as the months pass, orchid becomes more desperate. the official duty of an imperial consort is to sleep with the emperor and produce male heirs, but orchid has yet to be summoned. without completing that duty, an imperial consort risks being unacknowledged for the remainder of her life. knowing this, orchid decides to bribe chief eunuch shim in order to gain emperor hsien feng's attention. her tactic works and she soon becomes the emperor's favourite consort. during her time as the favourite, orchid learns more about the current history of china, and the inner workings of the forbidden city.