The Story of Huirou

A flower of flame burst from the gilded, curling-branch candlestick in the Eastern Warm Chamber of Wenhua Hall. Shen Huirou set down the fragment of the Yongle Encyclopedia she had been repairing and ran a fingertip over the wormhole beside the entry “Mars guards the Heart.” Beyond the window, the shadow of green plum blossoms swayed. For a moment, it was as if she had returned to the night of the Awakening of Insects in the thirteenth year of Yongchang. Back then, she had been a young palace maid in the Directorate of Palace Affairs, kneeling before the precious gold-embroidered tent stained with Consort Xian's blood, picking up the shards of jade.