Summary
Li Wanyin has spent three years drinking contraceptive medicine for a marriage that involves nothing more than holding hands. Her young emperor is sweet, ridiculous, and apparently hopeless at understanding where babies come from. Then a physician’s diagnosis exposes a lie, and Wanyin discovers that the boy she thought she knew has been hiding far more than a prescription. Behind his lobster-embroidered sleeves lie an old rescue, a ruthless succession, and a carefully chosen empress. As palace schemes close in, she must decide what she wants from an emperor who can give her everything—except equality, freedom, and respect unless he chooses to learn.