The Imperial Consort

She drifted among the countless women of the imperial harem, beneath the moon over Chang'an, where red sleeves filled the night with fragrance. Only much, much later, when she had become the object of boundless favor, did she suddenly look back and see it all as a dream of flowers, beautiful and fleeting as a wound. The loneliest moment was simply this one.

Could she ever be happy?

I write of a woman named Zi'an, unrelated to history. Amid the hardships and dangers of the imperial harem, where everyone schemes against everyone else, she must tread carefully at every turn. Yet we can still see that her heart, from beginning to end, has always been kind.