Author: 晓桥琉水 Concise Version: Wearing the identity of the legitimate eldest daughter of the Shen family, she entered the palace and was immediately bestowed the title of first rank Consort Shu, just one step away from the position of Empress. However, Shen Moyun said that this "one step" took her a full twenty-five years. Draft Version: Upon entering the palace, she was a high-ranking concubine. Crossing realms, who wouldn't envy Shen Moyun's good fortune? Yet, with the Empress above, three consorts on the side, and nine concubines below watching closely, Shen Moyun expressed that if she wanted the Emperor to keep visiting her palace, then this method of soliciting customers must keep up with the times and not be complacent. Being a favored concubine is no easy task these days! Update schedule: 1 chapter per week

All 18-year-old Jiayi wants is to keep her head down and serve her mistress, but the ever-changing tides of The Forbidden City continue to drag her under. Faced with a lifetime chained to a lecherous eunuch, Jiayi cons her way out of slavedom and into the service of The Emperor's newest concubine. However, dark secrets hide beneath the powdered faces and delicate silks. Jaiyi is thrust into a world where battles are fought with sharp lipstick, smiles, and whispers when her mistress draws the ire of the vengeful Imperial Noble Concubine. Even worse, Jiayi finds that getting her hands dirty becomes less horrifying as time goes on. Will Jiayi be able to claw her way out of the sea of schemes and traps, or will she become one of the many ghosts of The Forbidden City, silent and forgotten?

Being a second wife is rather like learning to perfect a set of aerial maneuvers. There are seriously complicated stunts involved: trapezing around the first wife, learning when to appear and disappear at exactly the right moments, tolerating your mother in law, enduring the concubines, and getting the husband in your bed. No one expects to be a second wife. No one does.