earlier, to begin the task of burying the bones of the deceased warriors. In leaving Xinan, he was obliged to leave behind Spring Rain. Shen Li-Mei is the younger sister of Shen Tai, and daughter of General Shen Gao. Assigned to the Empress initially, Li-Mei is then made a princess and betrothed to a Bogü leader and sent north beyond the borders of Kitai. Li-Mei's journey outward, rescue and return to Kitai have a profound effect on her character development, and a significant portion of the narrative follows Li-Mei's viewpoint. Spring Rain was born in Sardia, a land far to the west of Kitai. A courtesan from the North District of Xinan, she is the beloved of Shen Tai, but he is obliged to leave her upon the death of his father, and she is acquired as concubine by Wen Zhou. When she discovers Wen Zhou's plot to kill Shen Tai, she dispatches Wei Song to protect Tai. Compassionate as well as beautiful, Spring Rain inspires loyal devotion among some of her household staff and a crippled beggar that allows her to escape the occupation of Xinan by General An Li. Wen Zhou is the prime minister of Kitai (historical Yang Guozhong), and is aligned against General An Li in a struggle for power around the throne. His appointment as Prime Minister was facilitated by the fact that he is the cousin of Wen Jian, the emperor's new favourite concubine. He buys Spring Rain from the North District brothel where she works and establishes her in his household as favoured concubine, and then moves against Shen Tai, a rival for her affections. Shen Liu is the eldest of the Shen siblings. An intellectually brilliant and subtle mandarin, he has become principal advisor to Wen Zhou, and was behind the plan to exile his sister Li-Mei as a bride to the Bogü to enhance his status. Taizu is the aging emperor of Kitai (historical Emperor Xuanzong of Tang). At the beginning of the story the reader learns that he has become completely enamoured of his new concubine Wen Jian, and has begun receiving alchemical treatments to enhance his vigour and prolong his life. Wen Jian the Precious Consort (historical Yang Guifei, one of the Four Beauties of Chinese history) is the favoured concubine of Emperor Taizu, originally intended as a bride for Prince Shinzu. Beautiful, seductive and manipulative, Wen Jian becomes