The Emperor Plays Favorites

My new novel, You Look Like the One I Love, is now available. Welcome! -3- Original title: Partiality Zhao Yi'an grew up cherished by everyone and enjoyed sixteen years of smooth sailing. She never imagined that, at seventeen, the Seventh Prince Zhao Lu, whom she looked down on most, would ascend the throne. After that, rumors spread throughout the palace that Princess Huyang was not the late emperor's biological daughter. Before Zhao Yi'an even had a chance to get angry, she fell against a rock in the artificial hill and cracked her head open. / The palace attendants knew that Princess Huyang and the new emperor had long been at odds. Now that the princess had been proven not to be of royal blood, everyone quietly waited for the new emperor to drive her out of the palace and strip her of her status. But before the new emperor could do anything, Huyang herself hit her head and lost all her memories when she woke up. After hearing the news, the new emperor promptly ordered that all the attendants serving at Yuxi Hall be replaced, and that no one call Huyang a princess anymore. The attendants thought this must be his way of isolating the princess in the palace. How vicious. Truly vicious. A month later, the new emperor issued another decree, bestowing the title of Concubine Hu on Zhao Yi'an and bringing her to live in his own chambers. The attendants thought he wouldn't let them call her by her title, yet still used a character from it to humiliate her. How vile. Truly vile. / The whole spectacle was so entertaining that the attendants waited eagerly to see what the new emperor would do next. Who could have guessed that he would suddenly grow patient, yielding to the newly titled Concubine Hu at every turn? The attendants: It must be a plot! His Majesty is definitely up to something! Zhao Lu: ? I am not. I haven't done anything. *Recommended: The Demon Lord Says He Can't The ancestors made a deal with the Demon Lord to ascend the throne. Ever since, every new emperor has gone to the Demon Lord to pledge his loyalty upon taking the throne. The little princess had spent fifteen years with everything brought to her and everyone waiting on her hand and foot. She never expected the throne to suddenly land in her lap one day. Little Princess: Waaaah, Imperial Grandfather, I really can't do this. I don't know how to be emperor. I can't do it. Old Emperor: It's all right, dear. Just listen to His Highness here and do as he says. Little Princess: Really? I just have to do whatever he says? Old Emperor: Yes, yes, exactly. Then he turned to the Demon Lord: I'm entrusting my granddaughter to you. She will serve Your Excellency for the rest of her life. Demon Lord: ... (Something feels off.) And so, from then on, in the Demon Lord's palace: Little Princess: Waaaah, the general in the west is unhappy that I took the throne and has raised an army to kill me. Demon Lord: ...What does that have to do with me? Little Princess: There's a drought in the southwest, and everyone says it's because I became emperor. Demon Lord: Don't tell me about it. That night, the little princess came to the Demon Lord carrying a huge stack of documents. Little Princess: Waaaah... Demon Lord: Get lost. But a sudden gale swept the rebels away, rain fell on the parched fields, and the Demon Lord dealt with the treasonous chancellor's entire clan. The little princess came to see the Demon Lord again. Demon Lord: Speak. Little Princess: The ministers say the nation can't go a day without an empress. Will you be my empress? Demon Lord: Get out... Little Princess (overjoyed): Let's go, let's go! I'll take you right now to shut the ministers up! Demon Lord: ...Go away and let me be. You think she's a little princess, but she's actually a little tyrant :) Theme: