Palace Lyrics

Everyone says history belongs to men. Open a history book and your eyes are met with a dazzling array of stories. Whether righteous or wicked, it seems that everywhere, generals lead their armies to victory and brilliant strategists plot from behind the scenes.

Little do they know that history has another kind of battlefield. There is no smoke from beacon fires, no desperate cries; no chaos of war, no thunderous drums. The clash of blades is silent and unseen. Even a final cry before death can only be choked back. Within the orderly, solemn palaces, there is nothing but silence.

On this battlefield of rouge, women are often more ruthless than men. No one knows how many bones of beautiful women lie buried beneath the bluestone slabs underfoot. At night, beneath the wavering lamplight, might a face from the past appear beside the pillow in a palace garden? With a single smile, perhaps she once had the power to topple kingdoms.

Burdened by hatred for their country and their families, they have no choice. They did not choose this era; the imperial harem chose them.

Note: The historical setting of this story is based on the Baidu Tieba forums "Misty Rain of the Southern Dynasties" and "Songs of the Southern Dynasties." The author and Lin Yueli founded those forums. The setting and characters in this story will be based on the forums' interpretations, with some modifications.

Note 2: This story is undergoing extensive revisions, starting from Chapter One and continuing throughout. Locked chapters are being revised and will be unlocked one by one as each revision is completed. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause...