This blurb is provisional, and some details may be off, but this is roughly the vibe.
In her previous life, Song Yun, the only empress in the history of the Great Yue Dynasty, took Gao Cheng, the prized disciple of her greatest political rival, as her imperial consort by force, all out of a desire for revenge. A talent fit to serve as chief minister, Gao Cheng was confined to the inner palace, and never smiled again. Only as Song Yun lay dying from postpartum hemorrhage did she deeply regret how badly she had treated him.
Reborn, she decides to make it up to him.
Palace attendants whisper that Her Majesty often draws him close and murmurs in private, “Smile for me. A beauty, silver, or an official post, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Unofficial histories of the Yue Palace record that after this happened several times, the imperial consort smiled and pointed at a dancer, whom the empress immediately rewarded. That night, the dancer was summoned to attend the emperor, who then called a young man to her chambers. The imperial consort burst into the imperial bedchamber in a rage, and thus the emperor’s eldest son, Song Yu, was born.
An anything-goes empress who takes exams with open-book rules vs. an unyielding, stubborn top graduate
A straightforward heroine who won’t quit until she gets what she wants vs. a male lead who stubbornly denies what’s plain to see and says one thing while meaning another
P.S. 1. The heroine has no idea what shame is.
2. This is not a matriarchal society. The setting is provisionally an alternate world modeled mainly on the Ming Dynasty.
3. One hundred and eight ways to win your husband back, so this is not a palace or political intrigue novel.
