In the third year of Yongping, the new emperor selected consorts to fill the six palaces.
The current emperor is indifferent by nature and has little interest in women, visiting the harem no more than three times a month. The newly arrived consorts rack their brains and exhaust every means to see him. It is said that among the servants attending the emperor, the one he favors most is a palace maid named Jiang Li. She has served him since he was still a prince, and everyone who sees her calls her Auntie Jiang.
Jiang Li was once the daughter of a merchant family in the north. After her husband died, she happened to save the emperor when he was still a prince, earning his favor and trust. The consorts compete to curry favor with Jiang Li. Some have even found her husband and sent word to the emperor.
Four years earlier, in the height of summer, torrential rain poured down. Jiang Li had been in Prince Yan's household for two months. Following the imperial physician's instructions, she was applying medicine to the prince. Throughout those two months, she had attended him in his bedchamber.
One day, Li Huaiyuan rose from bed in his robe. His lowered eyes inadvertently caught sight of the whiteness on the bed. His thumb, pressing against his ring, paused, and his expression turned bland as the last trace of interest drained away.
In the three years Jiang Li served before the emperor, whenever he did not visit the harem, he would summon her to attend him. Few people knew this.
Later, after the new consorts entered the palace, Jiang Li happened to learn that her husband was still alive. In his search for her, he had come all the way from Longxi Circuit, sick and frail, searching across the length and breadth of Great Chu.
In the fifth year of Yongping, the emperor went on an inspection tour.
That night, Jiang Li set fire to the imperial villa. From then on, there was no longer a female official named Jiang Li serving at the emperor's side.
The heroine was once pregnant with the second male lead's child.
The heroine approaches the male lead with another motive. You can tell from the blurb that the male lead is a real jerk. There will be no changing male leads.
Theme: Even when mired in mud, strive to grow
