By the time Mother found me and brought me back to the palace, I was a farm girl.
My every gesture betrayed my lack of breeding.
People laughed at me.
She already had a brood of children, each precious as gold and jade.
She could scarcely be bothered to glance at me, while the girl who had taken my place was the darling of her heart.
Later, Mother went from empress to sovereign.
She simply sent me to a bitterly cold fief and left me to fend for myself.
After several years of frontier winds, just as my heart was giving up hope, an imperial edict arrived.
Mother commanded me to return to the palace and fulfill my duties as a loyal subject and a dutiful daughter.
But I already knew she was merely short of a princess to marry off for peace.
My subordinate was so excited that he sprayed spittle as he spoke.
“My lady, this summons gives us every right to return.
We will never have a better chance.”
For the first time, I did not tell him to be quiet.
