The Tyrant Insists I Usurp the Throne

After transmigrating, Pei Shaowei found herself with what looked like a perfect life script: born into a distinguished family, spared a life of hardship, with loving parents and no infighting in the household. The only catch was that she had to stay in character. The original owner had been a precocious prodigy, a true child genius.

The overworked modern woman in her: "...Huh? Me?"

Fine. She gritted her teeth and kept up the act every day. Before long, the act had earned her a fine reputation: "The Pei family has a daughter, renowned for her virtue from a young age, brilliant and wise."

Then she was rewarded with an imperial decree naming her empress.

The reigning emperor, Yan Duo, had ascended the throne at a young age. He was violent by nature and ruled with harsh policies. The blood in front of the palace steps had hardly dried. But Pei Shaowei still entered the palace. Mainly because she didn't dare flee, and was even more afraid of her entire clan getting wiped out.

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

She looked at the soft, warm blanket on the couch, weeping inside, but kept a solemn kneeling pose and said, every word clear: "If Your Majesty neglects state affairs, then I, your consort, will not rise for the entire day."

The palace was filled with warm, fragrant incense. She knelt and knelt, until she couldn't help falling asleep.

When she woke, she was lying on the soft bedding of the dragon bed, while Yan Duo had quietly gone to court.

After that, things only got stranger.

When she dozed off while reading, he raised a hand and sent everyone else away. When she choked on a stolen pastry, he casually pushed a cup of sweet drink her way without even looking up.

Pei Shaowei quietly observed him for three days, then reached an absurd conclusion: the tyrant seemed to have started treating her like a coworker, the kind with a little something beyond friendship!

Later, after finishing the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, Pei Shaowei was so exhausted she wanted to sleep forever. But this man came to wake her before dawn. As usual, she kissed him perfunctorily, then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Yan Duo wasn't annoyed. He started playing around at her bedside: pinching her nose, twirling her hair, and finally blowing into her ear. He kept it up for a whole incense stick, just like a bored coworker fooling around in a meeting.

Pei Shaowei couldn't take it anymore. Eyes closed, she swung a punch at him. At last, the world was quiet.

Who knew Yan Duo would drop the act too? Propping his face on one hand, he said something shocking: "Does an empress really have to be a virtuous empress?"

Half-asleep, Pei Shaowei's instincts kicked in. "...No funny business."

He leaned closer, his voice full of laughter, and whispered sweet nothings: "Actually, a virtuous empress is nothing special. Want to be an empress in your own right?"

Pei Shaowei jolted wide awake. What the hell, are you trying to hand in your resignation?

The lazy empress who tearfully tries to stop the tyrant from skipping work and clocking out early vs. the tyrant who is secretly trying to hand his throne to his wife.

Coming soon: My Ex-Husband Could Never Want to Rekindle Our Relationship. Blurb:

Born into a time of turmoil, Qiu Shuangbai was born into the body of a wealthy escort agency owner's daughter. In time, she naturally took over as head of the agency and built it into a thriving business. Her clients came from every corner of the land, from high-ranking officials and nobles to ordinary folk. There was no escort job she wouldn't take.

But she had one rule: no jobs in Ye Province.

Rumors swirled. Some said she'd failed a job there in her youth and ruined her reputation. Others said she'd fallen out with some powerful person in Ye Province and was afraid to return.

She merely smiled and let them talk.

Until someone came to her with a fortune and demanded that she personally escort a shipment to Ye Province.

Faced with a price she couldn't refuse, Qiu Shuangbai lightly tapped her abacus with a knuckle and accepted. Who could turn down money? Besides, so many years had passed. That person... probably didn't care anymore.

Before the escort party even reached Ye City, Qiu Shuangbai happened to rescue a young master from a prominent family who had been attacked by bandits. The young man had rosy lips and pearly teeth, and a kind heart. Grateful beyond words, he insisted on repaying her for saving his life. He invited her to stay at his family's estate and asked his elders to arrange a generous reward.

Qiu Shuangbai figured she might as well save the cost of a hotel, so she went with him, sending her deputy ahead with the cargo to the Changyu family in Ye City.

As she calculated the profit from this job, a servant suddenly called respectfully from outside the door: "Young master, the clan head is here."

Before Qiu Shuangbai could react, a tall, elegant figure had already entered the hall.

The young master's eyes lit up. He went forward and said, "Clan head, you've come at just the right time. This Miss Qiu saved my life. I was hoping..."

His ears turned red, but his voice was clear. "I want to marry Miss Qiu."

The hall fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

As Qiu Shuangbai stared in shock, her gaze met the newcomer's deep, still eyes. He was the current head of the Changyu family, and the man she'd wronged years ago: her ex-husband.

His gaze moved slowly between her and his nephew before settling on her face. The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly, as if greeting an old acquaintance. "It's been many years." His tone was fairly calm. "So this is the kind of person you like now."

Qiu Shuangbai felt a faint numbness in her fingertips.

There are plenty of awkward situations in the world, but few are as mortifying as having your nephew's marriage proposal overheard by the ex-husband you once wronged.

Her confidant, who knew the whole story, had already lowered their head as far as possible, wishing they could vanish into the ground. Their head escort had married young and divorced in a hurry. The divorce had been a dramatic affair, and the two had parted on such bad terms that they might as well have sworn never to meet again.

Now they'd run into each other again, and it was enough to make her want to die.

Theme: Work diligently.