I was a young girl living in ancient China during what became known as the Tang dynasty. I was found abandoned on the doorstep of a monastery by the monks that lived there, they called me Nǚhái or girl. My mistress called me Yīnghuā or Cherry Blossom as she found me in my blossoming Cherry tree. My mistress taught me to read, write and do sums from the time she found me and she trained me in martial arts even though it was frowned upon for a girl to learn. She instructed me up until my last round in what would come to be my last tournament, it would be years before I would see her again. With China torn by civic unrest and a gravely ill Emperor, the Crown Prince needed a bride of common blood that could quiet the people of the lower classes. When I was caught competing the Prince saw in me that opportunity and the power to keep the noble class from turning against the Imperial family by possessing the beauty they prized and gain approval from the military leaders for my fighting ability. In the end I was given a choice, marry the crown prince or perish and the latter was not an option.

*Highest Rank #1 in Historical Fiction* Shy and awkward Elizabeth Montgomery doesn't think she'll ever find love. As her family's former plantation struggles in Reconstruction era Virginia, she's afraid she'll find herself either betrothed to the wrong man through an arranged marriage, or a spinster living with her widowed father. However, Elizabeth's sister Amelia is vibrant and charming, and sure to secure a valuable match. When two wealthy, eligible bachelors come to her family's plantation home for a visit, Elizabeth finds that she has to depend on her faith more than ever. Edward Stanton is a cocky bank owner's son, and his father, Charles, is pressuring him to take a wealthy wife to create a banking empire. As Edward resists his father's demands, the stakes become higher and higher, pointing to evidence that Charles has underlying motives for forcing a particular match on Edward. Will an unexpected love emerge from so much greed and manipulation? *Completed May 2015*

Being a concubine is a high award for the most beautiful of women in Argyris. Emperor Alistair holds hundreds of concubines in his harem, women of all different dazzling degrees. Dashing, mysterious, and dangerous, he strikes fear in all who make him their enemy. Raziella is his majesty, Emperor Valentinus's beloved servant. She grew up with him after being taken in from the slums of the city, walking with him every step of the way until he conquered Krysanthe. Young, beautiful, and deadly, she is chosen to make her way to Alistair's harem and kill him. However, even as skilled and intelligent as she is, she must overcome the jealously, pain, and betrayal within and outside the harem in order to finally give her master the power he has always craved.

She was sold to a richer family, and then substituted their daughter to be a palace servant candidate at 15. As news spread fast like the wind, she knows that a palace servant's life is not easy. She wishes for release as soon as she enters the palace. A chameleon she wants to be, to blend in with the surroundings, attracting no attention. However, fate decides otherwise. As everyday passes, she begins to witness, one by one, the scheming yet melancholic lives of people in the palace. She wants to leave such a place, only to find out later that she can never escape the tight grasp of cruel destiny. This girl, her name is Jade Yeva/Yè Ān Yù. --- •Sequel: Princess In The Palace (can be read as a standalone) •Full summary in summary chapter. •This is actually a Historical Chinese-based story, with names tweaked into English to suit English readers too. Name translation will be provided at the end of chapters. ***HIGHEST #5 in Historical Fiction.