The Regent Dowager's Laid-Back Days

This novel updates daily. Come on in and give it a try! Please add my upcoming novel, From Lowly Clerk's Daughter to Marquess's Wife, to your collection! Also known as The Empress Dowager Refuses to Be an Office Drone. A female-led career and infrastructure-building power fantasy. Synopsis After transmigrating, Su Jin found herself entering the palace as empress from the start. Her ideal was to accomplish a few small things and leave her name in the history books. But who could have guessed that her husband would suddenly drop dead? In the rush that followed, she had no choice but to support their young son as he ascended the throne and stabilize the court. Political infighting plagued the court, disasters struck one after another, rebel vassal kings rose in the southeast, and invaders attacked from the northwest. Su Jin's carefree attitude from when she had first transmigrated vanished completely. After eight years as regent, she finally subdued the vassal kings, secured the northern frontier, and skillfully built alliances among the court officials. She gave civil and military officials their proper places, and at last took the reins of power into her own hands. But those eight years left Su Jin mentally and physically exhausted. One day, someone suddenly came to report, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, His Majesty... no, the Retired Emperor is still alive! He's about to return to the palace!" Su Jin asked calmly, "Is that really true?" The eunuch replied in a trembling voice, "I would never dare deceive Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." When word spread that the late emperor had returned, the court was in an uproar. Some wondered whether the Empress Dowager would refuse to hand over her regency and challenge the Retired Emperor for power. They could never have imagined that Su Jin would burst out laughing at the news. "Ha ha! What wonderful news! I can finally lay down every burden!" Qi Zhen had survived eight years on a deserted island and finally returned, hoping to surprise her. "???" She put on her ceremonial robes and finest silks, left the court behind, and set off to travel with her son and friends, enjoying the mountains and rivers to her heart's content! Su Jin thought that life could hardly get any more heavenly. Lying flat felt amazing! Qi Zhen, the Retired Emperor left behind in the palace to handle state affairs, complained bitterly, "A Jin, do you even remember that your husband is still alive?" Who could have predicted that Su Jin, who only wanted to lie flat, would casually come up with one brilliant plan after another? A restaurant on the verge of closing became the capital's top establishment after a few words of advice from her, drawing in countless nobles and high officials. She rescued a young girl during her travels, and the girl went on to become a master of cotton weaving, restoring prosperity to an entire province. While sightseeing in the mountains, she met an official who was about to take his own life because he could not collect enough tax revenue. She told him to develop a port and open it to trade, turning Quangang, once a mere fishing village, into a city where goods from every nation converged. After that, countless rumors spread. They said the Empress Dowager was a lucky star reborn. Anyone who met her and received her guidance would enjoy a flourishing official career if they had been struggling in government, or find wealth pouring in if they had been living through hardship... The Retired Emperor had been away for many years, so naturally he was out of practice at governing. Compared with how effortlessly Su Jin had handled the regency, he was a far cry from her. This time, no one dared say, "A woman's lack of talent is a virtue," or taunt her for letting a hen crow at dawn. Instead, court officials kept sending urgent letters asking the Empress Dowager to return and help stabilize the court. Su Jin, traveling beyond the frontier: Please do not disturb me. If you have a problem, ask the Retired Emperor to handle it. Qi Zhen, buried in memorials: But I remember you said you wanted to be a virtuous empress and leave your name in the history books... Su Jin, coldly: I worked myself to the bone for eight years. I'm sure I've already earned a place in the history books. Now I just want to lie flat. I believe you can handle things, Your Majesty! From common folk to noble families, everyone hoped to "happen upon" the Empress Dowager while she was traveling and ask her for a little guidance. Su Jin only wanted to lie flat, but people kept coming to find her. Why was it so hard to enjoy a quiet trip? When Su Jin first transmigrated, she was full of ambition and wanted to leave her name in the history books, but it seemed impossible. Now that she had finally managed to lie flat, she had more than earned a modest mention in the history books. Her name would be remembered for generations. Bonus scene: After returning from the deserted island, Qi Zhen: You must have been thinking about me this whole time! Su Jin: Who are you? I just want to go out and have fun! Reader's guide: 1. The male lead loves the female lead deeply, and she's the only one for him. 2. He falls for her first, and his feelings are overwhelming. 3. The novel focuses more on the female lead's career. The romance is the icing on the cake! Upcoming novel synopsis When Yun Jin transmigrated, she became the eldest daughter of a family of low-ranking clerks. Their status was humble, and sometimes they could barely afford to eat. One day, she went for a stroll with her father and brothers, who were dressed in their official clerks' uniforms. The townspeople either avoided the family or glared at them with resentment. Those looks fell not only on her father and brothers, but weighed on Yun Jin's heart as well. Whenever she went out to play with others, she often heard people refer to her father and brothers as tiger-capped officials. Her peers in the neighborhood mocked her as a little tigress, humiliating her at every turn. Yun Jin could not change the course of the world, but by acting cute and throwing tantrums, she forced her grown-up father and brothers to study and learn proper manners. She also forbade them from bullying the common people. Her father, Yun Dailang, put it this way: "If I weren't afraid my daughter would cry, why would I ever bother reading?" The people of Bianjing loved flowers and cats, so she sold fresh flowers, opened a cat cafe, and made flower cakes and dried-flower tea. Her cat climbing frames became all the rage, and at last her family could live comfortably. She also used clever schemes and seized the right moment to leave the ranks of runners and constables, becoming a clerical scribe who handled documents. Her respectable reputation won her praise. Though a clerical scribe was still a low-ranking official, the mockery gradually died away. In the end, her father even rose to become a ninth-rank official, leaving behind his former status as a lowly clerk. She sneaked off to play at Baoyen Temple, only to run into the young Marquis Qi arguing with someone. She got caught up in it through no fault of her own. The young marquis made an offhand joke, and before long it came true. When the Yun family received the imperial decree arranging their marriage, Yun Jin still felt as if she were dreaming... A marquess's household was as deep as the sea, full of dangers at every turn. Everyone looked down on her humble origins, but Yun Jin handled them with ease. The midwives she had trained in her early years even saved a noblewoman in the palace who was suffering a difficult labor. The emperor was overjoyed, and the crisis threatening the marquess's succession was resolved. The entire household praised her, saying the young marquis was lucky to have her. From a lowly clerk's daughter to a marquess's wife: the stage changed, but her skills remained the same. The male lead's perspective When Qi Jing was a child, he got lost by accident and nearly fell into the hands of kidnappers. Fortunately, a young girl rescued him, and from that moment on, he was determined to marry her. More than ten years passed before he finally learned that the girl was the daughter of a low-ranking clerk in the city. He wanted to marry her, but their social statuses were simply too different. He went to great lengths and made countless plans to obtain an imperial decree arranging their marriage. After getting his wish, he had barely begun to enjoy life with his beloved when family pressure forced him to lead troops to the frontier. Five years later, he finally returned to the capital with enough military merit. To his surprise, the marriage that no one had blessed was now accepted by his family, and the elders praised her. My darling wife! What kind of love potion did you give them? Theme: Skill and ingenuity can change lives, and kindness is always rewarded