The Noble Consort Rises to the Top

[Completed. You can add my next book, The Empress Is Always Frail and Sickly, to your collection] In the third year of Hanyu, the Emperor held a selection of consorts. Gu Han, the legitimate daughter of the Rongyang Marquis's household, entered the palace by imperial decree. In three years, she rose from the rank of Talented Lady to Noble Consort, and ensured the Emperor's favor never waned. Gu Han knew what she wanted: wealth and status, and a flourishing family. When new consorts entered the palace, Emperor Lu Yu most loved visiting Talented Lady Gu's quarters. She was beautiful and delicate, coquettish and a little tempestuous, but never jealous or competitive for his favor. Later generations all said that from the moment Noble Consort Gu Han entered the palace, she had always been the most favored woman in the imperial harem. Only Gu Han knew how precarious every step of her journey had been. Had she shown even the slightest mercy, she would not have been the one left standing in the end. P.S.: A palace-intrigue story. The male lead is not a virgin. The heroine is the type to strike first when she senses danger. [Palace-intrigue novel coming soon: The Empress Is Always Frail and Sickly. Add it to your collection] Synopsis: The Tai family had two daughters. The elder was dazzlingly beautiful, and entered the palace as a consort upon coming of age. The younger daughter, however, had never shown her face. When Tai Anyou was young, she fell gravely ill. Her parents sent her to recuperate at her maternal grandparents' home, where she lived in Quzhou for years. It was not until she was sixteen that news came from the capital: her sister had been harmed and would have difficulty bearing children in the future. Tai Anyou was soon brought back to the capital. After being forgotten for ten years, the sole reason she was brought back to the capital was to enter the palace and compete for the Emperor's favor on her sister's behalf. Everyone said Tai Anyou was a fool, and laughed that she was merely a pawn the Tai family used to help her sister win the Emperor's favor. But no one knew that she had never done any of it for her sister. Pretending to compete for someone's favor was nothing more than a smokescreen for her ambition. Someone had enjoyed her family's affection for the first half of her life. Now it was someone else's turn to enjoy a life of wealth and glory. P.S.: Palace intrigue. The male lead is not a virgin. If that bothers you, don't read. The heroine is a little stubborn, with [slightly] extreme ideas. P.P.S.: The elder sister is not a villain. [The synopsis has screenshots] Theme: Never forget your original aspirations