The Beauty Hidden Deep in the Palace [Reborn]

A beauty who's sweet on the outside and ruthless within x a prince who's ruthless on the outside and gentle within

Ming Zhi didn't learn until she was eighteen that she was the realborn daughter of the Duke of Anguo, switched at birth with another baby.

After returning to the family, she worked hard to learn the manners of a noblewoman, as well as music, chess, calligraphy, painting, needlework, and cooking, all in the hope of earning her parents' affection. But their eyes were only for Ming Xi, the impostor daughter. They gave her everything first, leaving Ming Zhi in an increasingly awkward position in the household.

At a spring banquet, she was set up to be alone with Pei Qi, Ming Xi's fiance. In the end, the dignified realborn daughter of the Duke of Anguo was carried through a side gate into the Duke of Zhenguo's residence in a small sedan chair.

Ming Xi, meanwhile, married the Sixth Prince. In less than three years, he ascended the throne, and she became the most revered empress in the Liang Dynasty, worshipped by all.

Ming Zhi became a concubine and spent ten years wasting away in the most remote courtyard. As she lay dying, she accidentally learned that it was Ming Xi who had arranged for her to be kidnapped and sold to a widower, where she suffered endless torment. Even her being forced to give herself to Pei Qi had been Ming Xi's scheme, all so she could marry into a more powerful family.

After dying, Ming Zhi returned to the year she was kidnapped. She had fought back so fiercely that she was locked in a room for three days. Tomorrow, she would be sold to the widower.

But she knew that in a few days, a group of travelers would stay in the village. The Third Prince, traveling incognito, would be among them.

In this life, she would climb step by step to the peak of power, using the bones of the wicked as her stepping stones.

Ming Zhi devised a plan to escape and knelt before the nobleman, begging him to take her away. She was willing to serve by his side as a maid.

★

Chu Yun had disguised himself to investigate a bandit problem. By chance, he saved an orphan girl who said she had no family or friends and wanted to follow him.

One more maid wouldn't make much difference, so Chu Yun agreed.

But this maid truly knew how to look after someone. When it was cold, she urged him to dress warmly. When it got late, she made him a bowl of ginseng soup. When he was injured, she even tested medicine on herself for his sake. So when Ming Zhi died, he sighed for a long time.

Later, at a palace banquet, he saw the girl who was supposed to have died young. She had somehow become the realborn daughter of the Duke of Anguo, and was following his younger brother with a shy, coquettish smile.

★

After faking her death, Ming Zhi successfully met the Sixth Prince, the future emperor. She slowly won him over until he promised to marry her.

But fortunes shifted. On their wedding night, the entire household of the Sixth Prince was reduced to prisoners.

No one knew that the Sixth Prince's consort, dressed in a splendid wedding gown, had been sent to the new emperor's bed.

The new emperor raised a cold hand and traced her delicate features, smiling without warmth. "Zhi Zhi, where have you been? I've been searching for you for so long."

Reading Guide:

★ Both leads have no prior romantic or sexual partners. Happy ending.

★ In the early part of the story, the heroine sees the hero only as a stepping stone.

★ Includes a possessive romance and a groveling redemption arc.

Theme: Stay positive and strive upward.