Chapter 2

I did not want to become a phoenix. On the day we were to appear before the Emperor, I cut my thigh and claimed my monthly bleeding had begun, staining my clothes with blood.

The palace matron looked at me as though I were an ill omen. She said I was not only stupid but unlucky as well.

Having missed the audience, I could only become a palace maid.

I heard that the other eight girls who appeared before him were all taken into the harem. Some became Beauties; others were granted the rank of Zhaoyi.

Xiaochun rose highest of all and became Consort Liang.

When she came to see me, she gave me a thorough scolding. She said I was a fool to turn down a life of wealth and honor just to serve others as a slave.

I smiled and told her, “Being a palace maid is quite nice too. I get enough to eat, and my clothes are good.”

The Emperor adored her. He visited her palace every day and showered her with gifts.

Xiaochun gave me a great deal of gold and silver jewelry. She told me to share some with the palace maids and eunuchs so my life would be easier in the future.

I was assigned to the imperial kitchens as a fire-tending maid.

The chief cook, Eunuch Hong, was kindly and never made things difficult for me. Whenever he was not cooking, he would draw me into conversation.

He said I was a good child, only far too slow and guileless. It was fortunate I had been sent to the kitchens, where there were fewer rules to observe.

He told me there were advantages to not becoming an imperial consort. Staying by a sovereign was like keeping company with a tiger; anyone who slept beside the Emperor was bound to have nightmares.

I wondered why the Emperor had sought consorts among the common people. The highest-born among us was merely the daughter of a county magistrate, and even her father’s post had been purchased. Those selecting us had not dared let the officials learn what they were doing.

Eunuch Hong glanced around to make sure no one was near, then explained that the Emperor’s greatest fear was any link between the harem and the imperial court. The dynasty’s founding emperor had elevated his consorts’ families, and that had led to rebellion and usurpation.

Though young, our Emperor was farsighted, wise, and discerning. To prevent the harem from meddling in state affairs, he had decreed that he would accept only commoners’ daughters, never the daughters of court officials.

The selection was carried out quietly and in haste, lest officials try to bribe the candidates. Only half a month passed between our selection and our arrival at the palace.

Everything happened so quickly that I entered the palace before I had time to learn its etiquette and rules.

Xiaochun told me that the Emperor doted on her so much he did not make her study the rules.

He loved her unaffected nature and courage. He had no wish to turn her into a timid, submissive woman.

I loved Xiaochun too. She was bold and beautiful, afraid of nothing under heaven. At times, she even dared address the Emperor by his personal name.

The Emperor never took offense.

Xiaochun said that he loved her, and so he would indulge anything she did.