My Tenth Year as a Palace Slave

The new dynasty has only just been established. Her father would rather die than serve two dynasties, so Lu Yizheng is convicted as well and sent to the palace to serve as a slave.

After ten years of keeping her head down and treading carefully, she is caught in the Noble Consort's scheme and sent to the imperial bed.

From then on, the two words her father had urged her to remember, "Stay safe," are beyond her reach.

At the next day's audience, Lu Yizheng meets the Noble Consort's sworn enemy, who is currently in the emperor's favor.

The woman smiles gently, her eyes turning, and she looks three parts like Lu Yizheng.

Lu Yizheng drops her teacup in shock.

Only then does she realize she has become a pawn in the favored consort's power struggle.

Lu Yizheng is peerlessly beautiful, with a graceful figure, yet she comes from a lowly background and is timid as a mouse.

The concubines envy her to her face and mock her behind her back.

The higher you climb, the harder you fall. Even if she is favored for a time, she won't get far.

But later, the emperor clears her father's name, reopens old cases, abolishes the Noble Consort's title, and makes Lu Yizheng empress...

The other consorts can only kneel trembling below Lu Yizheng, their backs slick with sweat.

*

Lu Yizheng knows her place. She is a stand-in for Chen, the emperor's favored consort.

The emperor has favored her for years only because he cannot bear to profane Chen.

So on the day her father is released from the imperial prison, she kneels before the emperor and asks to leave.

"Your Majesty has shown this unworthy concubine undeserved kindness for years. Now it is time for me to leave of my own accord, lest I hurt Consort Chen's feelings."

The smile on the emperor's face slowly fades, revealing a darkness she has never seen before.

"I cleared your father's name, and this is how you repay me?"

Lu Yizheng's heart trembles, but she forces herself to remain calm. "What else does Your Majesty need me to do?"

"Stay," he says, gripping her wrist, his palm burning hot, his voice full of sorrow. "I need an empress. It can only be you."

Reading guide:

1. An unconventional palace-intrigue story. The male lead is not a virgin, and there is a large age gap between the leads.

2. He devotes himself to her in the middle and later parts. The male lead falls first.

3. The female lead is not a stand-in. There is a misunderstanding.

[Blurb written on September 8, 2025]

Theme: Trade a sincere heart for true affection