In the Great Jing court, no one failed to fear Imperial Astrologer Pei Chi.
He had grown up on the high observatory, with no family or friends. He controlled the fate of the empire and the movement of the stars, and his power reached across the court.
Everyone said he was impartial and stern, having cut off all earthly attachments in order to understand the will of Heaven.
One day, the emperor was out on an excursion when he fell in love at first sight with Song Zhixu, the prime minister’s daughter, and brought her into the imperial harem.
Later, the Noble Consort’s favor grew excessive, drawing criticism from the court.
Pei Chi repeatedly advised the emperor, always urging him to keep his distance from her.
In Pei Chi’s eyes, Song Zhixu was spoiled by favor and disrespectful to the empress. She was nothing but a pretty face.
Song Zhixu knew all about it.
She was a skilled social operator and had no desire to make an enemy of the cold-faced imperial astrologer.
To secure a peaceful life, she met with him one day in the imperial study.
She tucked away all her sharp edges, pretended to be gentle and fragile, and lowered her eyes with a timid expression as she quietly pleaded with him.
All she wanted was for him to show mercy and stop relentlessly hounding her.
At the time, Pei Chi looked up at her feigned, pitiful expression.
His usually indifferent heart stirred ever so slightly.
He knew the women in the imperial harem were skilled at acting, but he still couldn’t forget the way she had lowered her gaze on the steps that day.
She said, “This consort asks only for a corner where she may live in peace. I beg the Imperial Astrologer to show mercy.”
Pei Chi calculated the fortunes and misfortunes of the world, kept the court and all its affairs in check, and possessed a serene mind as unbreakable as steel.
Yet he fell for this Noble Consort, whose schemes were still so amateurish.
He couldn’t say when it began, but the image of the Noble Consort kept appearing in his mind.
Her delicate hand gently brushing fallen petals beneath a peach tree;
Her charming, radiant smile in the emperor’s presence;
The lively spark in her eyes when she was angry at being wronged.
Pei Chi thought he must be going mad.
If that was the case, then he would never let Song Zhixu escape his grasp.
As Song Zhixu watched the Imperial Astrologer’s gaze grow more and more intense, she sensed something was wrong.
For days, she hid in her palace and refused to see him.
One night, in a room dark as pitch,
a domineering hint of sandalwood drifted to her nose. “Isn’t it too late for Your Highness to try to run away now?”
Reader’s Guide:
1. The heroine is not a virgin; the hero is.
2. Lighthearted and comedic. The heroine never suffers any grievances.
3. An alternate world.
4. The emperor is still quite the charmer. He dotes on the heroine, but doesn’t love her.
Theme: Never stop striving.
