Palace Intrigue Stories About Climbing to Power 宫斗文，上位，
Translated by GPT-6 Luna
In this list
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The Consort Is Coy and Alluring, and Has Her Sights Set on the Throne 娘娘又茶又媚，一心只想上位
[Alternate history + pure palace intrigue + clear-eyed heroine who doesn’t love the emperor] Su Qingyao looks like a delicate beauty, but she is more clear-headed than anyone. In the imperial harem, all she wants is power. Before the emperor, she is the picture of understanding. “Your Majesty is my only support.” “With Your Majesty by my side, I have nothing to fear.” But what she is really thinking is: Thank goodness she made plans long ago. The man before her is the least reliable person of al
461Reads7.2Score—Shelves
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The Empress Is Alluring and Bewitching, and the Emperor Gives In to Pleasure 娘娘撩人魅惑，帝王纵情堕落
The Tomato short drama Kun Yi is now streaming~ [Transmigrate into a book, male lead is not a virgin but female lead is, palace intrigue, psychological games, happy ending] The Crown Prince, Jun Zechen, has seen his fair share of calculating women, and loves only those who are pure and kind. While campaigning beyond the frontier, he meets Ling Yue and is captivated by her free-spirited kindness. He promises to spend his life with her alone. But two years pass, and the Crown Princess has yet to c
238.5kReads9.5Score25.9kShelves
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The Empress Refuses Love, While the Tyrant Goes Mad and Turns to the Dark Side 娘娘不入爱河，暴君疯批入魔
[One-on-one romance, devoted couple + palace intrigue + regretful pursuit, clear-headed heroine, everyone's unattainable ideal] Meng Tang is a gracious, gentle empress who never competes for favor. Everyone thinks she is a true white lotus standing tall in the harem, and even the tyrant believes it. He takes a new concubine, and she smiles, congratulates him, and arranges for the newcomer to spend the night with him. He sends her restorative medicine, and she obediently takes it, knowing full we
29.5kReads9.3Score2.5kShelves
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The Spoiled Consort's Road to Glory 娇气包娘娘的荣华路
Sweet romance! Undivided love! She’s doted on to the max! [The heroine is cunning, a little black lotus hidden beneath a rabbit’s skin] [The hero has a harem and isn’t chaste, but once he meets the heroine, he devotes himself to her alone in a one-on-one romance] The third young lady of the Sheng’an Marquis’s household, born to his secondary wife, was as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Sweet and clever, she knew how to win favor. Her grandmother and father favored her, and even her legitimate
20.1kReads9.2Score2kShelves
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Good Fortune Is Always on the Way 好孕常在
[Transmigration + no System + childbirth + devoted love in the later story + male lead is not a virgin] [Female lead keywords: stunning beauty + drama queen + clear-eyed realist] After transmigrating, Lin Wan became a low-ranking concubine. Everyone said Emperor Hongjing's lack of sons was divine punishment. Lin Wan, a genius medicine master: Yeah, right! You want a beauty as light as a swallow, and lots of children and grandchildren too? As if you can have it both ways! With her medical skills
407Reads8.8Score—Shelves
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The Emperor Finds His Consort Alluring; I Find His Majesty a Jerk 朕见贵妃多妩媚，妾见皇上甚是渣
[No transmigration or rebirth] [Pure palace intrigue] [The heroine never falls in love] Jinyue, the legitimate eldest daughter of a general's household, is chosen in a selection for the imperial harem. The Empress appoints her as a spy and marries her off to the Crown Prince as a secondary consort. The moment she enters the Eastern Palace, she understands that she and Zhongli Jin are bound only by mutual interest. There can never be the slightest affection between them. After sixteen years in th
2.1kReads8.9Score151Shelves
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Her Grace Is Cool and Gentle, and Everyone Loves Her 娘娘她清冷温柔惹人爱
