Palace Intrigue Begins with the Selection

From the age of five, Jiang Xi kept having the same dream. In it, she was orphaned at thirteen, her family fortune was seized by a distant uncle, and her childhood sweetheart's family wanted nothing to do with her. To afford her parents' burial, she had to sell herself on the street. By chance, the heir to the Marquis of De'an rode past and recognized her face, so much like her birth mother's. He took her back to the marquis's residence. But by then, the family's fake heiress was adored by everyone. She could have gold for the asking, and jade besides. When Jiang Xi returned, the fake heiress fell gravely ill for three days, and Jiang Xi was sent away to a country estate. At fifteen, the day after her coming-of-age ceremony, she was married off in a small sedan chair as the second wife of a powerful minister who had adored his late wife above all else. At sixteen, just as she became pregnant, her stepson, having heard some rumor from who knew where, pushed her into the water and drowned her. After waking from that dream one night, Jiang Xi, who had been precocious from childhood, stopped acting spoiled when her father taught her to read and practice medicine. She stopped shirking when her mother taught her the family's sixteen traditional embroidery techniques. When she was ten, the whole Jiang family moved to Tonghua Lane. Looking at the boy with his handsome, gentle features, whose cold-hearted side was terrifying, Jiang Xi thought to herself: This is the first time. At thirteen, Jiang Xi sat in a teahouse for half a day and saw the heir to the Marquis of De'an ride past on the street. She pressed her lips together: This is the second time. As for the third time, sorry, there won't be one. This time, with her parents weeping, Jiang Xi climbed into the imperial flower envoy's carriage. * At the New Year's Eve banquet, Consort Chen, the most favored woman in the imperial harem, appeared in magnificent clothes and full finery. The Marchioness of De'an hurriedly advised her daughter: "My dear, I hear Consort Chen is the Emperor's sole favorite. You must learn from her. Once you enter the palace, your father and brothers' lives and fortunes will all depend on you!" "Then wouldn't it be faster if you went yourself, Mother?" The fake heiress sneakily took a bite of a pastry and said so. The Marchioness of De'an didn't understand what she meant. She looked up and froze on the spot. The Marchioness of De'an had lived a life of glory and ostentation. She knew she had relied on men to make her life so comfortable, but she had never imagined that one day she would see with her own eyes the biological daughter she had despised, who had grown up among commoners, rise step by step to become an imperial consort, then empress, and finally take a throne she had never dared even dream of! How could a woman in this world achieve such a thing?! Jiang Xi could. A few notes before you begin: 1. The male lead is a complete jerk, an absolute menace. The female lead never takes a loss, so beware if you're a fan of the male lead! 2. A supporting character transmigrates. 3. Palace intrigue, both leads have had previous partners. The female lead was not sexually active in her previous life, while the male lead was, both in his previous life and this one. 4. The female lead will become emperor. Entry rationale: As a child, Jiang Xi had a long dream. In it, she took a wrong turn and fell into hardship. After waking, Jiang Xi decided not to waste her precociousness or her time, but to find another path and realize her own worth. Here's the rank chart: Beyond First Rank: Empress First Rank: Imperial Noble Consort Second Rank: Noble Consort Third Rank: Four Consorts: Hui, Xian, Shu, and De Fourth Rank: Consort Fifth Rank: Concubine Sixth Rank: Lady of Bright Deportment Seventh Rank: Lady of Beautiful Deportment Eighth Rank: Lady of Beauty Ninth Rank: Lady of Talent Tenth Rank: Noble Lady Lowest Rank: Attendant Theme: Hold fast to your convictions through hardship and persevere through every setback to see things through.