Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The year I entered the palace, I was only sixteen.
The ancient Capital had just welcomed its first snow of early winter.
The grand imperial procession set out from the Shen Mansion, a house of generations-old nobility.
Only when the palanquin had been carried through the western side gate of the palace walls did the resounding ceremonial music abruptly cease.
An elderly eunuch said respectfully, “His Majesty feared the investiture of a consort would upset Her Majesty the Empress, so he specifically ordered that it not be made public.”
The emperor loved the Empress dearly.
Everyone in the Capital knew it.
Naturally, the palace servants had no need to hide the truth.
Thinking about it, that was only to be expected.
If not for the emperor and Empress’s deep affection, why would the emperor have chosen so carefully among so many noble ladies from illustrious families?
Why would he have named me Noble Consort and carried me through the palace gates?
All because the Empress he had defied everything to marry, Gu Zhenzhen, was a woman from a declining, minor household who knew nothing of palace rules.
She had been in the palace for only three months, yet she had made a series of spectacles of herself, stirring criticism in the court.
He needed a young lady from an old family, someone who understood etiquette and knew when to advance or retreat, to help cover up the Empress’s absurdities.
My father was Shen Xian, a great scholar of the current dynasty. He had spent his life writing books and establishing teachings, and our family discipline was strict.
As the cherished daughter my father had personally raised, everyone praised me for my intelligence, refinement, and dignified grace.
My every word and movement was held up as a model for noble daughters of great houses.
A Shen Yunnian like that was naturally the best candidate to clean up the mess for the woman in his heart.
Inside Qining Palace, incense smoke curled from the burner, and red candles burned bright.
The momo serving me as I bathed said, “His Majesty is gentle and kind. Your Highness need not be afraid.”
Afraid I would be upset, she smiled and told me stories from the past.
In the early years, during a royal hunt, His Majesty had once been scolded by the Late Emperor because he could not bear to shoot a fawn.
Feeling wronged, he had even clung to this old servant and cried for half a day.
The momo spoke with kind warmth, and I listened seriously. In my mind, my father’s teachings surfaced.
You are a daughter of the Shen Family. In serving your lord, you must also be loyal to your sovereign.
But the emperor, it seemed, had never thought of it that way.
Deep in that frost-cold night, the young emperor came through the snow.
He lowered his head, his expression solemn, his gaze dark and heavy as he looked at me.
“Since you have entered the depths of the palace, you should know your place. Aside from the title of Noble Consort, I will give you nothing.”
His meaning could not have been clearer.
A daughter of the Shen Family had entered the palace only to win the Empress a reputation for virtue. She was not worthy of sharing his bed.
Before I could nod and answer that I understood, the emperor had already turned in haste and strode back into the driving wind and snow.
He was anxious to go to Phoenix Brocade Palace, to coax the woman in his heart, Gu Zhenzhen.
He had brought her into the palace as Empress, taken her as his wedded wife, and once promised her that for this life, it would be only the two of them.
But now he had broken his promise. In a single day, he had conferred titles upon the Four Consorts. The Empress would be heartbroken.
Yes, on the palace road beneath the storming snow, I was not the only one who had entered the palace.
Along with me came Ruwan, daughter of Duke Dingguo, who had been named Worthy Consort; Qingshuang, daughter of Grand Tutor Lin, who had been named Consort Shu; and Old General Lu’s niece, Consort De Lu.
In one day, the emperor had taken four concubines, yet he could not bear for the Empress to shed tears.
So he could only lower his exalted self and go to Phoenix Brocade Palace to apologize.
He pleaded with her, coaxing her as he told the Empress,
“The daughter of the Shen Family is nothing more than a tool to help you manage the harem and earn you a virtuous reputation.”
“As for the other noblewomen, they were a last resort. I need to win over the court’s important ministers and stabilize the Pei realm.”
The Son of Heaven got what he wanted. He protected the woman in his heart, sparing her from suffering and tears over the palace’s tedious rules.
But from then on, countless noble daughters were trapped within these ten-zhang palace walls, never again to see the open brilliance of the world or the vast sweep of rivers and mountains.
The snow fell without a sound. All around was still.
After a long while, Qinghe, who had been standing with me before the palace doors watching the snow, frowned and urged,
“Miss, you will catch cold…”
I shook my head and pressed down the desolation filling my heart.
“Not Miss. Your Highness.”
The once high-spirited talented woman of the Capital, Shen Yunnian, once cherished in every possible way by the man she loved, was already dead.
She died on that day in the First Year of Mingde, beneath the swirling snow.