Three Kings and a Princess

•─☾#2 Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew – Part I☽⋅─•

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“Wake up, lazybones.”

Mao opened her eyes. She felt sick, and the sight of the madam’s face didn’t help. The room spun as she sat up. She kept the thought “Grams leave me alone” to herself. Pleading with the old madam, Yarite Babaa, was worse than wasted breath.

“Hurry, there is someone to see you.” The madam jabbed Maomao.

“Jinshi?” Mao asked and nearly vomited. “I’m too sick for this,” she wailed silently.

Her stomach settled a bit, and her thoughts cleared slightly. “No, it wouldn’t be Jinshi,” she thought. “Maybe one of his messengers. What if he’d relapsed and died? That would mean an excruciatingly slow execution. Better poison, where did I put the Lemony Deathcaps.” Her thoughts whirled. If so, she shouldn’t expect any help from Grams.

“The Moon Prince?” The madam’s sneer was almost a relief after Mao’s thoughts. “You had your chance, girl, and wasted it. No, you’ll have to take what comes to you like the rest.”

It took a full three seconds for Mao to understand what the madam meant. Once she understood, her thoughts raced. “Haven’t I brought you enough wealthy clients?” If the sly old madam was killing the golden goose, someone must have offered a huge fee.

“Pairin, come help the princess get ready.” With those words, the madam left, replaced by the Pairin.

The first princess of Verdigris House looked at Mao with almond eyes, clouded with concern. Her long purple hair was disheveled, as if she too had been aroused from her sleep.

“You look sick, little one. I brought you some herbs. You left them with me when I was ill,” Pairin said, offering an earthen mug.

Mao gratefully drank what she was given. The warmth of ginger tea soothed her throat, and the slightly bitter tang of tangerine peel cut through the soapy taste of zǐsū.

“A good mixture,” she thought, as the urge to vomit ebbed, replaced by a gentle warmth spreading through her #chest.

She put down the mug and nodded thanks to Pairin.

“I don’t want to do this.” The grumble escaped her. She knew it was pointless, but she couldn’t help it, and Pairin wouldn’t hold it against her.

“Cheer up, little one,” Pairin said. “It’s not so bad. Besides paying Madam, your guest brought you expensive gifts: A #chest with as much gold as I receive for three nights.”

Maomao went still. Pairin did not exaggerate about such things. What good was gold if she were robbed of her freedom? If all she wanted was wealth, then she could have had Jinshi long ago.

[Continued in Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew – Part II]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew: Part IIA

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2/12 #wss366 #regard #ScribesAndMakers #Vivid? #MastoPrompt #Continuous

[Continued from “Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew: Part I”]

"Your visitor brought you not only gold but a dress too. It's outlandish, but it's made of the finest material," Pairin said, as she laid out a blue dress.

Mao’s eyes widened. The dress was made of soft blue silk layered over cream-toned linen and cotton; every ruffle was cut and stitched with almost obsessive care. Red satin ribbons and a #vivid blue sapphire finished off the opulent dress. It was an absurdly costly foreign gown—clearly the work of someone with far more money than sense.

It tugged at her memory, although she couldn’t say why. No one from Li would ever dream of wearing something so impractical.

Had an eastern prince, with no #regard for common sense, decided to court her?

With Pairin's help, Mao was slowly encased in a monument of silk, linen, and layers of petticoats. Finished, Pairin stepped back and admired her achievement. “Just think what we could sell this for.”

The lack of a compliment would have insulted any other woman. Instead, Mao thought the same thing, picturing the mounds of herbs and medicine she could buy. She hoped she would have the chance to do so instead of being packed off to someone’s harem or taken to a barbarous land to the east.

“Hmm,” Mao wondered. “Or did she mean me?” It didn’t really matter; they were both practical women. Marriage for the inhabitants of Verdigris House was about money first, with love being an afterthought.

“Would you like something to help with your first time? New girls often do.” Pairin produced a small packet. “Just the first time. Any more is bad for you.”

“Poppy paste,” Mao thought. She took it and secreted it away. “But not for this. I’ll save it for when nothing else works,” picturing a maimed soldier. “Or for someone too important to feel pain.”

A smile touched Pairin’s lips as she watched Mao both accept her gift and refuse to use it. “Come, we mustn’t keep the client waiting any longer.”

[Continued in the next post “Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew: Part IIB”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew: Part IIB

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2/12 #wss366 #ScribesAndMakers #MastoPrompt

[Continued from previous post “Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew: Part IIA”]

The two walked to the parlor in the main house, with Mao being careful not to trip on her new, awkward gown. Managing it was a #continuous nightmare. If people had to wear these things every day, they would be useless for anything but decoration. Just something for men to look at. The thought displeased her.

The first thing she noticed upon entering the building was the scent of sandalwood and agarwood with a touch of frankincense. “An expensive waste of precious resins,” she thought. But that was to be expected, given how important this guest seemed to be.

Upon entering the parlor, her eyes were drawn to a man dressed in a lavishly embroidered gown. His clothes were rich with gold and silver thread; no expense had been spared. A gold crown adorned his head.

He rose and called to her, “Niang Niang, at last I can reveal my true identity.”

Mao stopped. “No, no, it couldn’t be!” The thought whirled in her head.

“Tianyu,” she said in complete disbelief. The dissection-mad surgeon stood before her in regal robes, arms outstretched with a besotted look on his face. A less august person was hard to imagine.

[Continued tomorrow in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part I”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part I

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#wss366 #draw #MastoPrompt #Wobble

[Continued from “Gold I Bring to Crown You Anew”]

Seconds ticked by as Mao stared at Tianyu. Just before the incident with the Shaoh assassin, she had seen Tianyu fleeing Dr. Liu’s wrath. But now, Tainyu stood decked out like an Eastern noble.

Then relief flooded her. It was just Tianyu. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but if the imperial court hears about it, they’ll have your head.”

She turned to the madam. “You'd best see him out or you’ll #draw imperial ire. He is merely a surgeon in the royal court. I have no idea where he found these riches, but they are undoubtedly not his.”

The madam looked between them, concern etched in her wrinkles. A misjudgment could easily mean death.

“I did it for you,” Tianya's voice #wobbled, falling to his knees, trembling hands outstretched toward Mao.

She clicked her tongue in irritation, but said nothing.

“Out with him,” the madam said, turning to their bouncer. “And beat him soundly so no one thinks we're in league with him. Pairin, help Mao take the dress off. If the rightful owner shows up, they’ll want it. I’ll hold on to the gifts until we know for sure.”

Mao clicked her tongue again. That was money she would never see.

[Continued tomorrow in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part II”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part II

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1/4/26 #wss366 #Turn #MastoPrompt #Fall

[Continued from “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part I”]

Mao was #falling into darkness. The ground neared, sprinkled with red warty wind-head mushrooms. “If you hit bottom, you die,” she thought and woke with a start.

“Ugh,” she was clammy with sweat and her stomach twisted. “Bile,” she labeled the taste in her mouth.

Like déjà vu; she saw Gram's face in the fog surrounding her bed. “Wake up, lazybones,” the wraith said.

“Tsk,” Gram clicked her tongue. “Sleeping in that dress. If you’ve spoiled it, you’ll deal with Lady Ah-Duo.”

That made no sense to Mao. “Had Tianya stolen it from Lady Ah-due? Why would she have such a monstrosity?” Her thoughts tumbled chaotically.

Mao sat up to the sounds of crickets and cicadas. When she #turned her head to look for them, the world whirled by like a kaleidoscope with the madam’s face distorted and looking like an evil cicada at the center.

[Continued Tuesday in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part III”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part III

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#wss366 #Lap

[Continued from “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part II”]

The world settled, and the madam’s face was as it should be, wrinkled and sardonic.

“A trick of light,” Mao thought. “And there are no crickets, only the dress crinkling.”

“He brought you this,” the madam said, tossing an elaborate Frankish crown of silver and rubies into Mao’s #lap.

Then she disappeared into the fog, replaced by Pairin.

Pairin smiled uneasily. “Come on, you can’t look bad in front of your guest. Drink this.”

Mao was grateful for the ginger tea, but the sense of déjà vu returned. Hadn’t she already done this?

“Feel better?” Pairin took the cup from her and then smoothed her hair, a half-mocking smile on her face. “Then let’s get ready; we must look to your autumn. The jasmine flower loses its fragrance in summer.”

“Who would sniff wormwood and expect jasmine?” Mao’s voice was sharp.

“The night-blooming jasmine longs to entwine you. He arrived with his entourage. He’s livid about your last caller.”

“Jinshi, the Moon Prince,” the name instantly sprang to Mao’s mind. “And he should be livid!”

"I wish he’d warned me so I could have prepared. Doesn't he understand how lotuses bloom?"

“Wait!” A thought occurred to her. “What is he doing out of bed?” Just yesterday, he was recovering from a near brush with death. There was no way he should be up and around—let alone feeling amorous.

"I don't know, but we’d better hurry." Pairin shrugged and stepped back to assess the situation. The sight was less than pleasing, and she grimaced.

[Continued Thursday in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part IV”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part IV

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#wss366 #MastoPrompt

[Continued from “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part III”]

“I should slap you,” Pairin scowled. “Look at that dress! The cat #shed, and you slept in it. Even you should have more sense!”

