The story takes place in the bustling yet turbulent imperial court of Great Chu. Wu Rong, a clever and ambitious woman, unexpectedly activates a Palace Intrigue System and is swept into the vortex of courtly power. Three antagonists, including a noble consort, grow jealous of the emperor's favor toward Wu Rong and resort to any means to obstruct her rise and damage her relationship with the emperor. If Wu Rong fails to complete the System's missions, she will not only lose its support but may also lose her foothold in the palace, or even her life.
New to the palace, Wu Rong lacks the skills to survive there and struggles to make her way through its complex power struggles. The consorts are divided into competing factions, forcing her to pick her way through them. On one hand, she is torn between using the emperor's favor to achieve her goals and treating him with genuine affection. On the other, other consorts maliciously spread rumors about her, causing the emperor to misunderstand her.
The System continually issues missions with time limits, such as earning the emperor's favor and bringing down the noble consort. Failure brings punishment. Betrayal and exploitation by other consorts also leave Wu Rong struggling to know whom she can trust. But with her modern knowledge and the skills granted by the System, she turns the tables time and again. In the end, Wu Rong rises to the highest position in the inner palace, transforming from a low-ranking consort into its ruler and rewriting her fate in the imperial court.
