There was great joy in the imperial palace, and great mourning at the prince's manor.
The joy was because, three years after the new emperor ascended the throne, he was finally holding a selection of consorts.
Every household in the capital was abuzz with anticipation, hoping their daughter could win the emperor's favor and rise to the top overnight.
The mourning was because the Third Prince's Consort had died in a fire on her wedding night.
Carriages carrying eligible young women passed the desolate prince's manor one after another, but no one spared it a second glance. They were all thinking only of the wealth and glory that awaited them once they entered the palace.
Inside one carriage, Liu Yiqing gently lifted the curtain and glanced at the manor's signboard, draped in white cloth. She sighed at the tragedy.
Then she thought of the love that had come to nothing, and felt even more melancholy. After entering the palace, she had no desire to try as hard as the others to win the emperor's favor.
Later, at a palace banquet, she saw the man she had long yearned for again.
But could someone tell her why a low-ranking aide from a general's household had suddenly become the emperor?
