Many years ago, the current Emperor was merely a minor warlord among the many rising powers. His territory wasn’t the largest, his forces not the most numerous, and he wasn’t even the central figure at the outset. Yet he made an extraordinary move—declaring himself Emperor just a year after striking out on his own. By the end of that same year, he had captured the city that now serves as the Capital City, established it as the imperial capital, refined the legal code, and organized the court... swiftly setting up a fledgling government. Over the years, he managed it carefully, balancing construction and conquest, gradually expanding to the near-unification of the realm today.
Shao Shang couldn’t help but feel impressed.
The current Capital City was originally the fiefdom of a prince from the previous dynasty. After the Emperor seized it, to save resources, he repurposed the old royal palace as the imperial palace—now known as the South Palace. With the imperial family being small in number, the spacious halls of the South Palace sufficed for both living quarters and court affairs. It wasn’t until the Wan Cheng brothers pledged allegiance that the Emperor, seeing the treasury gradually filling, began constructing the slightly larger North Palace complex.
Viewed from above, the vast rectangular palace stood vertically, with the North Palace on top and the South Palace below—two square complexes, the upper larger than the lower, resembling an inverted "吕" character. The two palaces were connected by covered walkways, and surrounding this "Lü" were scattered individual palaces, along with towers, gardens, shrines, temples, and administrative buildings.
The Empress’s residence, Everlasting Autumn Palace, lay southwest of the North Palace.
The first-generation imperial family was relatively simple.
First, the Emperor’s parents had passed early, so there were no empress dowagers or consorts dowager. The highest-ranking elder in the imperial family was the semi-reclusive Prince Ruyang. Second, the Emperor’s one elder brother and one younger brother had both perished in battle. The younger brother died without heirs, so one of the elder brother’s two sons was designated to carry on the incense offering for him. Third, the Emperor’s only surviving sister was the nearly sixty-year-old Grand Princess, who had a foul-mouthed youngest son—the very Huang Yang who had claimed at Ling Buyi’s residence that Shao Shang and Yuan Shen had secretly met at a blacksmith’s shop.
Finally, the Emperor currently had only one Empress and two consorts: Empress Xuan, Consort Yue, and Consort Xu. Over.
"That’s it?" Shao Shang remembered her astonishment upon first hearing of this harem roster. "Uncle Wan has more concubines than that."
Ling Buyi countered, "And how many heirs does Wan have?"
Shao Shang sighed—this was the eternal sorrow of the Wan family.
"Your father had only your mother, and how many heirs did they have?"
Good fields don’t need to be many, just well-tilled—Shao Shang quickly changed the subject. "Then how many sons does His Majesty have?"
The Emperor had eleven sons and five daughters in total. Aside from the Fifth Prince, who was an unexpected gift from Consort Xu, Empress Xuan and Consort Yue each bore five sons. However, one of Consort Yue’s sons died before reaching naming age, so she bore an additional princess. Conclusion: Empress Xuan had five sons and two daughters, Consort Yue had four sons and three daughters—seven each.
Shao Shang: "...This Emperor must be a Libra."
"Is Consort Yue very favored by His Majesty? Doesn’t that put Empress at a disadvantage?" Even a girl who had never read or watched any harem dramas could make that connection.
But Ling Buyi wore an indescribable expression. "...You’ll understand later."
However, Shao Shang had no time to dwell on the Emperor’s consort dynamics—she now needed to readjust her sleep schedule.Every morning, Shao Shang had to muster the determination of rushing to an early study session to get up and get ready, then endure the patience of commuting across the city by carriage to enter the palace through the northwestern gate of the palace walls. After traversing the imperial gardens southward on foot, she would finally arrive at the Everlasting Autumn Palace—to summarize, she had to rise before five, spend half an hour washing up and eating breakfast, over an hour traveling to the palace, and then a brisk thirty-to-forty-minute walk to reach her workplace.
In just two days, the Empress had thoroughly assessed the extent of Shao Shang’s knowledge. Starting from the third day, the Empress began instructing her in various classical texts. Unlike Madam Xiao, who had simply made the girl memorize scroll after scroll, the Empress systematically outlined the volumes Shao Shang ought to master—ranging from Confucian and Daoist classics, laws and customs, genealogies of noble families, to even taboos and veiled allusions.
The Empress, who loved literature and quietude, was often already finished with her palace duties by the time Shao Shang arrived at the Everlasting Autumn Palace around ten minutes before nine. She would either be reading a book or practicing calligraphy. She had the palace maids set up a desk with brushes and ink beside her for Shao Shang, occasionally explaining the meaning of certain passages or correcting her calligraphy—and thus the morning would pass.
