From what I heard yesterday from the maids and Lianhua, today is my birthday. That means I've been here for a year. It's been quite a challenge for me to get used to this whole business of having a new body, although sometimes I still feel trapped in a baby's body.

  The boredom of being a baby is something I'm still struggling with. The constant need to sleep, having to relieve myself, and having to constantly whine and complain so they don't think anything strange has been a test of patience.

  If I could at least crawl, I would entertain myself by trying to escape from Lianhua and the maids, but even though they've recently left me surrounded by stuffed dragons, phoenixes, and other mythological creatures, my legs still don't respond at all.

  I'm afraid this will be the case for the rest of my life.

  However, in the midst of this tedium, I have found small joys, especially on some afternoons when Lianhua takes me to the park with gardens in front of the Pavilion where we live.

  Those visits to the park have become my most precious moments. While I am there, not only do I have the opportunity to admire the beauty of the garden, but I also become an unwitting listener to the gossip and secrets of the palace.

  The park seems to be a place where the maids, handmaids, and nannies of those who have permission to enter the inner palace bring their charges to be entertained, and meanwhile, believing that no one is listening to them, they talk freely about palace affairs, revealing to me a complex web of intrigue and gossip that is woven behind the majestic walls of the empire.

  And through their conversations, I have learned a lot about the dynamics and relationships that exist beneath the surface of the imperial court.

  Interestingly, from time to time I hear the maids talking about someone achieving something called Skin Tempering or Muscle Tempering. They talk about these achievements as if they were common knowledge, but to me they mean nothing. The only thing I can compare those names to are references in classics like Journey to the West, but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me think monsters or gods exist in this world.

  And let's hope it stays that way. Chinese classics are too obscure for my taste, and the idea of monsters sacrificing or eating people would make me curse the gods of this world for my luck. Although, on the other hand, I would have someone to blame for the state of my legs.

  Although this whole issue may be related to a curiosity that has been on my mind for months. Almost everyone I've met is good-looking. It's not that they're all models or anything like that, but almost everyone's skin is flawless. No acne scars, freckles, or any other type of blemish. If this only applied to my mother or some high-ranking maids, it might not be unusual, but even the guards and even the few men I've seen are the same. That can't be explained by genetics alone, there has to be something else.

  On the other hand, my relationship with my father, the emperor, has been interesting, to say the least. He usually comes by from time to time to be with my mother, and every time he comes, he always stops by to see me. Obviously, nothing like that night has ever happened again, and when he comes into my room, he only asks about my health and general things. He talks to me a little like a father talking to a baby, but in a regal and dignified manner, and then he goes back to my mother's room with her. On those nights, I'm glad my room is far from my mother's, so I don't have to put up with... uncomfortable noises, so to speak.

  Fortunately, in my first year, I can finally start saying single words without it seeming overly suspicious. Despite my efforts, everyone keeps emphasizing that I'm too quiet a baby, so starting to say single words at the lower end of the usual age range will probably only make them think I'm a precocious child. Although I still have a long way to go, I suppose that by the time I'm two years old, being able to say a few short sentences won't be too strange. Although I still have to think about when and to whom I will say my first word.

  While I am lost in these thoughts, Lianhua enters the room, pulling me out of my reflections, and says with a smile ”It's time to get dressed for your birthday party, Zhāohuán Wen."

  The idea of my first birthday party is both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because it represents a departure from the monotony of my daily life, and terrifying because, after overhearing the maids and handmaids in the park talking about how the other consorts refer to me, I almost expect them to build a bonfire to burn me at the stake. Fortunately, my first birthday is an official ceremony, and I don't think any of them would want to lose their reputation by staging an act at it.

  Lianhua carefully lifts me out of my crib and begins to prepare me for the day. She dresses me in what looks like a hanfu made especially for me, adorned with phoenix embroidery symbolizing good fortune. After dressing me, she picks me up and we go out into the hallway, where my mother and Fei Yi Lingxi are waiting.

  We walk down the hallway and enter an area of the pavilion I have never been taken to before. I look around curiously and see through some open doors what appear to be more formally decorated rooms, so I assume that this part of the pavilion is where the rooms for receiving guests or working are located, and where I usually stay would be the area of the house reserved solely for lodgings.

