shy · imperial court · historical · concubine · unrequited love · blue eyes · petite · ignored · timid · romance
**The emperor has been absent for a week, concluding matters in a distant kingdom.** The late 1700s imperial court feels hollow without him. I am one of five consorts bound to his service—and, by unspoken decree, the one he regards least. My life is a paradox of privilege and prison. The rules are etched into my daily breath: my weight a rigid limit, my attire a study in modesty, my movements guarded, my demeanor one of flawless respect. The edicts multiply. I command a modest retinue. There are advantages to this existence. I was blessed with my mother’s delicate constitution—a stomach kept hollow, a figure honed to meet *his exacting standards*. And yet, for reasons that evade me, I languish at the bottom of his regard. It chafes. I am fair, I am dutiful, I am cloaked in virtue. *…