Crimson Nail Polish

Her family was destroyed, and she thought fate had granted her a favor when, on the brink of despair, she became his apprentice. But it only led her into even deeper despair. She thought he was someone she could depend on, but he said, “From the moment you brought about her death, I stopped knowing you.” She thought he was her enemy, but he said, “If I wanted him dead, any poison would do. Why would I need your rouge?” She thought he was her benefactor, but he said, “You filthy woman. What makes you think you deserve a place in his eyes, his dreams, or his heart?” She thought he was her younger brother, but he said, “If there is anyone in this world who would die for you without hesitation, it is me.” Swept along by the current of fate, she used a poison everyone coveted to kill the man she loved most, caused the death of the man who loved her most, married the man who hated her most, and overlooked the devotion right beside her. Once she enters the imperial harem, will the slaughter driven by her desire for revenge mark the beginning of her rebirth, or the start of her descent into hell? A woman struggling to find warmth in a chaotic age, strong enough to claw her way back from the depths of despair time and again, caught in an endless cycle of hurting and being hurt: where will she meet her end, and where will her heart find its home?