As the door-knockers outside the Imperial Chamber were rung, Da Xiao and Xiao Da grabbed hold of the golden handles and began to pull the doors open.
Despite himself, Da Xiao could not help but sneak several glances at Xiao Da during the process. Not out of any sexual desires, for even transformed Xiao Da was still his brother-in-arms, but moreso to ensure her transformation had not impacted her ability to fulfil her duties. Simple as the task may be, Inner Guardsman was a station that required a certain amount of muscle, and Xiao Da’s body was currently one of a woman who had seemingly never worked a day in her life.
Luckily, it would seem the muscles she had once cultivated still served her even in their absence. Regardless of the cause, a guardsman unable to perform their duties would not stay a guardsman for long, and Da Xiao had grown quite accustomed to Xiao Da’s company. Honestly, the worst part of the situation so far would seem to be that Da Xiao could no longer use her as a shaving-mirror, and he had no idea if Xiao Da would even perceive herself as needing to shave anymore.
As the doors were fully opened, a procession was lead in by one of the Glorious and Righteous Empress’s Imperial Ministers - a man in a dark blue robe and tall cap, head bowed in reverence as he trudged forth.
Behind him were a contingent of five women, each bowing as they were led forth - meaning that nobody new was witnessing the Empress. The Outer Guardsmen were facing out into the rest of the palace, the minister and the women were looking down.
Eventually, the minister brought the women right before the tall steps leading up to the throne, and spoke.
“Oh, Glorious and Righteous Emperor, He Who Rules Justly and Fairly, He Who Possesses the Sword and Claw of God, He Who is Greater than All Stars of Heaven, Long May He Reign, I bring before you the candidates of the five noble houses for the position of Imperial Consorts.”
“Thank you, Minister. You may be dismissed.”
The minister turned on a dime, striding out of the room still hunched into a bow. Once he left, the doors were pulled closed once more.
“You may raise your heads,” the Glorious and Righteous Empress said. “I would know the names and houses of those who wish to be my brides.”
---
As one, save for one girl on the far left, the candidates raised their heads, and looked upon the Empress.
The first to speak was the woman to the furthest right of the group (from the Empress’s perspective, of course). She was clad in elegant, golden robes, her long dark hair pinned by amber hairpins. Her eyes were severe and bright red, and she stared at the Empress in confusion.
“My name is Lanfeng, first daughter of the Noble House of Fire. And I have looked upon the Emperor in the past, and I know that you are not he.
Lanfeng did not say this last part. Or, to be more accurate, she did, and then it was un-said.
Before the eyes of the other four candidates, Lanfeng froze. Her golden robes began to glow as her hairpins melted away, inky black hair falling down her body like waves of silk.
Her robes glowed even brighter, before melting away like her hairpins. However, instead of disappearing into nothingness, it was as though the gold wove itself into her hair, giving it bright golden highlights that stood out all the more against the near-total darkness of her hair.
Beneath where the gold no longer was, her skin had turned into a deep tan darker than either the Emperor’s or Xiao Da’s, the only spots of light on her body being the golden streaks of hair and the piercing, firelike glow of her scarlet eyes.
Lanfeng continued with her introduction as though nothing had happened, despite the ways her body had shifted, her now overlarge breasts jiggling with every slight movement.
“I am overjoyed for this opportunity to serve you, o Glorious and Righteous Emperor, He Who Rules Justly and Fairly, He Who Possesses the Sword and Claw of God, He Who is Greater than All Stars of Heaven, Long May He Reign. I only wish that you might be pleased by my presence.”
---
The Glorious and Righteous Empress Emperor, for her his part, was not fully listening to Lanfeng’s introduction, still finding himself enamored with his new clothes.
Truly, calling upon the Imperial Wizard had been the right move. These new robes not only looked incredible, but felt incredible, in ways no fabrics had ever replicated. He sat more comfortably upon the Imperial Throne, as even the sensation of the silks sliding against his skin was beautiful and elegant.
Still, the Five Noble Houses had presented their most beautiful flowers to him, and he could not luxuriate in his wardrobe forever.
The women, to their credits, were certainly beautiful - although none of them were dressed as wonderfully as he was. And some of them seem… distracted. During Lanfeng’s introduction, the other four had also looked at her in strange shock.
“I welcome you to the Imperial Palace, Lady Lanfeng. You other four; what distracts you?”
The first to speak was the woman to Lanfeng’s immediate left. She was dressed in a sleeveless black robe, with metal bangles and bracelets running the lengths of her arms. “I apologize for letting my eyes stray from you, Your Eminence. However, when I noticed Lanfeng’s transformation I thought it prudent to know and appraise the other women who might hope to serve you in this position. I am Baojin, the first daughter of General Tso, leader of the House of Metal, and I apologize for my insolence.”
“A thirst for knowledge is not insolence, Lady Baojin. Now, tell me, what do you appraise of your fellows? Something’s true form can only be seen through myriad eyes, after all.”
“You are too kind, Your Eminence.”
