A Cuscuta Vine's Guide to Rising Through the Harem

The previous emperor was incompetent. After the new emperor ascended the throne, five years of peace and prosperity followed. During a discreet visit incognito, he passed through Suzhou, and one brief, stunning glimpse inspired Bai Chuji to hold a selection of consorts.

Jiang Chengyue was the daughter of the Suzhou prefect, a fourth-rank official. Her mother died young, and her father was cruel, spending every day plotting how to profit from her as much as possible.

She fought with all her strength to win a chance at survival, only to be sent into the palace.

Red walls, golden tiles, and glazed roofs: the road into the palace seemed to stretch on forever. Jiang Chengyue had expected a fierce struggle, yet she was escorted straight to the throne as empress.

From the male lead's perspective: When he first saw the girl, she gazed at him pitifully. She was as thin as a willow branch by the river, tossed about by the wind, helpless and seemingly ready to break. He didn't know whether she had captivated his eyes or his heart.

Now she had quickly grown into herself, relying on him with all her heart. It was as if he had saved a dying dodder vine, which, upon finding the faintest chance to survive, had spread wildly and wound around his every limb, able to live only by depending on him.

His Chengyue was a dodder vine that loved to climb. Fortunately, he could still be a towering tree.

(Palace intrigue; the male lead has had previous relationships, while the female lead has not. The heroine is extraordinarily beautiful, the soft and delicate beauty of the entire book, but she can be a little wicked and isn't kindhearted. I haven't decided whether it will have a happy or tragic ending, but probably a happy one.)