Palace Intrigue Is No Match for Being a Couch Potato

[Bonus Side Story at 50 Subscribers]

[Preorder: Exclusive to the Imperial Heart. Please add it to your collection~]

Jiang Qiao transmigrated into a palace-intrigue novel, becoming a cannon-fodder character with a rather tragic fate.

After witnessing a palace maiden transform her expression in the blink of an eye, Jiang Qiao looked miserably at the crescent-shaped marks she'd dug into her palm trying to fake a cry.

Jiang Qiao: Faking tears is so hard. Palace intrigue is so hard. QAQ

So Jiang Qiao decided to lie flat like a salted fish. As long as she didn't die, she'd be content to scrape by in the palace.

But could someone please tell her:

Why did Emperor Yongxuan think she was refreshingly different and insist on summoning her, when she never flattered him or fought for his favor?

Why did Emperor Yongxuan praise her as gentle and quiet and want to raise her rank, when she meekly watched the consorts squabble and trade insults?

Why did the emperor think she was indifferent to fame and profit, modest and virtuous, and grow more and more fond of her, when she deliberately avoided his favor and turned down his gifts?

In the end, Jiang Qiao stared blankly as the emperor promised her with deep affection, “You are the empress I desire most.”

Jiang Qiao: Why can I dominate the harem just by lying flat???

#I genuinely tried to avoid his favor, but the emperor mistook it for devotion to him#

#I only wanted to be a salted fish, but I became the empress#

#Well, being a salted fish empress isn't so bad after all#

[Reading Guide]

1. A traditional palace-intrigue novel, set in a fictional world, with a large ensemble cast and a slow pace.

2. No true love. The heroine will still strive to improve when she needs to; she does it so she can be a better salted fish. No sisterly betrayal.

3. This bald author will do their best to make the palace intrigue logical. Little angels, just take a look if you like. QAQ

Preorder: Exclusive to the Imperial Heart (Palace Intrigue)

[Palace maid rises through the ranks in a palace-intrigue story. The heroine plays the fool while keeping her claws hidden.]

On the day of her sixth birthday, Ying Tao went from an official's daughter to a convict enslaved by the palace. Her name was taken away, and she was sent to an imperial retreat.

She spent ten years carefully laying the groundwork. When the new emperor ascended the throne, she used a clever scheme to reclaim her name and return to the imperial palace.

But luck was not on her side. She stumbled into the consorts' secret power struggle, and Consort Xian treated her as a pawn to spite someone, assigning her to Concubine Hu, a woman who looked kind but was jealous at heart.

Ying Tao immediately lowered her head, hiding her lovely face, and decided to keep a low profile until the right moment came.

She never dressed to attract attention or tried to ingratiate herself. When the other palace maids picked on her, she only smiled foolishly at them.

At last, a year later.

The Empress Dowager issued an edict to select new consorts and fill the six palaces.

The palace was full of lovely young women, fluttering like butterflies, while Yuxiu Palace, home to Concubine Hu, stood deserted. The emperor rarely set foot there.

Driven to desperation, Concubine Hu decided to promote a pretty palace maid from her own quarters, hoping to win back the emperor's favor.

And so Concubine Hu's gaze fell on Ying Tao, that “simpleton.”

*

Emperor Mingyuan remembered a particularly lovely little palace maid in Yuxiu Palace.

A peach-like face and almond-shaped eyes, with the grace of a willow that made one want to protect her.

When she smiled, her brows curved like the crescent moon. Beside her lush, cherry-red lips, two dimples appeared, brimming with spring water. Their gentle sway stirred the heart of the cold-hearted emperor.

Only when they were beneath the red candles and golden bed curtains did Emperor Mingyuan discover that the little palace maid had two more dimples, brimming with spring water, at the small of her slender waist.

They nearly drowned him in them.

Later, the little palace maid suffered a terrible injustice. Her almond eyes brimmed with tears, and she bit her cherry-red lip, unwilling to say much.

On the smooth, jade-like skin that Emperor Mingyuan had deliberately coaxed to become plump were shocking purple bruises.

Emperor Mingyuan was furious when he saw them.

But the little palace maid reached out with her soft hands and looped them around his neck. Her breath carried a faint, lingering fragrance, and she only said she didn't want to make things difficult for His Majesty.

Emperor Mingyuan's heart ached for her. “Whatever you want, I'll give it to you.”

He didn't notice the faint curve at the corner of Ying Tao's lips as she pressed them together in feigned grievance.

*

Everyone knew that Emperor Mingyuan doted especially on a certain little palace maid.

He raised her rank, stood up for her, and broke the rule that a palace maid could never occupy a principal consort's position.

After the little palace maid gave birth, Emperor Mingyuan further bestowed the title of Consort Shu upon her, heaping her with favor.

He even overruled everyone's objections... to investigate an old case.

Ying Tao had achieved her wish and was freed from her status as a convict.

Her smiling almond eyes turned toward the phoenix throne.

Consort Shu was a noble title, but how could it compare to being empress?

Above the empress were the empress dowager and the grand empress dowager...

Her journey was only just beginning.

Theme: A simple, peaceful life is what truly matters.