A Bloody and Tearful History of the Imperial Harem

Deep Palace, Year of the Bingwu: Startling the Slumbering Insects In the Bingwu year of the Qianlong reign (1771), undercurrents surged through the Forbidden City. A bizarre fire on New Year's Eve ushered in a bloody struggle for power in the imperial harem. Consort Jia of the Jinjia clan had spent ten years navigating the treacherous palace halls and had hoped to keep her head down. But when Fourth Prince Yongcheng was injured in an accidental fall, she was swept into the heart of the storm. Pure Consort's favor, Consort Shu's schemes, Consort Yu's family ties, the Empress's counterbalancing tactics, the Empress Dowager's shadow... The various factions wove a vast web of intrigue behind the vermilion walls. From a fire at Yikun Palace to Consort Qing's poisoning, from a crack in a Guanyin statue to blood-written words by a well, one "accident" after another followed. Consort Wan died by suicide after being framed, Consort Yu met a mysterious and sudden death, Pure Consort abruptly lost her favor, and even the Empress eventually hanged herself. In dire straits, Consort Jia advanced one careful step at a time, turning others' strengths against them and using their own weapons against them. She discovered that every clue pointed to a hidden mastermind: Heshen, an imperial bodyguard. This sixteen-year-old powerbroker could manipulate both the court and the harem, controlling the fates of the consorts. And behind him, it seemed, stood an even more imposing figure. From embezzlement ledgers hidden beneath the Buddhist altar in Kunning Palace to a deadly deal beneath a parasol tree in the Cold Palace; from a terrifying assassination attempt at the Xishan hunting grounds to secret reports from the Consort Dowager's palace, Consort Jia walked a knife's edge. She had to protect young Yongcheng while navigating the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the powerbroker. When the final trump card was revealed, she discovered that no one in the deep palace was innocent: everyone was a pawn, and everyone was also a player. In the end, Heshen was executed, the Empress Dowager withdrew from public life, and Consort Jia was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort, entrusted with the affairs of the Six Palaces. Yet just as the dust settled, new undercurrents began to stir beneath the snowy night.