Orchids in the Han Palace: Dou Yifang

She can hear the whispers of people's hearts, but not the echoes of fate. From a poor girl by the Qing River to the Grand Empress Dowager who ruled through three Han reigns, Dou Yifang spent sixty years walking along the edge of a blade, her eyes able to see into people's hearts.

This is a story of a woman and an era shaping one another.

In the early Western Han, the realm had only just been pacified, and everything was waiting to be rebuilt. Dou Yifang entered the palace as a maid. By a twist of fate, she was sent to the borderland state of Dai, where she became a concubine of Prince Liu Heng. No one expected her to be the one who lasted to the end. The prince's first wife had borne him four sons and had deep roots in the household; the harem was crowded with beautiful women, while powerful nobles fought for influence at court. Her only support was Liu Heng's restrained affection, and a secret she could never tell anyone: she could always hear what others truly thought in their hearts.