Becoming a Nobody in the Qing Dynasty

[Upcoming: "Forced to Become a Consort (Qing Dynasty)" follows Consort De's reluctant climb up the career ladder. The blurb is at the very bottom. If you're interested, feel free to add it to your collection!]

Content warning: Ancient people had values different from those of modern people. The leads are not each other's first partners, and there is an age gap. Some scenes may make readers uncomfortable, so please stay calm and read with care!

A modern female programmer worked 996 hours and died suddenly. Her greatest wish in life had been to get a good night's sleep.

After transmigrating, she finally realized her long-held dream: she could sleep until she woke naturally every day, without having to go to work.

But the Qing Dynasty? A sprawling inner residence? A blind woman? Heaven, are you messing with me?

Fail the difficult mode, then start over in hell mode?

Ah, forget it. Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. At least I'm still a rich, beautiful heiress. Retiring in the Qing Dynasty doesn't sound so bad...

I just didn't expect the rules for women who transmigrate into the Qing Dynasty to be so powerful that they wouldn't even spare a blind woman!!!

I can get noticed just by listening to music in the suburbs. All I want is to eat my fill, wait to die, and enjoy my retirement!

Kangxi, please spare me!!!

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Blurb for upcoming story "Forced to Become a Consort"

When Maru discovered that she'd died and transmigrated into the Qing Dynasty as a low-ranking palace maid, she felt utterly doomed.

Oh no! Palace maids in Qing court dramas always have high-risk jobs. Punishments like kneeling, slapping, beating to death, and being sentenced to death are all terrible prospects.

She'd chosen the wrong line of work in her previous life and died young. This time, Maru didn't want to make the same mistake. But now she was trapped in the palace, and it seemed too late to change careers.

There was no choice. Since she was here, she might as well make the best of it and keep her head down for a while.

Later, a certain palace maid who got a special meal every few days belatedly realized that her life seemed to be going pretty well. After all, her cheeks had even gotten rounder...

Oh, it turned out her original family's connections reached the Imperial Kitchen! She was a well-connected insider.

Maru then learned that as long as she didn't bring trouble upon herself, she should have no problem living comfortably in the palace.

With something to look forward to, Maru began working hard, hoping to save enough money to retire outside the palace once she had enough years of service.

She never expected that a former office worker, thanks to her strong skills, would outcompete everyone else of her generation. Maru got a raise and promotion, becoming a first-class maid in the household of Tong Jia, a concubine who had just entered the palace.

Wait! Emperor Kangxi, a consort surnamed Tong Jia, and the original owner's family just happens to be surnamed Uya...!!! No way! Could she be Consort De, the ruthless palace fighter who rose from being a maid and gave birth to the next emperor?

Maru's response: No! She wants to be a palace maid, not a consort! She wants to leave the palace and retire, not have babies! Ahhh, you tyrant of an emperor, stay away from me!

Upcoming story 2: "Did the Emperor Turn Out Wrong?"

Since ancient times, as long as an emperor's wet nurse knows her place, she can retire with no shortage of gold and jewels. With a little luck, she might even receive a title and be revered by her family as their founding matriarch.

Shi Niang was very lucky. She served as the current emperor's wet nurse for a time when he was still an obscure prince. After that, she diligently and devotedly cared for him for more than ten years.

Now that the emperor had ascended the throne, she should, in principle, be able to retire with honor.

You should only take on as much as you can handle. Shi Niang had no designs on titles or power.

But surely it wouldn't be asking too much to enjoy fine silks, exotic delicacies, a spacious mansion, fine horses, and a few gentle, attentive male companions in her old age, all thanks to the emperor's favor?

She'd suffered enough in the first half of her life. Now that she had the chance, she ought to treat herself well.

Just as her days of carefree enjoyment were about to begin, an imperial edict arrived from the palace.

Lady Shunyi? Enter the palace? Become a consort?

This kind of lady was not that kind of lady. Serving the emperor couldn't compare to being waited on! Going back into the palace to lower herself before others couldn't compare to leaving the estate and being a domineering old matriarch! Being mistress of a palace couldn't compare to living far from the emperor's reach!

She'd always known that Zhu Fangshen was a calculating little brat. Was he pulling this stunt at the last minute to get back at her for forcing him to study and train hard?

The little emperor had ruined her plans!

Content warnings:

1. The wet nurse in this story isn't the traditional kind who cares for a baby from birth. She's more like the wet nurse kept by Empress Dowager Cixi, who provided a bowl of breast milk each day to help a frail patron regain their health.

2. The woman is about ten years older than the man.

3. Neither is chaste. They each had partners before getting together, but after that they are faithful only to each other. If that bothers you, please don't read!

Theme: Life holds many possibilities