Zoe Sterling enters a book as Leon Lennox's cannon fodder Concubine. Original fate: killed by Clarissa. Zoe schemes to be Empress Dowager. Leon, devoted to Clarissa, warns Zoe. Clarissa plots against Zoe, targeting her pregnancy. Zoe thwarts schemes, pregnant with twins. Clarissa, infertile, brings concubines, claims a child. Zoe uses modern knowledge to help her son ascend, becoming Empress Dowager.
