Zhi Hao has one goal: to pass the imperial exam, and eventually become a magistrate. That will get him the salary to support his parents and sisters. Eventually, he wants a wife and children, but not now. So, he is completely unprepared when a mystical fox spirit, in the shape of a beautiful woman, comes to seduce him. One night's weakness might end his bright future, and yet he is unable to resist.

Ling Xin is no vixen. She's a woman competing to become Empress of China. She knows everything a young woman is supposed to learn, but then, so do all the other women in the running. What she doesn't know is how to seduce a man. And she's heard that the emperor isn't impressed with purity. What she needs is a crash course in temptation, and the only possible tutor is the sexy scholar next door.

It's a dangerous game they're playing, one they can't win. If they're caught, they'll both die. If they're not…she'll still be in the Forbidden City, lost to him.

COMPETITION TO BECOME EMPRESS

The time has come for Emperor Xian Feng to choose a wife. All noble virgins must come to the Forbidden City to compete, hoping to become Empress. They will endure three trials of purity before they meet their emperor. And they must find favor from the dowager empress, her greedy eunuchs, and most dangerous of all…the Master of the Festivity. Sun Bo Tao.

THE FOX IN CHARGE OF THE HEN HOUSE

Sun Bo Tao is the emperor's best friend and the only other male in the Forbidden City who is not a eunuch. He has no time for virgin games. Not with a rebellion in the north, a Dutch envoy seeking trade status, and opium choking the country. But the emperor cannot trust the greedy eunuchs to help select his bride, and so Bo Tao must weed out those who are weak, spoiled, or stupid. He never expected to find a brilliant mind in the delectable body of a virgin.