She was once Consort Xi, the most favored woman in the six palaces, and once a disgraced consort, deposed and banished from the palace. She had known a brief moment of warmth at Lingyun Peak, and stained her hands with blood to return to the imperial palace.
At last, she sat as Empress Dowager, looking down over the six palaces, yet had no one by her side. Meizhuang was gone, Chun'er was gone, Yunli had drunk the poison that left him paralyzed, and Huanbi had thrown herself against his coffin. The deep affections of their youth and the sisters' devotion to one another had all become a thing of the past.
As she lay dying, Zhen Huan wished only that in her next life she could protect the people dearest to her and hold on to the love at her side, without carrying the regrets of this life.
But when she opened her eyes again, candlelight shone on carved wooden windows. She was in her maiden room at the Zhen residence, on the eve of the selection; in the bronze mirror was the face of a young woman who had yet to enter the palace. None of the tragedies had happened yet.
This time, she would leave love behind and refuse to be anyone's substitute. She would be Consort Xi, a decisive woman focused on her career!
Using her memories of her past life to plan ahead, she would protect her family, avoid treacherous schemers, and carve a path through the narrow space between Consort Hua and the Empress, rewriting every tragedy fate had in store.
In this prison of a palace, she would take the people she cared about and break free, rising all the way to the top!
