The Empress Is Determined to Rise to the Top

Share the Books That Got You Through a Reading Slump

I'm in a reading slump and have hit a wall. Please recommend something!

Any Proper Palace-Intrigue Historical Stories? 😭 The Kind Where Everyone's Scheming Eight Steps Ahead

Looking for Real Palace-Intrigue Dramas, No Need for Mutual First-Timers

I really don’t understand why people insist on both leads being virgins and still call it a palace-intrigue drama. If both leads are virgins, it’s not even palace intrigue anymore. Please recommend some real palace-intrigue dramas.

I'm Incredibly Picky. Recommend Something So Good It'll Cure My Reading Slump

Palace and Household Intrigue Novels, Preferably Rated 9.5 or Higher, With a Tight, Fast-Paced Plot

Palace and household intrigue that gets more exciting with every round, takes on a comedic feel, and still has some heartfelt moments. Please recommend some!

2026'S Best Palace Intrigue, Household Intrigue, and Period Dramas

Looking for stories similar to You Betrayed Me in Three Lifetimes? I'll Ruin Your Destiny! [Historical romance, political intrigue, strong female lead, getting even with scumbags, mutual devotion, and a vivid portrait of life in ancient times] In my third life, I awakened, and the memories of my past lives became my blades. In my first life, I was a lowly concubine's daughter poisoned by my stepmother; in my second...

The Best Historical Romance in Your Heart, Completed

Taking requests, I'm out of things to read.

I've Been Into Palace Intrigue Lately 😍 Hand Over Your Top Palace Intrigue Picks!

Looking for books like "The Empress's Consort Is Cunning, and the Emperor Can't Resist Her". The leads don't have to be each other's firsts!!! They don't have to be each other's firsts!!! But the female lead must be clear-headed and strong, not weak. Some angst is fine. I like stories set in fictionalized historical worlds, as long as the plot is well-crafted and detailed, hehe.

Looking for the Best of Historical Romance, the Kind You Can Read Over and Over

Male leads similar to those in "A Fine Brocade of Good Days" and "The Phoenix’s Grace Knows No Bounds".

The Male Lead Starts Off Cold and Dislikes the Female Lead, but Falls for Her Later

The male lead has to grovel to win her back. Please, please, I'm begging you!

Any Stories Like Gong Jianxue and Pei Jingxu?

Looking for stories similar to After the Villainess’s Husband Returns to the Capital, the Aloof Powerful Minister Loses Control. Please recommend historical romance with romantic tension, where the female lead brings an aloof, untouchable man down to earth.

Are There Any Palace- and Household-Intrigue Novels That Set the Gold Standard, the Kind You Can't Put Down? 🌸

I’ve Been Obsessed with Palace-Intrigue Stories Lately. Ladies, Hand Over Your Books!

Palace Intrigue with Open, Unabashed Favoritism and Exclusive Devotion

Looking for books similar to The Beautiful and Soft Lady-in-Waiting Is Spoiled Endlessly by the Cold-Blooded Crown Prince. Palace intrigue or entertainment-world crossovers are both fine. I want open, obvious affection, not a heroine who's a target in plain sight. From the start, she should be the favored one, preferably the only one he favors. Ideally, once he has or falls in love with the heroine, they should both be sexually inexperienced.

Palace and Household Intrigue with Smart Characters! Rated 9.5 or Higher!

Looking for something like Zhaohua's Chaos. Rated 9.5 or higher! The female lead should be a concubine's daughter who gradually rises from a low rank, or works her way up in the prince's household. She should be clear-headed, have no love for the emperor or prince, be ambitious, ruthless, and quick to avenge herself. And she has to be smart, smart, smart! She pretends to be a pushover and then...

Pure Palace Intrigue, From Palace Maiden to Favorite Consort and Empress: A Highly Intelligent, Ruthless Female Lead Who Isn't a Doormat

Pure palace-intrigue stories, with ruthless, high-IQ heroines who aren't saintly.

Pure Palace Intrigue, with Cutthroat Scheming. The Female Lead Must Be Clever

I’ve Been Into Pregnancy and Palace-Intrigue Stories Lately, So Hand Over All Your Recommendations!

Any Historical Romance with a Brilliant, Strategic, Strong Female Lead?

A little funny, but definitely well-written, like novels such as Imperial Exams and the Strongest Female Chief Councillor, or Blossoms in Adversity.

Palace Intrigue and Entering the Palace Through a Selection

Ancient-style romance. Transmigration or not, either is fine. Something that makes you think, where the female lead rises from a low-ranking palace position to a high one. The leads don't have to be each other's first.

Looking for Smart Palace and Household Intrigue Stories

Looking for books like Who Gets It? The Empress Wrote a Hundred Palace Rules (Wanfengchai). I've read quite a few books by now, and I sincerely hope to find more where the protagonist (preferably a woman, though a male and female lead would be fine too) actually uses their brain and isn't focused on romance...

Any Palace-Intrigue Novels with a Devoted Male Lead Who Only Loves the Female Lead?

I don't want transmigration novels.

Looking for Palace Intrigue Novels Like Empresses in the Palace

Looking for books similar to The Consort Is Both Sly and Alluring, Rising Through the Palace Ranks. I want a clear-headed heroine who gradually builds up her power. A male lead is fine (he can be unfaithful early on, but must become devoted and loyal later). If there isn't a male lead, that's fine too, as long as the heroine is very calculating.

The Ultimate Palace Intrigue Heroines

I once read a palace intrigue novel where the female lead was a neglected concubine's daughter. To change her situation, she planned to perform a dance associated with the current crown prince's mother at someone's birthday celebration. But the emperor took a liking to her, and she schemed her way into becoming his most cherished favorite. What was this book called?