★ A classic romantic tragedy by the renowned ancient Chinese literature author, Wen Qingjiepei!

★ In the game of thrones, love is but a pawn — yet it becomes her only shackles. She knows it’s a trap, yet walks willingly into his scheme.

★ Breaking away from the conventional tropes of ancient Chinese romance, the heroine is clear-headed and proactive, with no "Mary Sue" aura or "naive and sweet" characteristics!

The Fu family boasts four daughters, each named for an art: Fu Suqin (Lute), Fu Zeqi (Chess), Fu Yanshu (Calligraphy) and Fu Jinhua (Painting).

Fu Jinhua, the most unremarkable of them all, believes drifting with the tide is her best survival tactic — until the Lord of Jiyang drags her into court intrigues, using her family’s fate as leverage.
She becomes the pivotal pawn in a power struggle that shakes the empire.

"When all is done", he vows, "I’ll build you a magnificent palace, making you the most honored woman in the entire world."

When she first entered the palace, she was abducted to the desolate border desert. The peerless Lord Jiyang, the gentle and refined General Yu and the ruthless and domineering crown prince of the enemy nation—who is the mastermind behind it all, and who has truly given their heart?

Amidst the undercurrents of power, conspiracy and desire, she helps him ascend to the throne. She sees through everything, yet willingly becomes a sacrifice in this struggle, using everything to fulfill his ambition.

But when she turns away resolutely, he feels a heart-wrenching pain. Could it be that he has fallen in love with this pawn who was used?

Wang Pei

Wang Pei, pen name Wenqing Jiepei, is a novelist and screenwriter.
Published works include "Brocade Palace", "The Shattered Agarwood", "A Tomb of Fallen Flowers", and "Yu Meiren: Sword Points to the Throne". Among these, "Consort Unworthy" and "The Shattered Agarwood" have been adapted for film/TV.
Screenwriting credits include "The Rise of Phoenixes" (based on "Power of Pheonix"), "The Condor Heroes" and "I Am Not a Monster".

Chapter 1: A Brocade-Like Life

Autumn night. The hour grew late, and the dew was heavy. A crescent moon hung quietly in the southwestern sky, hazy and ethereal.

It was the time for a sound sleep. However, Wen Yan, a maid from the western wing of the Fu mansion, rushed into Fu Jinhua's room in a panic and exclaimed, "Fourth Miss, it's bad! Second Miss is making a scene in her room and spitting up blood..."

Fu Jinhua abruptly sat up, threw on the coat handed to her by Wen Yan, and as she walked out, she heard Wen Yan whisper again, "Second Miss also said that if she has to marry that man, she would rather die..."

Seemingly not hearing the latter part of Wen Yan's words, Fu Jinhua muttered to herself, "The dew is heavy in autumn. I told her to take care of her health. How do her maids serve her? How could they just let her act recklessly?"

When the two arrived at the door of Second Miss's room, Fu Jinhua heard the sobbing inside. Fu Zeqi, the second daughter of the Fu family, cried out, "Everyone knows that the Fu family has four daughters, yet they insist on marrying me off to that villain! Just because I'm sickly and won't live long after the wedding, you all get the benefit while I have to risk my life..."

Fu Jinhua pushed the door open and saw her father, Fu Chentu, standing there with a furrowed brow. Fu Zeqi sat up in bed, clutching the quilt, and shouted shrilly, "Father, how can you say he is not a villain? What if he is ennobled as a lord? He is still just a collateral branch of the royal family. Our Fu family has produced a queen consort and two noble consorts over the past century. Our family background is not inferior to Zhong Huali's. I don't understand why Father is so afraid of him..."

Fu Chentu could no longer contain his anger and shouted, "Silence, Zeqi! I've always been lenient with you because of your weak health, but you are becoming more and more out of line. The wedding date has been set for three months from now; you no longer have a choice."

Seeing that Fu Chentu was not giving her any face, Fu Zeqi burst into wailing. Fu Jinhua was about to step forward to persuade her, but Fu Chentu stopped her, saying, "Let her cry. I want to see how long she can cry. When I initially decided to marry Su Qin to Lord Jiyang, who was the one crying every day, asking Su Qin to give up the position of consort of a vassal lord to you? Now you've heard somewhere that Lord Jiyang is a heartless killer, and you start saying these absurd things. Are you trying to bring shame to the Fu family?"

After hearing this, Fu Zeqi actually stopped crying. She stumbled out of bed, grabbed her father's sleeve, and pleaded softly, "Father, I know I was wrong. Please replace Bazi Post (a traditional Chinese record of an individual's birth time details, commonly used for marriage proposals or fortune-telling). The position originally belonged to Eldest Sister. Let her be the one to marry..."

Hearing Fu Zeqi's plea, Fu Chentu felt a pang of pity and sighed, "Zeqi, things have gone this far, and I'm afraid it's beyond my control now..."

Helpless, Fu Chentu glanced at Fu Jinhua and said, "You try to persuade your second sister. Everyone in Quan City knows that Lord Jiyang is marrying the second daughter of the Fu family. Even if we wanted to switch to Su Qin now, she probably wouldn't agree." With that, he left, brushing his sleeve aside.