The Woman the Emperor Deposed Was Actually a Mind-Reading Mastermind

The day Shen Hui was deposed and sent to the Cold Palace, she awakened the ability to read minds. Other people kept their secrets to themselves, but all she heard were scrolling comments: someone stealing charcoal, someone poisoning others, someone embezzling military funds. She even heard the useless emperor's delusion that “she must still love me.” In her previous life, Shen Hui had controlled the intelligence network of the entire realm. Her greatest skill was using other people's cards to pave her own way. Deposed empress? Abandoned in the Cold Palace? Her entire family awaiting execution? Shen Hui munched on sunflower seeds. “No big deal.” When the Noble Consort tried to frame her with incense, Shen Hui recited the recipe and the lines she was about to say. When the eunuch skimmed her allowance and brought people to search the palace, she turned the tables with a secret ledger of illicit funds and forced him to kneel and deliver meat and charcoal. The emperor both kept his guard up around her and convinced himself, “She's so strong. She must be afraid I'll worry!” Shen Hui: Whatever makes you happy. That dragon throne is too filthy for me. From bringing order to the Cold Palace to turning the entire harem upside down, from clearing the Shen family's name to taking control of the realm's shadow network. Since everyone in this world was putting on an act, she would take her seat at the table, listen to their thoughts, and rewrite the ending with her own hands. But Emperor, are you sure... you want to keep thinking?