The Palace Maid in Charge of the Bedchamber

Novel blurb:

Yun Yin has jade-like beauty and snow-white skin, making her an irresistible beauty in the eyes of men. Even the eunuch in charge of selecting palace women says that a face like hers is sure to bring her a bright future.

But as soon as she enters the palace, she arouses the jealousy of the consorts in charge of the palace and is demoted to the lowest rank of servant girl, sweeping the floors. Two or three years pass without her ever catching a glimpse of the emperor.

Then a palace coup brings a new emperor to the throne, and he grants a general amnesty. The only exception is Zhongcui Palace, where Yun Yin serves. Because of its wicked consort, everyone in the palace is to be buried with the late emperor.

Just then, the Grand Empress Dowager is selecting palace maids to attend the new emperor in his bedchamber. Without hesitation, Yun Yin bribes the eunuch in charge of the selection. If everyone says she's a seductress, why not play the part for real?

That night, Yun Yin kneels before the bright yellow bed curtains and helps the new emperor change. Her delicate hands tremble as they reach for the white jade belt engraved with dragons.

With tears in her eyes, she deliberately acts pitiful in hopes the new emperor will take pity on her and spare her life.

But when she raises her head timidly, she discovers that the new emperor has the exact same face as the young lover she once abandoned.

Yun Yin: ...Excuse me, Your Majesty.

But he grips her wrist tightly. Beneath his refined, gentle appearance lurks a bloodthirsty madness. "A Yun, you came right to my door of your own accord."

*

Everyone knows the emperor was betrayed by a heartless, faithless woman before he ascended the throne. Later, when word spreads that he has found her, everyone expects to soon see her tortured beyond recognition and thrown into the dungeons.

But as they wait, the shameless woman clings to the emperor's sleeve and climbs, step by step, to the throne as empress.

Notes:

1. Blurb written on June 6, 2022, and revised on July 25, 2023. Screenshots have been saved.

2. A sweet-and-sour reunion romance, one man and one woman, both virgins.

Coming soon 1: "An Heir's Marriage"

[Character setup: Reserved, steady heir * adorable, sweet little wife]

[No one is reborn. A sweet premarital-marriage-then-love story about two inexperienced young people. One man and one woman, domestic life in an aristocratic household.]

The first time they meet, Jiang Pei is leaning against her aunt in the next room, eating strands of pastry and carefully sizing up Gu Yan, heir to the Duke of Weiguo, who has come to pay his respects. She thinks: He's of noble birth. I mustn't offend him or casually draw his attention.

The second time they meet, Gu Yan isn't particularly close to her, yet he frowns and rebukes her cousin for speaking cruelly to her. She thinks: He's a gentleman, refined but principled. Surely he's the kind of young man every girl in Shengjing wants to marry.

Who would have thought that, through a twist of fate, she would become Gu Yan's wife, despite the difference in their family status, and the matriarch of the Gu family's main branch?

-

At eight years old, Gu Yan was adopted into the main branch to become its heir. He has always been disciplined and ambitious, with no interest in romance.

When his mother tells him to marry Jiang Pei, the eldest daughter of a collateral branch of the Jiang family, he doesn't object. After all, once she's his wife, they can simply treat each other with respect and live their lives.

But as time passes, the ambitious young heir moves his study into the inner courtyard. Ambition? Mutual respect? On such a cold day, isn't it much better to have his sweet wife in his arms?

Coming soon 2: "The Art of Being a Concubine"

Before she turned sixteen, Zhuang Qingrao wished to marry the literate young shopkeeper and finally escape the life of servitude her family had endured for generations.

After she turned sixteen, her masters kindly allowed the young shopkeeper to marry another senior maid. Miss Chen, the Fourth Young Lady whom Qingrao faithfully served, looked at her gently and comforted her: "You can't trust men, Qingrao. You need to stand on your own two feet and make a good future for yourself."

So later, Qingrao was carried in a small sedan chair to the residence of Miss Chen's brother-in-law, the Duke of Yingguo, a descendant of the late emperor. She became one of his inconspicuous bedchamber attendants.

By chance, Qingrao discovers that her engagement was deliberately ruined by the Fourth Young Lady, who wanted to marry the Duke of Yingguo as a second wife in place of her gravely ill elder sister. Gazing at the beauty in the bronze mirror, her lips red as cinnabar, Qingrao decides not to disappoint her mistress's expectations and to strive even harder.

Only somehow, she seems to have tried a little too hard.

Amid a blizzard, Chen Yuewei waits outside the imperial study for an hour, pleading for her husband to spare the Chen family.

The door creaks open, and the Duke of Yingguo's favored consort, Zhuang Guifei, steps out in an exquisite jade-colored cloak embroidered with gold. Her familiar features no longer hold a trace of deference or caution. She looks down at Chen Yuewei, a provocative smile spreading across her delicate face.

"My lady, how is it that you no longer understand the lesson you taught me?"

Men can't be trusted, especially a man whose heart belongs entirely to another woman.

Reading guide:

1. Important content warning: The male lead is not a virgin, but the female lead is. She will not fall in love with him. He belongs to the main branch of the imperial clan and is a typical feudal aristocrat, with a wife and concubines. Later, he will love only the female lead. Includes a favored-concubine-oppresses-the-wife plotline.

2. Contains extensive household and palace intrigue.

3. The female lead will be raised to the status of wife. The leads have a ten-year age gap.

Theme: Give your heart sincerely, and receive sincerity in return.