"Supreme Yuanhe, Bai'er's [1] ascension to the throne was done with no alternative..." The Cining Palace's main hall had long since been remodelled into a ritual hall, the incense in the censers burning throughout day and night, the entirety of the Cining Palace seeming to be enveloped in the smoke. But the Imperial Palace had always been a renowned and powerful place, and such a ritual hall, when placed within it, seemed rather comical. But Lu Pingwan had never thought so; ever since she'd moved to the Cining Palace and become the Empress Dowager, she'd knelt on this praying mat as she did now for hundreds of days. She wore rough cloth attire, but the jade prayer beads she counted were translucent and limpid. The incense's ash fluttered and fell upon the gold-grouted tiles, as if covering the Cining Palace in a white Daoist robe. She'd been praying all along; praying to the Supreme, praying to her ancestors to forgive her daughter's violation...