The daughter of a condemned minister, she is sent to the Music Bureau as punishment and forced to become an entertainer. But because her face bears an uncanny resemblance to the late empress, the Regent forces her into the palace to become one of the new emperor's consorts.
Everyone believes she is merely a pawn, unaware that she is carefully advancing step by step, determined to uncover the truth behind the massacre of her entire family. In the inner palace, the Empress Dowager rules from behind the curtain, a favored consort holds sway over the six palaces, and the empress lays a web of traps. Her greatest enemy is the very Regent who sent her into the palace as a stand-in: he both protects and exploits her. She hates him, yet has no choice but to rely on him.
Over ten years in the palace, she rises from a lowly maid everyone could bully to topple the empress, bring down the favored consort, and strip the Empress Dowager of power, ultimately ascending the phoenix throne. But when she takes hold of the imperial seal, she realizes she is no longer the girl who wanted nothing but revenge. Between her and the Regent lie the enmity of their families and the nation, and a struggle for power. Neither can say whether what binds them is exploitation, rivalry, or genuine affection trapped inside a golden cage.
The phoenix comes to rest in the parasol tree, while the phoenix queen is imprisoned in a golden cage. The crown has never been what she wanted. All she wants is an answer.
