The Emperor made an exception and allowed Hanshu to enter the palace through the Longzong Gate without going through the selection, to wait for her coming of age at Zhongcui Palace.
As the days passed, Hanshu grew more and more beautiful. Her features came to bear a faint resemblance to those of her late elder sister, the Empress.
Hanshu, who had originally had neither title nor rank, was personally granted the title of Concubine Jia by the Emperor. A month later, she was promoted to Consort Jia and became the mistress of Zhongcui Palace.
The women of the harem, who had spent years waiting in vain to rise in rank, were green with envy and began gossiping behind her back: "She only got where she is by riding on the late Empress's coattails."
(Blurb subject to change.)
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[Reader Advisory]
* This is a palace-intrigue story, not wish fulfillment. There are no winners; it is a story of women mourning one another.
* Enter with caution if any of these tropes bother you.
* The heroine is partly based on a real person. The setting is a fictionalized Qing dynasty.
2021.8.23
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Theme: Once you enter the palace gates, the depths of the sea await