A pure palace-intrigue story, in classical style. No transmigration, no rebirth. The fate of a noblewoman has never been hers to decide. She is Yun Wan, the Chancellor's only legitimate daughter. Her destiny was set from birth: everything she learned was solely to prepare her to enter the palace. Would she willingly enter the palace and fade into obscurity, becoming a pawn the emperor could use to keep the Yun family in check? Or would she carefully maneuver her way into becoming the favorite co
1.9kReads8.4Score106Shelves
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The White Moonlight Noble Consort’s Daily Life in the Harem 白月光贵妃的后宫日常
(Cover used with permission) With an illustrious family background, breathtaking beauty, and the distinction of being the emperor’s moonlight, Jiang Hui should have found life as a Noble Consort effortlessly easy. Unfortunately, the sisters in all but name in the Eastern Palace, wave after wave of beautiful candidates from the provinces, and the supposed substitutes who resemble her in looks and bearing all tell her the same thing: no one can walk unscathed through the imperial harem. [Alternate
34.4kReads9.3Score2.9kShelves
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Has the Noble Consort Left Qirong Palace Today? 皇贵妃今天出栖容宫了吗？
[☆No transmigration, no rebirth, and no pristine couples] [☆The romance develops gradually] Everyone in the palace knew that the person they must never offend was neither the pampered and fiery Noble Consort Hui nor the peerlessly beautiful Consort Cen, but Noble Consort Zhe of Qirong Palace, Lady Fucha. A consort's guide to survival: If you want to get ahead, never provoke the lady of Qirong Palace. She was the emperor's first woman, his companion and confidante since their youth; the mother
19.5kReads9.3Score1.7kShelves
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The Noble Consort Is Alluring and Teasing: The Emperor Dotes on Her Every Day 贵妃茶又媚：皇帝日日娇宠轻哄
Gu Xian opened her eyes and discovered that she had not only transmigrated into a book, but had also become a minor character with the lowest rank in the emperor's harem in a palace-intrigue novel. Her legitimate half-sister kept setting traps for her in the palace, and the other concubines were all at odds with her too. Gu Xian's new life in the harem was a living hell. Fortunately, she had a golden finger, a spirit spring that could keep her alive. She figured surviving to a ripe old age in th
70Reads8.7Score—Shelves
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The Imperial Consort Smiled Over Her Shoulder, and the Cold-Faced Emperor Fell for Her 贵妃回眸一笑，冷面君王沦陷了
Palace intrigue + historical romance + not mutually chaste + marriage first, love later She is the general’s younger sister, with an excellent family background and beauty to match. After she transmigrates, she wakes up caught in the schemes and betrayals of the imperial palace. To protect herself, she resolves to become the emperor’s favorite consort. When they first meet, he tells her, “I will never like a woman like you in this life.” Gu Qingyan successfully presents herself as somewhat
2.8kReads8.9Score199Shelves
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Schemes in the Ming Palace: A World Without Beauty 明宫谋：无颜天下
In the unforgiving world of imperial power, Wang Rongyu has no choice but to enter the palace. She keeps her head down, hoping only to leave, not to rise through the ranks. But she has two mothers-in-law to contend with, the emperor’s favored concubine ahead of her, and a palace full of women selected and enfeoffed six months ago, yet still no children have been born. Knowing that emperors are heartless, Wang Rongyu has already made up her mind to simply do her job as empress. She won’t compete
5.2kReads9.0Score542Shelves
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Pregnant with Twins After Entering the Palace, She Is Promoted to Imperial Consort 入宫后怀双胎，她被抬位做贵妃
When her elder sister, the legitimate daughter who had entered the palace as a consort, fell out of favor, Jiang Qingwan was chosen by her stepmother to enter the palace and help her sister regain the emperor's favor. She was beautiful and timid, but who could have guessed that the emperor would end up doting on her to no end...