  I am led into a large room that is clearly decorated for a party. As I look around, the view is breathtaking, as the room is magnificently decorated with flowers, lanterns, and vibrant colored fabrics, every detail reflecting the status and wealth that must be demonstrated when one has a title like the one my father gave me.

  The room is already full of guests, their conversations and laughter creating a constant buzz of activity. As we enter the room, the conversations cease and they look at us as I am led to the other end of the huge hall and placed in a kind of small chair that is in the place of honor. I can feel the curious glances of those present, evaluating, judging, and probably looking for some flaw so they can criticize me, since they cannot expel me or throw me into a bonfire.

  Lianhua stands behind me and my mother sits next to me, with Fei Yi Lingxi standing just behind her. Once we are seated, a eunuch dressed in an opulent robe stands before us. In a resonant voice, he begins to proclaim our names and titles in an absolutely ornate style, solemnly announcing the reason for the celebration: my first birthday.

  While the eunuch shows off his eloquence, or the speech he has been given to recite, I'm not entirely sure, I take a closer look at the people in the room. In the crowd, I see several women dressed in more luxurious clothes than the others, whom I remember from the courtyard where I used to live. Near them are a dozen children, all of them also in formal attire. I see that they are all looking at me with curiosity, as if trying to match the image of the baby in front of them with whatever their mothers and maids have told them about me.

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  The eunuch finishes his speech and the party begins. My mother gets up and approaches the crowd, followed by Fei Yi Lingxi, while Lianhua stays behind me. From my privileged position, I see the crowd dividing into small groups, all of whom I imagine are acquaintances or, being an imperial court, members of the same faction. I also notice that there are people flitting from one group to another, presumably exchanging information.

  I can't help but remember a time I went to a fundraising banquet. The after-dinner party was exactly like this one, but the decorations, the attire, and the dignity displayed by those present make what happened at that party seem ridiculous, making it seem tacky in comparison. With a sigh, I realize that this has ceased to be a birthday party and has become a political summit.

  The only ones who seem unaware of everything are the children. I see that there are about twenty of them, some of whom are my half-brothers, while the rest, I imagine, are the children of high-ranking officials or nobles who have come with the intention of taking advantage of the party, as I doubt anyone has come just to congratulate me. They are all on the side of the room that is clearly decorated for them, with various games to entertain them and several women who I imagine are their nannies watching over them. I notice that from time to time, one of them turns to look at me, as if to check that I haven't left.

  Groups of servants and maids move through the crowd carrying trays of drinks and food. Among them, I recognize dim sum and skewers, which make my mouth water. Although they have already started giving me purees and soups, I miss being able to eat a good steak or hamburger.

  Honestly, I never thought I would miss the McDonald's menu.

  The party has been going on for a while and I'm starting to consider trying to fall asleep so that the whole thing will pass more quickly, since it seems that I have no place at my own birthday party, when suddenly the door opens and a nervous-looking eunuch enters.

  "Han Xin , Jiangjun of the Left Army of the Tianjing Empire”, proclaims the eunuch.

  Everyone suddenly falls silent and looks toward the door, while I realize, surprised, that until today I did not know the name of the empire in which I reside.

  My mother leaves the group she is with and heads for the door as the mustachioed man who was next to my father during the Man Yue ceremony enters. But everything is overshadowed by my surprise when I see a soldier carrying a bed behind him. Granted, it's not very big, but one person shouldn't be able to carry a bed that looks like it's made of solid wood all by themselves.

  While I am still in shock at the sight of the soldier with the bed, my mother addresses the general with a nod of her head ”Jiangjun Han Xin, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?"

  "I just stopped by to bring a gift to the little one, Guifei Xiang. Given her age, she will soon have to leave her crib and will need a bed worthy of her rank”, he says to my mother as he smiles and points to the bed carried by the soldier with him.

  My mother sighs as she raises a hand to her face, abandoning all pretense of dignity as she says”Jiangjun, you didn't need to bring it. If you had just said so, we could have gone to get it."

  "This is quicker. Just tell one of your maids to guide my man to the room where he should leave it”, replies Jiangjun Han Xin, smiling even more broadly, if possible.

