The good-luck marriage worked a little too well: my emperor husband died on the very night I was crowned empress. Chancellor Luan Yingchen had controlled the court for years. Overriding all objections, he installed the late emperor’s young son, Ling Xiangan, on the throne, and I was forced to become the empress dowager.
As the legitimate daughter of a fallen marquis’s house, raising a young emperor whose mother had died long ago, I naturally had to cling tightly to the powerful chancellor.
I looked after the emperor in the inner palace, eating, drinking, and having fun with him, while Luan Yingchen handled government affairs at court. We worked together seamlessly, a perfect team. The only problem was that some fool had to choose the moment Luan Yingchen was away to raise troops and rebel.
Thankfully, I’d done a good job clinging to his coattails these past two years, and Luan Yingchen was quite pleased with my son and me. The life-saving talisman he left behind saw us safely through the palace coup.
But, Chancellor, did you hurt your head while you were away from the capital? Why are you saying you like me? Behind that thin veil lies the grave crime of debauching the imperial harem!
