Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I am an unfavored Imperial Concubine.
Not that it really matters; none of the Imperial Concubines in the palace are favored anyway.
Rumor has it that the Emperor has a hidden ailment. It isn’t anything major-he simply doesn’t like women, and he simply doesn’t like men. The Emperor never summons anyone to attend to him at night; he only loves reading memorials. However, the Emperor is handsome, and he is a good person.
I’m a bit fond of the Emperor.
By my careful count, I have been in the palace for two full years now. From the age of fourteen to sixteen, through so many days and nights, I have only seen the Emperor three times. Once was during the imperial selection, once was at a palace banquet, and the other time was in the Imperial Garden, where I saw him from a distance in a pavilion discussing matters with his ministers. He only showed a soft profile of his face, yet I thought he looked incredibly handsome.
The Emperor has a kind and generous character. Aside from his lack of interest in women, he is beyond reproach in every other way. If only he liked me. But he probably doesn’t even know my name, let alone remember me.
It’s a bit distressing.
How can I make the Emperor notice me? I patted my stomach; it was time for dinner. After eating and drinking my fill, I thought it over again and decided I needed to be more proactive. Although there aren’t many Imperial Concubines in the palace-only four if you count them all-and none have been summoned for the night, what if the Emperor falls for someone else?
If you want to snatch the Emperor, you have to start early.
I firmly squeezed the shuttlecock in my hand to cheer myself up, but I’m just too dim-witted-
It’s probably just as Fourth Younger Sister said: that fall I took as a child did something to my brain. That’s why I’m so stupid now that I can’t even think of a reason to get close to the Emperor.
Falling down?
No, no, Consort De tried that before, but the Emperor just told a Little Eunuch to help her up and then walked away.
Sending soup or tea?
That won’t work either. The medicinal cuisine Kind Consort sent was ordered to be poured out by the Grand Steward.
And more frustrating than all of that is the fact that the Emperor doesn’t like coming to the Inner Harem. If I wait for him to come on his own, who knows how long it will take.
My head started to ache from overthinking, so I buried my face in my arms and sighed.
If only the Emperor would suddenly take a stroll in the Imperial Garden. The palace where I live is very close to it, and I go there to play every day. If he went, I would definitely run into him. But… the Emperor doesn’t like going to the Imperial Garden either.
Sigh, trying to snatch the Emperor is truly difficult.