2.2kReads8.6Score176Shelves
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Wise Men Avoid Love, and the Noble Consort Wants No Responsibility 智者不入爱河，贵妃不想负责
Being a beggar would be better than being in the harem. Shen Qing is despairing over her current identity. The female lead won't appear for another two years, and Shen Qing is the lowest-ranking consort in the male lead's harem. Her father is useless, and she has neither money nor power. It seems her only option is to wait for the emperor's favor. To make matters worse, she has a face that attracts trouble. If she fights for influence, she has no leverage; if she doesn't, she'll just get bullied
44.3kReads9.5Score5kShelves
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Qing Transmigration: The Side Consort Wins the Emperor's Favor by Bearing Children 清穿：侧福晋她靠生娃宠冠六宫
They are not mutually devoted at first. Only after Fourth Prince takes the throne does he gradually stop taking other women to bed. I haven’t followed historical records, so please be understanding if certain characters don’t match your expectations. Gu Linlang struggled for half her life in the modern world. Just when she finally managed to buy a little apartment, a truck coming straight at her sent her to the next life. When she opened her eyes again, she had become the side consort of Yinzhe
3.7kReads8.9Score249Shelves
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Qing Transmigration: The Noble Consort Takes Down Consort De and Becomes Empress Dowager 清穿：贵妃娘娘她灭了德妃成太后
[Child-rearing (not self-sacrificing; willing to go after her mother, but never schemes against children) + Harem intrigue] After transmigrating into the Qing Dynasty as Noble Consort Tongjia during the reign of Kangxi, Ruirui's first thought was to go find that poor child... Ruirui didn't like the Qing Dynasty. But if she had to choose one person in all of Great Qing, it would be the Fourth Prince, later the Yongzheng Emperor. Not because she liked him, but because she felt for him. She felt fo
16.8kReads9.4Score1.5kShelves
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Palace Intrigue Begins Before the Selection 宫斗从选秀前开始
In her previous life, she endured a life of hardship and instability. From the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Wu’an to a government courtesan available to any man, she finally escaped a life of being passed from one man to another, only to jump from the tiger’s jaws into the wolf’s den. She walked on eggshells at every step until she finally became the real power behind the prefect’s household. But the misery of her first half of life had already left her body broken beyond repair. Only o
14.2kReads9.0Score1.6kShelves
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A Noble Consort in the Deep Palace 深宫有贵妃
When they were young and love stirred in his heart, he took her in. Once he held power, he had no choice but to hide her away. In the lonely inner palace, she waited quietly, day after day and year after year. For power and status, he feared nothing. He overcame every obstacle and held her close. Behind layer upon layer of palace gates and red walls, a dream within a dream awakened the lovers from their reverie.
11.8kReads9.0Score742Shelves
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The Consort Is All Charm and Cunning, Scheming Her Way to the Top 娘娘又茶又媚，一路宫斗上位
Signed for print publication In the third year of the Yifeng era, a concubine-born daughter of the Ningyang Marquis’s household enters the palace. The palace is a vast, treacherous place, where the one thing you must never do is give your heart away. Ning Shuyan is clear-eyed: she wants wealth and prestige, along with the emperor’s favor. For three years, she carefully plots each step, wins the emperor’s attention, and rises from Talented Lady to Noble Consort. Rumor has it that the emperor only
72kReads9.5Score8.4kShelves
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The Tyrant Holds Me by the Waist. So What If I’m Wicked? 被暴君揽腰宠，本宫恶毒又如何？
[Palace intrigue + male lead has had other women, heroine is chaste + doted on exclusively later + heroine is sweet on the outside but dark within, wicked and a good actress, occasionally goes off the rails, happy ending] With skin as pure as ice and bones as fine as jade, her beauty could topple a city, stunning all who saw her… That year, she entered the palace by imperial decree to keep her pregnant elder sister company. She never expected to be trapped there for good, reduced to a fish on he
10.1kReads9.0Score1kShelves
