What Happened After Empresses in the Palace

The focus shifts from “concubines vying for favor” to “battles between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law” and “an emperor and empress trapped in a marriage.” The relationship between the new Empress Dowager, Zhen Huan, and her daughter-in-law, Ruyi (Qing Ying), is incredibly subtle. Ruyi is the niece of the empress, once Zhen Huan’s political enemy. The two are enemies by family ties, yet both are tragic women in the imperial palace. Their complicated relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is a major highlight.