The Empress also designated a side chamber in her palace as Shao Shang’s resting quarters. After lunch each day, she allowed the girl a short break before commencing lessons on ladylike education and etiquette. First came rituals—worship ceremonies for ancestors, deities, and even mountains and rivers. The Empress even summoned two ritual officials to explain in detail the differences in sacrificial offerings and the meanings behind prayers and prostrations, from imperial rites down to those of noble households—leaving Shao Shang’s head spinning like mosquito coils.
Next came the various skills expected of a new bride. These included weaving—specifically handling hemp and silk, spinning, braiding, and even tailoring garments—as well as basic culinary arts like fermenting bean paste, brewing vinegar and pickles, and preparing wines.
"...This humble one believes she will not need to perform such tasks herself in the future," Shao Shang said after enduring two days of agony, finally daring to voice her thoughts.
The Empress smiled. "Indeed, you won’t need to do them yourself. But if you master these skills, people will praise you as virtuous and refined." As she spoke, a faint trace of mockery flickered across her otherwise impeccably dignified face.
Shao Shang nodded woodenly. Virtue. Wonderful, just wonderful.
Then came games—currently the most popular ones like liubo, gambling chess, and pitch-pot, as well as less popular pastimes like weiqi and danqi... For these, the Empress would summon Luo Jitong to lead the young palace maids in playing with Shao Shang.
And thus, Shao Shang suffered defeat after defeat, losing every bet. Even when guessing five out of six dice rolls, she managed to avoid all correct answers and pick the wrong one.
Luo Jitong doubled over with laughter, pointing at her. "All your luck must have been spent on your marriage prospects!"
Shao Shang nearly spat blood—Spent my ass! My ancestors for eighteen generations must’ve been so unvirtuous that even their buried coffins are flipping like discus, wasting traffic police resources!
"You’re fine as you are," Luo Jitong said wistfully. "I’ll be marrying far away to the northwest soon. Keep the Empress company in my stead."
Shao Shang grimaced. The Empress was the epitome of an upper-class, impeccably cultivated lady—even pruning flowers could take her half a day. Meanwhile, Shao Shang was a budding delinquent who preferred swift vengeance—if she wanted to smash a beer bottle, she’d never settle for a soy sauce dish. This was truly a fate worse than death."Doesn't a concubine need to learn household management?" she asked the Empress in a small voice.
To her surprise, the Empress smiled meaningfully and said, "You're a young lady with strong opinions. In the days since entering the palace, you've never brought unnecessary items in, nor taken so much as a needle or thread out. Your words to me are carefully measured, you never wander the palace halls no matter how the maids invite you, and after midday rest you fold your bedding more precisely than the white jade steps before the hall. Zhai Nanny spent half a day talking with you yet couldn't even learn where your second uncle currently studies, while you managed to find out how many family members she has back home, their marital statuses, and occupations. Why worry about trivial matters like household management?"
Shao Shang was stunned. She hadn't expected the seemingly aloof and indifferent Empress to have noticed everything.
"This concubine, I... I..."
"No need to explain. It's good for a young lady to have her wits about her—better than someone like A Ling who's all bluster without substance," the Empress said with a faint smile. "This way I can rest assured entrusting Zisheng to you."
"About Lady Wang, she... she..." Shao Shang felt almost completely exposed.
"After she completes her punishment, she'll still need to enter the palace to express gratitude and apologize. I must save some face for her mother, but you needn't. Say what you wish. If A Ling can learn some sense from you, it would be for the best."
Shao Shang: "......"
As time passed, Shao Shang gradually learned more about palace affairs.
The Empress was an ice beauty who rarely smiled in daily life, yet was actually warm-hearted. When young maids made mistakes, she maintained a stern expression but often let them off lightly. Her closest companion was Mother Fu, who had served her since childhood and was called 'Zhai Nanny' in the palace.
Luo Jitong was nominally Fifth Princess's study companion but spent most of her time in Everlasting Autumn Palace accompanying the Empress. Since Fifth Princess's engagement last year and the completion of her princess manor months ago, she now resided there permanently, enjoying her freedom.
Although everyone in Everlasting Autumn Palace treated her politely—even the anticipated provocations from Fifth Princess never materialized—Shao Shang still felt her tender life was being wounded.
For over a decade she'd been a pragmatist educated in modern society, later specializing in STEM fields that trained her thinking and lifestyle to be swift, clear, and action-oriented. Even her recent learning of the flute and occasional moments of leaning 45 degrees against courtyard pillars in contemplation were just exceptions.
But she wasn't the newcomer she'd once been. She understood these seemingly tedious studies were necessary. Yet being abruptly forced to adapt to this slow-paced life—watching sunlight cast shifting shadows along the corridors—nearly depressed her.
