Su Wanqing, daughter of a silk merchant in Jiangnan, was reduced to a servant in the Laundry Bureau after her family was convicted of a crime. The beauty mark at the corner of her left eye, once a natural accent to her beauty, became a unique mark in the imperial palace. Armed with exceptional business acumen, she struggles to survive amid the currents swirling beneath the court's polished surface.
Xiao Jingyan, a cold-faced prince who seems like a wastrel, is in truth full of hidden depths. An unexpected encounter draws them both into the vortex of a struggle between princes for the throne. From a deliberately overturned teacup used as a test to joining forces to investigate mysteries in the palace, affection quietly takes root amid suspicion and probing.
Consort Lin, virtuous on the surface, holds a jade bangle in her hand and malice in her heart, laying one trap after another. A bloodstained robe, poisoned pastries, and false accusations: each incident pushes Su Wanqing closer to despair. Yet she never gives in. She turns a handkerchief tainted with illness against the conspirators, dazzles everyone with her embroidered work, "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," and stubbornly kneels in the snowy winter cold to uphold the truth.
As misunderstandings intertwine with the truth, and love collides with hatred, can Su Wanqing use her wisdom and courage to turn the tables in this cruel palace, clear her family's name, and find true love of her own? A beauty marked by a tear mole, scheming in the depths of the palace: watch as a concubine-born young woman writes her own legend in the treacherous harem.
The further back you go, the better it sounds.
I like it very much, compact and not cumbersome.