Primer on Domestic Matters

To a scion of the Imperial House, the Empire itself is a domestic matter.

The Rear Palace has always been a place of contention, subterfuge and venom, both figurative and literal. And being born into this situation, you have to grow up quick and learn to think about the bigger situation of your family.

Parentage
Your parentage is, at first, not particularly spectacular; you were born of a side-room (see Zheng Imperial Harem to learn about the System of Rooms), though your mother Shen Ling'er has always been treated well enough.

As you grew up, though, things began to change, and when you were 11, the earth itself moved under you. The then-Empress, Yue Lin'er, was deposed and imprisoned, dying the next year; and in the wake of her deposition, the struggle to be the next Empress was gradually resolved.

The winner? Your aunt, your mother's elder sister, Shen Xiang'er.