Emperor Of Blue Flower Mountain 94 Volume 4: Where We Lack

Jia Ying, Guilei, and Mei Hua were currently in Cai Fang's workshop. Cai Fang was the Fairy Seamstress, a long time companion and friend of Mei Hua. Her workshop was near the Palace Kitchens. She feuded frequently with the Kitchen staff because of the smell 'getting into her fabric'. When it was suggested she could move, she immediately rejected it saying she liked having easy access to the kitchen's snacks. Since no one knew how to make her happy, they turned a deaf ear to her complaining.

Now that Yan Li and Jia Ying were officially getting married, they'd obviously need wedding clothes. The first and only place to get clothes would obviously be from Cai Fang. Jia Ying had brought her hand-made wedding dress, while some of Cai Fang's underlings hauled in a large wooden chest filled with the dowry Jia Ying had carefully pieced together over the years.

Guilei watched the wooden chest follow them along in the air with wide eyes. The Imperial Queen had specifically told Guilei there were invisible people carrying the chest, it wasn't some mystic art. She couldn't see them because she was "an adult". This was the first time Guilei had ever heard of such a thing and couldn't help attempting different ways to try and sense them. Nothing she did worked, so she could only continue following in mute amazement.

When they arrived, Cai Fang immediately found the wedding dress and scrutinized it without so much as a 'h.e.l.lo'. Cai Fang was one of the many fairies who'd had their appearances changed while Mei Hua was in a coma. Long gone was her youthful androgynous appearance. Now she was a tall woman with a heart-shaped face and narrow slanted eyes. The only hint that she was a fairy was that her hair and eyes were purple.

What's more, adult humans could see her. Ye had said all the fairies who'd turned 'more human' had been given some kind of accessory to wear that made them visible to human adults. These accessories were based off the masks Jin had created for fairies to wear during Mei Hua's birthday parties. Apparently s.h.i.+ Ji had taken their basic function and altered them. Now, as long as the fairy wore the accessory, a human would see them exactly as they were.

"So this is the real reason you asked me to teach you to sew."
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"N-not at all! Doctor Zufu can't sew and Zumu can only do small repairs. When I was off the mountain and I needed to do anything more extensive—"

"Hah! That excuse only works once!" Cai Fang laughed sarcastically. "I distinctly remember you asking for red fabric and gold thread after you got the basics down."

"That is— er— that is—"

Cai Fang clucked her tongue is disapproval. "Amateur work ruining perfectly good fabric and thread! And you used red!"

"What's wrong with red?"

"What's wrong with red! Did Zumu raise you right?! Blue and gold are the auspicious colors here! BLUE AND GOLD. So do you think I'm going to allow you to wear this? For the first wedding ever performed in the Palace? Hm, do you?"

Jia Ying muttered sourly, while looking down, "…how was I to know you'd want it in a different color…"

"I dare you to say that louder, ah!"

"Come on Cai Fang, don't be like that to my soon-to-be daughter." Mei Hua interrupted and pouted at the fairy. "The st.i.tching is really not all that bad. If you dislike a part, can't you just fix and alter it?"

Cai Fang narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips.

"Pleaaase?" Mei Hua's eyes widened and s.h.i.+ned. "I've seen you change fabric color in a pinch, so I know you can do it if you put your mind to it! You've always said you're the best of the best. That you could make a sack into a trending outfit. This is much better than a sack so—"

At Mei Hua's wheedling, the fairy could only sigh and shake her head.

"Oh fine! But only because it was my Lady who asked!" Cai Fang shook her finger at Mei Hua, "Make sure your future daughter-in-laws know I make the dresses in this family. Me. And blue and gold are the wedding colors! I won't let this pa.s.s a second time!"

"Yes, yes, I will make sure to teach them well! You wonderful, most talented, genius of the—"

The Seamstress laughed, "Oh, stop it, stop it! Why are you continuing to praise me, hm? I'm already going to do what you want, I'll even go through the dowry there and fix things up to Palace standards."

Jia Ying looked at the dowry chest and felt gloomy. She'd spent years gathering everything in there together. Some of it, like the bedding and clothing, she'd made by hand. Cai Fang was definitely going to replace everything.

