Everyone knew the newly crowned top scholar was exceptionally handsome. After marrying into the imperial family, he became a consort envied by all.
No one knew that beneath the red robes lay a woman's body.
She had meant to use her scholarly honors to help others, but became trapped by palace intrigue and a marriage made in error.
She detested the clamor of carriages and horses and loathed the turmoil of court. Her heart yearned for a peach-blossom hermitage, where she could drink among the blossoms.
The world may be drunk, but I alone am sober. Neither the shackles of propriety nor the constraints of imperial power can bind me.
Unburdened and at peace, she overturned the prejudices of a chaotic age as a woman.
