Sign-In in the Cold Palace: The Empress Is at It Again
Shen Qingqing was the legitimate daughter of a military family. She and the young general Xiao Ce had grown up together, their affection quietly shared, but the glory of her family led her into the palace, where she was crowned empress. Before long, however, she was framed by the noble consort Liu and her powerful relatives. Her entire family was executed for “treason,” and she was stripped of her title and banished to the cold, damp Cold Palace.
At the brink of despair, Shen Qingqing unexpectedly bound herself to the Cold Palace Sign-In System. By signing in each day, she could earn precious medicinal herbs, martial arts manuals, insights into political maneuvering, and other rewards. She could even summon loyal shadow guards. At first, she relied on the System's rewards to heal old wounds and repair her dilapidated quarters, barely managing to make a place for herself in the Cold Palace. Far away at the border, Xiao Ce learned of the Shen family's wrongful case and Shen Qingqing's plight. Heartbroken, but unable to act because his military authority had been stripped and the emperor distrusted him, he could only send people to investigate in secret, time and again thwarted by the noble consort Liu's faction.
As her sign-ins accumulated, Shen Qingqing's medical skills improved and her wits sharpened. She used medicinal herbs to treat the palace servants in the Cold Palace and win their loyalty. With supplies from the System, she opened trade routes beyond the palace walls and finally made contact with Xiao Ce's covert network, learning how hard he had been working to overturn the verdict. She also saw through the emperor's spy, the guard Lu Jing, and used evidence left behind by the Shen family's former subordinates as bait. Once Lu Jing saw through the noble consort Liu's hypocrisy, he became her informant.
In the Cold Palace, Shen Qingqing was no longer a deposed empress others could bully at will. The servants treated her as their mistress, the shadow guards followed her orders, and even Lu Jing was willing to pass her vital information. At the border, Xiao Ce continued to distinguish himself in battle and gradually regained control of the army. While keeping the treacherous officials at court in check, he gathered evidence to clear the Shen family's name. Though separated by a thousand miles, the two supported each other in their darkest hour through secret letters, and their feelings grew ever stronger.
