Your Majesty, I Would Never Dare

(Empress x powerful minister) When she woke up in the backwater county of Qingshan, Shen Qingwu wanted only to stay alive. The townspeople pooled their grain to keep her alive. She owed them a debt as deep as the mountains. Over five years, she transformed this godforsaken place into a prosperous county. The granaries were full and the people lived in peace. At last, she could shamelessly settle into doing nothing. That was until Empress Xiao Minghuang made a discreet visit and uncovered all the lies filling the reports. The bluestone roads were smooth as mirrors, and the people were prosperous and well-fed. She posed as a traveling merchant and went undercover, witnessing Shen Qingwu’s extraordinary talent, as well as the softness in her eyes and her longing for ordinary life. She wanted Shen Qingwu, wanted her talent, but more than anything, she wanted her to give herself willingly. So Xiao Minghuang laid her plans step by step, using her beauty as bait and her heart as her wager, until Shen Qingwu finally said yes. They married in Qingshan County, with the whole town as their witness, the lights in every home as their candles, and red silk draped all over the old locust tree. But on the night of their wedding banquet, the Grand Tutor surrounded the city with troops. Shen Qingwu realized she had been used. The world came crashing down around her. She smashed their nuptial wine cups and declared that their bond was severed, then turned and never looked back. Qingshan County lost Shen, the magistrate who could make money grow even while lying down, and the imperial court gained Chancellor Shen, a mad dog who snapped at everyone. Everyone said she’d lost her wife and gone mad. Only she knew that an emperor’s love had always been no more than a flower in a mirror or the moon in water, so she forced herself to stay composed and clear-headed, over and over. Xiao Minghuang disguised every flutter of her heart as appreciation for Shen Qingwu’s talent, promoting her in the most strictly official manner. Until one late-autumn night, Xiao Minghuang finally lowered her head. “Qingwu, call me by my name.” Shen Qingwu clenched her hand inside her sleeve. “Your Majesty, I wouldn’t dare.” Xiao Minghuang smiled, her eyes reddening. “You seem to dare plenty. Aren’t you always telling people I’m dead…?” At some point, a candle had been lit on the desk, its dim light reaching only one corner of the room. A handkerchief slipped from the edge of the desk, and the shadow of the old locust tree swayed. Shen Qingwu half-jokingly, half-seriously said, “Your Majesty… I really won’t dare again…” Theme: Join hands with you and rule the realm together.