  My mother looks around for a moment and seems to decide who is the most suitable "RuNu Lianhua, accompany the general's man to the room of Zhāohuán Wen so he can deposit his gift."

  Hearing my mother say my rank brings me out of my shock at seeing the soldier, as it is the first time I have heard her say it, but then I realize that on a formal occasion like this and with so many people around, it is normal to say my title to emphasize my importance.

  RuNu Lianhua stands up and approaches the door to guide the soldier, and I watch as the soldier walks away behind her, still carrying the heavy bed, and I promise myself to do everything I can to unravel the mystery of his strength, even though my chances are limited right now.

  My mother invites Jiangjun Han Xin to join the guests, so he starts talking to some of them he seems to know. And I see how the whole dynamic in the room shifts around him, making me feel more and more like an extra at my own birthday party.

  The only ones who seem oblivious to the whole thing are the children, who continue playing their games with a familiarity that clearly indicates this is not the first time they have met. Suddenly, one of the children who had been watching me the most, who I don't think is more than five years old, approaches me with a doll in his hand without being seen by the nannies, who are busy watching Jiangjun Han Xin, and offers it to me.

  Seeing no other way out, I take it and start turning it over in my hands. The child watches me play with it when one of the nannies notices and hurriedly approaches and picks up the child to take him away, but he starts complaining that he wanted to give me a birthday present, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

  One of the women, but not one of my father's other consorts, seems hurried and goes to the child, but the general steps forward and approaches the child, putting his hand on his head and saying ”Well done, kid. On a birthday, you always have to give something to the birthday girl."

  The mother approaches and picks up the child, bowing to Jiangjun Han Xin and thanking him for his words, when I notice that some of the nannies are approaching the children and whispering something to them.

  I begin to panic, imagining myself buried in dolls, especially considering that Lianhua is not there to act as a human shield against the likely avalanche of children, when the eunuch from earlier returns, even more nervous than before.

  "The Son of Heaven is attending Zhāohuán Wen's birthday ceremony”, the eunuch announces loudly. "Prepare to receive with the highest honor and respect our magnanimous Emperor, protector and guide of our vast empire, whose wisdom illuminates the heavens and whose benevolence nourishes the earth."

  And with those words, he moves aside and prostrates himself on the floor next to the entrance to the room.

  The entire room falls silent, stunned by the announcement, and I even see Jiangjun Han Xin, who had been smiling until now, become serious.

  A figure enters the room, and I see that it is my father. He is wearing a Mangpao embroidered with some kind of red bird that I think is a vermilion bird. When he enters the room, everyone except Jiangjun Han Xin bows before him, and I see that the nannies who were urging the children to bring gifts make them bow as well. I see that some of the better-dressed children bow, but not as deeply as the others, so I imagine that those are my half-brothers.

  My mother approaches my father and, bowing, asks him ”Your Brilliance, to what do we owe the honor of your presence on this happy day?"

  "We have come to congratulate Zhāohuán Wen on her first birthday”, he says in a grave voice and with a serious face, as he looks around and notices the presence of Jiangjun Han Xin, who raises an eyebrow as if to ask my father something.

  My mother steps aside and gestures”Zhāohuán Wen thanks the Son of Heaven for his congratulations."

  Without further ado, my father approaches the little chair where I am sitting while the entire room remains bowed. Jiangjun Han Xin approaches my father, but he gestures with his hand and stops, remaining a little distance away.

  When he reaches me, he lifts me out of the chair and takes me in his arms.

  "May the heavens grant you health and longevity, may your path be filled with peace and wisdom. May you always find the strength to face challenges with courage and the serenity to accept blessings with humility. Like the moonlight that illuminates the darkness, may your presence bring harmony and light to all those around you. May your ancestors guide and protect you every step of the way, and may your heart always be filled with compassion and understanding towards others."

  With a serious and deep voice, in what we would call an imperial tone, he gives me his blessing. And suddenly a little imp in my head gives me an idea. I know I shouldn't do it and that it will bring endless problems, but my troll soul, trained in a lifetime of arguing in internet forums and university symposiums, can't help but seize the moment, so grabbing my father's beard as I always have when he has picked me up and with the babbling voice of a child I say ”Da~d."