From Longtime Steward to Imperial Consort

In the fourteenth year of the Jin Yuan reign, I was only fourteen years old. I was born the very year His Majesty fought for and claimed the throne. That year, the Emperor stained his hands with his own brother’s blood, and my mother died as well.

My mother was only a concubine taken by my father; her death was as insignificant as snow in winter.

My father served as a minor magistrate in a small county, a seventh-rank official with little power. I had an elder sister, a year older than I, named Xiao Ruo, born of my father’s principal wife.

That winter arrived especially early. It was just past the tenth month when the first snow of the season fell. As it came down, I was in the backyard washing clothes, my hands red and raw from the cold.

The chill had already set in, yet I didn’t have a single cotton-padded jacket for winter.

It was almost time for the annual selection of palace maidens. My father and stepmother were in a flurry of preparations, hoping for my sister Xiao Ruo to be chosen for the palace. There was much to arrange, many palms to grease.

Indeed, Xiao Ruo was beautiful, but beauty alone could not open the palace doors. Before standing before the Emperor, one must pass through many layers of scrutiny, each requiring silver to smooth the way.

My father, being a lowly magistrate, did not have much to spare. Fortunately, my stepmother’s family had some means, but even so, it cost a small fortune to prepare for the selection.

“Azhi, come see if this dress looks good on me?” The voice rang out, clear and sweet as be