Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“A principal wife must have the grace to tolerate others.”

That was what my mother always taught me, leading by example.

Over the years, my father formally brought a dozen or so women into the household-not all that many. One of my clearest childhood memories was of his concubines gathering in my mother’s main hall to pay their respects. The room would be packed and bustling, every pleasant exchange concealing a barb.

As a child, I merely enjoyed the spectacle. Once I grew older, I learned to discern the true intentions hidden beneath their words.

The neglected concubines sought to curry favor with my mother in hopes of gaining her protection. The favored ones wanted to challenge her position. Some wanted to secure more wealth and influence for themselves. Others were feuding with another concubine and wanted my mother to pass judgment…

Those beautiful faces came and went in waves. Only my mother remained, standing unshaken above them all, forever gracious and magnanimous, gentle and proper.

My father did not often spend the night in my mother’s courtyard, but he visited her frequently.

When I was three, one concubine was particularly favored by him. Her little courtyard was a lively riot of flowers and finery, making the principal courtyard seem almost deserted by comparison.

Yet no one thought less of my mother’s courtyard for its quiet. Whenever the servants mentioned that concubine, they merely sneered and said, “She’s nothing but a plaything.”

Later, the woman grew arrogant on account of Father’s favor and dared criticize the mistress of the household in his presence. Before word could even reach my mother, Father had already ordered her sold out of the estate.

My father was a cautious man. He placed thirteenth in the imperial examinations in the third year of Tianyou, entered the Hanlin Academy as a Hanlin Compiler, and rose to become Vice Minister of War in less than five years. His smooth career at court was built upon that very caution.

Something like “favoring a concubine and casting aside one’s wife” could never happen in our family-not even the first hint of it. Otherwise, the impeachment memorials from Father’s political enemies alone would have piled up into a mountain.

Besides, my mother was a legitimate daughter of the House of Duke Anguo. Marrying my father had been considered a match beneath her station. No matter how many concubines he took, she was the only woman he truly respected.

Discussing important affairs, presiding over family banquets, entertaining guests, cultivating connections among the noblewomen, managing the household finances-the banking houses, property deeds, and all authority within the inner household were firmly in my mother’s hands.

I also had a younger brother. In time, everything in the household would pass to him.

After growing up surrounded by such an example and receiving my mother’s patient instruction, I believed I would be able to do just as well one day.

At the very least, I used to do well.

But lately, my role has grown increasingly difficult.

After all, unlike the confines of an ordinary inner household, I had married the Crown Prince of Dayi and had now become the Empress, mother to all under heaven.

And the imperial harem was far more difficult to manage than any household courtyard.