The Imperial Consort's Infinite Charms

A guileless palace maid who charms people without realizing it × a fastidious, picky emperor, a lofty beauty on a high throne

Four years after ascending the throne, the new emperor rises early and works late, buried in paperwork. His harem is practically empty.

Ming Chuyi is a second-rank maid at the Liufang Palace in Renming Hall. She has a soft, sweet face, and if she hadn’t gotten too fat during the junior palace maid selection and been rejected, she might have become a junior concubine.

The ladies of the palace say His Majesty is as handsome as a jade carving, refined and peerless. But he is so dedicated to state affairs that he has never set foot in the harem. The three consorts, four senior consorts, and eight imperial concubines have all been left without favor for three years.

Ming Chuyi is captivated by the thought and secretly wonders what His Majesty looks like.

Having heard that His Majesty has little interest in women and works himself to the bone, Ming Chuyi relies on her clever hands, her skill at making delicious food and giving massages to ease fatigue, and her kind, considerate nature. She bribes a matron to pull strings and take part in the selection. She successfully gets transferred to Funing Hall, the emperor’s bedchamber, as a maid who dusts.

His Majesty really is incredibly handsome. Ming Chuyi loves beautiful faces, so she resolves to be his loyal little servant. Every day, she tries all sorts of ways to serve him, just to earn a smile from His Majesty.

She makes exquisite five-colored cakes, shapes vibrant peacock dumplings, studies pressure-point techniques for sleep, and invents a bamboo scalp massager to relieve fatigue.

Ming Chuyi works diligently and, thanks to her excellent performance, is promoted to a first-rank maid serving the emperor at close quarters.

During this time, Ming Chuyi discovers the secret behind His Majesty’s lack of interest in women.

It turns out he doesn’t avoid taking concubines because of an incurable disease. He has an extremely severe aversion to dirt and is also so picky that he’s almost impossible to please.

Of the dozens of servants in Funing Hall, only she, by being exceptionally attentive, can manage to satisfy His Majesty a little.

To avoid being criticized or thrown out, Ming Chuyi washes herself spotless every day, down to every strand of hair and the spaces beneath her nails.

For some reason, His Majesty is always staring at her.

She asks, “Your Majesty, how is this rose and lychee pastry?”

His cool, moonlit gaze falls on her soft, rosy lips. “Delicious.”

Everything else tastes bland and dull to him. Only her lips make him want to kiss her.

She asks, “Your Majesty, how were my technique and pressure when I massaged your head today?”

His hand, with bones like green bamboo and fingers like white jade, grips her waist. “Just right.”

He dislikes being touched, and dislikes touching others even more, but her fragrant body is irresistible.

Ming Chuyi has no idea how she went from diligently serving as a little palace maid to ending up in the emperor’s bed, unable to get down or escape, night after night.

She never became the first-rank female official she had hoped for. Instead, she became a noble lady, then a high consort, and finally the only empress in the palace.

On the edict conferring the title of empress, His Majesty writes in his own hand: “Ming is wise, pure, and incomparable in this world.”

Theme: Striving to improve