My name is Jiang Wanyu. I come from an ordinary official's family, and my life was peaceful until my father's unforgivable crimes plunged our entire family into an abyss of ruin. He accepted bribes and leaked secrets, causing the court heavy losses and worsening the fighting at the border. Countless people were displaced, their homes destroyed and their families torn apart. The emperor was furious. Though old ties kept him from wiping out our entire family, he ordered me to enter the palace as a servant and atone for my family's crimes. It was a gloomy day, the sky seemingly covered by a thick blanket of leaden clouds that weighed on everyone until they could hardly breathe. With a complicated mix of emotions, I
