The Rise of the Firstborn Daughter: From Rock Bottom to First-Rank Lady of the State

She was once a celebrated prodigy in Jinling, the Gu family’s beloved daughter. Her music enchanted everyone at the Peach Blossom Banquet, but when her family was falsely accused, she fell from grace overnight, sent to the entertainment quarter and forced to become a government courtesan, trapped in a lowly status she could never escape.

He is the eldest legitimate grandson of the Xie family of Nanling, a gifted and charming man with power over all of Jiangnan, yet he is caught in a troubled engagement, coveted by the powerful and manipulated by his family.

In the eyes of others, she is a “gift,” a bargaining chip used to curry favor with the powerful and sent to the Xie residence as a concubine.

He thinks she is just another woman dependent on power, unaware that she hides a blade in her heart and is waiting for her chance.

She wants neither a promotion to principal wife nor affection. She wants to survive, clear her family’s name, and erase her shame.

He wants neither a political marriage nor power games. He wants freedom, sincerity, and peace at home.

But within this sprawling estate,

concubines fight for favor, plotting at every turn;

the principal wife wields authority and watches coldly;

in-laws meddle in politics as the emperor’s power stirs beneath the surface;

old cases remain unresolved, and new grudges arise.

When a talented woman is reduced to a lowly concubine, and a noble young master falls deep into a love affair,

a contest over dignity, power, and redemption quietly begins.