The Empress Wants to Go on Strike

Xu Renhui longed for a quiet life in the countryside, but was summoned to the palace and made empress. She has to accommodate Emperor Zhu Youbi’s allergy to animal fur and the concubines who sleep all day and play mahjong all night, worrying herself ragged over the entire harem and living like their nanny. Xu Renhui decides to find a successor among the concubines. Noble Consort De, who truly loves Zhu Youbi, sees Xu Renhui as a thorn in her side but has no interest in becoming empress. The only young woman who intends to fight for power in the harem is quickly recruited by a bunch of good-for-nothing concubines. Xu Renhui struggles to find a successor and to keep the treasury from being drained by those lazy gluttons. Fortunately, Princess Zhu Youqing and her consort have a head for business. They support handicrafts across the country and expand maritime trade abroad, stabilizing the treasury and bringing prosperity to the capital’s markets. But the harem under Xu Renhui’s care is anything but peaceful: concubines are having affairs with imperial physicians, and traitors lurk among the court officials. To protect Xu Renhui, Zhu Youbi reveals the kingly charisma he has kept hidden, bringing the two closer. Xu Renhui decides that she and Zhu Youbi will protect their “home” together.