They said the deep palace was lonely, as if time dragged its feet and the sun and moon scattered their brilliance. The Emperor had endless state affairs to attend to, and even when he frequently visited the Empress, the palace remained lonely. Shao Shang began to understand the origin of Ling Buyi's cold, austere demeanor—growing up in such a place could indeed cause psychological issues.
"...When can we finally marry?" Shao Shang sat in the open-sided carriage, elbow propped on her chin. The cool evening breeze was refreshing but couldn't dispel her inner restlessness.
Ling Buyi rode quietly beside her carriage, glancing inside periodically: "Either year-end or early next year."
"Is His Majesty really that distrustful of me marrying you?" Shao Shang felt even her speech had slowed down now.Ling Buyi looked at the girl’s bewildered gaze and said softly, “The universe is the furnace, and all creation the bronze; yin and yang are the charcoal, and destiny the craftsman…”
“I know this one.” Shao Shang’s eyes brightened, as if raising her hand to answer the teacher’s question. “It’s Jia Yi’s ‘Ode to the Owl.’ This is the Empress’s favorite piece; she reads a few lines every day.” Indeed, the torment of this slow torture wasn’t for nothing—look at her, transformed from a science student to a literary one.
Ling Buyi said, “When I was young and unwell in the palace, Her Majesty would recite this to me. Shao Shang, most of what you’ve learned, I’ve also studied. I wasn’t born as His Majesty’s ‘Eleventh Master.’ Only by possessing talents worthy of the world’s recognition could I live up to the reputation of being His Majesty’s adopted son.”
Shao Shang murmured, “…Aren’t you going to say something comforting?” She had heard plenty of stories about Ling Buyi from the palace maids these days.
Ling Buyi gazed at her tenderly. “Even if you married Lou Yao, you’d have to face this hurdle. If you entered the Lou Family without learning anything, wouldn’t you still have troubles? When will you ever change your habit of running away? In this world, as long as you face things head-on, few are truly difficult.”
Shao Shang sighed. “Lord Ling, you’re my future husband, not my teacher.”
Ling Buyi suppressed a laugh. “Just endure a few more months. Once you’re in my residence, you can do as you please. There won’t be a house full of in-laws waiting for you to navigate—that’s at least better than the Lou Family.”
Shao Shang stared blankly at the tall young man on horseback, the gentle breeze rustling his plain robe, his demeanor cold and upright.
She glanced around and saw they had arrived at the quiet alley leading to her home. Reaching out to tug the hem of his robe, she waited for Ling Buyi to lean down, then whispered in his ear, “Don’t you want to kiss me?”
Ling Buyi paused, his gaze lingering on her vermilion lips and delicate, youthful cheeks. Stirred, he moved to kiss her, but Shao Shang suddenly leaned back into the carriage, sitting primly as she declared, “I just remembered the Empress’s teachings—a woman should be dignified and restrained, not frivolous.” Yet her face clearly read, ‘If I’m unhappy, I won’t let you be happy either.’
Seeing her playful expression, Ling Buyi chuckled softly and didn’t press the matter. As the carriage stopped at the Cheng Residence’s gate, he personally helped the girl down and suddenly said, “May I stay at your place tonight?”
Shao Shang stumbled, nearly falling at her own doorstep. Blushing, she exclaimed, “What nonsense are you saying!”
Ling Buyi smiled. “I meant, stay with your elder brother.”
“That’s not proper,” Shao Shang said with a serious expression. “Even if you stay with my brother, people might gossip.”
Ling Buyi raised an eyebrow. “We’re already engaged. What’s the harm even if we sleep together?”
This time, Shao Shang didn’t blush. Instead, she asked in surprise, “Really? Is it truly acceptable? I’m not very familiar—are engaged couples allowed to do that nowadays?” More open-minded than her own era—she felt a little excited.
“No.” Ling Buyi suddenly straightened his face, though his usually cold eyes were full of amusement.
Shao Shang’s interest vanished instantly. She said flatly, “In that case, Lord Ling, you should go back. It’s getting dark.”Ling Buyi wanted to laugh at her exaggerated mannerisms, but suddenly sighed instead: "When it comes down to it, you've just been too idle these past few days in the palace. Don't you feel there's something inappropriate about that?"
Shao Shang tensed up: "Have I done something wrong? I thought I've been very careful in the palace." In this terrifying imperial court, she practically counted every step she took—had she already made a mistake!?
Ling Buyi sympathetically stroked her hair: "It's nothing serious. His Majesty might reprimand you a bit, but it might not necessarily be a bad thing."
Author's note: Let me think carefully about how to make the next chapter's drama more explosive 2333333-
Reminder again: Don't try to match this with actual history. I just needed this setting to tell a dramatic story. As for where the story goes next—if your guesses turn out wrong, don't blame me.
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