Three Hours of Commuting? Seize Power and Become Empress

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The original title, Three Hours Commuting to Work, Then I Seized Power and Became Empress, was too long and got cut off, so I changed it.

Qin Huaijin transmigrated into the body of a prince who was a woman disguised as a man. On her first day attending court, the original owner suddenly died in the carriage.

She felt her still-beating heart and thought, This lousy job? Whoever wants it can have it.

Her mother consort pressured her to seize power. She told her to her face, “Your son will not disappoint you,” then promptly dozed off while standing in the main hall.

She didn't want to be Crown Prince or fight for the throne. All she wanted was a few more hours of sleep.

But a disaster-relief plan she tossed out casually became the Crown Prince's achievement.

Her grandmother, the retired empress dowager, saw through the fact that she was a woman, despite her having concealed it for eighteen years.

Her grandmother offered her an alliance.

“Go seize power. I'll help you.”

Qin Huaijin was tempted.

Not because she coveted the throne, but because the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace was closer to the imperial palace, which meant she could sleep two hours longer.

After years of planning, she finally changed into women's clothes, ready to claim the glory that belonged to her.

The Fourth Prince, who had been held hostage in a neighboring country, returned.

Her achievements, her power, and the years she'd spent keeping her head down all became stepping stones for someone else to seize power.

Qin Huaijin looked at herself in the bronze mirror and slid the jade hairpin back into her hair.

If they wouldn't let her walk away, then...

She'd kill them all.

Reading Guide:

1. The female lead has no CP, no romance, and no concubines or bedchamber maids as cover.

2. The team includes both men and women. The dynasty is fictional and is not a matriarchy.

(The older men who help her in court have also been vetted by the female lead. They're neither misogynistic straight men nor gay men.)

3. The early chapters require some setup, so proceed with that in mind.

Theme: A change in identity does not change one's original purpose; she still cares about the people and the world.