"Am I that obvious?" Meili laughed. "I really must try better to hide my feelings. The Emperor always says he can read me like an open book."
"The Emperor," the girl breathed with awe. "Are you a consort?"
"No, no, no," Meili waved her hands frantically, "just a Court Lady."
She tried not to sound too relieved about this state of affairs, but as she had just admitted, she was very easy to read.
"I'm Mei Meili," she introduced herself to the girl, "the first daughter of Lord Mei".
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mei Meili. Of course your family and brothers are well known, and the tale of your beauty has spread across the city. Your nickname is Wang Zhaojun. But I'm sure you know that already," she laughed nervously, "sorry to prattle on".
The girl blushed sweetly, Meili mirroring her embarrassment on hearing that silly nickname.
