Ma Jia Wanqi had lived a miserable life in her previous life. Simply because she was a niece of the Rong Consort's clan, the Rong Consort had begged Emperor Kangxi to assign her directly to the Third Prince as a secondary consort during the selection.
But by then, the Third Prince already had a favored secondary consort, Tian, as well as a principal consort who had borne him two legitimate sons. And that was not even counting his many other concubines. He did not favor Ma Jia Wanqi either, so her life was truly difficult.
No matter how hard it was, all she could do was endure it. After all, her parents' lives, honor, and disgrace all depended on her.
Ma Jia Wanqi thought her days would continue to pass quietly like this. But not long afterward, Emperor Kangxi suddenly died. The Third Prince had previously been implicated in the struggle for the throne, and was purged not long after the new emperor ascended. Ma Jia Wanqi could not escape being confined either.
Later, the Third Prince died of sorrow and frustration. Ma Jia Wanqi assumed she would certainly be forced to join him in death. After all, she had no children and no distinguished family background.
Unexpectedly, the man on the throne issued a merciful decree forbidding the women of the prince's household from being buried with him. All the women who had borne no children were to be returned to their native homes, where their families could take them back.
And so Ma Jia Wanqi was set free.
She had already planned to spend the rest of her life at a country estate, but before she could breathe in enough of that fresh air of freedom, she lost her footing while sightseeing in the countryside and drowned.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back on the eve of the selection.
Remembering the days when others had controlled her life, Ma Jia Wanqi shuddered and immediately decided she would not repeat the same mistakes.
But just as she was planning how to avoid the selection and an arranged marriage, she heard from her mother that the Fourth Prince's principal consort had died in childbirth.
This was completely different from the future Ma Jia Wanqi knew.
As Ma Jia Wanqi wondered how the future empress could have died so easily, unable to figure out what had changed, an imperial decree of marriage arrived at her door.
It assigned her to the Fourth Prince, the man who would one day ascend the throne as Emperor Yongzheng, as his new principal consort.
Ma Jia Wanqi was at a complete loss for words.
Theme: With nothing to rely on, take life as it comes.
