The blurb was screenshotted on June 26, 2026.
"A little beggar like you thinks you're entitled to say something like that?"
Tang Ge sneered at the presumptuous little beggar.
She had only shown him a moment of kindness by chance, yet he had gotten the strange idea that he could bare his heart to her.
No matter how handsome or diligent and well-mannered he was, what could a little beggar with no parents possibly offer her?
Though the Tang family wasn't wealthy enough to ring bells at every meal, they did own two shops and several acres of farmland. In these turbulent times, she would never get involved with a beggar.
The emperor was tyrannical and unjust, and at last someone raised the banner of rebellion. They say the rebel forces swept through the land, and truly brought about a change of dynasty.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, the palace was empty, so a group of girls of suitable age and respectable background were selected from among the common people to serve as palace maids.
As Tang Ge grew older, she considered herself beautiful and resolved to enter the palace to secure a future for herself.
But because she didn't know she needed to grease a few palms first, she was assigned to the Laundry Bureau after entering the palace, where she was no more than an insignificant maid.
Her hands were covered in thin calluses, her clothes patched, and she was given the lowliest work.
In the palace, only rank mattered; no one cared about fairness. When she was bullied, the difference between master and servant was held over her, and she could only swallow her humiliation.
Tang Ge still wasn't used to a life of groveling servitude.
That day, the imperial procession passed by. The jade carriage bells rang clearly, eunuchs cried out warnings, and the palace attendants all knelt on the flagstones, foreheads to the ground, holding their breath and daring not to look upon the emperor.
Only Tang Ge reacted too slowly.
She hurried to kneel, but it was already too late. At that very moment, the person in the carriage lowered his eyes, and his gaze landed squarely on her face.
The instant their eyes met, Tang Ge's pupils contracted.
The man seated in the carriage, the so-called new emperor who ruled with ruthless decisiveness, the merciless Son of Heaven...
Had the face of that very beggar.
Huo Yanqing was not someone who looked down on himself.
He had not forgotten how she used to sneer at him and trample his sincere feelings underfoot.
Simply choosing not to take revenge on her was already the act of a very magnanimous gentleman.
So why did he feel such uncontrollable rage when he saw her being bullied, enduring contempt and hardship as a palace maid?
Wasn't this the suffering she had once inflicted on him?
Wasn't this the price she deserved to pay?
That night, when she climbed onto the dragon bed and nestled against his arm, it was naturally her vain nature at work, too.
Seeing that he had risen to power, she had rushed to cling to him.
Vulgar, calculating, with an ugly true face.
Beautiful, clever, pitiful, and lovable.
Reader advisory:
1. The heroine is imperfect and acts selfishly and out of self-interest in the early chapters.
2. The setting is fictional, with a mix of influences; everything serves the plot.
3. Both leads are sexually inexperienced, but the emperor has a nominal harem early on. Please avoid this story if that bothers you.
Theme: Love knows no rank or status
