Shen Weiwan, a concubine from the south of the Yangtze River, was forced to become a maid in the palace in order to find out the truth about her biological mother, Shen Tang. She was plotted when she first entered the palace and was falsely accused of breaking the former empress's relics. The empress was furious before, and the concubine Shu secretly attacked her. She was originally a chess piece to be manipulated, but with a little agility and courage, she used a white cat to get through the predicament and accidentally attracted the attention of Emperor Yongding.
Within the walls of this vermilion palace, everyone wears a mask: the dignified queen hides her ambition to seize power, the gentle concubine holds a fatal handle, and the seemingly indifferent emperor hides unfathomable calculations in his eyes. Shen Weiwan works step by step, from being a lonely secret servant to being a popular figure in the imperial palace. She uses her intelligence as her blade and her character as her armor to carve a way out in the turbulent harem.
The broken porcelain under the white cat's claws, the black hair in the oil paper bag, the suspicion of the concubine who died of illness... Every foreshadowing involves a shocking secret. As she gradually gets closer to the truth about her biological mother's death, she discovers that there are old cases from the previous dynasty and royal secrets behind it. She thought she was playing chess, but little did she know that she was already a key piece on someone else's chessboard.
Between love and hate, will you sink or break free? When sincerity meets intrigue, when the chess pieces try to overturn the chess game, this battle deep within the palace wall will eventually lead to an unexpected ending with a decision that will shatter the red wall.
Purpose: The purpose of this novel is to use Shen Weiwan's struggle and growth in the palace as a thread to show women's persistence in self-worth in the whirlpool of power - even in desperate situations, they still fight against injustice with wisdom and courage. When uncovering the truth behind family ties and power schemes, they always maintain their persistence in "goodness" and "truth", and explore the choices of individuals and the resilience of human nature in difficult circumstances.