From the Start, Stripped of My Rank? I Turn the Tables, Win Favor, and Become the Empress Dowager!

[Harem intrigue + reborn + power struggles] In the early years of Emperor Jing’s reign in the Western Han dynasty, Grand Empress Dowager Bo passes away, and Empress Bo Zhiyi, left without her only protector, jolts awake from a vivid dream. In her previous life, she had trodden cautiously, yet ended up childless, deposed, and imprisoned until her death. She could only watch as the favored concubine Li Ji’s son, Liu Rong, was named crown prince, and as Wang Zhi rose to the throne of empress dowager on the strength of her son.

When she opens her eyes again, she has returned to the turning point of her fate! The System warns her coldly: [Liu Qi’s true love is Li Ji. You’re nothing but a stepping stone. Just stay alive!] Bo Zhiyi sneers: In this life, she will defy fate and change her destiny! The emperor’s heart? She wants it! The phoenix throne? She wants it! The honor of empress dowager? She wants that most of all!

No longer timid, she makes her moves one step at a time. On one hand, she cleverly sheds her inexperience, adopting a frail demeanor as she wins Empress Dowager Dou’s favor and binds Princess Guantao to her through mutual interest, weaving a powerful alliance throughout the harem. On another, she uses her foresight to keep the arrogant Li Ji in check and guard against Wang Zhi’s honeyed words and hidden knives, stamping out every threat before it can take root. And all the while, she keeps the cold-hearted Emperor Liu Qi at arm’s length, then draws him in, until his curiosity turns to fascination and he is hopelessly caught in the web she has spun. When her legitimate son is born, and she finally stands at the pinnacle of power... Bo Zhiyi looks back and sees only the deep red palace walls, where countless beautiful women lie buried and forgotten. In this life, she will not be the deposed empress dismissed in a single line of the history books. She will rule Weiyang Palace and become an empress dowager whose name endures through the ages!

(Reborn comeback, satisfying harem intrigue, winning over the emperor, career-minded heroine, minor golden finger from a System)