Synopsis [Palace intrigue and clever schemes, a satisfying read, ten stunning female leads and ten clearheaded male leads. Nobody is delusional or blinded by love, and the heroine has a clear goal.]
[The male lead keeps up an act, pretending to neglect the heroine. He dotes on her exclusively in the middle stages, then she is the one who dotes on him exclusively later on.]
Carefree Cang Yue was away from Jiulan Mountain without permission when someone destroyed the entire sect. There was only one clue: the court was involved.
After that, Cang Yue had one clear goal: she would enter the palace and rise to the very top, making herself useful so that anyone at court who held leverage over her would try to use her.
She later takes on the identity of Lin Xiang's daughter, changes her name to Lin Shuyue, and enters the palace through the selection.
She remains clearheaded, plans every step, and wins the emperor's favor. She gathers allies and repeatedly evades the covert attacks of Noble Consort Xiao's faction.
Li Chengyi: A proud, scheming emperor, dazzled by Cang Yue's beauty.
Lin Shuyue: Cang Yue, the stunning fake daughter of Lin Xiang.
Noble Consort Xiao: Lin Shuyue's chief rival in the harem, a woman of deep schemes who often gets others to do her dirty work.
Consort Xian: Her title could not be more misleading. She is not virtuous at all, but is the most uninhibited woman in the harem when it comes to the bedroom, and Noble Consort Xiao's lackey.
Consort Hui: No more virtuous than the others. A general's daughter, she is outspoken, foolish, and often offends people.
Lin Shaoang: The first person to rescue Cang Yue, and someone with whom she shares an intimate encounter.
The women in the harem, even someone as honored as Noble Consort Xiao, seem terribly pitiful to Lin Shuyue.
They bear the honor and shame of their entire families: when one prospers, all prosper, and when one falls, all fall.
Even ordinary families tend to raise their daughters like pets. Wealthier families feed and clothe their pets well and indulge their demands.
But they do not teach their pets how to hunt, survive, or face the real world. Marriage is simply a matter of finding them a new owner.
