The Consort Selection Hall

In the middle years of the Xie Dynasty, the Emperor passed away, and cries of mourning rang throughout the palace.

Outside the gate of the coffin chamber where the late Emperor lay, Empress Xu led Noble Consort Shen and the other concubines. Dressed in mourning clothes, they knelt in rows. Nearly all of them were young women in their early twenties.

After the mourning period ended, since Empress Xu had no children, the court officials had no choice but to follow the late Emperor's secret succession plan and name Noble Consort Shen's son heir to the throne.