Spring Deepens at the Begonia Pavilion

In the spring of the third year of Jian Yuan in the Great Sheng dynasty, crabapple blossoms were in full bloom in the rear courtyard of the Wu County government office in Pingjiang Prefecture.

Fifteen-year-old Shen Tang tucked away the jade clasp her mother had carved for her and boarded the carriage bound north for the imperial selection. She had thought the palace was just another courtyard, where she need only keep to her place and live quietly. But the moment she stepped through the red walls of Sheng Palace, she understood: the flowers here were watered with blood, and the road forward was paved with people's hearts.

She came from the misty rain of Jiangnan, with no illustrious family background and no powerful patron to rely on. All she had were the keen eye for governance her father had taught her and the clear-minded pride her mother had instilled in her.

The emperor's favor was deep, yet like crabapple blossoms in late spring, the more splendidly they bloomed, the closer they were to withering. In this gilded cage, she had to do more than survive. She had to become her own support.