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Quick Transmigration: The Cannon Fodder Heroine Strikes Back 快穿：炮灰女配反杀剧情
Quick Transmigration | Everyone’s Favorite | Love Triangle Showdown | Portable Space | 1vN Nan Zhi lost both her parents as a child and had to live under someone else’s roof. She grew up insecure and starved for affection. More than anything, she wanted someone to choose her, again and again, without hesitation. Then the obsessive, unhinged men began arriving one after another, each desperate to win her over, each willing to lose his mind and bend the knee for her... ▷ Modern-day living-under
28.1kReads8.1Score3.1kShelves
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The Chaos of Zhaohua 昭华乱
[This novel has been contracted for publication] [Strong female lead + high-IQ palace intrigue + heroine schemes against the entire harem + psychotic villain personality] Song Zhao has always been a woman who stops at nothing to achieve her goals, and she is also more clear-headed than anyone. From the moment she learned that Xiao Jingheng had chosen her to enter the palace as a consort, her goal was perfectly clear: “I’m entering the palace to become Empress. Otherwise, what would I go there fo
129.8kReads9.5Score15.4kShelves
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The Noble Consort Is Cool and Aloof, and the Emperor Yearns for Her Night After Night 贵妃清冷，圣上夜夜相思
Shen Qinghe was in the bloom of youth when she entered the palace, where she weathered its intrigues for more than a decade. She had hoped to leave with a reward one day, or perhaps spend her whole life peacefully as a palace official. But then an order came down, and one day she unexpectedly became an imperial consort. She watched these women fight day after day, never expecting to become entangled in their schemes herself. Shen Qinghe could only sigh. He was the emperor, and she was a palac
19.2kReads9.1Score1.6kShelves
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A Heart Caged Behind Palace Walls: Consort Yuan Is Promoted Again 宫墙锁心宠，元妃娘娘又晋位了
No one is completely devoted to one person in the early part of the story, so don’t read if that’s a dealbreaker. The emperor is a scoundrel at first, but utterly doting later. More sweet than angsty. [Palace intrigue and rising to power + many children + absolute favor + climbing to the top one step at a time] Su Zhitang, the daughter of a general, enters the palace as a beauty after the selection. Her father is already a second-rank official, so she only wants to heed her mother’s advice, keep
1kReads9.0Score101Shelves
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Film and TV Crossover: I Began My Slaughter with An Lingrong 综影视：从安陵容开始杀疯了
Su Wanwan was a consummate workaholic. Just as she had achieved success, she unexpectedly died from overwork and gained a System that let her survive in TV dramas. What? She could go home once she completed her missions? Then she'd better get right to work! Mission worlds: An Lingrong in Empresses in the Palace, Wei Yanwan in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, with the next world yet to be decided. This is a slow transmigration story, slow transmigration, slow transmigration! I'll say it three tim
22.1kReads9.2Score933Shelves
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I Was Born a Lowly Slave, Yet the Emperor Favors Me 奴本微贱，奈何皇上喜欢
In her previous life, Jiaoyun spent years confined in the Cold Palace before finally being released. What she got in return was a useless husband and a wicked mother-in-law. This time, she decisively betrayed her mistress and climbed into someone else’s bed, successfully rising in status. And then she became the lowest-ranking palace maid… When Emperor Jingheng first saw Jiaoyun, he was merely captivated by her looks. “How can this palace maid have fairer skin than the Noble Consort?” Jiaoy
1.6kReads9.1Score149Shelves
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I Entered the Palace to Help My Sister Keep the Emperor’s Favor, but Became His Cherished Favorite 入宫替嫡姐固宠，却成皇上掌心宠
In her previous life, she entered the palace and devoted herself to helping her legitimate elder sister keep the emperor’s favor. In the end, she died without a body to bury, abandoned by her family. Returning to the year of the imperial selection, Luo Shuran calculates her every move. Her breathtaking beauty is her only weapon. She sheds her youthful timidity and blossoms into a woman of captivating charm. One fleeting glimpse, like a fairy fallen from the heavens, catches the emperor’s eye.
