The Ant Woman

Wen put her bronze badge in her blouse, the cord looped over her brooch. She put away her thin shawl and picked up a wider one, a gray one, that could protect her from any unlucky chills. Then she made sure her maids had their shawls.

They were just about to head out the main entrance of the Sweet Carrot Palace when suddenly two eunuchs arrived. One of them was holding a scroll, and the other announced with a booming voice, "His Majesty, The Emperor, has issued a decree!! All must listen!!" Of course, this stopped everyone in their tracks, and the eunuchs waited for all the women in the palace to gather together so they could hear the decree.

The eunuch with the scroll opened it up and read it aloud in a very business-like, no nonsense tone, yet he was almost as loud as the other eunuch. "Seafoam Attendant Wen has precious eyes and precious hands. Consequently, nobody is allowed to damage them! Even if Seafoam Attendant Wen commits a crime, none of her punishments shall damage her eyes nor her hands! So said our Great Emperor!"

Wen didn't have to look at the other women pointing their judging eyes towards her. She could feel their those eyes pricking her nape and back. She looked at the eunuch with empty hands and asked, "Will this decree be read to every palace?"

"Yes, Mistress Seafoam," the eunuch said with a nod so deep that it was halfway a bow. "Eunuchs are spreading the decree as we speak. Nobody will have an excuse if they harm your protected body parts."

"Oh," Wen said. "Thank you for coming."

The eunuchs left after giving half-kneels. Pollen Lady Kumi herself approached and patted Wen's shoulder twice, the points of her fingernail guards tapping on Wen's clothing. "The Emperor has a clear interest in you. It won't be long until he pays this palace a visit, and he hasn't done so in such a long time."

Wen clasped her hands near her belly, silently thinking of how even after she'd returned from her years of labor she'd kept her fingernails short out of habit. Now that she was one of the Emperor's consorts, her nails looked out of place. "This concubine can't control our great Emperor, and so, no promises will be given."

Smirking a little, the leaf decorations in her hair fluttering, Kumi told her, "Once his interest in you fades away, perhaps he'll notice one of the nervous blossoms here. His forgotten affections for me might even be rekindled." Quickly, she adjusted her shawl's position. "The Emperor simply took you. You didn't even have to have an audition. The Empress Dowager had no say in this matter. You'll have the Emperor's grace soon. It was good luck that he sent you here instead of the Moonbeam Palace."

"Madam, may this person ask, what's significant about Moonbeam Palace?"

Kumi's little smirk faded into a blank expression. Her brown eyes didn't soften, but they didn't harden either. "Poor Dear, that was where your sister, Honey Attendant Hua, once lived."

Wen's stomach flipped and stung, but she didn't let the feeling show on her face. She half-knelt and said, "Thank you, Madam. I'll take my leave now."

"Enjoy your walk," the Pollen Lady said.

***

"Where did you two work before I arrived?" Wen asked her two maids as their shoes tapped on the smooth stone road. The trio kept to one side, close to wall, to make room for any traffic they might encounter, but there wasn't much.

Nuan, the maid with black hair, she was the one to respond first, and she did so with some cheer. "We servants used to work in the Hard Labor Department, but now we work for Mistress. It's a grand honor."

"Yes," said Moto, her green eyes bright as she looked at Wen's calm face, "there's no desire to return to that place. So we servants must serve Mistress well to keep these gentle positions."

With an understanding nod, Wen said, "I imagine the work wasn't very easy. Your poor hands have bandages."

Both maids hid their hands behind their backs. They certainly did have rough looking hands, but Wen knew that as palace maids, their work would be much lighter from now on.

"Well," Wen said, "you must know where the Hard Labor Department is."

Nuan nodded, but her brow was worried. "Yes, but why should our Mistress care to know?"

"I don't want to go there," Wen said, "but I do want to go somewhere else, and I'm wondering if you know also know where those places are?"

Moto asked, "Where does Mistress want to go?"

"I'd like to visit the Embroidery Department."

Nuan told her, "There are two different ones. The Younger Embroidery Department is larger, full of young embroidery maids who make the clothing for all the servants and consorts, including the Empress Consort. The Older Embroidery Department is smaller, and it's full of older women who make clothing for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."

"Then I'd like to go to the Younger Embroidery Department," Wen gently insisted.

"We servants know the way, Mistress," Moto said. "In fact, one should turn right at the next split in the road."

When that split did come, the trio turned right, and there they happened to see another concubine with two maids. Wen knew it was a concubine because of her makeup, clothing, and jewelry. She seemed to be a Seafoam Attendant. Wen and her maid stopped to half-kneel, for even consorts on equal footing had to be polite to each other.

The strange thing was, that other concubine did stop in her tracks, but she didn't kneel. She pointed at Wen's face and said to one of her maids in an outraged tone, "What's this foolishness?! A maid's playing dress up games with face paint?!"

She had large round eyes, much like Wen did, except instead of dark blue they were hazel. Her face was round. Her cheeks were plump. Her lips were thick. Her nose was upturned and soft. Her looped and layered hairstyle had a pale blonde color.

Her gray eyes wide, her head down, Nuan said, "This is our Mistress, Seafoam Attendant Wen. She came to the Tree Cage this morning."

"The audacity of this one, Mistress Bora," one of the other maids said in half a whisper.

Bora's painted features mashed together in an ugly expression as she stepped forward, not far at all from Wen, and practically shouted at her, "Kneel! On your knees now!! Who's your mistress?! What palace is your place?!"

Wen wasn't required to get on her knees. She knew it. Her two maids knew it. And she wasn't about to humble herself before a concubine of the same rank, especially when this one was so lacking in proper judgment.

Her chin high, Wen said to the other concubine, "If I was a maid playing games, I wouldn't dare to do so out for anyone to see, and besides," here, she dug in her blouse to pull out her badge, "I am in fact a consort. I have every right to what I'm wearing and more." She flipped the badge so her name could be seen.

But Bora snatched the badge out of Wen's hand, tugging on it, forcing Wen to lurch forward since the cord was still looped on her brooch.

Her maids cried out, "Mistress!!"

Wen heard Bora tug the cord away, now having the badge in her clutches. Wen fell over, and her hands instinctively moved out so she could catch herself as she fell. Her palms were scraped, and one of her knees knocked into the hard stone. Wen grunted, but she didn't cry. She was too angry to cry. One of her maids grabbed her arm and helped her up. It turned out to be Moto.

Nuan addressed Bora. "Seafoam Attendant Bora, this servant must ask, was the Emperor's decree heard? Nobody is allowed to damage our Mistress' eyes nor hands, and now her palms are bleeding."

Bora pointed at Nuan's shocked face. "Impudence! Such impudence! You're still playing this game! You've even stolen a concubine's badge!"

"That badge belongs to our mistress!" Moto cried out, tightening her grip on Wen's arm. "And you've attacked her without a good reason!"

"Slap her!" Bora screeched as she pointed at Moto. One of Bora's maids then approached and drew her hand back, ready to strike.

"What's the cause of all this violence?!" That was a heavy woman's voice, nearly raspy.

The six women all turned to see that new woman approaching. She was escorted by four maids. Her outfit was similar to Pollen Lady Kumi, so it was safe to assume that she was also a Pollen Lady. Her glossy black hair was in a tower of buns. Her hooded, golden eyes were strict and perhaps even furious. There was a slight hook in her nose, but it wasn't too prominent. The rest of her face was in a doll-like oval shape, and her lips were small.

Everyone, even the slightly injured Wen, half-knelt before this higher rank, and Bora said, "Greetings to Pollen Lady Hayun." After hearing that, Wen repeated that statement, which earned a bitter look from Bora. And certainly, Bora used this opportunity to whine about her side of the story. This maid's clearly playing dress up, stole a concubine's badge, and so on.

Hayun held up a hand, displaying her smooth, pink palm. Her fingernail guards stuck up in the air like thick blades of grass. "Hand the badge to me."

One of Bora's maids took the badge from her and then gave it to Hayun. As the maid returned to her mistress, Hayun looked at the badge and said with a curious tone, "Seafoam Attendant Wen? The little sister of Honey Attendant Hua?" Then her sparkly eyes touched Wen's face, then her hands. "Bora, you were present when the decree was given, nobody is allowed to harm this one's hands, but you've done so."

Shaking her head, Bora argued, "This isn't Wen! This is clearly a maid! No concubine would ever dress out of her rank! It's against the rules!"

"Bora," Hayun said with a smile as she held the badge out, seeming to be waiting for someone to take it, "what maid would be foolish enough to do such a thing? That would invite a death sentence." She looked at Moto. "Give this back to your mistress." Moto's steps sounded like they overlapped each other as she went over to take the badge.

Bora was still enraged, and it didn't make her look any prettier. "If she is Wen, then this is all her fault! She deceived me!" She pointed at Wen with a shaking finger. "She shouldn't be dressing like this! Her fingernails are so short and bare! And her hair's so plain!"

"There's no rule against dressing below one's rank," Pollen Lady Hayun said as Wen was putting her badge back in her clothing. "Comfort demands that one dress lightly sometimes." Her voice was much calmer, as if she found all this to be mildly amusing and the amusement had cooled her anger down. She looked back at Wen's hands. "Hold your palms out so I may inspect the damage."

Wen's stinging palms were put on display for the approaching Pollen Lady. They were even lightly touched by a soft, coddled fingertip. Hayun's voice tightened here. "Unacceptable. I can't have the women of Moonbeam Palace embarrass me." She stepped back and firmly said to Bora, "You will kneel before the entrance to Sweet Carrot Palace, the straight kneel, firm from the knees upwards. You won't have any food until the dinner hour arrives. A maid will only bring you water. During this time, you will repeatedly recite the Prayer of Patience with no rest."

Seafoam Attendant Bora knelt down before Pollen Lady Hayun and tried to beg for forgiveness, but there was none. "I must enforce a punishment for a crime against the Emperor's decree," Hayun said as she patted her hair with her fingers. "Otherwise I'd be punished. Now go."

With a sour and defeated face, Bora and her maids left. Wen decided the best thing to do was to use grateful words. She knelt towards Hayun and said, "This concubine appreciates the beautiful Pollen's strong sense of justice."

Her eyelashes rising a bit, then falling as a set of pleased lines formed around her eyes, Hayun asked, "Where are you going?"

"I want to visit the Younger Embroidery Department," Wen replied.

"Shouldn't you see a doctor first? There's a building dedicated to several doctors for medicine making and research."

Wen looked down at her hands. They didn't seem too problematic. Her fury had evaporated once Hayun had taken care of the issue. "Is the building on the way?"

"The Medical Department is in fact on the way," Hayun said. "I'll escort you to the place, but I'll have to leave you after that. I have an appointment."

"Thank you, Madam," Wen said.

***

Manager Ri was a woman in her late twenties. She could've left the palace at the age of twenty-five, but she was willingly staying longer. She was the manager of the women who worked in the Younger Embroidery Department. This department was part of a collection that was under the supervision of a eunuch, but he wasn't there right now.

When a young woman with a white face arrived with two maids at the ready, Ri didn't quite know what to think, but when she was introduced as Seafoam Attendant Wen, Ri knew to put on her best face.

"How may this servant assist the lovely Seafoam?" Ri asked.

The Seafoam Attendant spoke in a quiet and cautious tone, almost as if she was speaking to someone very important. "I'm pleased to have met you, Madam. Now, would you mind terribly if I studied how this department functions?"

"Functions?" Ri blinked at the woman. She then made a light ah noise as her brain tried to understand the weirdness that was happening. "I'm afraid this servant isn't clever enough to interpret your words."

The smile that formed on the Seafoam's face, and the excitement blooming in the blue eyes, these things reminded the manager of a child that had been handed a new wooden puzzle. "I'd like to learn how things are done here, and if there's anything I can do to help, I'd feel quite honored to try. I'm like a tinkerer."

That was the oddest thing Ri had ever heard from an Imperial Consort. She gazed at the woman's chin for a moment. Then, with a suspicious but accepting tone, she said, "I suppose that's fine. Please follow me."

Seafoam Attendant Wen listened to Ri's explanations of how the workers were managed. Then she showed off some of the best workers, how elegant and vibrant their work was, and how quickly their needles moved. Eventually, the concubine thanked Ri, and then she asked, "How are the older women in the Older Embroidery Department hired?"

Ri told her, "Auditions are held from the world outside whenever a position is open."

"You don't manage the Older Embroidery Department, do you?"

Shaking her head, Ri said, "No, Mistress. That would be Manager Lohan."

Folding her hands, the concubine said, "Perhaps I could speak with the eunuch that supervises this area? I'd like to praise you for your hard work."

"Ah, thank you, Mistress."

Perhaps two hours after that Seafoam Attendant left, Manager Ri was visited by Head Manager Ahn, the eunuch in charge.

