"The Emperor decrees in the one thousandth year of the Tian Dynasty that the Empress Shi is the model of beauty and grace. As the mother of the world, she has not only been dutiful in her duty towards the Empire, but also dutiful in her role as the main wife. She is obedient and subservient to our regime. As a reward for her efforts, we grant her the unborn child of Consort Yan. This child shall be adopted by the Empress and raised as the next heir to the throne."
Empress Shi slowly kneels in the main hall of the Jade Palace as the eunuch loudly reads the decree. Her eyes crease in happiness. Who would dare to slight her now? Her future child would be raised as the heir of the Tian Empire and her maternal family would become even more powerful. The world was in her hands. However, she would be even more delighted if the child were hers. She had searched far and wide for a solution to her ailment, but it was all for naught. The child might be hers but was it really hers? It didn't have her flesh and blood. One fact that particularly irked her despite the lack of blood relation was that the woman who carried the child was almost on par with her. That vixen was unable to capture the Emperor's heart in the end, but it was rumored that if she were to take off her blindfold, that her beauty would be unparalleled in the seven empires and five seas. The only thing that consoled the Empress was her low birth; Consort Yan was unable to contend for power and now she was even losing her child. She surely had harsh days to come. While the Empress had no particular grudge against Consort Yan, what woman would have good feelings towards a woman whose looks could possibly rival theirs? In the world of women, both looks and power were highly coveted. The Empress viewed the Consort Yan as a lesser rival but a rival nonetheless. She wasn't elated by her suffering, but it did put her in a good mood.
"Empress Shi receives the decree." The Empress extended her arms and firmly received the decree. Its weight was reassuring. The Emperor seemed to dote on her more and more each day. He had awarded her with not only a child, but countless precious treasures and jewels from across the world. She knew that it wasn't love, rather it was lust and respect that led the Emperor to act this way. Her maternal family had ties to a powerful royal family in the east and was one of the most powerful families in the Empire. Her marriage to him had allowed him to seize power in the courts and become Emperor. It was not exaggerated to say that her family had seized the position of monarch for the Emperor. Coupled with her beauty, the Emperor had always spoiled her with lavish presents and gifts and elevated her status to most powerful woman in the world.
***
In a small secluded corner of the palace lies an inconspicuous courtyard. It was smaller and bleak compared to the many ornately decorated palaces of the Imperial Palaces; the walls were a dull shade of gray and the master bedroom was devoid of all furnishings spare for a tiny bed. The courtyard was certainly shabby and out of place in such a grandiose place. It was Consort Yan's courtyard. Compared to the hundred consorts and concubines of the Inner Palaces, her treatment was by far the worst. She had the lowest background among them, and she had a fatal flaw: she was blind. In the Tian Empire, it was considered rude for blind people to go out in public without a blindfold, lest they draw the ire of the public. Many considered blinded eyes as a curse from the heavens. It was rumored that making eye contact with a blind person could spell misfortune. It could even spell disaster for the Empire. Despite the Emperor taking a fancy to her, she was unpopular largely due to this blindness and also because she was the adopted daughter of a lowly merchant. While rich, merchant families were looked down upon by nearly all facets of society. When the Emperor had wanted to take her in as a concubine, many of his advisors had protested, afraid that her blindness would subject the country to a calamity. They were almost afraid that the Emperor had gone mad. She was merely the daughter of a merchant; how could he take a fancy to her? But the Emperor had insisted; when the most powerful person in the Empire wants something, who dares to stop him? Consort Yan had been treated well at first, but this treatment did not last for long. Once she tried to escape the Emperor's clutches, he had been enraged. He knew that there had been a man in her heart, but he had willfully stolen her from him. He had spoiled her with all the riches in the world in return for her love. But this had not been reciprocated; she still longed for her beggar fiance. How could a small man be compared to the ruler of the world? In this rage, he had abandoned her in the smallest and shabbiest courtyard in the Inner Palaces. The Emperor was not willing to rub his hot face against a cold butt. From then on, many had forgotten about her; even the lowliest concubines couldn't be bothered to scheme against a woman so far fallen.
On the bed was a woman. Her face was pale and sickly and her stomach protruded outwards; it was a baby bump. It seemed out of place considering how sickly she looked. She wore coarse clothes that brushed against her skin constantly and created rashes, but the woman simply sat and embroidered delicate newborn clothes with her rough and calloused hands. Despite her poor looking appearance, she exuded a calm temperament often found amongst ladies of the upper class. She was refined in both her needlework and aura. Another peculiar thing was the silk blindfold tied around her eyes. It was light in color and most likely see through, yet the lady fingered the embroidered cloth, almost like she was devoid of sight. On the cloth were beautifully embroidered roses, slowly taking shape.
