[Supernatural arts, a funny female lead, an easygoing slacker, a money lover, a woman disguised as a man, wish fulfillment, devoted couples, palace intrigue, political power struggles, and crime solving]
The lazy old master of the supernatural world, who has lived for thousands of years, opens her eyes one day to find herself an abandoned consort in the Cold Palace.
On the night she entered the palace, she had planned to show off her graceful dance in the imperial garden, hoping the emperor would fall for her at first sight and take her to his bed at second. Instead, he mistook her for a ghost and kicked her away, earning her a place in the Cold Palace.
After Shen Qinghe gets the full story, she takes it all in stride. So what if she's an abandoned consort? She gets free food and lodging, has servants to wait on her, and doesn't have to wait on a man herself. How is that any different from becoming a rich widow?
But after just a few days of taking it easy, a palace maid brings her a bowl of watery gruel that even a dog wouldn't eat.
Shen Qinghe: Didn't you say the residence was wealthy? Did my father die?
Palace maid: The money's all gone. Five meals a day, each with at least ten dishes. The imperial kitchen is starting to suspect I'm secretly raising pigs in the palace.
Shen Qinghe: You're insulting me. I have proof.
For the sake of a decent meal, Shen Qinghe disguises herself as a man, returns to her old trade, climbs over the palace wall, and sets up a stall outside to tell fortunes, sell talismans, and catch ghosts... Her earnings are quite impressive.
After solving the massacre of the eleven members of the Gu family, she wins the emperor's favor and rises rapidly through the ranks, accidentally becoming the Imperial Preceptor.
Meanwhile, the emperor's gaze grows hotter by the day.
No one told her that the current emperor, who cares only about his career and has no interest in women, is into men. He wants to share a room with her every day. He's lost his mind!
One night.
Shen Qinghe blocks the door and says with tears in her eyes, “Your Majesty, to be honest, I am actually a woman. Please give up on me.”
Mo Linyuan fixes her with a burning gaze. “Your being a woman is exactly what I want.”
