In the winter of the twenty-second year of Jinghe, the fourth imperial princess of the Great Zhao returned to a place from her past. Beneath the swing at Liuyun Pavilion, her father's former residence, she found a wooden box. But the box soon vanished without a trace, setting her on the path to uncovering the mystery of her father's sudden death ten years earlier. She braved one danger after another, finally glimpsing the festering wounds beneath the palace's gilded splendor. The struggle between noble houses and humble families surged like an undercurrent; the emperor's heart was merciless, and even family ties were merely pieces on a board. Amid the palace's power struggles, power itself proved an illusion.
When the truth surfaced like poisonous mist, she understood that only by becoming the one who moved the pieces could she find a chance to survive the game. From a princess deep within the palace to an empress on the throne, she reformed the court, overhauled government policy, repelled external threats, and brought peace at home, finally reaching the pinnacle of power.
“Only after the clouds break can the bright moon be seen.”
See how Yun Po Yue enters the game herself, planning each step to expose the gilded corruption and deception, and tempering a sliver of light from the ashes.
The art of power: poison, divine authority, and plots both covert and overt intertwine in an ancient-style mystery, each layer peeled back to reveal the truth;
The depths of human nature: kin turn against one another, loyalty and affection turn to ashes, and love and hate are like a shattered mirror that can never be made whole;
A woman's rise: from princess deep within the palace to ruler of the court, from pawn to master of the game, she is reborn amid the whirlpool of power and breaks the deadlock.
Also known as: From Princess Deep in the Palace to Empress on the Throne: The Things I Got Right
Nice writing 👍