[does batu understand that he has delivered her into a lacquered hell? ye lanyi supposes she has thought the empress barren. twofold her surprise when the season unfolds, threefold to see how attentive the Son of Heaven is to the first wife of tianlong as she could not possibly expect him to be with a concubine. it is not jealousy. it is despair. the only way to ascend in the harem, she has believed, is to become mother to an imperial son. that is how she must prove her worth to the emperor. and now the potential of Heaven's Mercy with Heaven's Fang upsets her balance while restoring their own. a boy borne by the moonswathed woman will be the end of any hope beyond the life of a common concubine. even should she manage to bring forth sons, they will be second. third. fourth. fifth. and she does not believe they will have their father's eye, the man carved from stone and earth who has proven himself both brutal and kind. this kingdom has wealth and aplomb. she has come as part of the empress' retinue, and stays with yuè unless otherwise motioned. it does not stop her eyes from wandering about, from marvel and covet. she watches the ceremony with interest, for it will never be part of her own life. and when the praise rises high, she dips her head. for now, she trails in starry wake and curses batu anew in her mind. ye lanyi takes up modest stance not far from tianlong's ruling pair and bows her head, watching these proceedings from the corner of long lashes.]

does batu understand that he has delivered her into a lacquered hell?
ye lanyi supposes she has thought the empress barren. twofold her surprise when the season unfolds, threefold to see how attentive the Son of Heaven is to the first wife of tianlong as she could not possibly expect him to be with a concubine.
it is not jealousy. it is despair. the only way to ascend in the harem, she has believed, is to become mother to an imperial son. that is how she must prove her worth to the emperor.
and now the potential of Heaven's Mercy with Heaven's Fang upsets her balance while restoring their own. a boy borne by the moonswathed woman will be the end of any hope beyond the life of a common concubine.
even should she manage to bring forth sons, they will be second. third. fourth. fifth. and she does not believe they will have their father's eye, the man carved from stone and earth who has proven himself both brutal and kind.
this kingdom has wealth and aplomb. she has come as part of the empress' retinue, and stays with yuè unless otherwise motioned. it does not stop her eyes from wandering about, from marvel and covet. she watches the ceremony with interest, for it will never be part of her own life.
and when the praise rises high, she dips her head. for now, she trails in starry wake and curses batu anew in her mind.
ye lanyi takes up modest stance not far from tianlong's ruling pair and bows her head, watching these proceedings from the corner of long lashes.