I served at the Empress Dowager’s side for twenty years as her chief palace maid.
Steady, dignified, respected by all.
No one knew.
I had borne two children for the Son of Heaven.
Only on her deathbed did the Empress Dowager discover our secret affair.
She held my hand, seeming to sigh.
“Silly child. You kept this from me for so many years.”
“I will issue an imperial decree at once and have you enter the palace as a consort, so mother and children may be reunited.”
In my previous life, I truly did enter the palace.
But by then, Zhao Xun already had a Noble Consort he cherished above all else.
He favored me for a time, then cast me aside without a second thought.
Even my own children acknowledged another woman as their mother.
Now, reborn into this life,
I no longer wanted to be his consort.
Beside the Empress Dowager’s sickbed,
I kowtowed heavily. “This servant would never dare presume upon imperial favor.”
“I beg the Empress Dowager for mercy. Please allow this servant to leave the palace.”
