Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu's Unparalleled Grace

On the tenth day of the seventh month in the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi, Empress Tong Jia died.

At the empress’s death, the whole nation mourned. The Forbidden City was shrouded in grief and gloom. The imperial consorts, princes, and princesses all wore expressions of sorrow, whether they felt it sincerely or not. Though Empress Tong Jia had held the title for only a day, she was born into a great Manchu clan and was the Kangxi Emperor’s own cousin. She had been made a noble consort as soon as she entered the palace, and after Empress Xiaozhao’s death, she had governed the imperial harem as empress dowager for more than ten years. How could the emperor’s deep affection for her compare with the favor enjoyed by consorts who had slowly risen from the rank of honored lady?

On the nineteenth day of the ninth month, she was posthumously given the title...