8.1kReads9.3Score1.1kShelves
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Schemes in the Palace 宫宸谋
[Not a virginal romance, not a wish-fulfillment story. Read with caution! A story that could loosely be called an ancient Cinderella tale] [Traditional Historical Palace Intrigue]+ [Rich Plot]+ [A Mix of Sweetness and Heartbreak]+ [Slow-Burning Happy Ending] Autumn, Year Seventeen of the Nanyan era. The late emperor passed away, and his eleventh son, Xiao Yuning, ascended the throne, ushering in the Minghe era. In the third year of Minghe, the court decreed that officials of the fourth rank and
1.6kReads8.9Score148Shelves
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The Empress Is Beautiful and the Emperor Dotes on Her: Every Step in the Palace Struggle Brings Her Closer to the Throne 娘娘美貌皇帝怜爱，宫斗步步为皇
Heaven gave Jiang Zhi stunning, irresistible beauty, but not a family powerful enough to protect her. As a palace maid, she worked conscientiously and diligently, counting the days until she could leave the palace, marry her beloved, and reunite with her parents. Who could have guessed that the emperor would take a fancy to her and make her one of his consorts? Jiang Zhi was furious. That wretched emperor had made her betray everyone who loved her. But there was no changing what had happene
44Reads—Score—Shelves
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You Want to Force Me to Be Your Concubine? I’ll Take Your Place as Mistress of the Household 逼我当通房？我夺了你的主母之位
[Extra chapters being updated] Haitang, a maid who shares her master's bed, follows these rules for surviving household rivalries: First, be flexible. Second, don't let love cloud your judgment. Third, if a woman isn't ruthless, she won't keep her place. Haitang is breathtakingly beautiful, but she comes from humble beginnings. In her previous life, she was proud and refused to become a bedchamber maid, so her mistress tortured her to death. Reborn, she decides to live differently. Everyone thin
19.2kReads9.3Score2.5kShelves
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Danger! The Tyrant Tears Apart His Kingdom to Make His Sweetheart Smile 危！暴君为哄娇娇一笑，拆江山啦
[Completed, short and sweet, devoted couple, one-on-one romance] #The Tyrant in My Bed Is Actually My Online Boyfriend# #My Sweet, Teary-Eyed Wife Can Slaughter a Pig with Her Bare Hands?# The heroine isn't a helpless little flower. She's a scheming sweetheart. After the nine-tailed red fox Jiang Chan lost her inner core and took human form, she began hearing a human voice in her mind. The voice belonged to someone named Xiao Jiu. * To absorb the sickly tyrant's dragon energy and forge a new in
140Reads9.1Score100Shelves
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The Empress Only Wants to Be a Couch Potato 娘娘她只想当咸鱼
Song Mian transmigrates back to ancient times and becomes one of the emperor’s concubines. This should be the start of a palace-intrigue saga, but all she wants is to slack off, be a lazy couch potato, and coast through life. That’s the way to go. But she never could have expected… That icy emperor would fall for her and her lazy ways. … Palace maid: “You have to make an effort, my lady! Seduce His Majesty and you can leave the Cold Palace.” Song Mian, expressionless: “Did you forget how I ended
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The Crown Prince's Beloved Consort: His Darling Is Sweet and Adorable 娇宠贵妃：太子的心尖宠又娇又媚
(Palace intrigue. Heads-up: The heroine isn’t the emperor’s sole favorite early on, but becomes his only favorite later.) Su Yu never imagined she’d transmigrate into a book and become one of the Crown Prince’s concubines. And not just any concubine: she has the lowest rank of all. In front, favored higher-ranking consorts are constantly causing trouble. Behind her, the seemingly kind but secretly ruthless Crown Princess plots against her. The conditions for survival are truly brutal. Su Yu thin
99Reads8.6Score—Shelves
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The Sly Consort Wants to Slack Off, but the Emperor Won’t Let Her! 茶茶贵妃想摆烂，可皇上不许啊！
(Readers who insist both leads be faithful to each other, stay away. This is not that kind of story.) Su Yuwan is at her wits’ end. She works all year without a break, and just when she finally takes a day off, curiosity gets the better of her and she opens a game her agent sent her: Sheep a Sheep. She never expected the first level to be so easy even a blind person could beat it. But the second level is impossible even if you’re blind! So Su Yuwan stays up all night battling it, only to die sud
