The Black Lotus Returns to the Capital: Why Are They Panicking?

[Palace and Household Intrigue + Historical Romance + Sweet on the Outside, Dark Within + Power Couple]

After spending five years in the south recovering from illness, Wei Shuyan returns home only to be turned away at the gate. She turns around and heads straight to the palace, forcing her way in with the status of a commandery princess.

Her old courtyard has been given away, her place as the legitimate daughter taken by an impostor, and her father, a live-in son-in-law, even wants to use her money to support his concubine and that fake daughter? Then she’ll cut off the entire marquis household’s finances and let them fend for themselves.

☆, ♢, ☆

Wei Shuyan dreams that her father, hoping to ease his grief over his wife’s death, finds replacements for her and her mother. His concubine looks nearly identical to her mother, while his adopted daughter not only looks like her but is also gentle and considerate, healing his heart and becoming the beloved legitimate daughter of the marquis household.

Meanwhile, Wei Shuyan falls ill and becomes twisted and jealous of the adopted daughter’s favor. She throws tantrums, repeatedly schemes against her, and gets slapped in the face by the adopted daughter’s admirers every time, suffering the consequences of her own actions.

In the end, everyone despises her. Stripped of her status and reduced to a commoner, she leaps from the city wall and dies without a body to bury.

The adopted daughter gradually takes her place in the Eastern Palace, ascends to the throne as empress, and is remembered for generations.

☆, ○

Wei Shuyan thinks this dream makes no sense. She has money, beauty, and power. The emperor is her uncle, the empress is her aunt, and even the princes and princesses give way to her. Would she really be jealous of some adopted daughter?

And her father, the Marquis of Anning? From the first time Wei Shuyan met him, she knew he was useless. He lived off his wife when he was young and his daughter when he got old, yet had no idea how pathetic he was.

What could she possibly want from a man like that? His age? His patriarchal attitude? His poverty?

But when the events from her dream actually begin to unfold, Wei Shuyan can’t help wondering what might happen if she doesn’t go around picking up scraps as she did in the dream.