SAIUNKOKU MONOGATARI(THE COLORCLOUD PALACE)

Saiunkoku(Colorcloud Kingdom) is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained for a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters(he believes his exiled elder brother Shi Seien to be the rightful heir of the throne and hence waits for his arrival neglecting his duties as the emperor) and for being gay(which he uses as an excuse to avoid getting married to royal princesses).

Shuurei, although born into the important and royal Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet as her father was disowned by the clan and their family became poor during the civil war where her father used up all their wealth to help the starving people during the war. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor's concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki's bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei's dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor's advances.

Shurei Hong

Shuurei Kou is the daughter and only child of Shouka Kou of the Kou clan, one of the two most powerful clans in Saiunkoku.Despite the high social status of her family, Shuurei grew up in relatively impoverished circumstances.There are no servants at the Kou residence, so Shuurei has grown adept at household chores such as needlework, cooking and cleaning, traits unusual in a lady of high social standing. She has also held a number of odd jobs to earn money, acting as a professional erhu player, working as an accountant at Kochou's brothel in the Red Light District, and serving as a teacher at the local temple.

Shurei experienced first-hand the chaos the nation suffered during the fight over the succession, and her childhood dream was to become an imperial official and serve in government. She yearns for the power to change the lives of the people for the better. Shurei studied for the official examination with her father, but after she learned women were ineligible to take the exam, she abandoned her dream to the children she taught at the temple school.

Ryuuki Shi

Ryuuki Shi is the reigning emperor of Saiunkoku.However, he avoids any involvement in politics or government, wanders the palace for hours so no one would be able to find him. He even spread rumours that he preferred the company of men to fuel speculation he could not produce an heir. Ryuuki secretly hoped that Seien, his beloved older brother, would eventually return and take his place as Emperor. Ryuuki's avoidance of responsibility came to an end when he met Shuurei, who told him of her dreams of making a better life for the nation's people.

The youngest of six brothers, he was an unlikely candidate to ascend to the throne. Of his five elder brothers, four killed each other over the succession and one was exiled for treason. As a child, Ryuuki was badly mistreated by his mother and his brothers, except for his brother Seien, who seemed to be the only one who truly cared for him. His other brothers and mother used to beat Ryuuki and lock him in a closet for hours at a time, telling him his birth order was bad and that he stole affection from his siblings. These experiences led to a lingering fear of the dark and sleeping alone. Ryuuki often took refuge in the garden or the imperial archives, where he first encountered Shouka Kou. Shouka tutored the young prince and encouraged War General Taifu Sou to teach him swordsmanship.

Seiran Shi

Seiran was taken in thirteen years ago by Shoka Hong, and he has made a vow to spend his life repaying that kindness, helping the Hongs by protecting them, performing repairs, and taking small guard jobs to earn money.He has known Shurei ever since the latter was little, thus is very protective of her, usually following her in order to guard her, even when she does not know it. The two are often mistaken for a couple due to the amount of time they spend together, but neither of them show romantic feelings for the other.

Seiran is later revealed to be the previously exiled second elder brother of Ryuki, Seien, whom was the only one to ever treat Ryuki nicely. He was known as the "flower" of the royal princes due to his handsome looks, kind heart, and also his physical and intellectual superiority over his brothers. Because of this, his brothers grew jealous, and after his mother, who hated his existence, and grandfather conspired to make him Emperor, he, along with his mother, was exiled. The other royal families sent assassins to kill him, and though he did away with them, his mother was killed in the process.

Sometime later, he is brought into the Satsujinzoku, a murderous band of thieves in Sa Province (Brown Province) where he was nicknamed "The Little Whirlwind". Ensei Ro joined the group as well, and the two destroyed the band themselves. After leaving Sa, the Hong Family comes across him and takes him in, with Shokun giving him the name 'Seiran', meaning 'Silent Orchid'..

I really loved this series because its not only hillarious but pretty touching too.Shurei dreams of becoming a court official and serve her country but women in her country are not allowed to take civil service exams.After seeing Shurei's determination to change the state of the country,Ryuuki changes and starts to fulfill his duties as an emperor.He also passed the bill to allow women to take the civil service exams which allows Shurei to become the first women court official(She secured 2nd position in the exam). However, she faced a lot of discrimination and had to work very hard to change the mindset of other officials about women officers. The distance between Ryuuki and her increases when she was made the governor of Sa province.Thus,Ryuuki had to part ways with Shurei to enable her to fulfill her dreams with the hope that after she had acheived all that she wants to acheive for the country,she'll come back to him.Though the series doesnt quiet reveal if Shurei loves Ryuuki or not(Ryuuki time and again tries to show how much he loves Shurei) but it does gives hints that Shurei likes Ryuuki but for her,her country is more important than her personal life.

Another reason why i like this anime so much is that though its kinda romantic & touching story yet its pretty hilarious...Especially when Shurei and Riyuuki kiss for the first time.Shurei was totally not expecting it. Who in the world would??? Imagine standing with your family and a bunch of court officials and out of nowhere the emperor(who you all this time thought to be gay and hence didnt mind to share ur bedroom with) grabs you and kisses you!!! Shurei's freaking out is so justified. It would have surprised the hell out of me too. And on top of that, Riyuuki told Shurei that he's not only interested in men but in women also! The look on Shurei's face practically made me fall from my chair laughing!!!