In her previous life, Shen Anning was a joke.
She poured her heart and soul into helping her consort ascend the throne, only to watch her half-sister wear the empress's crown and robes at the coronation while her own entire family was sentenced to death. As poison burned through her, her half-sister leaned close and whispered with a laugh, “Sister, guess what Lu Lang's first imperial decree was? To execute your entire clan.”
When Shen Anning opened her eyes again, she had returned to three months before her wedding.
This time, the legitimate princess suddenly “fell ill.” She politely turned down her betrothal, moved to a country estate outside the capital, and spent her days drinking tea and tending flowers, living like a happy idler. Everyone in the capital laughed: the princess must have lost her mind over a broken heart.
Until...
Her half-sister's carefully planned coming-of-age ceremony was ruined when an “accident” left her face disfigured by an allergic reaction;
The scoundrel consort's military supply ledgers somehow appeared on a censor's desk;
A network of enemy spies, hidden for ten years, was casually exposed by Shen Anning at a palace banquet;
Even the most easygoing Seventh Prince, Xiao Moheng, became a “frequent guest” at her estate, often climbing over the wall late at night to bring her pastries.
Shen Yuerou went mad with rage. “Shen Anning! What on earth have you done?!”
Shen Anning twirled a flower petal and smiled innocently. “Little sister, I've just been resting and recovering.”
She had, of course, also overheard secrets at her rouge shop, gathered intelligence at her teahouse, started a little business to stave off “illness-induced boredom,” and then... used her memories of her previous life to crush her enemies' plans one by one.
Later, a new emperor ascended the throne, and the emperor and empress ruled together.
On the dragon throne, the empress, rumored to be “frail and sickly,” calmly read through a report of officials' achievements while the ministers below sweated profusely.
Beside the throne, the new emperor, Xiao Moheng, propped his chin in his hand and gazed at her with eyes so tender they seemed to melt. Only she knew that the previous night, His Majesty had held her close and complained, “Anning, I can't get through all these memorials today. Could you help me review half of them?”
