I wake up to find that I've become Ula Nara, the wife of Fourth Prince Yinzhen.
The history books say: “Died in the first year of Yongzheng's reign; posthumously honored as Empress Xiaojingxian.”
I stare at the word “died,” feeling my vision go dark. Is this empress experience pass only good for a year?
To stay alive, I decide to lie flat and cling to a powerful ally, but the Fourth Prince keeps catching me slacking off.
“Are you researching another health tonic, Princess Consort?” he asks, raising an eyebrow as he watches me brew cola with ginger.
While the struggle among the Nine Princes rages, I pass the Fourth Prince cheat sheets and set traps for the Eighth Prince's faction.
The night the crown prince is deposed, I stay up writing The Secret Tales of the Nine Dragons Teahouse. It becomes a hit throughout the Forbidden City.
At the Fourth Prince's enthronement ceremony, I count the gold threads on his imperial robe and doze off. When I wake, the phoenix seal is tucked into my arms.
Wasn't this supposed to be a one-year experience pass? Why does being empress never end?
