A Maidservant’s Rise to Power

Jiang Yun was only fifteen when Consort Zhou assigned her to be a maidservant for Prince Qi.

At that time, she had served in the palace for three years, finally climbing from the lowest rank of palace maid to the position of the Imperial Consort’s personal maidservant.

Prince Qi first encountered Jiang Yun at the Imperial Consort’s Yanxi Palace, on the Five-Color Plum Blossom Corridor. There, she held a plum blossom, her smile enchanting.

Later, when the Imperial Consort mentioned assigning someone to him, Prince Qi casually chose Jiang Yun.

The night Prince Qi first favored Jiang Yun, he toyed with her dark tresses and promised her, “I shall confer upon you the title of Liangdi; I will certainly not wrong you.”

To his surprise, Jiang Yun knelt upon the bed, her head bowed to reveal her fair, slender neck. With the utmost reverence, she said, “This servant only wishes to remain by Master’s side to serve…”

Jiang Yun knew that she had not entered Prince Qi’s Mansion just to be a maidservant.

She knew even better that her status was lowly, incomparable to the Principal Consort and concubines in the Prince’s inner court. Therefore, she had to stay by Prince Qi’s side, even if it meant remaining a servant for the time being.

No one knew how long Jiang Yun had practiced her smile in front of a bronze mirror, or how long she had held that plum blossom until her body went stiff from the cold, all to wait for that “chance encounter” on the Yanxi Palace corridor.