Embers of the Imperial Palace: Ten Years a Slave, I Become a Phoenix

Classic tragic romance / female protagonist suffering “Being allowed to put on the Side Consort’s shoes is a blessing.” On the day I married Prince Jing, I was overjoyed, thinking I had finally gotten what I wanted. Only later did I learn he had married me to use my family’s power to secure his position. The one he cherished was Side Consort Liu, a frail woman who couldn’t even take care of herself. She was sensitive to the cold, so he made me kneel in the snow to warm her shoes before putting them on her with his own hands. She suffered heart palpitations, so he took blood from my heart to use as medicine. Finally, he kicked the child from my womb out of me, and my blood stained the steps of the prince’s residence. “Since the Princess Consort has borne no children, she should give her position to Liu’er.” I smiled as I drank the poisoned wine, then set the entire prince’s residence ablaze before closing my eyes. Amid the towering flames, he rushed in like a madman, but all he managed to grasp was a wisp of my ashes. It turns out that only someone with nothing left to lose can truly take someone else’s life.