It's been a long time since the novel opens, and we're now back in the present-day, where we find the young protagonist, Juliet, and her sister, Helen, in the garden of the palace. They've been living in the palace for a while, and they're still very much in love with each other. Juliet tells her sister that her name is gong yimo, which means "thick and thin" . This is a reference to the fact that her father, the emperor, had a harem of gorgeous women, but he wanted one of the women to share his life with him forever. Helen, however, doesn't think that's a good idea, because the emperor is an emperor, and he can't promise to marry only one woman. She's worried that the emperor's morals will get twisted again, and she's not the only one who thinks so.