A Guide to Raising a Favored Consort

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[Blurb] #A little fox tries to win over a thousand-year-old fox, only to get won over herself.

Shi Yubing is bought from the Music and Dance Bureau and sent to the palace as a gift for the emperor.

The emperor isn't interested in women?

That's because he hasn't met me.

At the bureau, she never took clients. Her main job was teaching the arts.

Women she trained either became the leading courtesan or the favored concubine of a powerful noble.

Winning over a tyrant? No problem!

Shi Yubing plays the zither and performs for the emperor to win his favor.

After listening patiently, the emperor takes the ancient zither and demonstrates. "My beloved consort, you played one note wrong here."

Shi Yubing talks about ancient texts to get his attention.

The emperor recites the whole text from memory. "My beloved consort, if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."

The old fox remains gentle and impenetrable. She just can't win him over.

Just then, the powerful noble who sent her to the palace falls from grace. Shi Yubing packs her things and prepares to run away, but the emperor stops her and pulls her back behind the curtains. "I haven't finished teaching you. Where are you going, my beloved consort?"

#Teaching and being taught, winning over and being won over

[Content warning] The leads have a 12-year age gap. Blurb subject to revision. Screenshots taken on April 1.

[Next story] "The Empress Who Peeks Over the Wall"

#I told the emperor everything before he died. Now he survived. Will my entire family be executed?

Because of old grudges between their fathers, the current emperor deeply despises his empress. Every day he goes to her chambers to give her a hard time, often scolding her for hours. Then he doesn't even leave, but stays the night in her chambers.

The concubines in the harem all wait for the emperor to depose the empress. As Empress, Shi Yueying is walking on thin ice.

She endures two years of this life, until the emperor is seriously wounded while hunting.

Before he departs this world, the emperor becomes delirious. He calls for neither a capable minister nor a favored concubine, but repeatedly cries out the empress's name, asking her to come to his bedside.

Using the last of his strength, he writes a final decree. Since they have no son, he appoints a member of the imperial clan to inherit the throne and grants her the sole title of Empress Dowager. Every word is meant to arrange her life after his death.

After writing the final word, he sets down his brush, takes Empress Shi's hand, and tells her, "After I die, move to Funing Palace. Don't concern yourself with the affairs of the court or the harem anymore. Do you understand?"

Shi Yueying clutches the decree, amazed by his favor. Did the emperor mistake her for his most beloved concubine? Never mind. At least the decree can guarantee her a life of wealth and comfort.

But she hasn't forgotten the humiliation she's endured these past two years. She pulls her hand from the emperor's, stands straight beside the dragon bed, and glares down at him.

"Your Majesty has made such careful arrangements for me. I am deeply grateful for your grace. But I'm still young, and moving to Funing Palace would be so boring. After Your Majesty's death, I'll move to the imperial retreat. I'll recruit thirty palace attendants, all more handsome than you, and have them take turns serving me throughout the month. They'll be sweet and obedient, unlike you, always complaining that I don't serve you well!"

Having finally vented her anger, she turns and walks away with the decree in her arms.

The next day, a message comes from the emperor's bedroom: he has survived the crisis, and now he's asking her to come and serve him his medicine.

Theme: Keep learning throughout your life. Ask questions without shame and be eager to learn.