Not a pure romance. Once the heroine enters the palace, she is the emperor's sole favorite.
A cruel, depraved emperor VS a delicate, timid little concubine
Yun Yu is a poor soul.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, the Yun family was raided. The bad news was that her father was executed. The good news was that the new emperor spared the rest of the family, merely demoting them to commoners.
Yun Yu was fourteen that year, and could only earn a little money by roaming the streets and alleys to support her family. But fate was cruel: her eldest brother fell ill. To save him, her own grandmother drugged her with a bowl of medicine and sold her as the Prince of Qi's mistress.
She spent three years with the Prince of Qi. Just as life was finally improving, he died, and Yun Yu was driven away by his princess consort, who had always detested her.
Who knew her luck would turn? A noble in the palace took a liking to her for no apparent reason and ordered Yun Yu to enter the palace and serve the emperor. With nowhere else to turn, she had no choice but to step through the palace gates.
The History of Jin records: Empress Xiaoyi of the Yun clan was dignified, beautiful, and lovely. In the third year of Tianshun, she won the emperor's favor while serving the Empress Dowager and was first made a Beauty. ... She later bore him four sons and two daughters, and in the twenty-third year of Tianshun, she was made empress by imperial decree for her favored status.
