Once you enter the palace gates, it is like sinking into a sea.
In the Kangding era, Nalan Qing'er entered the selection for the imperial harem. She had only come as a filler candidate, to save her elder sister's reputation, but never imagined that the emperor would take a liking to her talent and gentle nature. In the end, she was selected.
As she spent time with the emperor, she gave him her heart. The emperor's favored consorts closed in on her at every turn. As she endured it all, she was abandoned by everyone. She thought that having even one person who truly cared for her would be enough.
Then she was framed, her family fell into ruin, and her parents were imprisoned. Pregnant, she went to seek an audience with the man who had once cherished her above all else. She endured his scorn and was forced to drink an abortion potion. Only then did she understand what it meant to say that the imperial family was the most heartless of all.
Her pain pierced to the bone. As she watched the blood spread beneath her skirts and her unborn child slip away, her love vanished and her heart died.
She silently shed tears and swore bitterly to herself that she would make everyone who had harmed her pay. From that day on, she would make her heart as hard as stone and rise to the highest position in Kangding, so she could protect the person she cherished most.
