Maomao must help keep Consort Gyokuyou safe during her pregnancy. An imperial consort being with child is supposed to be a matter of the utmost secrecy, but this is the rear palace, where maneuvering and backstabbing are as commonplace as banter and tea parties. Threats seem to lurk around every corner--but it's not just the rear palace keeping busy. Jinshi finds himself struggling to entertain a most unusual request from a pair of visiting ambassadors. Later, he's invited to an important gathering in a faraway place--but who knows what dangers might be waiting for him?