In her previous life, Zheng Shuzhen, a legitimate daughter of the Xingyang Zheng family, strove for perfection in everything and upheld her family's traditions. After becoming Crown Princess, she worked hard to excel both inside and out, but no matter what she did, she could never win Chu Yuan's affection.
When the emperor died, she quelled the rebellion and secured imperial power, only to die from sheer exhaustion. All she wished for was to never meet Chu Yuan again in her next life, never enter the imperial palace, and never become empress.
Reborn in this life, she had already seen through it all. She decided to lie flat and live like a lazy fish, staying as far away from trouble as possible.
To change her fate, she won over a cousin to support the main branch of the family through adoption, then sought the protection of Xiao Qi, the Marquis of Qingyuan. But unexpectedly, the marquis became her fiance.
Well... that works, too.
However, on the eve of her engagement, Crown Prince Chu Yuan arrived in Xingyang through the snowy night with an imperial decree and came to propose at her door.
A grand bridal procession in red stretched across the snow-covered landscape. Chu Yuan told her, "My heart is clear and true. I wish only to take Zheng Shuzhen as my wife. If I break this vow, may my life be cut short."
Zheng Shuzhen didn't believe him, but she couldn't defy imperial power. Since they insisted on making her empress, she'd be no more than a statue of the Buddha, always seeking fairness and never letting anything touch her heart.
Little by little, Chu Yuan realized that from the Eastern Palace to the imperial palace, Zheng Shuzhen showed genuine care to everyone. She was willing to break into a prison at night for her cousin and travel a thousand miles to support the Marquis of Qingyuan. But toward him, she wouldn't even offer a single kind lie.
One night, he returned drunk to find the lights in her palace extinguished. His eyes darkened, and his voice grew even more desolate. "Zheng Shuzhen, you really are a heartless woman."
Zheng Shuzhen smiled faintly. She did have a heart, but in this life, it belonged only to her.
The daily routine of training a dog. The emperor has to practice his skills every day.
Theme: To love someone, you must first love yourself
