The Long Road to Becoming Empress (Song Dynasty Palace)

In the early years of the Great Song, the emperor chose a new empress, and the honor fell to the Song family. The eldest daughter, renowned for her learning, gentleness, and virtue, was selected to become empress.

But Song Su, the woman in question, was unwilling. She arranged to elope with her childhood sweetheart, only to be cruelly abandoned. Forced to do so, she could only embark on the irreversible path to becoming empress.

In the vast imperial harem were a fallen beauty sent to the palace, attendants who longed for the emperor's favor but were never granted even a glance, and unruly, infuriating children.

As empress, she was inevitably entangled in court politics. As the emperor disarmed his generals with wine, declared that no one could sleep peacefully beside his bed, and even faced the mystery of the candlelight and axe, her life flowed like peach blossoms carried away by a stream, beyond her control.

What would this sixteen-year-old empress have to do to manage it all?

Through the eyes of an empress growing into her role, witness the turbulent times as an era of chaos nears its end, along with its passions and romances.

The protagonists are the emperor and empress, but this is not a sweet romance. It's a serious historical drama, and their union is more politically significant than it is a marriage of affection.

Some plot points are inspired by How Much Sorrow Can One Bear? You don't need to have read it, as there will be an introduction. If you have read it, you can treat this as fanfiction.

Theme: What does palace intrigue matter? The real victory is surviving to the end