Mei Hua motioned to Guilei in the corner. The pregnant woman had been standing there awkwardly during the entire conversation and only hesitantly took a step forward when Mei Hua turned to her.

"This young lady needs some decent maternity clothes, as well as things to wear after giving birth."

"This person is a girl!?" The fairy asked in surprise. "I thought she was a chubby boy!"

"Her name is Guilei."

"Oh, the Jianghu lovers who ran away from home, right? I remember hearing about that! How scandalously wonderful! But who knew..." The fairy looked at Guilei and wrinkled her brow. "I suppose if I squint my eyes and tilt my head, I can definitely see a pregnant woman in there somewhere…"

"Cai Fang!" Mei Hua frowned and looked worriedly at Guilei to see if her feelings had been hurt. She hadn't objected to the first comment, because Mei Hua had thought the same thing.

Guilei didn't even flinch at the rudeness. Even her own Mother said she lacked feminine charm from the time she was a child. She was completely used to being mistaken for a man. What made her blink rapidly in surprise was being called a 'young lady'.

"Imperial Que—"

"What did I say about that?"

"But—"

"If you can't call me Mei Hua at least call me Lady Mei. Otherwise I'm seriously going to cry."

"….uurk… Lady Mei," Guilei finally conceded. "There's no need to have the Imperial Seamstress make me any clothes. I can make them myself. Some simple fabric and plain thread is all I need to make my own."

"Haaaah?" Cai Fang bristled. "What did I just say!? I make the clothes here!"

"But I'm not part of the Imperial Family so!"

"Didn't you swear your life to Lady Mei Hua?"

"Y-yes?"

"Then you are a servant of the Palace!"

"…is that… so?"

Actually, Guilei and Longwei had no idea exactly where they were in the hierarchy of this place. Yes, they'd pledged their service, but after the party they had been led away by some servants to a splendid looking courtyard and told to wait there for further orders.

Almost three full days had pa.s.sed until anyone came to them. If it wasn't for the timely meals appearing out of seemingly nowhere, they'd have thought themselves totally forgotten. Mei Hua popped in unannounced on the third day, promptly dragged Guilei away to meet up with a woman named Jia Ying. Someone who Guilei only just learned was marrying into the family.

Until Mei Hua said she needed new clothes to the Seamstress, Guilei had no idea why she'd been brought along.

"How could you be so unsure? If you pledge your service and the Lord accepts you, of course that makes you a Palace servant! And that makes you as good as family!" The Fairy leaned forward and poked Guilei in the chest. "And I make all the clothes for the family! I do! ALL OF THEM."

"But— but— I can't wear clothes made by the same person who makes Imper—"

"HEY!"

"—LADY MEI'S CLOTHES." Guilei finished loudly in frustration, then looked fl.u.s.tered and said contritely, "My apologies, I didn't mean to yell."

Cai Fang reached out and lifted Guilei's chin, her strange purple eyes looking deep into Guilei's ordinary black ones. "You must let go of the old way of doing things if you are to properly serve my Lady, understand? This place is not Jianghu or the East or even those strange countries to the West. We do what makes our Lord and Lady happy. If Lady Mei Hua wants me to clothe you, then this is something you must accept. Or do you plan to fight with the person you swore your life to?"

Guilei's eyes widened. "No, never."

"Then I will make you clothing at her request." Cai Fang dropped her hand and took a step back, tilting her head. "Hm… remove your armor so I can take proper measurements."

Guilei hesitated and glanced at Mei Hua.

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one making you clothes!" Mei Hua said in exasperation. She was relieved Cai Fang had stepped up and gotten Guilei to listen. The younger woman was stuck in a traditional (if Jianghu) mentality that was very difficult to break. She'd been stiff and formal the entire way here.

Hearing this, Guilei sighed and began taking her armor off. It was in sections, and as she dropped each section a loud "THUNK" was heard. All the women involved raised their eyebrows. When she was done, she had a plain s.h.i.+rt and slacks underneath. The slacks looked uncomfortably tight.

Jia Ying tried to lift the chest plate and found herself straining.

"These are so heavy! Why on earth are you wearing this when you're pregnant!"

"For protection." Guilei commented matter-of-factly and then added proudly, "They aren't heavy for me either. I've worn thicker armor in the past. I consider this my light armor set."