Mao remained silent and let Pairin scold her. Pairin didn't often slap Mao, but there had been times when she'd deserved it as a child. This was like one of those times. It wasn't like Mao to potentially spoil a valuable item that she could trade for rare medicinal herbs. No matter how tired or sick she was.

Pairin fell silent soon and touched Mao’s face. “I’ll help you get ready, child.”

When Pairin finished straightening the dress, she began on Mao’s makeup, carefully hiding the dark circles under her eyes. Then finally, she moved on to styling Mao’s hair.

All the while, #distant sounds echoed from outside the room. Several times, Mao thought she heard someone calling out things like: “Baneberries—they’re poisonous; don’t eat them,” “These will have the most wonderful flavor of mild lemon or vanilla,” and other nonsense. She even imagined replying: “If you must destroy yourself, continue consuming wind-heads” and “When they reduce your brain to congee,” along with other caustic comments. The words were familiar, but from where?

Her brain refused to settle on a rational answer; instead, it buzzed with energy. It ran in circuits through her body, rising from her toes and blooming in her head like a lotus. She wanted to dash out of the building and escape to anywhere: away from the voices, the suitors, and the illness that threatened to overwhelm her.

Periodically, Pairin scolded her, saying, “Don’t twitch,” “Calm yourself,” or “Stop muttering nonsense.”

Each time, Mao took slow, deep breaths and reminded herself: “I'm ready for this,” “It won’t be so bad being his concubine,” and “He’ll give me lots of ingredients.”

This last thought reminded her of something important, and she asked, “Besides the crown, did he give me anything else?”

“I think he wanted to surprise you with two handfuls of frankincense.”

The thought of two handfuls of the rare resin sent her pulse racing—no, being the prince’s concubine wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe she could even make him rest when he was ill if she had that position.

[Continued tomorrow in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part V”]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part V

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#wss366 bug (Implied) #MastoPrompt

[Continued from “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part IV”]

Finally, Pairin looked over Mao with satisfaction. “There, all ready to go. I doubt the prince will notice a few wrinkles. But that face—what crawled into your mouth?”

Mao did her best to smooth her face out. If Jinshi wished to pick wormwood there was nothing she could do about it except profit as best she could. If worse came to worst, there were ways of dealing with problems after the fact.

Outside, the shadows performed a queasy dance. If only she didn’t feel so ill, it would all be easier.

Just before entering the house, Pairin stopped her. “Here, let me #lend you this.” Pairin handed a loop of silk thread tied with elaborate notes. “I know you don’t fancy such things, but it has brought me luck.”

Entering the main house, she could feel the tension and excitement in the air. An open visit from someone in the imperial family could bring untold prosperity or ruin to an establishment. Some might say it was up to the gods, but neither Mao nor the Madam believed that. Luck played a role, but work and preparation were more important.

The incense blend had changed from the last time Mao was in the main house. Now the mixture leaned more heavily toward frankincense. “I hope they aren’t burning my share,” Mao grumbled and then put on what she believed was a happy face.

[Continued in next post]

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Three Kings and a Princess

Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part V

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[Continued from previous post]

The room they entered looked like it had when Tianyu had been here, except Jinshi rested on the best cushion. His skin was a healthy pink, not what Mao had expected. He was as beautiful as ever. Mao was sure that if he even hinted he was interested in another girl, that girl would happily knife Mao in her sleep. Wars were fought and nations ruined over women less lovely. Only the scar on his face marred his comeliness.

He rose as she dropped to her knees. The room was a public place, and proper reverence was due someone so august.

“That won’t do,” he said. “I have come to raise you up.” His smile lingered too long. “Sit. No matter the cost, I intend to have you.”

Mao crossed the room as Joka began playing a romantic piece on the erhu, then lowered herself onto the cushion.

Jinshi clapped once. “Rice wine, from my consort-to-be.” He gestured to a tray bearing steamed buns, a bowl of salty pickled plums, and another of salt-roasted chestnuts. “Have a bun while we wait.”

His overly jocular manner struck Mao as odd. It was unlike him.

When she didn’t reach for the food, he took a bun between his fingers and lifted it to her lips. The sight and smell turned her stomach, but refusal was unthinkable. She bit down.

The mild sweetness of lotus paste and pounded rice, the faint nuttiness of sesame, spread across her tongue. Under other circumstances, she would have savored it. This time, she swallowed with effort, willing her body not to betray her.

“When had Jinshi become so careless with his power?” Mao wondered. Even someone as obtuse as he should have noticed how unwell she felt. Yet his smile never wavered. There was not a flicker of concern, as if her condition were beneath his notice.

[Continued tomorrow in “Frankincense to Offer Have I: Part VI”]

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