Yan Heng was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, almost to the point of being supernatural, yet he was not well-liked.

His father was a licentious and promiscuous man, and he was the child of a palace maid.

The birth of him was so difficult that the palace maid died from severe bleeding.

Yan Heng was disliked by everyone since childhood. The reason he was able to ascend the throne was twofold: first, through his own scheming, and second, because the previous emperor had too many children, and the constant struggle and infighting led to many deaths and injuries, leaving very few healthy ones.

The late emperor lived a long life, but due to excessive depletion of his resources, he had no more children.

When he tried to find a successor, he discovered that everyone was fighting each other to the death.

It was at this opportune moment that Yan Heng came into the old emperor's sights.

The old emperor didn't initially value him, but gave him several thousand soldiers and sent him to Liangzhou to lead troops.

Unexpectedly, he seized the opportunity and dealt a major blow to the Xiongnu, becoming a general feared by others.

By the time he returns, the old emperor won't have many days left.

After careful consideration, he passed the throne to Yan Heng.

Of course, only Yan Heng himself knows how much scheming and bloodshed was involved.

After ascending the throne, Yan Heng vigorously purged the remaining remnants of the previous emperor. There were too many children of the previous emperor, and various factions were established. As long as the princes' supporters were eliminated, Yan Heng's throne could not be completely secure.

It took him three years to finally gain full control of the power.

Later, he worked diligently to govern the country and became a wise and benevolent emperor.

The story of the female protagonist and Yan Heng takes place after Yan Heng achieves unification.

As a traditional male emperor, Yan Heng later opened a large harem, sending daughters from various families into it, and the palace intrigues among the women began.

The female protagonist was originally the daughter of a minor official. By chance, she entered the imperial harem and became a minor beauty.

She climbed her way up, eventually defeating everyone and becoming empress.

There is no romantic love between the male and female protagonists in this story.

A man like Yan Heng spends his entire life fighting for power. No matter how much the women in the harem fight and struggle, he outwardly mediates but inwardly remains unmoved.

The female lead saw through Yan Heng's cold-heartedness and abandoned love, which allowed her to reach the highest position.

………………

In this story, Jiang Tian is hardly even cannon fodder.

In her early years, she was the daughter of an imperial censor and possessed the demeanor of a noblewoman.

However, her father was upright and incorruptible. In the third year after Jiang Tian married the male supporting character Xu Jingxiu, he risked his life to remonstrate against the old emperor's plan to carry out large-scale construction projects. In front of everyone, he smashed his head against a pillar and died.

After her father died, the Jiang family lost all its support and quickly declined.

Five years after Jiang Tian married Xu Jingxiu, Yan Heng ascended the throne and rewarded his capable subordinates. Xu Jingxiu became a general of the third rank.

In his early years, Xu Jingxiu and Jiang Tian treated each other with respect. Even without love, he at least respected her out of consideration for their family background.

The couple had one daughter after marriage, but Jiang Tian had no more children.

In the year that Yan Heng ascended the throne, Xu Jingxiu met his true love.

On his way back to the capital with his army, he inadvertently rescued the daughter of a minor official. The moment their eyes met, he fell in love with her at first sight.

In order to marry the woman he loves, Xu Jingxiu asks Jiang Tian to agree to be his second wife.

Jiang Tian did not respond.

She was originally the daughter of an imperial censor. She married Xu Jingxiu, who was not well-known at the time, simply because he came from a simple family and had no concubines.

Now that Xu Jingxiu has met his true love, if that woman becomes his concubine, Jiang Tian, ​​who has never given birth to a son, will have a difficult time in the inner quarters. If that woman comes, she will have nowhere to stay.

Xu Jingxiu threatened her repeatedly, but Jiang Tian remained extremely stubborn.

In the end, Xu Jingxiu lost his patience. The Jiang family had long since fallen into ruin, and Jiang Tian had lost her backing, so she was completely at his mercy.