The most beautiful and alluring consort in Shangjing, a bewitching beauty as soft as water.
Beneath her splendor and glory, Shen Shuanghua knew that everyone in the palace and the court wanted to see her dead, branding her a disaster to the realm.
Of course, that included him.
The Xuanmen upheaval, the empire's collapse, and the emperor's death.
White mourning banners and mournful music filled the air. The Noble Consort lowered her slender shoulders, her delicate figure seeming fragile as she wept softly.
The new emperor stood tall and straight as a green bamboo. His golden boots came to a halt before the Noble Consort, and everyone secretly watched the spectacle.
Who didn't know that, back when the new emperor Li Han was still a nobody, he and this woman had once been lovers?
Yet when she was offered the boundless riches of the palace, the Noble Consort had severed their ties and entered the palace to climb to a higher branch.
With old and new grudges between them, she feared she would be skinned alive, if not killed outright.
Shen Shuanghua thought so too.
But who could have expected a pair of warm hands to suddenly pull her to her feet?
Li Han looked down at her, his pupils dark and unreadable.
"Noble Consort, it has been a long time."
As if in a dream, Shen Shuanghua was astonished to find that not only had she survived, she had also become the Grand Dowager Consort, second only to The Outcast.
Though Li Han revealed nothing on his face, he personally placed in her hands the golden seal symbolizing authority over the imperial harem.
She secretly rejoiced, thinking Li Han had let go of his old resentment and forgiven her.
Until one day, she had a dream.
In it, she lay on a couch, her skin pale and smooth, coughing weakly as she hovered on the brink of death.
Li Han came to her in person and cared for her without changing out of his clothes, day and night.
She was deeply grateful and felt ashamed of what she had done all those years ago.
But who could have expected the dream to turn into a springtime fantasy? The man suddenly leaned over and sealed her lips with a kiss as crimson waves rose and fell.
The dream left Shen Shuanghua trembling with fear for days. When she happened to see the new emperor and found him still dignified and distant, she finally relaxed.
It was only a nightmare. Why dwell on it?
Until one day, she caught a spring chill. When she awoke, her lips were slightly swollen.
The palace maid said timidly, "His Majesty came by."
Terrified out of her wits, Shen Shuanghua decided to go keep vigil at the imperial mausoleum.
Li Han sat high upon the dragon throne and looked down at her, his expression calm. "The imperial mausoleum is bleak and lonely. I can see the Grand Dowager Consort is quite bored. Perhaps bearing a prince would help."
Shen Shuanghua's face turned deathly pale.
Only then did she realize that beneath this gentle, godlike facade lay the cracked foundation of a demon's desires.
She was a bird trapped in shackles, falling into his palm, with no hope of peace.
[Note]
Both leads are devoted to each other.
Both leads are reborn.
The female lead is only a consort in name.
Theme: A golden house is also a gilded cage.
