Ruoxi in Empresses in the Palace: This Time, the Harem Wins

“An emperor’s love is all an illusion. What I want is power in my own hands.” Ruoxi looked coldly at Yinzhen, lying sickly in bed. “I hate anyone who treats me like a chess piece or a plaything. But if it’s you, Sister, I’d do it willingly.” “Your Majesty! You’ve made my life so miserable!” Nian Shilan looked at herself in the bronze mirror and gave a cold laugh. “I mistook him for heaven itself, and gave him everything I had.” “Fourth Brother? Fourth Brother! I should have known long ago that an emperor’s heart is the coldest of all. And yet I still let myself hope.” Zhen Huan slowly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eye. “I schemed and calculated, treating everyone as a pawn. Only at the very end did I realize that I, too, was a pawn the emperor could discard.” Yixiu laughed loudly. “Yes, the one I should hate most is him.” “I used to make wedding clothes for others. Now that I’ve let go of my foolish hopes, I only want to save myself and escape this cage,” said Consort Duan. “Scheming or clinging to others, every step I took was only to keep Wenyi safe and well,” Cao Qinmo said, a calculating glint in her eyes. “Fighting for favor and power doesn’t matter anymore. I only want to protect Hongshi and see him grow up safely.” Consort Qi gently stroked her son’s face. Shen Meizhuang murmured, “The emperor’s cold favor ended all my hopes long ago. Better to die clutching my fragrance on the branch than be blown down by the northern wind.” “Only before I died did I see clearly: this magnificent palace was never my home. It was my grave.” As Ying’er lay dying, she thought of her parents back home and shed tears. “They hate me for being coldhearted, but this dragon throne has never had room for even the slightest tenderness.” “If that’s the case, Fourth Brother, abdicate.” A story of mutual salvation, not a wish-fulfillment power fantasy, with a slow pace at first