After being murdered in my previous life, I was reborn. This time, I’ll disguise myself as a man and become a treacherous official.
I may be uneducated and less scholarly than those ministers, but I know how to flatter my sovereign!
You care about your dignity. I don’t!
I’ve also learned how to refine pills, and I offer the emperor treasures to enhance his bedroom arts. The ministers have blocked the entrance to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, demanding that I be beaten to death.
But it’s fine. I’ve already made Consort Wan my godmother. With a favored consort backing me, why should I be afraid of you?
Being a treacherous official is great! I may be uneducated, but I keep getting promoted! In less than three years, I’ve entered the cabinet and become one of its three grand secretaries, with great power in my hands.
The emperor treats me as a trusted confidant, and I carry out confiscations on his behalf, from the capital all the way to Sichuan and Yunnan. All that silver has made me rich!
In my previous life, I took my elder brother’s place as an upright official. My family was so poor we could barely scrape by. When I was falsely accused of plotting a rebellion, I couldn’t even come up with a hundred taels to bribe the corrupt officials!
Now, I hold great power! Every official at court knows I’m one of the emperor’s favorites!
As one of the three grand secretaries, I’m going to bring down Chancellor Yan!
The only trouble is that it’s easy for people to discover I’m a woman disguised as a man. That crime could mean the execution of my entire clan!
The emperor is now gravely ill. The Seventh Prince is the crown prince, but he recently broke his leg. He is so worried that the Third Prince will seize the throne that he has decided to reduce the power of the vassal states.
The Third Prince, the Prince of Zhenbei who once struck fear into the Mongols, has been pretending to be ill and hiding in a Jiangnan palace, keeping his ambitions under wraps. In secret, he has been training troops, preparing to march on the capital and seize the throne!
Now, the Prince of Zhenbei, Li Xuanzhen, has entered the court as regent, tasked with helping the Seventh Prince ascend the throne. As the court is swept up in turmoil, I, the great villainous official, have unwittingly become a thorn in Li Xuanzhen’s side.
