Married the Emperor, Seduced the Prince

Samantha's mother is seriously ill and Samantha has no way of getting her treated. She was born in the Chancellor's household to a concubine, which counts for very little inside it. To save her mother she is sent into the palace as a wife of the aging Wanli Emperor. The emperor is at the end of his life and the inner palace is a cold place. Samantha works out what becomes of the women around a dying emperor once he is gone, and she decides not to sit and wait for it. She keeps her own sharpness out of sight and moves one step at a time, getting close to the Crown Prince and earning his regard with her wits and her nerve. Other women in the harem are after the same thing, and she spends her days working around them.