Chapter 1
The day before Qin Bai ascended the throne, the woman he had always loved returned.
The next morning, without a word to anyone, he named Chu Ying his empress before the entire court and ground the Yun family’s dignity into the floor.
“Mother, are we still going through those palace gates?” I asked around a yawn.
She had dragged me out of bed before dawn, dressed me, and made me wait in the main hall because, as she put it, the Yun family could not afford to lose face. We waited half the morning, only to receive this news.
“Go in? After he used us to cross the river and kicked away the bridge? If I don’t skin them alive, my name isn’t Luo Yunjin!” Mother’s eyes were red with fury.
The steward entered gingerly. “Madam, the Empress Dowager is outside. Shall we admit her?”
Empress Dowager Chen’s full name was Chen Xian. She and Mother had grown up together, and my engagement to Qin Bai had been arranged after a particularly cheerful conversation between the two of them.
Mother gave a cold laugh. “She is the Empress Dowager. I am merely a general’s wife. How could I possibly bar her? Come. We must go welcome Her Majesty at once.”
She had barely risen when the Empress Dowager swept in with a train of palace maids and eunuchs.
“Sister, there is no need for such ceremony. We grew up together. Our bond is closer than most.” Smiling warmly, Chen Xian reached for Mother’s hand.
Mother withdrew it and curtsied. “This subject’s wife would not dare accept such an address. Your Majesty, please take the seat of honor.”
I curtsied with her. The Empress Dowager sighed and sat.
“Bai’er was wrong,” she began. “He should not have appointed an empress without informing the Yun family. I scolded him before coming. Sister, Qing’er, please do not be angry.”
With one sentence, she smothered the accusation Mother was about to make.
“It has already happened. How does Your Majesty intend to resolve it?” Mother asked.
“Naming an empress is no small matter. The decree has gone out to the realm and cannot be withdrawn. Qing’er will have to suffer the indignity of becoming Noble Consort.” The Empress Dowager sighed with apparent regret.
“So because the deed is done, we are to swallow it?”
“Sister, do not make it sound so ugly. Bai’er’s heart belongs elsewhere, and he acted rashly. I never expected this either. Since it has happened, can you not be understanding? Would it not be better for us all to live as one harmonious family?”
Mother’s temper finally snapped. “Family? What is the Chu family worth? You expect my daughter to be humiliated so the rest of you can be happy? Never!”
“Luo Yunjin!” The Empress Dowager’s smile vanished. “Do not mistake my calling you Sister for permission to forget your place. The realm now belongs to my son. By coming here today, I have already shown your family every courtesy.”
Her voice turned hard. “I advise you to accept the title of Noble Consort. Yun Qing has long been betrothed to Bai’er. If he breaks that engagement, I would like to see who in this realm dares marry her.”
Mother met threat with threat. “That need not concern Your Majesty. I may have few talents, but I know how to make money. If Qing’er never marries, I can support her for the rest of her life.”
“Very well! Your family did contribute greatly to Bai’er’s ascent, but do not imagine we cannot survive without you. You chose this road. When regret comes, do not crawl to me on your knees!”
With that, Chen Xian stormed out.
“Noble Consort,” Mother scoffed after she left. “A pretty name for a concubine. They want my daughter to become one? In their dreams.”
She sent me to rest. By the time I woke, evening had nearly fallen. When I went to the main hall for dinner, I was surprised to find Father and my elder brother both there.
“Father, weren’t you supposed to return to the border tomorrow? I thought you were spending tonight with your old friends. Why are you home?”
Then I turned to my brother. “And you—the Court of Judicial Review has been drowning in cases. Haven’t you slept there for half a month? Why are you back?”
Father smiled at me fondly. “My old injury has flared up. I will not be returning to the border. I’ll stay home and spend more time with Qing’er. Would you like that?”
Of course I did. I nodded eagerly.
My brother’s expression remained severe. “I have worked at the Court of Judicial Review for five years without taking a single day off. I am tired. I thought I would come home and rest.”
Since he had begun investigating cases, he had grown increasingly unsmiling. Even at home, one rarely saw him laugh. At this rate, would he ever find me a sister-in-law?
“Enough talk. It is rare for the whole family to eat together. Sit.” At Mother’s order, we all took our places.
My bowl was soon piled high.
“The fish is good. Eat this—and this…” Father had not taken a bite himself. He only kept serving me my favorite dishes.
Even my inscrutable brother deposited a stalk of my most hated celery in my bowl.
Looking at the pain hidden beneath Mother’s composed gaze, I understood what they were doing. I had been engaged to Qin Bai since I was eight—seven years now. Every Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, every holiday worth naming, we had celebrated together. I had watched him grow from a refined youth into the young emperor he was now.
It would have been a lie to claim I felt nothing. Everyone around me had spent years telling me he was my future husband, the man with whom I would share my life.
And that man had betrayed me without so much as a warning.
My family did not mention him, and I refused to spoil the meal by doing so. I finished our reunion dinner in good spirits.
The next day, however, a palace eunuch arrived with an imperial summons. Qin Bai wanted to see me.
In the imperial study, I lowered myself to my knees. “This subject’s daughter, Yun Qing, greets Your Majesty. Long live—”
“Rise, Qing’er. There is no need for ceremony.”
My knee had barely touched the floor when Qin Bai left the dragon throne and hurried forward to help me up. Once steady, I calmly pulled my arm away and stepped back.
“Do you blame me?” he asked.
“I would not dare. Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, above all men. Naturally, you may marry whomever you wish. This subject’s daughter would not presume to comment.”
He sighed. Before he could speak again, a eunuch announced that Chu Ying had arrived.
“Why is she here?” Qin Bai exclaimed, already striding toward the door. By the end, he was nearly running.
“Your health is delicate. If you wished to see me, you should have sent a servant. I would have gone to you. Why trouble yourself?”
His tender voice carried back into the room. When I turned, I saw Chu Ying in scarlet phoenix robes leaning weakly against him.
“Your Majesty has a thousand matters of state. How could Yingying disturb you? You rushed breakfast this morning, and last night was so tiring. I worried about your health, so I made some pastries myself.”
The sweetness in her voice was so artfully pitiful that even I, another woman, might have felt sorry for her.
They murmured at the doorway for some time before remembering I existed.
“Why, Sister Yun!” Chu Ying exclaimed. “When did you arrive? Your Majesty, why didn’t you tell me?”
She tapped his chest playfully. Qin Bai caught her hand with a delighted laugh and helped her over.
“Qing’er, this is Yingying, daughter of the Minister of Rites. She is now my empress.”
I said nothing and merely looked at him. His expression turned awkward.
“Is Your Majesty introducing us because you wish me to bow to the Empress?” I asked evenly.
“No.” He could not meet my eyes.
I glanced at Chu Ying. The smile froze on her face.