In the middle years of the Jie Dynasty, the late Emperor passed away, and cries of grief rang out throughout the imperial palace.
Outside the coffin chamber where the late Emperor lay, Empress Xu led Noble Consort Shen and the other consorts. Dressed in mourning clothes, they knelt across the ground. Nearly all of them were young women in their early twenties.
Once the period of national mourning ended, with no sons of her own, Empress Xu left the court officials no choice but to follow the late Emperor's secret arrangements for naming an heir. They selected Noble Consort Shen's son to inherit the throne.
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.