Cai Fang took out a thread and began measuring Guilei's body in different places. When she was done, she clucked her tongue. "Do you only have these kinds of clothes?"

"Yes." Guilei answered honestly. "In fact I only have two outfits."

The fairy made an ugly face. "Intolerable! Never mind them being men's clothes and not fitting properly, they definitely won't work on a pregnant woman." She pinched her chin muttering to herself and then turned to Mei Hua. "I'll have some clothes made within the hour for her. But until then…"

Mei Hua nodded in understanding. "Right, right, she can't be in the armor."

"It's not that heavy…"

Jia Ying shook her head. "Mrs Guilei, I'm a Doctor and I can a.s.sure you, it's really not good to be carrying around this much weight when you're pregnant. Perhaps you didn't have a choice in the past, but now you do. So take better care of yourself and your baby."

Guilei bit her lip but didn't argue. Truthfully, Guilei didn't know anything about pregnancy. Her whole life had been guarding the Clan's borders. The people who would have informed her of how to deal with pregnancy had forced her to run away when she wouldn't denounce the baby's father.

"Well, we've got an hour to kill so…" Mei Hea brightened. "Let's go to the bathhouse! I haven't had a chance to take a bath yet, so many things keep happening."

Jai Ying eyes brightened in obvious excitement. "Can we really?"

"Eh? Sure? Haven't you used it before?"

The younger woman shook her head. "It was sealed off after you didn't wake up. Everyone's just been using tubs."

"What!" Mei Hua waved her hands around in outrage. "Was it Jin? Wait, of course it was him! That silly man! Those were designed for anyone in the Palace to use!"

Cai Fang smiled gently. "Even if my Lord is a silly man, he is silly for your sake. If he made mistakes in his silliness, surely you won't punish him for that?"

"Of course you side with him..." Mei Hua rolled her eyes. Other than Ye, all the fairies sided with Jin, "But I guess you're right. It was nineteen years for him, but not for me."

"It's as you say," The fairy chuckled, "Before you go I'll tell the servants to prepare the bath for you."

"Will that be alright? If they haven't been used in nineteen years…"

"Even if no one's used the baths, they've been properly maintained for you. Not to worry."

"Then let's go, let's go!" Mei Hua pumped her fist the air.

"Take these with you then." Cai Fang waved her hand and three long robes appeared in her hand. "And Mrs Guilei, do me the favor of stripping off the horrendous men's clothing and just wear this robe. It will be more comfortable and far less unsightly."

Guilei took the thick robe given to her and looked troubled. "Doesn't that mean I'll be walking around the Palace grounds with just a robe and no underwear?"

Mei Hua and Jia Ying took the robes Cai Fang handed out as well. Cai Fang winked in Mei Hua's direction knowingly.

Mei Hua took the hint, "Let's all wear them then!"

"Ah?" Guilei and Jia Ying said together in surprise.

"Who is going to judge Guilei if I," She patted her chest. "wear these robes, hm? Even if I don't like all the formalities, I am married to the Emperor. No one's stupid enough to think less of you if I'm doing it too."

The fairy laughed heartily and nodded. "My Lady is absolutely correct! Here, you all can change in these rooms. That way no one will be watching."

Guilei brow wrinkled at this comment as she glanced around. Who was watching? Wasn't it just them? She'd already forgotten the invisible people who'd carried the chest might still be around.

Mei Hua and Jia Ying nodded as if this was a perfectly reasonable comment. Seeing that they weren't bothered, Guilei could only go along with it.

When Guilei stepped out, she had to admit, the Seamstress was absolutely right. Even though she'd gotten over-sized clothes months ago, they'd begun to hurt in their restrictiveness. It was nice not to feel like her middle was being strangled.

Cai Fang went up to her and undid Guilei's hair which had been in a high bun. Her hair fell around her shoulders in light waves, softening Guilei's sharp features. The fairy nodded, looking pleased. "Now then, you look like a properly pregnant woman. It's a relief on the eyes."

Guilei touched her hair and was speechless. This Imperial Seamstress really didn't pull any punches!

