My Mother Is a Wicked Supporting Lady, but She Still Won

[Complete! My new novel, The Tyrant Insists I Usurp His Throne, is now out. I hope you'll add it to your favorites. Thank you!]

Qin Shiwei was born into the body of a baby with no father. Her mother, famous across the surrounding villages, could go wherever she pleased with a butcher's cleaver in hand, and nobody dared mess with her. Yet this fearsome mother loved to boast that she had been a celebrated beauty in the capital, with noble sons fighting over her, and that she had almost become empress.

Qin Shiwei's eyes lit up. Wasn't that just a hidden big shot? She hurried to ask, "So am I the biological daughter of some important official?"

Her mother shot her a casual glance. "Not at all. Your father... was a subordinate of my husband. He's been dead for eighteen years. His body is probably in a mass grave? If you're going to the capital, you can burn some incense for him and do your filial duty."

Qin Shiwei: "?" Did I hear that right?

Undeterred, she asked, "Then how did you end up being sent to this manor?" The capital was a hundred thousand li away. What kind of grudge could have caused that?

Her mother smiled. "I got tired of the capital. And after I had you, your grandfather sent me here. Mostly because your aunt found me annoying and said I was a troublemaker."

"Oh, right. My husband was originally engaged to her."

Qin Shiwei: "... I need a moment."

She got it. Her mother was the kind of universally hated female side character found in storybooks: stealing her sister's fiance, causing a scene in the capital, having an affair, and ultimately being banished to a manor...

But her mother had truly been good to her. Whatever Qin Shiwei did, she would watch with a smile from her chair, as though Qin Shiwei were the only treasure in the world.

So before her mother passed away from illness, she said, "Go to the capital."

Qin Shiwei nodded without hesitation, then felt guilty for not being capable of taking revenge.

Her mother slowly added, "I just remembered, I think I arranged a marriage for you before I left the capital..."

After burying her mother, Qin Shiwei packed a small bundle and the jade token that could prove her identity, then set off for the capital, ready to face the tragic fate of being the daughter of a universally hated female side character.

First stop: burn incense at the mass grave.

Male lead's perspective:

The first time Zhang Yingshu heard the name "Qin Shiwei," it was from a close friend, who said she was some distant country relative with no connection to him, coming to the capital for help.

At the time, he paid it no mind.

Only later did he happen to learn that his friend had lied. She wasn't some distant relative. She was his friend's legitimate fiancee.

By then, however, there was no way to change things.

He looked at Qin Shiwei, who was crying endless tears and pretending to faint, and felt a rare twinge of a headache. He reached out and awkwardly patted her back, trying to comfort her.

"Stop crying," he said in a low voice. "I'll agree."

The woman in his arms raised her tear-filled eyes and asked in a choked voice, "... Agree to what?"

He looked into her shimmering eyes and calmly replied:

"I'll marry you."

--- Preorder: But I Have to Be a Virtuous Empress! Please add it to your favorites.

After transmigrating, Pei Shaowei finds herself with what seems like a perfect life script: born into a prestigious family, spared the hardships of life on the road, with loving parents and no household rivalries. The only drawback is that she can't break character. The original owner was already exceptionally gifted at just ten years old.

So she grits her teeth and keeps up the act every day. Who knew that her performance would lead to a rumor that "the Pei family has a daughter, young and famed for her virtue," and that an imperial edict would send her straight into the palace and make her empress?

The night before the wedding, her father clutches her hand, tears streaming down his face:

"My child is famed for her virtue and kind heart. I hope you can assist His Majesty... and help him become a great ruler."

Pei Shaowei feels a chill run down her back and thinks, "Are you sure this is helping him... and not risking my life to remonstrate with him?!"

The current emperor, Yan Duo, ascended the throne at a young age. His temper is violent, his rule harsh, and the blood before the palace steps has hardly had time to dry.

Still, Pei Shaowei enters the palace, mostly because she doesn't dare run away.

On the first day of their marriage, she runs into the tyrant skipping court.

She gazes at the soft, warm blanket on the bed, tears streaming inside, but sits upright on her knees and says solemnly, "If Your Majesty refuses to attend to state affairs, then I, your consort, will not rise for the entire day."

And then...

With the warm fragrance curling through the hall, she kneels and kneels until she can't help falling asleep.

When she wakes up, she's lying on the soft bedding of the imperial bed, and Yan Duo has quietly gone to morning court.

After that, things get more and more strange.

When she dozes off while reading, he raises a hand to dismiss everyone else. When she sneaks a few pastries, he even pushes a plate of osmanthus cakes toward her.

Until one day, he casually twirls a strand of her hair and lazily asks,

"Does the empress really have to be a virtuous empress?"

Pei Shaowei immediately gets on guard. "No funny business."

Yan Duo chuckles and whispers pillow talk: "Actually, a virtuous empress is nothing special. How about becoming an empress in your own right?"

Pei Shaowei turns and glares at him. "I don't want to! Have you finished reviewing the memorials? Have you gone to the Hall of Political Affairs? Have you read the urgent report from the border?"

She sees right through his plan. He wants to retire early? Not a chance!

Workplace slacker vs. work-averse tyrant

Theme: Always retain the capacity to love