He said to her, "Seafoam Attendant Wen came by, and she suggested something quite interesting. We could see if the most diligent embroidery maids in your department could be given time to study as apprentices in Lohan's department. That way we could focus on auditions for less talented embroidery maids instead of recruiting the more talented ones, which always costs us much more time."

He then smiled at Ri. "By the way, she also said you impressed her. I'll have to ask for a little bonus on your next salary payment."

Ri considered the strange event for a long while. Nothing like that had ever happened before, at least not as long as she'd worked in the Tree Cage. As for the Seafoam Attendant's suggestions, they weren't required to enact them as new policies, but judging by Head Manager Ahn's reaction it would happen anyway, and soon.

What a peculiar concubine!

***

"That was such a weird thing to do," Nuan said as her nose wrinkled, "but it was a good thing to do, no doubt."

"Our Mistress is a thoughtful woman, isn't she?" Moto said as she bent over to look past Wen and grin at Nuan.

Nuan nodded. "She is!"

"Now now," Wen said as she looked ahead, "Let's keep a proper attitude. We're returning to the Sweet Carrot Palace."

Both of her maids said, "Yes, Mistress."

At the palace, they saw Seafoam Bora, her hazel eyes already tired and drowsy. In a monotone voice, she was repeating the required prayer. The trio was able to walk past the kneeling concubine with high noses as they entered the palace. Then they went to Wen's apartment.

For a time, Wen wrote at her desk in her office. She wasn't writing anything complex, only short stories that even children could enjoy. One of the maids helped to grind her ink stick beforehand. The other maid rearranged a few things in the apartment to cater to Wen's personal tastes. Then she went downstairs to the kitchen to give them some mild instructions on what Wen would prefer to eat. Eventually, it was lunch time. Wen could've eaten downstairs, but she didn't. She wanted to stay in her apartment.

Typically, a maid ate before or after her mistress. Yet Wen let her maids eat at the same time as her, and at the same table. It wasn't completely unheard of, but it certainly was considered to be a warm gesture. The social class separation remained, however. The maids didn't have any sweetened foods, and minimal spice was permitted.

The maids didn't seem bitter about it.

"At the Hard Labor Department," Moto said as she mixed some fish meat into her clear but flavorful soup, "we were given servings of fish twice a month and a serving of pork once a month."

"And no tea," Nuan said as she used a plain, orange/brown clay teapot to pour herself a cup. The maids didn't have lids on top of their cups, and their tea wasn't as high quality as their mistress'. "Except when a maid got too sick to work. She'd be given a cup of weak tea every night before bed until she was healed. If she was ill for more than three days then they'd call one of the lower ranking doctors from the Medical Department."

After swiping a loose lock of blonde hair back into its hairstyle, Moto took a greedy bite of a bun stuffed with pork. "Now our food is paid for by the Consort Treasury Department." She forgot to be polite enough to not talk with a full mouth. She sounded like a child. "It's good to be a palace maid." She took a thick swallow of her bun and a few gulps of tea.

Wen smiled, but she lightly said to Moto, "Be more cautious when you eat. You represent me."

Sadly looking down with an expression like a rebuked child, Moto said, "I'm sorry. Your servant will pay more attention." Both maids made a point of watching Wen closely then, and they imitated her the best they could. Wen felt a little bit flattered by that.

"I don't plan on spending much of my monthly allowance," Wen said after a time. "It would be best if I purchase some medicated hand cream for the both of you, since I'll have the money."

Both maids grinned at that. Then they got up from their seats and went down to their knees. "Thank you, Mistress!" Nuan said as her head lowered.

Moto repeated the same phrase. "Thank you, Mistress! Your servants will remember your kindness even in the Afterlife!"

"Fine, fine," Wen said as she cradled a small bowl of steamed rice topped with a little scoop of chicken and green onion, "now get back to your meal. I can't have you two fainting later."

Some quiet moments later, Wen started another conversation about the Hard Labor Department. "Is the manager there cruel?"

Nuan answered, "If she thinks you're moving too slowly, she'll beat your back with a thick whip, even if you have a cold or if you're having your monthly flow."

"Oh, that seems counter-productive to me," Wen said. "Beating a worker too often could harm the body so terribly, which would force the worker to move slower."

"Mistress is wise and thoughtful," Moto said as she tried to keep her back straight and lady-like. "Would this kind Mistress consider paying the Hard Labor Department a visit?"