Please Recommend Highly Rated Palace-Intrigue Stories, Anything 9.0 or Above

I want a female lead who has no feelings at first and focuses on winning the emperor’s favor to rise in rank, then gradually falls for him later. A completely emotionless lead is hard to relate to, but a story that’s sweet from beginning to end is boring, too. Ideally, things don’t go smoothly for her, and it’d be even better if she gets demoted at some point.