The Duchess Is a Black-Hearted Lotus

Ming Lingyi transmigrated into the wife of the Duke of Dingguo.

Above her was a mean mother-in-law. Below her was a whole pile of troublesome children, legitimate and illegitimate. The duke's rear courtyard was packed with his beloved concubines.

The duke had won countless battles and was deeply favored by the emperor. When the emperor heard that he had been wounded on the battlefield, he even left the palace to welcome him home in person.

Ming Lingyi's tears fell harder than the rain on the night Yiping went to ask for money.

After she finished crying, Ming Lingyi behaved just as she had before: she did nothing but worship Buddha, endured the concubines' bullying without complaint, acted meek and submissive in front of her mother-in-law, and tended to her husband day and night.

Before long, her husband's wounds worsened and he died. Her mother-in-law also fell gravely ill and soon followed him to the grave. A concubine, overcome with grief, took her own life for love...

A censor impeached Ming Lingyi, accusing her of being a murderer. The emperor tossed the memorial aside and casually found an excuse to exile the censor to a bitterly cold region.

The powerful families in the capital expressed sympathy for Ming Lingyi, while secretly wondering when the Duke of Dingguo's household would come crashing down.

Who knew that years later the duke's family would still enjoy the emperor's favor, and their title would even become hereditary in perpetuity?

#On the Duchess Who Holds Buddhist Scripture in One Hand and a Butcher's Knife in the Other#

#The Duchess Planted a Prairie in Front of Her Husband's Memorial#

#The Emperor Became My Lover#

Not a mutually exclusive relationship history: the man has had other partners, the woman has not. Don't read if this bothers you.

Set in an imaginary world. Please don't nitpick historical accuracy.

A ruthless, scheming, sickly beauty x a loyal, sweet, somewhat clueless man. A sweet, satisfying story about healing each other.

Ongoing story: After Transmigrating, I Lay Flat and Wait to Become Empress Dowager. Blurb:

1. Tong Jia transmigrated into Tong Jia, a concubine of Shunzhi.

At this point, the imperial harem's ranks were not yet fully established. A concubine like her was more or less an unnamed, unranked consort.

Compared with Dong E, the imperial noble consort whose love with Shunzhi was the stuff of legends, Tong Jia's status was like bronze compared to a king.

But Tong Jia wasn't worried at all. She had a son named Xuanye, who would one day become the famous Kangxi Emperor.

Xuanye was already five. If she held on for three more years, then once Shunzhi died, she'd be the empress dowager, no question.

Although Shunzhi was unruly, passionate, melancholic, devoted, delicate, mad, and peerlessly handsome, becoming empress dowager was still the better deal.

Tong Jia enjoyed a comfortable life, admiring all the handsome officials at court, especially the outstanding Wang Xi, while counting down the days until Shunzhi's death.

Who knew that by the time she had climbed from bronze to the strongest rank and become empress, Shunzhi, who had abdicated and become the retired emperor, would still be full of life?

2. Shunzhi summed up his two lives. In his previous life, he had been both lucky and ineffectual, dying before he could fulfill his ambitions.

This life, too, he was lucky and ineffectual. The lucky part was that he'd been able to realize his ambitions and had an heir. His son Xuanye had surpassed him.

The ineffectual part was all thanks to the utterly exasperating Tong Jia.

She was like a thorny rose. Unlike the empress's poisonous thorns, hers pricked only him. After being pricked so many times, he actually got used to it and even began to miss it.

He didn't hold her two-timing ways against her. To put her mind at ease, he abdicated early and passed the empire to her son.

Even when he lowered himself before her, she barely ever looked him in the eye.

Tong Jia said, "I wouldn't dare to presume upon Your Majesty's presence."

Once, Shunzhi happened to overhear her muttering behind his back, "That was close. I almost got a needle in my eye!"

Shunzhi: I should've known you were full of it!

A sweet-faced, scheming little concubine x a sick, obsessive emperor

Reader's Guide:

Many liberties have been taken. This is not a faithful historical account, so please don't nitpick.

A groveling romance that only puts the man through the wringer, never the woman. A melodramatic story.

Visit my author page for stories in other genres. If you find one you like, please add it to your favorites. A deep bow.

Theme: Finding hope in the midst of despair