By the Emperor's Side

[Palace Intrigue story. The new novel in my collection, "The Noble Consort's Rise to the Top", is now underway] In the fifth year of Cheng'an, the whole nation holds a selection. Shen Ji is the most outstanding among the well-bred young women selected in Lingzhou. With exquisite features and a stunning beauty, she has especially lovely, soulful eyes and a cinnabar mole at the corner of one eye. Her beauty is breathtaking. Her gentle, alluring nature makes people want to cherish her. After she is favored once, the Emperor summons her to his bed for three nights in a row. She leaps over the ranks from a lowly palace girl to a Baolin, becoming the most favored consort in the palace. When Noble Consort Lin pretends to be ill to monopolize the Emperor's favor, Shen Ji hides the coldness in her eyes and leans against His Majesty's knees, looking up at him with tender, dewy eyes that seem to glisten with tears. "Will Your Majesty come back?" Qin Yuan's heart softens. Usually a man of few words, he swallows, and the thought leaves his mind. "Mm. I won't go." Shen Ji was born among commoners and has long been familiar with all kinds of men. She has always known what she wants: the Emperor's favor, wealth, and prestige. She wants to change her fate and humble origins, rising from a life as lowly as mud to stand above everyone else. Everyone in the palace says that Shen Ji's reign as the most favored woman in the six palaces is due to her great fortune and good luck. Only Shen Ji knows how carefully she has had to tread every step of the way, from a commoner's daughter to Imperial Noble Consort. Qin Yuan is a cold-hearted Emperor who has indulged himself for over twenty years and never let any woman into his heart. At first, he favors Shen Ji only because she is sensible and obedient, and breathtakingly beautiful. The greatest difference between her and the others is that when Shen Ji is by his side, he can always sleep peacefully. It's just that no one knows when it began, but his gaze always unconsciously lingers on her. My next upcoming story: "The Record of a Palace Attendant's Rise to Power" In the third year of Zhaocheng, His Majesty announces a selection of young women throughout the land to fill the imperial harem. After three months of selection, eight newcomers are chosen. Every one of them wants to win His Majesty's favor and secure a place in the harem. The newcomers compete for favor, creating one commotion after another. Someone lets slip that instead of guessing blindly, they should try their luck at the Emperor's side. If they can get advice from one of the Emperor's personal attendants, they'll surely be able to achieve twice the results with half the effort and rise to greatness. And the female official most trusted by His Majesty is Sang Qingyun. Sang Qingyun's family fell into ruin when she was fourteen. She entered the palace at sixteen and began serving the Emperor at nineteen. Everyone in the palace respectfully calls her Aunt Qingyun. When the newcomers invite her to take a look around their quarters, girls of fifteen or sixteen are all made to feel inferior by her beauty. Yet despite her extraordinary beauty, she keeps to her station. After years in the palace, she is still only a female official. To become the person closest to His Majesty, she must surely possess a remarkably clever and perceptive mind. But Sang Qingyun knows that His Majesty's feelings toward her have never been pure. She pretends to be deaf and dumb and feigns ignorance, waiting only to endure three more years before leaving the palace with a handsome sum of money and living a comfortable, carefree life. But someone refuses to let her live in peace. To take revenge, she climbs into the Emperor's bed of her own accord. - Xie Yanheng knows Sang Qingyun doesn't want to be his consort. But he doesn't care. He is supreme over all under heaven, commands the Nine Provinces, and possesses ten thousand miles of territory. He will not bend the knee for a mere woman. He wants her, and he wants her to offer herself willingly. Everyone in the palace thinks His Majesty took Sang Qingyun as his consort in a drunken stupor. They criticize and curse her for rising from a female official's position, humiliating her in every way. They all wait for her to fall from the clouds and be smashed to pieces. But at some point, she rises from her lowly station all the way to the Noble Consort's throne, wielding immense power. They can only look up at her. Rank chart: Empress First Rank, Senior: Imperial Noble Consort First Rank, Junior: Noble Consort, Worthy Consort, Pure Consort, Virtuous Consort [Noble Consort ranks highest] Second Rank, Senior: Consort Second Rank, Junior: Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chongyuan [Zhaoyi ranks highest] Third Rank, Senior: Noble Concubine Third Rank, Junior: Jieyu Fourth Rank, Senior: Concubine Fourth Rank, Junior: Wanyi Fifth Rank, Senior: Shunyi Fifth Rank, Junior: Noble Lady Sixth Rank, Senior: Beauty Sixth Rank, Junior: Talented Lady Seventh Rank, Senior: Attendant Seventh Rank, Junior: Baolin Eighth Rank, Senior: Chongyi Eighth Rank, Junior: Gengyi Ninth Rank, Senior: Imperial Lady Ninth Rank, Junior: Palace Girl Unranked: Selected Attendant Reader's note: This is a fictional palace-intrigue story. Official ranks are modeled on the Tang Dynasty, with lots of original worldbuilding. Please don't nitpick historical accuracy. Theme: Keep hope alive in adversity