---
Meanwhile, in the center of the group, Mei was freaking out.
It had been less than a moon ago that she had been resigned to her life of peasant drudgery in the rice fields of the House of Earth. She would live in the same small shack as her parents and their grandparents, tend to the fields, pray to the gods, and experience a life the same as any other girl in town.
In that time, however, the carriage of the Lord and Lady of Earth had arrived, picking her out of a crowd and dragging her to their mansion. Apparently, all of the five noble houses had to submit a bridal candidate to the Emperor, but the Lady of Earth was barren. They had travelled the towns of their land, and eventually picked out her - her, average farm-girl without dreams of anything more - as their candidate. They had dressed her in silken fineries and given her endless lessons of etiquette and brought her to the capital - and despite all that preparation, she still felt so out of her depth she might as well be standing on the underside of Mount Tianshan.
When she had first looked up and seen the otherworldly beauty sitting upon the throne, she had wondered if that was just… what the Emperor looked like. She hadn’t exactly had many opportunities to see her before. To call her greater than all the stars of heaven was no understatement, either - this woman, Emperor or not, was the most beautiful thing Mei had ever seen in her life - her long, white hair contrasting with her tanned skin, her perfect features…
Mei had not known she was attracted to the female form, but then again, she had never seen a form as female as the Empress’s.
And so she had ‘resigned’ herself to being potentially wedded to the most beautiful woman in the kingdom (compared to the life of drudgery her past eighteen years had been, it was certainly going to be an improvement - and indeed even an improvement from the wealthy life of the month of bridal training from her patrons), when Lanfeng (who was also beautiful, although nowhere close to the Empress) spoke up and very rapidly closed that gap.
The other three girls seemed to react to her transformation, too - but Lanfeng and the Empress showed no signs of having witnessed such a thing. Moments later, Baojin was the next to transform.
Curiously, she had actually managed to retain more covering than the others - namely, she still had a pair of silvery bracers, matching the long silver hair that rolled down her breasts and buttocks, as well as a few new ring piercings in her nipples and navel.
Like the Empress and Lanfeng, her skin had become tanned and her proportions more absurd - although she was the smallest of the three, not that she noticed.
Regardless, Mei was now fully convinced that something strange was going on. She’d heard tales of magic and divine power of course, but seeing such things occur before her eyes - and, crucially, without explanation - was making it quite difficult to keep her composure, the lessons her tutors had imprinted into her the only reason she hadn’t yet screamed.
Still, she’d pieced together that the spell, whatever it was, was triggered by saying the wrong thing - so, with her as the least knowledgeable of courtly etiquette by many miles, she expected that she would probably be the next to trip up.
“Lady Lanfeng seems deeply confident in herself and her station. She carries herself expertly, and is dressed to effectively display the wealth of the house of Fire,” Baojin said. “Meanwhile, Lady…” Baojin turned to Mei.
“Ah- I am… Lady Mei, of the House of Earth. First daughter! First daughter of the House of Earth.” Oh, and she’d already made a horrid first impression.
“Lady Mei seems out of her depth. Though she is undeniably beautiful, she seems unaccustomed to the Imperial Court.”
Beautiful? Baojin must be joking. Half of the women in the room were possessed of literal supernatural beauty, and the two women to Mei’s left looked as though they had stepped from the finest tapestries. And Baojin called her beautiful? It was flattering, to be sure, but definitely another crack in her composure - not helped by the way Baojin had pleasingly jiggled as she turned to face Mei.
“I… Lady Baojin, you are too kind…”
“You would consider it a kindness to note your seeming inexperience?”
“No, I did not mean that, it is just… all the women in this room seem to carry themselves with such grace… they are all far more deserving than I to be called beautiful…” Mei stammered, her eyes darting around.
“I would agree with Lady Baojin. You truly are a beauty, Lady Mei. Though beauty is not the only consideration I must make in these auditions, it is a foremost one - and I would declare you to have met the imperial standard quite well.”
From Mei’s perspective, the ‘imperial standard’ seemed to involve sun-kissed skin and breasts larger than your head. If she was to be compared with any of these women, with her short (though it had grown some over the past month, a farm girl still kept their hair short) brown hair and brown eyes, she doubted any would call her the most beautiful.
“I thank you deeply for the compliment, Your Eminence,” she said, attempting to bow. “I hope I may meet your other considerations in time.”
“I have little doubt you shall. Now, I would ask you for one final appraisal, Lady Baojin. How would you appraise yourself?”
“Myself, Your Eminence?”
“It is often said that the form hardest to see is one’s own. I would know what you see when you look inwards.”
“Of course, Your Eminence. I would say that I am a woman who attempts to understand the world, through whatever medium I may find. I have studied reason and logic, as well as artistic and military matters. I have long known that one day I may be presented to you, and I would find myself pleased that they day is now here. You are truly as magnanimous and intelligent as my father has said in his praises of you.”
“And would it be that intelligence and magnanimity which pleases you?”
