After giving birth to a son, Zhu Yan eagerly anticipated his growth and eventual kingship, longing for the emperor’s demise so she could join her son in his kingdom as the Queen Mother… ... more>>

Until the fourth year of Yuanhe, she discovered she had transgressed into a book, becoming the ultimate villainess of a palace intrigue novel, doomed to be executed. To survive, she considered living inconspicuously, adopting a laissez-faire approach, and avoiding the female protagonist. Eventually, she realized: she couldn’t hold back. Since then, she blazed a trail of seduction and destruction, unrivaled in her manipulative artistry…

With the arrival of new ladies-in-waiting, Zhu Yan, as a legendary figure in the palace, naturally became the object of their awe and envy. Each dreamed of becoming the next legend, stepping over predecessors to ascend.

Yet, where new faces smiled, the old ones wept. As one of the ‘old’, Zhu Yan thought: Better to wish for the emperor’s early demise than to waste time weeping. The emperor retorted, “Are you sure? As long as I live, you need not fear anyone in this world.” <<less