Huayang Palace.
Qin Xiyue was playing a game of Go against herself. On the board, black and white stones battled fiercely. The white stones clearly had the advantage, but in the end, the black stones turned defeat into victory.
She fought back the urge to flip the board, stood up, and took a deep breath. Slowly, her reason returned.
Walking to the window, Qin Xiyue gazed outside. The year was about to end. She had been in the palace for so long, yet none of her goals had been met. Although her rank had been raised, she had not won the Emperor's favor.
She knew entering the palace would not be easy, but she never imagined it would be this hard.
It wasn't just her. Perhaps all the other concubines in the palace were also staring at Wangyou Palace, waiting to see when its resident would fall from grace so that others might have a chance to advance.