1Reads8.1Score—Shelves
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The Beautiful Imperial Consort Frowns, and the King Pulls Her Close to Soothe Her 绝色皇妃一皱眉，君王锁腰轻哄
[Reborn + sweet romance + one-on-one] A stunning, flirtatious princess who knows how to ensnare a man x a domineering, scheming, jealous emperor In her previous life, Yun Shuwu, the most revered of the five princesses of Beimo, married the wrong man: Xiao Jimian, the emperor of Nanjiang. She thought he was the right one for her, but he turned out to be an obsessive scoundrel who knew nothing of love and only knew how to use her. She endured endless humiliation and torment in Nanjiang, and died f
1.8kReads9.2Score265Shelves
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Wanfeng Palace 菀凤宫
[Doesn’t love the emperor + aims to become Empress Dowager + wants her own child to be crown prince + later receives exclusive devotion + palace intrigue, eliminates every consort in the harem] Note: They are not mutually faithful at first. The heroine gradually wins the emperor over with her schemes and tactics. Jiang Zhiwan was a general’s daughter who studied the art of poisoning, then accidentally poisoned herself to death. She transmigrated into a different fictional era, only to
422Reads8.8Score—Shelves
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After Entering the Palace, the Obsessive Emperor Dotes on Consort Yuan 入宫后，偏执皇上盛宠元妃娘娘
[A violent emperor + a feigning-fool, ruthless concubine-born daughter + not mutually exclusive in the early stages + favored above the entire harem later] An Qingyu was the fourth daughter of the prime minister. Her mother, Concubine Lan Yue, had been brought into the household as the prime minister’s wife’s dowry maid. As a concubine-born daughter, An Qingyu had grown up at the First Madam’s side, keeping her head down and ingratiating herself, just like Concubine Lan. Then a twist of fate rui
2.5kReads9.0Score292Shelves
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After the Female Lead Was Stolen, I Set Out to Save the Obsessive Villain 被抢女主后，拯救偏执反派大佬
[One-on-one sweet romance, marriage first and love later, the leads dote on each other, everyday romance, gentle and delicate beauty vs. a ruthless, possessive villainous tycoon] The Duke of Zhenguo’s entire household was fiercely loyal to the crown. With them gone, only Yan Yu, their sole daughter, remained. Raised by her maternal grandmother, she was betrothed to the Fifth Prince. After Yan Yu came of age, she was about to travel to the capital for her wedding. At that point, the eldest dau
32.1kReads8.9Score2.9kShelves
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As Long as I Act Well, the Empress's Throne Is Mine 只要演技好，娘娘的凤位跑不了
Red bricks and green tiles, beauty all around. One shower of imperial favor, and from then on she advances step by step, finally ascending the throne to stand alongside the emperor. Her family is in decline? Her brother's career prospects are uncertain? Her sister's marriage prospects have come to nothing? See how Wen Ruo keeps true to herself in the harem, rises step by step, leads her family back to the top, helps her brother advance his career, and finds her sister a fine marriage! “This hare
3.1kReads9.0Score341Shelves
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Palace Beauty 宫姝
She dared not love too deeply, afraid it would all turn out to be nothing but a dream. She thought that once she entered the imperial palace, she would be like the other consorts, scheming every day to win the emperor's favor; She thought that once she entered the imperial palace, she would be like the other consorts, with invisible blood staining her hands; She thought that once she entered the imperial palace, she would be like the other consorts. In the end, it was only what she had imagined.
12.8kReads9.2Score1.4kShelves
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The Emperor Dotes on the Noble Daughter After She Enters the Palace 嫡女入宫后，皇上宠的无法无天
With her father turning a blind eye and her stepmother throwing her weight around, Mu Li is ordered to marry an old prince as a concubine. They tell her this is her fate. Mu Li refuses to believe it. She has never believed in fate… Just then, the imperial household holds its selection of consorts. Daughters of officials of rank eight or above who are of suitable age may participate. Mu Li thinks: Since I’m to be a concubine, why not become the concubine of the most powerful person in the realm?
