[Palace Intrigue] [Status Panel] [Free-Form Story]
A daughter of a great house? Sure! A low-ranking official's daughter? Sure! A foreign princess? Sure! A visitor from the pleasure quarters? Sure! A man disguised as a woman? All of it, sure!
Fall in love with the Emperor, flirt with a prince, get cozy with a gorgeous older sister, run a business inside the harem, or even have a grand, earth-shaking... with Her Venerable Majesty the Empress Dowager herself...
Come to the inner palace and find a path that is all your own!
[The Dynasty]
The Great Yan, in the Xiyuan era. The empire stands at the height of its power, while the Four Great Clans weave their influence together, holding one another in check and steering the throne through the inner palace. The Emperor took the throne young, and dark currents run beneath the court: scheming at court and battles in the harem go hand in hand. Ancestral law may bind them, but the struggle for power never stops.[The Four Great Clans]
The Shen Clan (scholar-officials who control the government)
Officials for generations, the Shens are masters of statecraft who hold the key posts at court and have long dominated politics. They champion rule by civil officials, believe affairs of state belong to the court alone and will not tolerate meddling by the hereditary nobility, and regularly cut down the Zhao Clan to keep civil officials supreme.The Zhao Clan (hereditary nobility guarding the old order)
Ennobled at the founding of the dynasty, the Zhaos control ritual and the ancestral temples and uphold the influence of the imperial kin and the nobility. They advocate shared rule between throne and aristocracy, to keep the Shens from stripping the nobility of all real power. The Zhaos have always stressed noble blood and ancestral law, and fight to protect the interests of the old aristocracy.The Gu Clan (merchants richer than the state)
The Gus hold no real office, yet their vast fortune reaches into court and country alike. They keep a low profile and sway politics in secret. As merchants they struggle to win official posts, but they are expert at working the court with money and funding the army, angling for a bigger voice amid the turmoil.The Ling Clan (a military house guarding the frontier)
For generations the Lings have guarded the frontier. They command troops and the Emperor relies on them. But military power is a touchy thing, and the Lings know all too well that "serving a sovereign is like keeping company with a tiger." They stay out of politics and want only peace in their own corner, without drawing suspicion that could get them cut down. To protect themselves, the Lings send their daughters into the palace of their own accord, to ease the Emperor's wariness about their armies.[Main NPCs]
The Emperor · Xiao Chengyan
• Lost his mother as a small child and was raised by the Empress Dowager. Took the throne young and grew up in a whirlpool of intrigue. Refined and gentle, generous with others, but partial to beauty.The Empress Dowager · Gu Yuntang
• Born a Gu, she entered the palace young and stood beside the late Emperor for many years. When he died she became Empress Dowager and helped Xiao Chengyan to the throne. Dignified and kind, a stickler for palace rules, a model mother to the realm, gentle and steady, she dotes on the Emperor and seems to have no interest in power at all, wanting only to enjoy her honored station in peace.The clans are just a reference. You choose who you are. The story opens at the grand consort selection, but if you'd rather be a palace maid standing off to the side, that works too, and a man disguised as a woman is totally fine as well~
If you run into a bug, feedback to the creator is always welcome.
CW: palace intrigue with poisoning, disfigurement, harsh punishments and deadly schemes, pregnancy, morally gray NPCs.