They all walked towards the bathhouse, with Mei Hua shamelessly leading the way in only a robe. Both Jia Ying and Guilei were a little worried they'd b.u.mp into someone, but half way they realized the Palace had been devoid of a single person and could finally let out a breath.

The Blue Flower Bathhouse was built into the side of the mountain. The exterior matched the rest of the Palace, but in rock rather than wood. Where there would usually be windows, there indented squares that had elaborate carved pictures of a river with fish, bears, and deer.

Above each square was an opening about a man's hand tall, that slanted downwards. Steam could be seen gently leaking out. Mei Hua explained that was the vents that let out steam and let in fresh air.

Jia Ying had seen the exterior of the Bathhouse many times, since it was near Doctor Zufu's clinic. But Guilei had never seen anything like it, so they spent several minutes outside just letting her examine the architecture.

There was no door, but an open entrance that took a hard left and then another hard right. The first room was plain but lit with a gentle light and filled with baskets. Some were empty, but others had towels and brushes, combs, and soaps.

Mei Hua rubbed her hands together and started sorting through the baskets.

"This is great! All my regular soaps, lotions, and shampoos are here! Oh, they even have some new ones!" She began grabbing the new additions, opening them to sniff them to try and guess their ingredients.

Jia Ying stepped forward and couldn't help smiling. "Some of those were ones Zumu and I made."

"So it was you two, huh?" Mei Hua smiled for a moment and then looked wistful, "This is why daughters are better than sons..."

"Pft!" Jia Ying covered her mouth to stop from laughing.

"What? You think I'm joking? Just you wait, all you'll have is sons and then you'll feel my pain," She ignored Jia Ying's blush at her comment and took two baskets and began filling them with various bottles, bags, and towels. She paused and then turned, "Ah, Guilei, you've never lotioned your skin have you?"

"Eh?"

"That's no good," She tsk'ed and then asked, "What about stretch marks?"

Guilei turned bright red.

"Why are you blus.h.i.+ng! I have four sons and she has one, what don't we already know? So do you have any?" When Guilei finally nodded, Mei Hua put another bottle in one of the baskets she was carrying. "I'll show you how to use what I've put in here. One time won't be enough, so make sure to follow my instructions every day, alright?"

With that, Mei Hua handed each woman a basket and then filled one for herself, throwing a towel on top. She urged them into a second room, which was much more impressive then the first one.

The walls were carved to look like moving water and were covered in various kinds of fish leaping out of the water. Out of the mouth of each fish, a stream of water flowed like a small waterfall. Except for the middle shower on the right side, which was a deer.

The younger women glanced at the deer in puzzlement, since it didn't match the motif. Mei Hua could only sigh.

"That's the one Jin uses."

"Oh…." Jia Ying nodded as if this made sense but Guilei still looked confused so she explained, "Lord Jin—uh, you call him the Emperor—loves deer."

"Really loves deer." Mei Hua added in slight exasperation.

"You'll see deer all over the place if you look closely. Next time you walk around the Palace, see how many you can find. Once you start looking, you definitely won't be able to stop! I've found 362 so far, but one of the servants told me they've found over a thousand."

Mei Hua wrinkled her nose. "I only made it to 230… I'm failing as a wife…"

Jia Ying chuckled but Guilei asked, "I don't understand, why deer?"

The other two women looked at Guilei blankly.

"I have no idea." Mei Hua finally spoke. "But his Sister was obsessed with humans. It runs in the family."

"He has a Sister?"

Jia Ying brows drew together in slight anxiousness. "Yes, but it's better not to talk too much about her, especially since you're new."

Guilei nodded while Mei Hua squinted her eyes. She felt something was not quite right in the way Jia Ying phrased that but she couldn't figure out what was off.

There was a wide, long stone bench in the middle of the room. They all set their baskets down, the two younger ladies pausing awkwardly.

"What's this? You're both shy?" Mei Hua teased them. "Aren't you both women, what do you have that the other doesn't? No reason to be embarra.s.sed!"

With that, Mei Hua began to strip. On her right shoulder there was a noticeable, ugly scar. Jia Ying looked at it and felt extremely sad, right up until her eyes dropped.

Both younger women instinctively looked down at themselves and covered their chests.

Hah! There was clearly something Mei Hua had that they didn't! It was no wonder the Emperor was so infatuated with her!