Before entering the palace, Yu Xiaojia was just a fishmonger by the imperial city gates. Seeing how prosperous the people were and how cheap fish had become, she happened to do a favor for an official recruiting palace attendants. He also noticed her youth and beauty and offered to recommend her for palace service. Then she looked back at her eldest and youngest sisters, living together in a single thatched hut. Yu Xiaojia felt both hopeful and apprehensive, but nodded firmly.
The palace was full of attendants, eunuchs, and consorts; civil and military officials, imperial relatives, and the emperor all took notice. Some mocked her lowly origins as a fishmonger, while others resented her unyielding pride.
None of them could have imagined that the most unremarkable fishmonger to enter the palace would one day become Empress Yu, revered by the entire court.
