74 A Mother's Love

Yongkang Palace was situated in a tranquil wing of the inner palace and was the axis of all the palaces built to house the late emperor's consorts and concubines with merit, such as the ones who came from influential families or who had borne the imperial family children. 

As the residential palace of the empress dowager, the Palace of Eternal Health was dignified and imposing, the rich paint of its roofs gleaming in the late afternoon sun. The emperor, in a show of filial piety, had issued an order for the renovation of Yongkang Palace upon his ascension. This was his first command and everyone from the court to the inner palace had interpreted this as a display of the emperor's love for his mother.