[This blurb is provisional and may change]
In her previous life, Yuejian was betrothed to someone, but the emperor took a liking to her. She became empress and enjoyed his exclusive favor.
The emperor cherished and loved her, keeping the six inner palaces empty and taking no concubines. She thought they would spend their whole lives together like that. But then a palace coup took the lives of her father and brothers and wiped out her entire family. Her husband, who had once sworn eternal love, held her half-sister, who looked so much like her, and begrudged her even one last meeting.
Yuejian's heart turned to ash. Reborn, she set her sights on Pei Xingzhan, a trusted pillar of her husband's court and the Vice Minister of the Censorate.
She would use the sharpest blade in the emperor's hand to demand justice from Heaven.
*
Pei Xingzhan was born into a distinguished family, handsome and elegant. Whenever he went out, carriages overflowed with fruit tossed by admirers, and crowds gathered to watch.
As the emperor's personally appointed Vice Minister of the Censorate, he was responsible for impeachments and investigations. Proud and upright, he despised the empress above all: a woman who indulged her father and brothers and bewitched the emperor.
When a witchcraft scandal broke out in the palace, the emperor summoned him to discuss deposing the empress. But on the covered walkway, the empress blocked his way.
Pei Xingzhan's face turned steely. “Your Majesty, please return. The law allows no exceptions. It is my duty to serve the emperor and the country.”
“Is that so?” The beautiful woman smiled, her peerless appearance shining in the shadowy passageway like the moon reflected on a jade pool.
She smiled and stepped closer. “But, Vice Minister Pei, if you say you serve the emperor, I am the ruler too. Why do you serve only him, and not me? Why do you love only him, and not me?”
Her fragrant breath drifted past his ear. Pei Xingzhan's face remained stern, but a faint blush crept behind his ear.
#Don't pine for waters gone by; turn back from the sea of suffering#
※ A reborn beauty seeking revenge × an upright Vice Minister of the Censorate gradually driven to madness. The heroine will be deposed, and the romance begins after she is no longer married. This premise was first posted in 2020 and has never changed. Please don't claim it as your own.
※ The heroine and all the male leads are sexually inexperienced. A powerful heroine and her three men. The ex-husband is hzc; the hero and second male lead compete for her. The hero only takes his place as the male lead at the very end.
※ Originally titled The Remonstrator. The character inspiration comes from Xiao Nianruan, the heroine of the author's completed 2020 novel The Little Empress, and Xi Daoyan, the Censor-in-Chief who was always impeaching her (see chapters 43 and 85). All later additions to the premise have been documented. The court setting is based on the Eastern Han dynasty.
Message: Don't pine for waters gone by; turn back from the sea of suffering
