The Empress's Lover Is the Grand Secretary

The next door novel, A Scandalous Beauty Raised from Childhood, is now underway! Shen Nongqi, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Qing's household, was clever and kindhearted, with a beauty that outshone all others. At the age of five, she was personally chosen by the Retired Emperor to become the future empress. Unfortunately, the Emperor doted only on his favored consort and treated Shen Nongqi like trash. After the consort's deadly plot killed her, the Emperor couldn't even be bothered to keep up appearances. He revoked her posthumous title, denied her funeral music, and would have gladly wrapped her in a straw mat and buried her. It was Zhou Peixu, the court's Chief Minister, a man as noble as jade and radiant as the sun, who held her corpse and wept bitterly. In the end, his eyes red with rage, he carved a river through his enemies with his sword, killed the tyrant, and ascended the throne, ensuring that she received the honors due to her in death. Reborn, Shen Nongqi became empress once more. But this time, she was no longer content to be a mere puppet on display. She stopped her childhood friend Zhou Peixu beneath the palace willows and red walls. As she had when they were children, she tugged at his sleeve and pleaded, "Brother Peixu, I can barely get by in the palace. If I had a royal heir, things might be easier for me." Zhou Peixu felt a dull ache in his heart, but showed nothing. "You can't force fate to grant you a child. As for the Emperor..." "What if I were to have a child with someone other than the Emperor?" She pressed her lips together and stared straight into Zhou Peixu's eyes. "...What if I wanted to have someone else's child?" * Zhou Peixu, the court's Chief Minister, held power over the entire realm. Handsome and influential, he was the dream husband of every noblewoman in the capital. Yet he remained unmarried and treated the young Crown Prince as his own son, even personally measuring the boy's height every day. Everyone praised him as a noble crane, a man whose virtue shone far and wide. Little did they know that atop the imperial city, he stood shoulder to shoulder with the beautiful woman beside him, their sleeves brushing as he said softly, "Your Majesty, if you would like to give the Crown Prince another little sister..." He gently enclosed her fingertips in his hand. "Your humble servant would be glad to lend a hand." Important warnings: 1. A sweet, scheming, unhinged heroine x a noble, handsome, tragic hero. Both are sexually inexperienced. The heroine and the Emperor never consummate their marriage. 2. Their illicit affair may be thrilling for a lifetime, but this is definitely a happy ending. 3. The hero has eyes only for the heroine and is willing to give her everything. 4. Neither lead is perfect. They grow over the course of the story. 5. The pacing is sometimes slower than a snail, sometimes faster than a roller coaster. 5. The tropes may be dealbreakers, so don't read if they're not for you. Theme: Turn the tables against all odds and be reborn into the light