“I am pleased by the whole of your being. You are as beautiful and confident as you are wise and kind. I would like nothing more than to be your bride.”
“Good answer, Lady Baojin. You, too, are as wise as you are beautiful. Now, two of my prospective brides have yet to introduce themselves.”
To Mei’s immediate left was a tall, pale woman with long white hair and ice-blue eyes. Unlike the silks of the other women (or the ‘nothing at all’ of the transformed women), she was dressed in thick white-and-black furs, over a light blue dress. “At once, my Lord. I am Qishuang, first daughter of the House of Water. I thank you for the invitation to the capital, and the chance to become your bride. It is a truly beautiful place.”
“I see. Those furs you wear - might they be of the white tiger?”
“You have a discerning eye, my Lord. In the north, it is traditional that a prospective bride be presented in white furs. When my servants informed me that a white tiger had been spotted in the northern lands, I decided it was in that fur that I would offer myself to you.”
“And who was it that hunted the tiger? I have seen the Lord of Water’s prowess on some hunting trips before.
“Indeed he is. However, when the tiger was spotted, he was bedridden from illness. I resolved to capture it myself - and so I did.”
“I did hear that he had recently recovered from some illness. Did you hunt the beast alone?”
“I inherited my father’s talent for the hunt. I brought with me some hounds and scouts, but the only arrow loosed was my own.”
“You mean to say you slew a tiger with a single arrow?” The empress had begun leaning forward in her throne.
“Indeed, my Lord. That tiger was then brought back to the estate, where its pelt was turned into the furs now adorning my body. I thank you for letting me tell this story.”
“And I would thank you for telling it. Though we may not hear of any white tigers, I would be pleased to witness your hunting prowess myself.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
As Qishuang returned to her straight-backed stance, the last woman did speak.
Her hair was a deep black of its own, and she was dressed in elegant green silks, embroidered with patterns of intricate gold.
“I am Xiangchun, first daughter of the House of Wood. I thank you for inviting us to your glorious estate, Oh Glorious and Righteous Emperor, He Who Rules Justly and Fairly, He Who Possesses the Sword and Claw of God, He Who is Greater than All Stars of Heaven, Long May He Reign.”
---
Internally, Xiangchun was panicking. What on Earth was going on? The Emperor a naked woman, and now two of the other brides transformed - and yet none mentioned it!
Still, the rules seemed quite obvious. If any were to mention these transformations, they too would be transformed - and lose all knowledge of such a transformation. Neither the Empress, nor Lanfeng, nor Baojin seemed to notice anything amiss. She did not know who could have caused such a thing, but she intended to get to the bottom of it.
“Your clothes suit you well, Lady Xiangchun.”
“Thank you, your Eminence.”
“It is often said that fashion is led by those of the House of Wood. Many of the finest tailors and clothiers in the capital hail from your lands, do they not?”
“They indeed do, your Eminence.”
“In my personal experience, however, these tailors have fallen short as of late.”
Is that why you now wear nothing beyond your crown?
“However, it was just this morning that I did summon the Imperial Wizard to design my newest attire. She did declare it the grandest and most glorious outfit in all the realms.”
“I-I would have to concur, your Eminence.”
“Indeed. I too found it most pleasing. What would you consider its finest quality?”
“Its finest quality?”
“Your father has often mentioned you have a discerning eye for fashion. I would have an expert’s appraisal, if you please.”
“A-at once, your Eminence.” Storm and suffering! I can see not a stitch upon her - and to reveal that fact would seal my fate! Dare I lie? But if I try to guess what she sees, and guess wrong, what might happen then? “The- the brocades are quite wonderful.”
“You would consider this outfit’s finest qualities its brocades?”
“Well, it is beautiful in its entirety. A portrait has not a finest brushstroke, a tapestry not a finest thread… Oh, I cannot do this. You wear nothing!”
And within a moment, Qishuang was dressed just the same. Unlike the balanced proportions of the others, however, she was bottom-heavy in the extreme, surpassing even the Empress in her lower proportions. The bronzed buttocks were plush and springy, her black hair falling over her shoulders so that nothing might obscure the view of her rear, which was even now swaying as she did nothing but stand still, as though the raw magic within it compelled it to jiggle at all moments.
“Expertly put, Lady Qishuang. Indeed, all five of you have composed yourself excellently in just this short conversation. I would have us retire to a more comfortable location, that I might learn about you in more detail.”
Mei felt a knot of tension melt within her. She had, somehow, survived the first part of the auditions - and would now be heading to a ‘more comfortable location’ with these absurdly beautiful women.
Her eyes met with Qishuang’s, who stood a whole head above her.
So it would seem we have evaded the spell for now, Qishuang’s eyes said. Although I doubt your claims of ‘first daughter’, I look forward to talking about this situation with you in more detail.
Mei had not known eyes could say so much. The knot of tension was coming back… but so was excitement.
Thu Jun 12 21:24:10 2025
5 comments Last updated: Fri Jun 13 18:43:01 2025