Chapter 1

Before I entered the palace, Dad asked me, “Do you want to be Empress or Noble Consort?”

I asked what the difference was.

Dad thought for a moment. “The Empress is very busy. She has all sorts of little matters to deal with.”

“As for the Noble Consort… As long as your dad holds on to his power, you can enjoy being adored for the rest of your life.”

Obviously, I chose Noble Consort.

I’d been the apple of my parents’ eyes since I was little.

I’d never had a hard day in my life.

And I didn’t know how to deal with all sorts of little matters.

So the first time I saw the Empress after entering the palace, I beamed at her and said, “You work hard, and I’ll enjoy myself. We’ll each have our role. What could be better than making a nice life for ourselves?”

The Empress was beautiful.

She gave a faint smile. “Very well.”

What a nice person, I thought.

The next second, her face turned cold. She confined me to my quarters and ordered me to copy out the palace rules and the teachings for women.

I wanted to protest. It wasn’t fair.

“I am the Empress,” she said coldly. “You are the Noble Consort. I have every right to punish you.”

I burst into tears.

Boo-hoo.

Dad had lied to me.

Being Noble Consort wasn’t as good as being Empress.

I wanted to be Empress. I didn’t want to be Noble Consort anymore.

Dad had said I could go straight to the Emperor if anything happened.

So I went to cry at him, too.

The Emperor looked resigned. “Empress, the Noble Consort has only just arrived. She doesn’t know the rules. Can’t you let her off?”

“Teach her whatever she doesn’t know.”

I gave the Empress a defiant smile.

Her face was no longer cold. She smiled, too. “Of course. As Your Majesty wishes.”

I secretly poked the Emperor in the lower back. “You’re all right, you know.”

He stiffened and left.

But that evening, he selected my name tablet and summoned me to attend him in bed.

How was I supposed to know how to do that?

So I went to the Empress. “Excuse me, how do I attend the Emperor in bed?”

I was asking for instruction, after all. I thought I should be nice and polite.

Her face went cold again. “Noble Consort, are you trying to provoke me?”

I shook my head innocently. “No. I really don’t know how.”

The Empress stared at me for a while.

Then she suddenly smiled. “Very well. Stay here tonight. I’ll teach you myself.”

She really did have a beautiful smile.

Suddenly, she didn’t seem so bad.

As long as I was nice to her, she was quite nice to me.

So that evening, I made myself at home in her palace.

The Emperor sent someone to fetch me.

I shook my head and said in all seriousness, “I’m learning my bedchamber duties from the Empress. I’ll go back once I’ve learned.”

The young eunuch must have been moved by my eagerness to learn.

He was almost crying when he left.

The Empress smiled and stroked my head. “Good girl.”