The Palace Secrets: The Caged Phoenix

At Boguo'er’s wedding banquet, a gust of wind lifted the bride’s veil, revealing a breathtaking glimpse of the woman beneath.

In that single instant, every beauty in the palace faded into insignificance. Imperial majesty, ancestral law, all of it melted away beneath that clear, startled gaze.

Knowing she was now his younger brother’s wife, he felt the bonds of morality and propriety burn like flames in his heart.

“Mountains and rivers are but dust in my eyes; not even they compare to one true tear from you.”

Reader’s Guide:

◆ Not a sweet romance, and not a power fantasy! An uncompromisingly tragic tale of beauty and sorrow. Prepare for heartbreak!

◆ Meticulously researched early Qing history, revisiting the forbidden, passionate, and devastating love between the Shunzhi Emperor and Dong E Fei.

◆ Palace intrigue is about more than competing for favor. It is a grand game of power in which Manchu, Mongol, and Han interests collide, and the fates of the court and inner palace are bound together.

◆ A richly drawn ensemble cast, from the emperor to the maidservants. Every character is a prisoner of history.