In This Palace's Battle, It's Not the Consorts I Fight, but Human Hearts

[Palace Intrigue] [Sharp and Canny] [Psychological Games] [No Golden Finger] [Slow Pace] [Female Lead's Growth] [Courtroom Schemes] [Clear-Headed Female Lead]

Xie Yunshu, a celebrated modern writer of palace-intrigue novels, is electrocuted and transmigrates as a low-ranking sixth-grade palace attendant in the Great Sheng Dynasty. With no special powers, she relies only on her knowledge of writing tropes, history, and chemistry, along with her readers' pet peeves, to navigate a harem where winning the emperor's favor means survival. She tries to lie flat, yet is repeatedly framed, from Liu Cairen's false accusations and Consort Hui's schemes to the Noble Consort's poisoned wine and the empress's rebellion. Using her superior modern knowledge, she turns the tables and rises to the top. She and the cold, cunning Emperor Xiao Jin go from observing and testing each other to becoming allies in the struggle for power. She holds firm to the principle that the harem must not meddle in politics, eventually ascending to empress. She reforms the harem's worst practices and helps the emperor root out corrupt officials at court, achieving harmony both within the harem and throughout the empire.