[Clear-headed heroine who is neither chaste nor saintly + cold on the outside and inside, yet doting consort VS scheming, willful emperor + unconventional from the start + ambitious woman with no golden finger]
After three years in the palace, Shen Qingshuang climbed from an overlooked concubine to Noble Consort, maneuvering at every turn until she stood just beneath the empress and commanded the emperor’s exclusive favor.
But when war broke out between the two kingdoms, the emperor who loved her died suddenly, and she became a prisoner of Ying Zhan, the Fifth Prince of Northern Yan.
Ying Zhan ascended the throne. Her legitimate elder sister, his primary consort, became empress, while Shen Qingshuang was driven from the palace and sent to a temple to cultivate herself.
Her elder sister enjoyed every luxury, while she was left to endure endless abuse in the wilderness.
Could she turn her life around once more and reverse her fate?
Shen Qingshuang said, “I can.”
And so she became Shen Qingxue, returning to the emperor’s side.
From Great Zhou to Great Yan, all it took was switching men.
Three years ago, she learned how to compete for favor in the palace. Three years later, she was after power.
She returned to the palace to eliminate her rivals, fight the Noble Consort, and kill the empress, all to reach the highest position.
When Shen Qingshuang first met Ying Zhan, she called him “brother-in-law,” and he found it amusing.
By the time he had fallen completely, Ying Zhan said, “I’m willing to give you everything I have, including power.”
I read this from another book, but unfortunately it has been discontinued. It feels very interesting to write Gong Douwen from this perspective.