She was never meant to be seen beyond Harbor City’s docks—until a scrap of silk sent her name to the capital. Su Yunwan is a merchant’s only daughter, sharp-tongued and unwilling to bow. When the emperor orders a sidewife for the Crown Prince, the court’s nobles push candidates from famous clans—but one envoy notices Su’s rare brocade and asks: who made it? Suddenly, the merchant girl is swept into a palace she never wanted. Thrown into a world of silk and poison, Su refuses to be the grateful, obedient concubine the aristocrats expect. She parries insults with barbed wit, wins unlikely allies among palace craftsmen, and turns petty slights into leverage. The Crown Prince is infuriated, amused, and disarmed in equal measure—he begins to see a brilliant, dangerous woman where everyone else sees only a merchant’s daughter. But a favoured consort, a scheming empress, and the human cost of court favor mean survival will cost more than pride. This is a story of a woman who will not shrink to fit someone else’s expectations—and a prince who learns that power and affection are fragile things. Who will pay the price when a merchant bride refuses to be small?
15 Chapters
