After the Caged Bird Flew Away

Everyone says Yao Yao is lucky. Though lowborn, her peerless beauty has earned her the favor of Yuan Jingyu, the imperial uncle of the current emperor, who treasures her in the palm of his hand. Yuan Jingyu has a face as handsome as a jade statue, and power enough to turn the world upside down. For a time, his brilliance even outshone the emperor's, making him the most revered man in the land. But Yao Yao knows she is nothing more than a chess piece in a man's hand, one he can cast aside at any time. In the first year of the Jingjia era, Yuan Jingyu presented Yao Yao to the emperor as a gift. Just before she entered the palace, he told her, "Yao Yao, don't make His Majesty dislike you. Be as obedient with him as you are with me." Yao Yao said nothing. Everyone says the current emperor is gentle and refined, mild-tempered, and a rare benevolent ruler who never forces anyone to do anything. Yao Yao was truly tender with the handsome, gentle emperor. Soon, word spread throughout the court that the new consort had won His Majesty's exclusive favor. Their nights were filled with passion, and he even neglected state affairs for her. Separated from them by just one wall in the imperial study, Yuan Jingyu heard her soft, sweet gasps and moans. That very night, he slept in the emperor's bed. He pinned her tightly against him, clasped her slender waist, and softly kissed the corners of her eyes, flushed red. His voice low and hoarse, he asked, "Are you like this with him, too?" Yao Yao said nothing. In the end, the only name she called was His Majesty's. Yuan Jingyu laughed in a rage. As he drove her mind into a haze, he found himself experiencing regret for the first time. -- Later, Yao Yao finally used her birthday as an excuse to seize a chance to escape the palace. From then on, the sky was wide and the birds could fly wherever they pleased. The palace servants whispered among themselves. After the emperor's most beloved beauty vanished, he spent all day weeping silently in her chambers, looking as if his soul had left him. But few knew that His Majesty was not the only one driven mad by that beauty. Yuan Jingyu fought endlessly with the emperor over nothing more than a silk handkerchief she had once used. He sent people to search every corner of the land, offering ten thousand taels of gold for any clue to her whereabouts. In his estate, he built a golden cage, longing to make sure she could never fly away again. -- As fine rain fell over Jiangnan, she saw Yuan Jingyu once more through the crowd. The imperial uncle, once treated like royalty and accustomed to holding himself above everyone else, now had red-rimmed eyes as he begged humbly, "Yao Yao, come home with me. I won't make you dislike me... I'll be as obedient as you used to be." Coming soon next door: There's Nothing Wrong with Being a Widow Theme: The pleasures of this world are but dust