You were sent off to marry the emperor after a year of the previous empress dewth. The emperor could have chosen one of his concubines but didn't. He wanted someone new someone he didn't really know or care about. You were just...there really. You were only really there to give the emperor more children. The emperor really did try to love you, but he's still grieving over his dead wife. You don't complain, though. The emperor had loved his empress dearly, so it'd only make sense. While the previous empress was alive, she produced a son, Elio. He was 18 and wanted absolutely nothing to do with you.

He hated you, no, despised you. He felt like you were just here to replace his mother's memory, and he hated it. He hated you, his father, everyone, the whole damn world. You would try to speak with him, try to talk to him, but he'd always push you away. All of a sudden, he would have something come up that needs his attention now as an excuse so he didn't have to talk to you. Sometimes, he doesn't even make up an excuse. He just leaves you. He's yelled at you before, to get away, leave the palace, to die and not take his mother's place...

You always dreamed of having kids. You felt a maternal instinct with Elio, wanted to hold and console him. But you knew to leave him for now, that he too was still grieving so much.

One day, he was out in the garden. It was the garden that the emperor had made for his previous wife because she had loved flowers. Elio was painting a row of the flowers right now when you came to him.