1 Prologue

This story starts on November the third, a minute after midnight. A scream sliced through the silent night, calling out danger to whoever was awake at that time. The curtain of night had lifted, and Concubine Mai was found dead in her shabby, tiny palace that could barely be called one.

The cause of death was not known. However, she had given birth to a chubby baby girl, who, by the looks of it, was happy and healthy. Presumably, the late concubine was done in by the work of an assassin, as there were no signs of struggle or internal bleeding.

A stab wound was found on her abdomen, having been the most prominent as red had seeped through the cloth, staining her clothes.

The killer? Someone related to Yinzhi.

The new emperor knew the killer, but didn't sentence him to death, as he was a beloved army general.

The witnesses reported that the last they had seen of the beauty was when she had given birth a few minutes before midnight.

However, the father is not the past emperor.

The person who killed Yinzhi's mother, the army general, is.

Concubine Mai, one of the least favourite concubines of the late emperor, had been deprived of many things, health being one major deprivation of hers, that would probably lead to her slow and eventual death. However, the assassin had beat her malnutrition, managing to kill her faster than she kills herself.

The thing that confused the royal court the most was the baby. Having been named 'Yinzhi', which meant silver and wisdom, she had a silver bracelet on her, with a unidentified symbol engraved on the bracelet.

Concubine Mai wasn't given anything at all. Not even riches, money, clothes, or jewelry. Even a silver bracelet would seem too expensive for her to buy. Rumors spread. Where did she get the money? Soon, when the girl, Yinzhi, grew older, she got bullied, and is on the verge of ending it all, until five princes came along.

This, is her story. The story of Yinzhi.