[Villainous, unhinged beauty + not a brainless power fantasy + elite family background + clear-headed heroine, no romance + a palace full of high-IQ schemers + heroine goes on a rampage in the latter half]
In the spring of the third year of Jingqing, He Biyin entered the palace by imperial decree.
After dealing with the last troublesome concubine, she changed into clothes that made her look harmless and walked, step by step, toward that man-eating place.
She knew full well how treacherous the inner palace could be.
Whose schemes would she exploit, and whose hand would she use to kill?
Every plant, every step, every stone in the imperial palace taught her to become a woman of dignity and grace, with a heart of stone and a ruthless hand.
“Did I enter the palace to become Empress Dowager, only to spend my whole life beneath others?”
She never fought like a cornered beast. Strike first and kill with one blow: that was her creed.
*
To gain power, He Biyin had to win the Emperor's heart. But she never imagined how easily she could manipulate that rotten heart of his.
The Emperor was a romantic, while she played hard to get. The Emperor could never get enough of her, and she held power in her hands.
He Biyin showed, through sheer skill, what a true imperial favorite looked like.
She bore him a son, earning an amnesty across the realm; he favored her alone and even considered dismissing his entire harem for her.
Such devotion from the Emperor was intoxicating.
But He Biyin saw more clearly than anyone: how much of the Emperor's love could truly be called pure?
“Before her beauty fades, his favor has already turned away. She sits by the incense burner until dawn.”
Compared to a love she could never hold on to, He Biyin would use the affection of the one in power to climb to a height no one else could reach.
“I,” “this concubine,” “this palace,” “this dowager,” and even “the Emperor”: she would claim every title in turn.
Content warning: The heroine's methods are extremely ruthless and may be mildly disturbing. Everything has its cause and effect; she does not harm people indiscriminately. Everyone in this story is evil, and there are no saintly do-gooders.
