The emperor’s beloved is a forbidden subject in the palace.
Anyone who resembles her is doomed.
The empress suppresses her, the empress dowager watches her warily, and the emperor treats her with cold indifference and unpredictable moods.
So no one dares become her stand-in: whoever tries will die.
Except Su Tan Yin.
She is the lowest-ranking palace consort, with no family power, no favor, and no backing. Anyone can bully her.
The sisters she befriended when she was at rock bottom used her to pave their way, while the people she risked herself to save pushed her forward to take the blame,
and the only emperor she could rely on treated her as a toy to relieve his boredom.
Until she discovered that her face looked remarkably like that of the princess who had long ago been sent away in a marriage alliance.
The role of stand-in that everyone else avoided like the plague seemed to her like a lifeline.
She deliberately approached him, studied the beloved’s mannerisms, imitated her tone, and turned herself into a shadow.
The emperor took the bait, just as she had expected.
She climbed from the lowest rank to become a favored consort, rising through the beloved’s influence.
But the entire imperial harem was waiting to see her make a fool of herself:
the beloved was still alive.
At last, the princess returned from her marriage alliance.
Everyone waited to see her cast aside, stripped of her rank, and reduced to her former state.
What they did not know was this:
This was the day she had been waiting for all these years.
The beloved was not her ceiling, but the stepping stone that would carry her higher.
The day the true original returned would be the day she took her place.
Once, she was the stand-in.
From now on, she would be the one no one could replace.
Theme: The lowliest soil can still bloom into the brightest flower.
The heroine grows through experience, learning from every hardship. If you enjoy it, please leave plenty of comments and urge the author to update more often.
