Saving the Ailing Empress

[An alternate-world, women-led society story about breaking free from constraints. Not a matriarchal setting. The official system and customs are a messy mash-up, with little concern for historical accuracy. Please don’t read if that bothers you.] [No unsolicited writing advice.] Before bed, Tang Sheng read a novel that made her furious enough to feel it in her liver. In the book, the supporting-character empress, who had severed herself from love and desire, worked tirelessly day and night, and worried for her country and its people, died of illness on the eve of completing her great work of unification. All her earlier efforts ended up benefiting the male lead, who had spent the entire story lying flat and focusing only on his passionate, torturous romance with the original heroine. Tang Sheng fell asleep in a rage and beat up the original male lead in her dream. When she woke, she really had transmigrated into the world of the book, where she became an insignificant palace maid and was bound to a System that let her see other people’s health bars. The System told her that she could return to the real world only after successfully extending the empress’s life. In the original novel, Qin Miaoguan was sickly, aloof, and powerful, cold and indifferent to others. She had cut off her seven emotions and six desires from childhood and become a transcendent immortal, far removed from the mortal world. Tang Sheng could not forget the scene described in the novel: the emperor, riding in a palanquin, reaching out a fingertip to catch the pear blossoms drifting down from the sky. That fragile, icy beauty struck her right in the heart. Tang Sheng rubbed her hands together and secretly vowed: She would make sure Qin Miaoguan lived to a hundred! Qin Miaoguan refused to eat. Tang Sheng searched for the cause, coaxed and tricked her, and finally broke her bad habit. Qin Miaoguan ignored her physician’s instructions. Carrying a bowl of medicine, Tang Sheng raced all over the palace just to make sure she took it on time. Qin Miaoguan exhausted herself with worry. Tang Sheng studied the art of ruthless scheming to solve her problems. Qin Miaoguan lacked a capable right-hand woman. Tang Sheng steeled herself and entered the official world, cutting through every obstacle for her and fighting on the battlefield for her. Several years passed, and at last Tang Sheng restored Qin Miaoguan’s health bar, doubling her lifespan in the process. Overjoyed, Tang Sheng confessed everything to Qin Miaoguan and prepared to ask the System to keep its promise. Then she saw The health bar above Qin Miaoguan’s head flickered twice and rapidly dropped to zero. It seemed the empress really couldn’t survive without her. * Even while ill, Qin Miaoguan clutched Tang Sheng’s lapel in her sleep and breathed in the scent of her hair. Whenever Tang Sheng moved a little farther away, the person in her arms would unconsciously furrow her brow and look pained. Tang Sheng could only sigh as she gently stroked Qin Miaoguan’s hair. Everyone said Qin Miaoguan, the exalted Heavenly Maiden, was decisive and formidable, a true cold-faced ruler. Who could have guessed that this Heavenly Maiden, who seemed untouched by worldly concerns, was like this in private? [A sickly empress who seems indifferent but is actually completely unhinged & a palace maid who pretends to be useless but works hard to stay alive and grow] [The serious blurb] Qin Miaoguan was the first empress of the Great Qi dynasty. Before her, even the most exalted princesses could not escape the fate of being used as pawns in political marriages. Everyone said she was lucky. Qin Miaoguan only smiled faintly when she heard this. From princess to imperial princess and then Crown Princess, her seemingly smooth ascent had been built on thirteen years of careful planning at every turn. On the day the emperor died, Qin Miaoguan crossed the icy river and raced for three days and nights to seize control of the capital’s lifelines. From then on, she stood at the pinnacle of power, but also acquired many ailments. Three years into her reign, all those she had once known were gone, and Qin Miaoguan could barely take another step. One day, while taking a walk to clear her mind, she suddenly heard a young palace maid fiercely arguing with a supervisor: “People may be born into different ranks, but even the lowest-ranking men are considered superior to women. How can that possibly make sense?” She stopped to listen. The young maid spoke as if she had no regard for her own life, and every word sounded like a rebuke of the rotting court. Qin Miaoguan became intrigued. She granted the maid’s wish and summoned her to serve at court. Later, this maid became the right-hand woman Qin Miaoguan personally cultivated, supporting her frail body and helping her become a ruler who brought peace and order to the realm. Qin Miaoguan once asked if she wanted anything. Tang Sheng merely pecked her on the brow and softly replied, “What you seek is exactly what I seek.” “I don’t want to become your empress. I only want to see every woman under heaven harbor boundless ambition in her eyes.” [Want to save this upcoming novel?] My next novel will be The CEO Only Wants to Donate Her Fortune. Find it in my author profile. I’m begging you to add it to your favorites! Blurb: At sixteen, Shen Shishan was planning to drop out of school when she met a young woman. The woman wore a shirt and glasses. Her refined, bookish elegance stood out in the dusty, dilapidated train station. Shen Shishan waved the lodging flyer in her hand, held a plastic bag full of assorted drinks, and hurried straight toward her. During the brief week they spent together, the woman listened to her confide, went herb-gathering with her, and taught her to read... When she left, all she gave Shen Shishan was a letter promising financial support for her education. The woman was gone, but Shen Shishan could not forget her. She could not forget the sight of the woman’s pale, slender arms as she tied up her hair in front of the cramped bamboo house, nor the clear, cool gaze she turned on her. Water dripped into the wooden basin, and into Shen Shishan’s heart. Determined to see her again, Shen Shishan gritted her teeth, swallowed her reluctance, and went back to school. She kept studying for six years. Shen Shishan grew up trying to become like the woman in her memories, but she never saw her again. Not until an interview, years later. Shen Shishan opened the door and saw the elegant woman in the seat of honor, adjusting her glasses as she read through some documents. At the sound, the woman capped her fountain pen, raised her eyes, and looked at Shen Shishan with that same clear, cool gaze. Just as she remembered. Philanthropic entrepreneur & special education teacher Theme: Take care to eat well and live well. Good health to you, me, and her.