With the Imperial Jade Seal in Hand, the Dragon Mother Kicks Me Away

In 8 AD, Wang Mang usurped the Han throne.

Inside the mausoleum built to hold Emperor Yuan of Han’s ceremonial garments, a voice drifted out of the shadows. “Your Majesty!”

Wang Zhengjun knelt before the statue, clutching a piece of dark jade. Gold lacquer stained the edges of her fingernails, and the white hairs at her temples trembled in the wind blowing through the underground palace. “Wang Mang is a wolf at heart. Sooner or later, he’ll seize the imperial seal. I had this copy carved from Lantian jade, and I applied the gold lacquer myself...” Her voice shook. “The day Wang Mang declares himself emperor, I’ll hand him this fake seal. Let them fight over it. After all...” She touched the statue’s belly. “The real seal was sealed inside this stone long ago.”

“Your Majesty, I’ve protected the seal for you,” she whispered, as if soothing a sleeping child.

Something seemed to glimmer in the stone statue’s eyes.