Farewell to Spring Behind Red Walls

Setting: The Great Yong Dynasty, the first year of Wenzhen. The new emperor, Xiao Heng, ascended the throne at the age of twenty, with no empress or consorts in his harem. An imperial edict calling for a selection of women shattered the tranquility of the capital's noble young ladies.

Shen Yuwei, the legitimate daughter of her family, is beautiful and poised, with a calm, deep nature. She has no desire to court the imperial family's wealth and power, and understands the wisdom of watching a game of chess without commenting. Yet in the end, she is drawn into the highest-stakes game in the realm. (The heroine is no lovesick fool or naive innocent.)

Content warnings and setting:

The emperor is not chaste! The new emperor already has an empress, his principal wife from before he took the throne, as well as several consorts.

A complicated harem: The powerful Empress Dowager is not the emperor's birth mother. His birth mother holds the title of Consort Dowager, and undercurrents run deep.

Escalating palace intrigue: Scheming, miscarriages, and the trials of childbirth never end. Every step is treacherous.

Entirely fictional setting: Inspired by the spirit of the Tang and Qing dynasties, but the dynasty and palace names are all fictional.