Chapter 1
I first met Princess Ronghua at my birthday banquet.
I was Princess Jiayu, the late emperor of Great Liao’s favorite daughter. When my brother Pei Chu first took the throne, I had been his blade, killing a good many people for him.
At twenty-three, I was still unmarried. No one dared marry me.
Two impoverished noblewomen who had no notion of their place were gossiping about me at the banquet. I was considering how to deal with them when the emperor arrived.
His expression darkened. “Sister, must you make things difficult for them?” I turned toward his bright yellow dragon robes. He looked distinctly displeased, clearly blaming me for troubling the guests he had invited.
After all these years as emperor, he had learned nothing. Every feeling showed on his face.
Perhaps he thought he concealed it well. But we had grown up together. I knew him far too well.
“Since His Majesty has spoken, take your seats.”
I glanced at the two women. Both lowered their heads. Maids filed in, bringing a steady stream of delicacies.
During the feast, the emperor abruptly dismissed the singers and dancers I had arranged. I set down my wine cup. “The performers in my household have prepared a new entertainment. Does Your Majesty not wish to see it?”
He coughed. “Sister, I have something important to announce today.”
I raised an eyebrow and waited.
Su Yu, his personal eunuch, clapped his hands. A woman in white entered, wearing a veiled bamboo hat. “No wonder Your Majesty has no interest in my dancers. With such a beauty before you, ordinary music must be beneath your notice.”
His expression shifted. I heard him draw a deep breath. “Sister, do you remember the late emperor’s southern tour? The Empress Dowager took the twins with her.”
The emperor and I had different mothers. Mine was the late emperor’s Empress Xiaoyichun. His mother, the present Empress Dowager, had been made empress three years after my mother’s death.
It was said that the Empress Dowager had given birth to twins, but the little princess had been lost among the common people on that southern tour. No one had heard of her since.
I studied the woman in white. She was slender, as delicate as a length of gauze.
“After years of searching, I have finally found my second elder sister.”
The woman slowly removed her hat and veil. Her clear eyes were indeed exactly like the Empress Dowager’s.
She was beautiful. Even without jewels or sumptuous robes, she had the fleeting grace of a swan over green water. I heard soft exclamations from the guests.
I looked from her to the emperor. Yes, they did resemble each other.
“Sister, this is my second elder sister, Princess Ronghua.”
So they had even chosen her title. Princess Ronghua gave me a graceful bow, her eyes glimmering with tears. “My respects, Eldest Sister.”
I looked at her, then slowly smiled and raised my cup. “Ronghua, there is no need for such ceremony.”
As I drank, I swallowed the sneer threatening to curl my lips.
Princess Ronghua did resemble the emperor. Both were bastards polluting the bloodline of the Pei dynasty.