Imperial Consort

Imperial Consorts are usually daughters of noble families of Senyon, but some are given to the emperor as a means of guaranteeing trade or military treaties. In general, the young women taken into Liliakinyosa as imperial consorts are beautiful, well-mannered, and well-educated. Being selected as an imperial consort is considered an honor to the young woman and to her family.

The emperor, by tradition, holds a selection for new consorts every three years; although, the current emperor, Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen, has not kept up this tradition, instead choosing women that he encounters that he likes. Young women from prominent noble families chosen to enter Liliakinyosa as consorts typically are ranked as Ladies of Beauty. Young women from lower backgrounds are usually given the lowest rank, Lady of Talent.   If the emperor particularly likes one of the women of the harem, he can elevate her rank within the harem. Being elevated brings a number of benefits, including better quarters within the palace, more servants, an increased stipend, and other gifts - fine silk cloth, jewelry, clothing, and so on. It also has some disadvantages - increased scrutiny of looks and behavior by the Empress and Empress Dowager and jealousy from other consorts, which sometimes leads to schemes and plots to disgrace rivals and even hurt them physically or kill them.   The surest way to moving up in rank is to bear children for the emperor. A consort that has a child for the emperor, especially a son, will almost certainly gain the emperor's favor and be elevated in rank. Even in that case, however, the empress and empress dowager, and the high-ranking consorts, will approve or disapprove. If the emperor is determined, he can override disapproval from the empress and empress dowager, but this is relatively rare, as doing so will cause friction between him, the empress, and the empress dowager. It also causes problems for the elevated consort, as she will face scorn from the empress, empress dowager, and other consorts as someone not worthy of her position.   Lady Britta Nilsson entered the palace as a Lady of Outstanding Beauty, which was unprecedented for a foreign girl of common birth, and she has faced criticism and scorn from nearly all of the other consorts and imperial princesses, some of which has been directed at her younger sister, Amalie Nilsson. Emperor Yixing-Jiumin Jinsen is particularly smitten with her, though, so no one has dared to openly say anything about her in the emperor's presence. Princess Yixing-Jiumin Jintu, in particular, hates Lady Britta Nilsson and Amalie Nilsson.

Imperial Consorts receive a monthly stipend from the imperial treasury according to their rank. It is a common punishment from consorts that break rules of behavior or imperial laws to have their stipend stopped for some time.

Imperial Consorts, in addition to their stipend, are assigned quarters within the Inner Palace of Liliakinyosa. High-ranking consorts may have their own walled compound (also called a palace) within the Inner Palace, and they are responsible for managing that palace, including maintenance, staffing (including pay and discipline), furnishings, and so on. Consorts with their own palace are naturally given a much higher stipend than those without. Imperial consorts that attain a rank high enough to have their own compound and manage it must be adept at accounting and other management functions, and so they are generally quite intelligent and shrewd, aside from being beautiful and highly favored by the emperor.   Other than their quarters, imperial consorts of all ranks are often given gifts of jewelry, expensive clothing, silk, flowers, and other precious items by the emperor or empress to express appreciation or favor (and often to win loyalty in the never-ending struggle amongst the consorts to win favor and attention from the emperor).