Spring Beneath the Ninth Tier

[Amnesia] [Unrequited First Love] [Growth and Redemption]

Shu Ning was a convict serving as a slave in the Yeting Palace, as insignificant as a duckweed floating in the rain.

Just as she was being cruelly persecuted, perhaps her anguished cry of “Your Majesty!” caught the attention of the emperor riding in his imperial carriage. He lowered his gaze and saved her.

She thought the emperor had saved her on a whim, but unexpectedly, he began paying more and more attention to her.

One day, after drinking too much, he even whispered in her ear, asking if she would marry him.

Behind the heavy curtains, the emperor fell into a deep sleep.

The setting sun fell across his handsome face, and for a moment Shu Ning was dazed.

Then she heard palace attendants whispering beneath the covered corridor: “His Majesty is going to name an empress. They say the new empress is a noblewoman from a great family.”

The flowers outside the window had fallen. Dreams, after all, must come to an end.

Shu Ning steeled herself and left the palace.

Later, on her wedding night, the crimson bridal veil was slowly lifted, but the face before her was not that of her new husband.

The young emperor leaned over her, smiling as he raised her chin. The hem of his black-and-gold dragon robe gradually spread over her trailing wedding gown. “You would rather be someone else's second wife than my empress?”

[From the Emperor's Journal]

My heart died the moment the entire Wei clan fell on the battlefield.

It was only years later that I saved a palace maid who had lost her memory.

She was the legitimate daughter of the Wei clan, and the first love I had longed for day and night.

[Reader's Guide]

1. The writing leans toward serious historical drama, but the romance is sweet. There is a light political intrigue element, with plot and romance equally balanced.

2. The male lead is devoted in both body and heart, with no harem. The empress he intends to appoint has always been the female lead.

3. The blurb contains a misleading twist. The male lead never treats the female lead as a substitute, and there is no groveling-to-win-her-back arc.

4. The female lead is not a weak, innocent flower. She has a dark-lotus side and is very proactive. The characters in the blurb may differ from how they are portrayed in the novel.

5. The dynasty is fictional, so please don't nitpick historical accuracy. The blurb was archived with a screenshot on March 18, 2025.

Theme: Love knows no rank.