Everyone in the Capital Heard My Thoughts

The day my husband took a concubine, the capital was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and filled with the blare of gongs and drums. My husband, Shen Yan, had become Minister of Personnel at just thirty, enjoying the Emperor's favor and a brilliant future. The woman he was marrying today was the one he'd yearned for all these years, the young lady of the Liu family, Liu Qingqing. As the daughter of a convicted official, Liu Qingqing had been exceptionally allowed into the household as a favored concubine. Such honor was already an immense grace.

I sat upright in the seat of the principal wife, dressed in a scarlet ceremonial robe and wearing a heavy nine-phoenix crown. My posture was impeccable, and even a carefully measured smile played on my lips. The guests below looked at me with envy, mingled with sympathy and pity