The Kept Woman I Took In Was the Regent, Who Had Lost Her Memory

[A dispassionate, straightforward female chancellor x a flamboyant, temperamental regent with amnesia]

The empire teeters, shrouded in storm and gloom.

The emperor dies, the empress passes away, and the young heir is still a child.

As chancellor, Cui Wanjun is entrusted with the vital task of assisting the young ruler. Shang Huaiyu, the late emperor's younger brother, is summoned from the distant northwest to return to the capital as regent and help govern alongside her.

Cui Wanjun already holds immense power. Since she began assisting the young ruler, everyone has been coveting her influence and scheming to send men to the Cui residence.

But Cui Wanjun is entirely indifferent to romance and rejects them all.

Her response: Don't ask. My heart belongs to my career.

But everyone else is so insistent that Cui Wanjun finally realizes it's time to bring a man into her residence and silence the gossip.

As it happens, one day while out of town, she finds a young man in the wilderness, gravely injured and suffering from amnesia.

His injuries are severe and his face is smeared with blood, yet nothing can hide his striking features.

Whether it's love at first sight or a matter of expedience, Cui Wanjun takes him home.

From that moment, the capital is in an uproar: the upright, self-controlled chancellor Cui Wanjun, who never showed interest in men, has taken a lover!

Whenever someone brings another handsome man to her door, Cui Wanjun merely says, "Enough. My man is jealous and can't stand seeing other men near me."

And so the whole capital hears the latest: Chancellor Cui's lover is a jealous sort who won't tolerate other men.

Though her new lover is extraordinarily handsome, Cui Wanjun can't say she likes the man she picked up all that much.

He's gentle and considerate, and can cook. Sometimes he gets jealous and throws little tantrums, but she sees him as nothing more than an affectionate cat.

Whether he's dull or troublesome, she only took him in to keep other people at bay, so there's no need to take him to heart. She just has to keep him well cared for.

But... by her calculations, Regent Shang Huaiyu should have arrived in the capital long ago. Why has there been no word from him?

Cui Wanjun has a vague feeling that something is wrong, but can't quite put her finger on it.

Then one day, while she is out with her lover, they are attacked. The man falls into a deep ravine while protecting her. His fate is unknown, and no body is ever found.

Cui Wanjun searches the mountains like a madwoman. For days she neither sleeps nor rests, but all her efforts come to nothing.

From then on, the already cold and distant chancellor loses all trace of a smile. Her eyes are utterly still.

Several days later, Regent Shang Huaiyu finally arrives in the capital.

Cui Wanjun is reporting on state affairs to the young ruler when the doors of the hall suddenly swing open.

"I am Shang Huaiyu, Regent. I pay my respects to Your Majesty," the man says.

Everyone turns around, and Cui Wanjun follows the sound with her gaze.

But the moment their eyes meet, her heart sinks.

No way...

The regent looks exactly like the lover she kept at her residence?

As if sensing Cui Wanjun's gaze, Shang Huaiyu stares straight at her, amusement dancing in his eyes.

Cui Wanjun gives a start, feeling a chill run down her spine.

After court, Shang Huaiyu corners Cui Wanjun against a wall.

"Cui Wanjun, you've got some nerve! You took the regent of the empire as your lover!" He leans down slightly, gritting his teeth.

Cui Wanjun's heart pounds, but she keeps her composure. "...Let me explain... No, let me make excuses!"

Please note:

1. Both leads are each other's only partners! Both leads are each other's only partners! Both leads are each other's only partners!

2. Happy ending! Happy ending! Happy ending!

3. This is a fictional setting, and the political intrigue is rather simplistic, so please don't overanalyze it.

Theme: None