The Inkstone Outshines All the Blossoms

[Published by Guangxi Normal University Press]

Tao Ye’s parents are both dead, and her family has nothing. Her mother left her only a newborn baby sister. To support them both, Tao Ye takes a job doing odd tasks at the private school of Madam Wei, a renowned calligrapher. There she meets four young gentlemen who love playing pranks: Wang Xianzhi, Xie Xuan, Xi Chao, and Huan Ji. She also encounters several distinctive teachers: Mr. Cat, Mr. Weathervane, Mr. Confucius Says, and Mr. Gavel, as well as Madam Wei, who claims to love money more than life and has some unusual tastes. Before long, a mysterious woman begins harassing and beating Tao Ye. At first, Tao Ye thinks it is just a woman in love with Wang Xianzhi getting jealous and competing with her. But in the end, she discovers to her horror that she has been caught up in a palace struggle.

Tao Ye’s thoughts: They say my ambitions are sky-high, even though I was born into a lowly station. So what? Even a little sparrow has wings to fly and can look up at heaven.

(My other books: The Evil Empress, published by Shaanxi Normal University Press; Beauty Behind the Beaded Curtain, currently being serialized.)