The Palace Maid's Rise to Power

Shen Shutong once would have given her life for Consort Shu.

When Consort Shu was young and frail, she was sent to Jiangnan to recuperate. There, she saved Shen Shutong, whom her family had been selling by the pound. She affectionately called her little sister, gave her a place to stay, and taught her to read and write.

When it was time to leave Jiangnan, the rainy season had arrived. The noblewoman held out her hand and asked, "A-Tang, would you come with me to the palace?"

"The imperial harem is a dangerous place. Without you, A-Tang, I would be so afraid."

Shen Shutong willingly followed her into the palace and became Consort Shu's most trusted aide. The hands that should have been devoted to saving lives and helping the poor became stained with blood.

Later, when Consort Shu offered her to the emperor to secure his favor, she didn't refuse.

But on the day she was summoned to the side hall, she worried that Consort Shu wouldn't sleep well, so she endured her discomfort and left, intending to pay her respects. Instead, she heard the noblewoman's dismissive voice.

"...You don't understand A-Tang. How could one child compare to my place in her heart?"

"If I wanted her dead, she'd accept that willingly, too."

Shen Shutong sat motionless beneath the eaves all night.

In her utter despair, the only thought that came to her was that Consort Shu really did understand her.

She would only be repaying the life she owed.

But the next day, good news came from Shufang Studio.

Consort Shu was pregnant.

Shen Shutong touched her own newly confirmed pregnancy, her face pale as if she had fallen into an abyss.

-

The child in her womb was the only thing that belonged to her.

Shen Shutong kept her pregnancy secret and, for the first time, took a serious look at the young, handsome emperor.

She had helped Consort Shu rise to the rank of one of the Four Consorts.

Now all she had to do was walk that same path herself.

-

Huo Jue ascended the throne in his youth, and the only thing in his heart was the art of being emperor.

He liked clever people, but one rainy day, his gaze was caught by a naive, guileless young maid who rushed forward to take a blade meant for her mistress.

There were so many women in the harem. Though he felt a little drawn to her, he wouldn't force her into anything.

But one morning after she had received his favor, Huo Jue woke first and gazed at her peacefully sleeping face. Suddenly, his heart grew restless.

In her heart, who mattered more: him and their child, or her mistress?

Reader's Guide:

1. The male lead has a harem early on, but becomes devoted to one woman in the middle and later parts.

2. The female lead is not written as a superwoman.

Theme: Never give up