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A statesman's daughter finds herself swept into the world of palace intrigue when she's chosen to be a court lady in this richly illustrated period fantasy!

Though Souren and Linhua are blissfully in love, their relationship must still be kept an absolute secret. When Linhua’s powerful uncle upends everything by proposing that Linhua marry a kindhearted young man named Xuyue, she’s caught entirely off guard. Sensing that something about the plan is fishy, her brother Xiuying takes action to protect his sister. With tensions rising among the Five Great Families, Linhua finds herself at the center of a conflict that could change her destiny forever!

Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2025

9 people are currently reading
36 people want to read

About the author

Haruki Yoshimura

9 books5 followers

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Kastie Pavlik.
Author 6 books45 followers
March 11, 2026
This volume digs deeper into politics and the separation of family matters vs Imperial matters, a distinction that carries quite a bit of weight. It feels like an "in-between" book, one that would be read best in an omnibus of 5-7 since it swings from the events of the previous books to the Emperor's funeral and then a new character. I adore this series, but there's something about this particular volume that doesn't hit the same sweet spot as the previous volumes.
Profile Image for Mersi .
454 reviews5 followers
February 5, 2026
the amount of feels competing with one another in my soul cavity is intense and so many.
Profile Image for Rachel.
Author 15 books45 followers
February 21, 2026
This series has been so charming and you just fall in love with the characters. It has good balance in romance, political intrigue, fun, and sentimentalism. Can't wait for volume 7.
Profile Image for R..
2,162 reviews
September 9, 2025
Between the events with Linhua's uncle and the late emperor's funeral, there seems to be more than enough to keep everyone busy. It's rather adorable how Zhiyou's mind works and he's starting to identify ways to make people happier going forward, starting with those closest to him. We even get some more background into Linhua's father as events unfold, not that Souren or Xiuying seem inclined to let him off the hook any time soon. Linhua gets awfully flustered around Souren still, especially considering their relationship and how open Souren is with her, especially when they have some time together without the prying eyes of others, though Xiuying is very protective and seems to be watching them like a hawk.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jess | jadecanread.
1,354 reviews191 followers
March 16, 2026
Ugh this is so quietly good! Though the engagement being set for five years long is both frustrating and understanding.

The characters are actually pretty multidimensional, and that's a delight.

Recap: Linhua's uncle was behind the attack, Zhuyen knows about them being engaged, Souren and her brother concoct a plan to draw out the uncle, Souren pretends to steal her away and knock her up so that the uncle will try and kill her, he's caught, banished, Linhua's father tries to step down and then we get to see the other side of how he came to be, I guess he's not so bad, then the former emperor's funeral, end with some beautiful woman being told that she should try and marry Souren.
Profile Image for Cassandra.
2,889 reviews24 followers
March 12, 2026
So the thing that is the hardest to understand in consuming asian media is the sense of liability and responsibility, this manga does a great job of explaining it so you aren't confused. The art is so beautiful, I love this artist. The manga feels like it is moving at a good pace as well. Every chapter feels like i moving us ahead in our story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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