with the first one, she handed it to him. His eyes almost bulged out of his head.
"Atrocious! Do you have hand tremors? What kind of writing is this?" He criticized the messy handwriting. "Unacceptable," Runyu said and crumpled the letter up into a ball. "Begin again." Juying conceded that it wasn't her best work. She was so nervous about messing up that her hand had, indeed, been shaking with anxiety while writing the letter.
It took several tries and many more crumpled sheets before Juying began producing letters of acceptable quality. As she improved, a fleeting, impish thought crossed her mind. If she were to perfect the Heavenly Emperor's handwriting, one could only imagine all the mischief she'd be able to get up to with such an ability.
"Not bad," Runyu commented on her seventeenth attempt. "My only complaint is the manner in which you keep writing this word. The stroke goes upwards lightly, not downwards with pressure." He reached over and plucked the brush from Juying's hand.
"Watch carefully, like this..." he demonstrated. Runyu took no notice of how the Light Immortal tensed beside him as he leaned in closer to access the empty sheets of paper before her. The warm scent of white sandalwood washed over Juying.
His expression was schooled to one of concentration. Up close, Juying was able to see the furrows in his brows as he frowned and the muscles ticking in his jaw as he clenched it. She reigned in the childish impulse to run her fingers over them to smoothen them out. The slight bags under his eyes were an indication of stress and lost sleep.
Although he was somewhat of a tyrant, he truly did devote every fibre of his being to ruling the Six Realms. For the first time since meeting him, Juying felt respect, and perhaps even a little empathy for the Heavenly Emperor stirring within her.
"... Got it?" He asked, then turned to face her abruptly.
Juying snapped out of her daze and nodded vigorously. "Mm, yes, I understand."
"Do you?" Runyu narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "If you get it wrong again, I will have to punish you for being inattentive."
The fire qilin felt her throat go dry at his threat. "I..." she trailed off.
In the midst of the silence, both immortals realized that they had gotten precariously close. Her lovely face was inches away from his, and Runyu felt a carnal sort of desire igniting in the base of his stomach.
He blinked and suddenly pulled away, a scowl maring his striking features. "Just... just leave a space for that word. I'll fill it in."
The Heavenly Emperor tried returning his attention to his work to no avail. There was no way he could, not with her sitting so infuriatingly close to him, that even making the slightest shift was to brush up against her sleeves. Was it just his imagination, or could he really feel the wisps of her sweet, warm breath caressing his skin? How had he not noticed before?
"Could you sit somewhere else? There isn't enough space on this desk for the both of us," Runyu snapped, ignoring the fact that they were working together perfectly fine just minutes before.
Juying widened her mesmerizing eyes in slight terror. Without further hesitation, she mumbled a hasty "Yes, your majesty" and scampered off.
Glossary:
Nubi: 奴婢 (nú bì), servant girl; slave
Weishi: 未时 (wèi shí), 1:00 pm - 2:59 pm
Grass Script: 草书 (cǎo shū), more commonly known as sloppy or cursive script
Running Seal Script: 行篆书 (xíng zhuàn shū), a combination of semi-cursive and seal script.