Back when she was still stoking the fire in the backyard of Liudao Hall, she had a slightly chubby appearance; or perhaps later, when she served as a female official in the palace, looking dignified and awe-inspiring; or perhaps...
Back then, A-Zhao never had enough to eat all day long, growing sallow and gaunt from hunger, yet she still had to wash clothes from morning till night in the freezing well water.
The image in Qian Zhao's mind was precisely what A-Zhao looked like after she was forced to poison Yang Ying, pulled back from the brink of suicide just in time, and rescued.
Chapter 121