Pleasure

[The companion sweet romance and palace intrigue novel Beloved Consort is now available! If you're interested, come check it out!]

A Yuan was a palace maid in Yongshou Palace. When the empress dowager's personal maid married, A Yuan was chosen to take her place.

In the spring of the third year of Jiaming, the empress dowager's birthday banquet was still underway when the emperor got drunk. The empress dowager ordered A Yuan to attend to him.

A few days later, the empress dowager gave A Yuan to the emperor.

She was alluringly beautiful, with a graceful figure and a sweet, gentle voice. Anyone with eyes could see that the empress dowager had deliberately planted her beside the emperor. The empress dowager and the emperor were not mother and son by blood, and A Yuan would likely become a pawn in their power struggle.

A Yuan knew her place: she was a piece on the empress dowager's chessboard.

To survive, she had to carve out a place for herself in the imperial harem.

[The scheming, beautiful palace maid with superb acting skills x the aloof, noble emperor with a profound and calculating mind]

A little scene, part one:

That night, the candlelight glowed warm and red. A Yuan accidentally fell in front of the couch. Her cloud of black hair spilled down beside her waist, and a loose strand slowly brushed across his fingertip.

The emperor glanced sideways. The girl had her head lowered, revealing a small section of her porcelain-white chin. Kneeling with graceful humility, she seemed perfectly proper.

The emperor hid the darkness in his eyes.

A few days later, the empress dowager invited the emperor to sit with her. Using A Yuan's gentleness and diligence as her reason, she intended to bestow the girl upon him.

The emperor's gaze drifted casually over the girl standing quietly in the hall. In a tone that suggested indifference, he said, "I shall follow Mother Empress's arrangements."

A little scene, part two:

With the empress dowager's faction eliminated, A Yuan knelt before the emperor.

"Your Majesty took pity on me and gave me shelter. Now that the agreed-upon time has come, I should leave as promised."

The young emperor's eyes turned red.

"I and our child are right here. Where do you think you're going?"

1. This is a fictional setting. The worldbuilding and logic serve the plot, so please don't nitpick.

2. Content note: The male lead has consorts early on, and he does not favor only one woman. Later, he is devoted to one woman.

3. Updated daily. If I need to take a break, I'll post a notice in the blurb. Anti-piracy measures are enabled, with 60% protection.

Coming soon 1: Seduced by Love (Reborn)

Shen Luan had a hard life in her previous one.

Before marriage, as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis of Pingyuan, her stepsister stole her marriage match, and her stepmother schemed to marry her off to the Marquis of Anyang, a man more than twenty years her senior.

After the wedding, the Marquis of Anyang despised and neglected her from their very first night. There were several stepchildren in the household close to her age, as well as a favored concubine. Though she held the title of principal wife, she had to tread carefully to survive. In the end, she died destitute.

Reborn on the night of her wedding, Shen Luan decided to live differently.

Life in the marquis's household was hard. Fortunately, the heir, two years older than her, was refined and upright. Though he never acknowledged her as his "mother," he treated her with some courtesy.

Shen Luan knew that one day the heir would break with the Marquis of Anyang, who doted on his concubine, and earn a marquisate through his military achievements, gaining power over the realm.

She did not want to waste away in the marquis's household, so she took the initiative to care for the heir's younger brother, hoping to earn the heir's help in leaving.

At last, the heir returned victorious. Before Shen Luan could ask for his help, he came to visit her late at night.

The refined man who had never called her Mother, and addressed her coolly as "Madam," now called her "A Luan" in a husky voice.

Shen Luan's heart trembled. Struggling to appear composed, she said, "Heir, watch your words. We must not confuse our positions."

"And what if we do?" He grasped her wrist, his palm burning hot. "A Luan, leave him and marry me..."

Coming soon: Spring in the Forbidden Court (formerly Zhaozhao)

After losing both her parents, Zhaozhao was sent to live with her maternal uncle, becoming a cousin who depended on the household for a place to stay.

Though she behaved herself, her astonishing beauty drew the lecherous attention of her third cousin and earned her the hatred of her aunt and sister-in-law. First, they sent Zhaozhao to the countryside to make her suffer. Then, tempted by a generous bride price, they planned to marry her off to a man who had tormented his two previous wives to death.

One day, at a banquet in the Duke of Dingguo's residence, Zhaozhao was framed and trapped in a secluded courtyard with that man, her clothes in disarray. All they had to do was wait for someone to find them...

The door opened. Zhaozhao closed her eyes in despair. A heavy thud sounded first, then a low, gentle male voice spoke beside her. It sounded strangely familiar.

"Zhaozhao, don't be afraid."

During the autumn hunt in the twelfth year of Jiayuan, the emperor was injured and went missing. The realm could not go a single day without an emperor, and some princes and princes of the blood began to entertain ambitions.

Before long, the emperor returned safe and sound. He dealt with the rebels decisively and stabilized the court. Everyone realized it had been a trap, and their reverence for the emperor only deepened.

Only the emperor and those close to him knew the truth: he really had been injured. A young girl had saved him, and to keep the matter from getting out, he kept her by his side while he recovered for a time.

Once everything was settled, the emperor had someone escort her home.

Later, by chance, he saw the girl being bullied. Seeing her pitiful, tear-filled eyes, the emperor decided to stand up for her himself.

Knowing that Zhaozhao was gentle and beautiful, the emperor was severe and exacting with the talented young men who pursued her, and finally settled on one or two candidates.

But as soon as the candidates were brought before Zhaozhao, he regretted it.

Looking at the young girl with her lovely face and delicate, radiant features, the emperor experienced the stirrings of love for the first time.

A little scene:

One day at a palace banquet, someone drugged Zhaozhao, and she nearly lost her virtue.

The emperor was furious. When he rushed over, he saw Zhaozhao holding a hairpin, about to scar her own face. Without a second thought, he forcibly snatched it away. The long hairpin pierced his palm, and blood streamed down his hand, but he paid it no mind.

He gazed at the girl, her eyes red from crying, and said in a low voice, "Zhaozhao, come to my side."

Zhaozhao looked up in confusion, as if she did not understand what he meant.

The emperor smiled and gently brushed the tearstains at the corners of her eyes. In a voice more tender than any he had ever used, he said, "Little girl, will you be my empress?"

Completed novels: The Successor Empress / Beloved Concubine / The Tyrant's Heart Belongs to His White Moonlight / The Marquis's Wife's Leisurely Life

Theme: Keep striving to live. There are always more solutions than problems.