Both Reborn with Their Fates Reversed + Contrasting Fortunes + Palace Intrigue + A Mad, Cruel Emperor + A Seductive Beauty + Clear-Eyed Heroine
My elder sister, whose talent was famed throughout the capital, and I were both reborn.
In my previous life, I entered the palace and used my dancing and cunning to rise to the throne’s side, eventually becoming the empress dowager who held power over the entire harem. My elder sister married a poor top scholar, struggled alongside him and managed their household her whole life. When he finally became a marquis and high-ranking minister, she died of illness, dismissed as a worn-out wife.
In this new life, my elder sister cried as she snatched the palace-entry opportunity that had been mine in our last life. “Little sister, it’s my turn to enjoy all that wealth and glory!” She was certain that entering the palace would let her recreate my success. I only smiled calmly and accepted the marriage she’d rejected, becoming the wife of the top scholar, Xie Youxun.
After entering the palace, my elder sister desperately imitated the dances I’d performed in my previous life to win favor. But she didn’t know the current emperor was a violent madman who despised song and dance. Her clumsy imitation only enraged him, and he sent her straight to the Cold Palace.
After marrying Xie Youxun, I planned carefully and kept a clear head at every turn. When he put his career on hold to mourn his mentor for three years, I used my dowry to open an academy and recruit talented scholars. When his bluntness made enemies, I smoothed things over for him and built a network of connections. When he paid no attention to worldly affairs, I managed our businesses so he could live comfortably and focus on his studies.
Everyone thinks success comes from beauty or cunning.
They’re all wrong.
The one who can truly help a man rise to the top is never his looks or his family background, but the person at his side who willingly clears his path, makes plans for him, and gives him everything she has. In my previous life, my own cunning was what made an emperor.
