Praise from Readers
“Very good – heartbreaking. Fate is like rolling wheels; the desires and greed of Imperial Dowager Zhu changed everyone’s fate.”
— Douban reader Zhouzhou Zhou Xiaohan

★ A tear‑jerking masterpiece by Xuan Yin, a popular Jinjiang romance author! Highly recommended by multiple bestselling romance writers.
★ Rated 8.5+ on multiple e-book platforms! Readers say: “The writing is heartbreakingly beautiful, the agony is absolutely overwhelming.”
★ Her love with Xie Yi twists and turns through power struggles, grudges, and circumstances beyond their control.
★ Tags: court politics, power struggle, deep love, angsty romance, historical romance, alternate history.
★ English samples are available.

In the eighth year of the Qing’an era, seven‑year‑old Zhu Shaoshao was taken into the palace by her aunt, Imperial Dowager Zhu, after her father’s death. There she met Xie Yi, the Prince of Zhao.

Xie Yi was the legitimate son of the late emperor, who died before Xie Yi was born. As a result, the throne passed to Imperial Dowager Zhu’s own son, Xie Xun. Xie Yi’s maternal clan, the Wei family, had long been trying to reclaim the throne for him.

In the thirteenth year of Qing’an, the emperor lost two children in a row. He suspected that Xie Yi had murdered the princes in order to secure his own position as the emperor’s younger brother and heir. Distraught, the emperor grew increasingly dependent on his female official, Tang Anxue, and developed feelings for her.

Meanwhile, the old grudge between Zhu Shaoshao’s late father and Imperial Dowager Zhu gradually came to light. Shaoshao realized she was nothing but a puppet for the Dowager, who wanted her to marry the emperor and become empress, thereby controlling the inner court through her.

The Dowager took Tang Anxue away from the emperor and had her brutally killed. Shaoshao witnessed the entire murder, and her personality began to change.
Soon after, Shaoshao was appointed Female Secretariat, and under the pretext of ritual propriety, the Dowager forced her to leave Xie Yi’s side…

Xuan Yin
Loves sweets, painting, and video games. Her writing is clear, elegant, delicate, and tinged with melancholy. She specializes in ancient court and angsty romance stories. Her “Qing’an Series” has earned a solid reputation among readers.

Chapter 1 The Northern Palace
Chapter 2 The Grand Concubine
Chapter 3 Brothers
Chapter 4 The Study of Qin
Chapter 5 The Refined Scholar
Chapter 6 The Consort Selection
Chapter 7 Perished Joy
Chapter 8 Clouds Over the Capital
Chapter 9 The Frivolous One
Chapter 10 Visiting Kin
Chapter 11 Feathers Over Shanglin
Chapter 12 Sudden Flames of War
Chapter 13 Do Not Resent Time's Flow
Chapter 14 The People's Sorrow
Chapter 15 Lingering Regrets of Years Past
Chapter 16 Unseen Blades
Chapter 17 Ashes to Ashes
Chapter 18 Death Throes
Chapter 19 Empress of the Central Palace
Epilogue

"Sister, are you asking me?" An Liangguang and A Wan were cousins, and she called out "Sister" in an extremely intimate tone.
The young queen, who had disguised herself to leave the palace, now looked utterly exhausted: "A Jiu, I beg you to save him."
"Why do you want to save him?" An Liangguang lowered her head, playing with the prayer beads in her hand. "Even if you save him, he won't belong to you anymore."
A Wan hung her head and remained silent.
"If I were you, and I had a piece of fine jade that was a burden to keep and was about to fall into someone else's hands, I would rather shatter it than let it go to someone else," An Liangguang leaned closer to A Wan's ear. "That way, he would always be mine until his death, and it wouldn't count as a loss."
An Liangguang was a resolute and fierce person. Unfortunately, A Wan was not like her. The new queen, with her pale face, smiled faintly, and two streams of tears slowly flowed down her cheeks: "I can't bear to." She bowed deeply to An Liangguang. "I beg my cousin to save him."
An Liangguang looked at the woman before her and was speechless for a long time. In fact, even without A Wan's plea, she would have gone to save Xie Yu. The Wei clan had already fallen, and the only one who could help her take revenge was Xie Yu, who also harbored deep hatred for the Grand Dowager. But in her eyes, A Wan's coming to beg her was truly foolish.
"Sister, you should know what it means for me to save him, right?"
"I know." The pale lips softly uttered these two words.
"Sister, you don't regret it?"
"I want him to live." Even if Xie Yu would have nothing to do with her, A Wan, from then on.
An Liangguang fell silent again, and finally asked, "What if King Zhao... doesn't want me to save him?"
A Wan pressed her lips tightly, closed her eyes, and said, "Nothing is more important than surviving."