16.2kReads8.9Score1.7kShelves
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The Little Palace Maid Is Alluring and Charming, Winning the Emperor’s Heart 小宫女千娇百媚，撩成帝王心尖宠
[Reborn / palace intrigue, not both virgins / delicate heroine / hero is a bit of a jerk early on, loses his mind midway, and dotes on her alone in the end] Yuan Qing was just a low-ranking palace maid. But she was born alluring and beautiful. In her previous life, the Empress Dowager gave her to Prince Jing as a concubine. Who could have guessed she would become the princess consort's thorn in the side, and that a bowl of poisoned soup would end her life? Reborn, Yuan Qing set her sights on the
11.3kReads9.2Score1.2kShelves
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The Crown Prince Favors His Concubine and Neglects His Wife: The Bewitching Lady Rises with Twins 太子宠妾灭妻：尤物娘娘双胎上位
[There are a few typos, so please skip this if that bothers you.] A deranged, ruthless heroine and an obsessive Crown Prince, with exclusive devotion later on, clear-headed palace intrigue, and multiple births. Jiang Shiruo is stunningly beautiful, but only a concubine’s daughter. Still, even a concubine’s daughter deserves to live. Jiang Shiruo has no interest in the other princes. She only wants to enter the Eastern Palace, because that’s the only way she can reach the highest position. After
9.7kReads8.9Score843Shelves
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The Night Before My Ungrateful Sister Entered the Palace, the Favored Consort Was Reborn 白眼狼妹妹进宫前夜，宠妃重生了
[A spoiled, sweetly obedient favorite consort VS a gentle, jade-like emperor who's sweet on the outside and ruthless within (they are not each other's first, but he dotes on her exclusively from the beginning to the end)] Jiang Shuyi's life as a favorite consort went smoothly for fifteen years. The emperor was gentle and benevolent, doting on her without restraint, and not a single woman in the harem dared challenge her. But she was blind to her own sister's treachery. In the end, her closest
189.2kReads9.2Score24.3kShelves
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Winning Favor for My Sister, the Stunning Widow Rises to Become a Consort 替妹固宠，绝色寡妇上位成妃
[Cool, aloof widow x scheming prince; love at first sight; devoted romance] Xu Zhiqiao was driven out of Suichuan City by her husband’s family, accused of falsifying her birth date and bringing about her husband’s death. With no choice, she took her maid and sought refuge with her family, who had moved to the capital after her father’s promotion. Her parents’ favorite, her third younger sister, had become the concubine of the regent, who held all the power in the land. She enjoyed wealth and sta
576Reads7.4Score107Shelves
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46
The Maid Is Sweet and Scheming, Climbing Her Way to the Top 宫女又茶又媚，一路内卷做娘娘
[They scheme against each other + the male lead has been with other women, while the female lead is chaste + palace intrigue + exclusive devotion later on + marriage before love] The rating just came in. It’ll go up later. The heroine grows over time! She suffers a little at first, but later fights back and gets a major power-up! She was once the cherished jewel of the Jinzhong prefect, raised like nobility. But when her father was exposed for corruption and thrown into prison, she was implicate
383Reads7.0Score—Shelves
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47
Frost-Kissed Beauty: A Journey Through the Palace to Win the Emperor’s Heart 冰霜绝艳：辗转宫闱征服帝王心
[A note up front: This isn’t good, this isn’t good, this isn’t good. It’s brainless, brainless. Don’t click! Don’t click! Don’t click! Don’t click] The emperor, Li Yi, has just one standard for choosing his concubines: they must be beautiful. Song Yunchu, a concubine-born daughter who has suffered abuse since childhood, is chosen by Emperor Li Yi to enter the palace because of her stunning looks. Before entering the palace, her mother is looked down on by the servants, and her younger sister bu
1.2kReads9.0Score128Shelves
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48
A Palace Maid’s Daily Struggles 宫女奋斗日常
Ling Huan has skin as smooth as ice and looks like a goddess, yet she has no interest in power and thinks only of leaving the palace. In the end, neither she nor her child meets a good end. Given another chance, her goal is to raise her child well and become Empress Dowager herself. A palace-intrigue story with a strong female lead. The heroine is ruthless and clever. A thoroughly satisfying read.
10.4kReads9.2Score1.2kShelves
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49
Willows in the Wind 风中柳
[Ruthless heroine➕female-lead power fantasy➕light ensemble-style palace intrigue➕face-slapping and scum-bashing➕primarily focused on building her career] (Female lead is a virgin; male lead is not) Jiang Fu, the Jiang family’s fifteen-year-old illegitimate daughter, was lovely and graceful. Unfortunately, her stepmother was cruel and her father was heartless. As an illegitimate daughter, she had no say even in the marriage that mattered most to a woman. Her family could manipulate her as they p
2.6kReads8.8Score307Shelves
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50
The Empress Is Sweet and Alluring, Winning Favor and Rising to Power 娘娘娇软妩媚，一路争宠上位
(A pure palace-intrigue story, not a one-on-one romance, and not a mutually faithful pairing. Proceed with caution!) Bai Ruotang is the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Right Chancellor’s household. At fifteen, just after coming of age, she is sent into the palace to bear a child for her legitimate elder sister and help her secure the emperor’s favor. Unwilling to be reduced to someone else’s pawn, from the moment she steps through the palace gates, she decides she will carve out
11.1kReads8.9Score1.1kShelves