From time to time, she would place her embroidery down and caress her stomach tenderly, similar to many expecting mothers she hoped for her child to be born healthy and well. One almost couldn't tell that she carried the future heir to the throne. The lady was Consort Yan. If the blindfold were removed, one would see the red rims around her eyes. She was upset. How couldn't she be upset? Once her child was born, before she even got to hold it in her arms, it would become the Empress' child. This matter had haunted her for days and nights. The blood ties would be severed before they got the chance to fully form. Even the embroideries that she had worked on for days and nights would be discarded and replaced with fine silks and sashes. Once she had been informed of the pregnancy, while she was disappointed that the father wasn't the man she loved, she had been so excited that she had brought out all the leftover silks and sewn baby clothes. These past few months she had worn coarse cloth because all of her silks were gone. The supply of silk was good for at least another few years. While wearing the clothes of a slave drew some mocking gazes from the palace maids, how could the worth of her future child be compared to a few months of discomfort? Even the palace maids were dressed more elaborately than her, but it was all worth it. She didn't want her future child to be looked down upon; she wanted her child to lead a better life than she had.
While she couldn't provide her child with riches, she could provide her child with love. She just hoped that her child would not resent her. But before she could even dress her child in the clothes she had made for it, it was decreed that Empress Shi would be the mother of her child. Anyone on the streets, even a beggar, knew what that meant. The birth mother would be cast aside as soon as the child was born and the child would be raised as the new mother's biological child. Consort Yan would have no access to her child and would possibly be prevented from attending family gatherings. That way, the relationship between the new mother and child would be almost as close as a birth mother and her child. Consort Yan would only be able to look at her child from afar. For mothers who loved their children, this was the worst punishment imaginable. The torment from seeing your child smile yet it not being directed towards you but another woman they called mother would not be pleasant.
She knew. She knew that this was an action taken by the Emperor to cause her even more pain. While he had once coveted her looks, she was unwilling to submit to him and betray her fiance. She was not tempted by wealth and power; she had only desired for the embrace of a loved one, but once she had caught the Emperor's eye, her life was destined to not be peaceful. Initially she was unwilling to become his concubine; she was so unwilling that she betrayed her adopted parents' wishes for her to enter the palace and live a life of splendor. At the time they had thought that it was a blessing rather than a curse. But Consort Yan already had a loved one, she was unwilling to look at another, especially one as lustful as the Emperor. Disobeying her parents had pinned the crime of unfilial on her head. In the Tian Empire, filial piety was considered the most important virtue. To make matters worse, the Emperor had framed her as a promiscuous woman who had climbed into his bed. Despite her chastity still being intact, many had cursed her as a lustful vixen. Even her family had decisively severed ties. The Emperor rules the world; without help from her family how could she possibly escape from his clutches? Those initial days in the palace, she had guarded her innocence until the Emperor had finally gotten sick of her and abandoned her. The title of consort was merely an empty title with no power attached. In reality, she was of the lowest status in the palace. She had thought that she could eventually find a way to escape, but one fateful night, a man had claimed her virginity, the one thing that she had been guarding within an inch of her life. The child was most likely the Emperor's. Only the Emperor had access to the Inner Palaces and all the other men allowed access were eunuchs. All the princes were merely toddlers in swaddling clothes so it was impossible to be one of them, and the male officials were not allowed access to the Inner Palaces, no matter how powerful they may be.
Once she gave birth, she would be trapped in the Inner Palaces forever; she didn't have the heart to leave her child in the hands of the Empress. While her child would be treated well, the Empress wasn't the child's birth mother after all; could she really treat a child not related to her as her own? Consort Yan had experienced this firsthand with her adoptive parents. They would favor their birth children over her, and she would suffer grievances on their birth children's behalf. If the Empress were to have a child one day, she would surely forget about her child. She could only be at ease if she were able to supervise the child, even if only from afar. But it was still uncertain if Consort Yan could survive giving birth; as a child, she was occasionally abused by the concubines in her adoptive father's residence. They liked to pick on her because she was blind and meek. This abuse had damaged her constitution, and while she had been nursed back to health, the conditions of the stuffy courtyard she was in worsened her old injuries. The fact that her child was still alive in her womb was a miracle. The treatment had gotten slightly better, but the Emperor refused to send a doctor. She could only bide her time by brewing replenishing soups in hopes that she would be strong enough to give birth when the time came.