The Most Powerful Insider in the Harem

This story has strayed from the sweet romance I originally wanted to write, as well as the idea that you and I were fated to meet only because I spent money. It's turned into a melodramatic palace-intrigue story full of power struggles, and the more I write, the heavier it gets. I've been dragging it out word by word, and I really can't continue. I'll post the remaining 70,000 words of my backlog all at once. If you still like my writing, please check out my upcoming novel, The Lazy Beauty Forced to Become Empress. I plan to build up a bit of a backlog next month, which should be September, or October at the latest, and start writing again.

Yan Zhi transmigrates as the only daughter of the richest man in the Great Qi dynasty. She has peerless beauty, and the dazzling, elegant top scholar loves her, as does the second master of the Duke's mansion, and the heir of the Marquis's household...

He, he, and they all love her. But because they look down on her family's humble status, they only intend to take her as a concubine. Offering her the title of "noble" is already an act of great favor.

They use their power to threaten her and sweet words to coax her, all so she will bring a vast dowry with her.

Yan Zhi refuses. No amount of power can make her bow, but with nowhere else to turn, she ends up entering the palace as a low-ranking concubine. At first, she wants to win the emperor's favor and become empress. Only the empress is a legitimate wife, after all, and she's a veteran of countless palace-intrigue stories with a Palace Intrigue System at her disposal... But strangely, the harder she tries, the more misfortune she encounters. The emperor is moody and unpredictable, and sometimes he even fixes her with a sinister stare.

At last, she gives up and lies flat. But the emperor she's been trying to win over won't have it. He grabs her by the waist, eyes red, and kisses her, then even dismisses the entire harem for her?!

Although she transmigrated, Yan Zhi is even more old-fashioned than the people of ancient times. Knowing full well that this could never be an offhand remark, she stares at him, bewildered. "Your Majesty, what's gotten into you?"

Well, it wasn't exactly a good deal.

Upcoming novel: I Became Invincible as a Mortal by Cooking

Gu Yan never expected that playing a game would somehow send her right into it.

Her best friend had recommended the game to her. Gu Yan had only read its official introduction, which described the three-lifetime love story between a God of War from the Celestial Realm and a little princess. They traveled from heaven to the mortal world, then back to heaven, changing from god to demon and then from demon back to god. Their love was passionate, and nothing grew wherever they went. Well, how else could the twists and turns of the plot and the hard-won nature of their love be conveyed without putting them through a little angst?

Luckily, she didn't transmigrate as the little princess destined for a tragic romance. She transmigrated as an inconspicuous consort in the palace during the God of War's mortal trial as a tyrant. Unfortunately, the original owner had just offended the tyrant and was loudly begging for mercy. The next moment, he was going to find her annoying and have her executed.

Newly transmigrated, Gu Yan stayed silent as a chicken, trembling with fear.

The tyrant seemed satisfied enough and demoted her to the Cold Palace.

A hellish start. The original owner was a mortal with no spiritual roots, and even after transmigrating, Gu Yan still couldn't cultivate immortality and beat up the tyrant. Luckily, she had also brought along a game System that let her earn points by cooking. As usual, she put all the points into her constitution. After all, if you live long enough, anything is possible.

The Cold Palace was wonderful. She even found a little one there to look after her in her old age. Gu Yan was perfectly content to lie flat in peace.

After a while, having her usual three meals a day plus a midnight snack, and feeling the heat in summer and cold in winter, Gu Yan looked up in surprise. "Whoa, how did I become invincible?"

*

The tyrant had been feeling rather troubled lately. Something had gone wrong with his cultivation technique, and the infant soul inside him kept running off every few days.

One day, the tyrant finally caught the infant soul in the Cold Palace. He saw the little thing leaning weakly against a woman, claiming to be his child and smiling sweetly at him.

The tyrant sensed the threat and laughed in anger.

Later, the tyrant, who had come around, tried every trick to kick the infant soul out of the house. He even pretended to be righteous, claiming he was sending it away to deal with the visitors from the Celestial Realm. That night, the tyrant, banished to sleep in the study, stood by the door and begged in a low voice, "A Yan, I was wrong. Open the door and let me in first. Punish me however you like..."

P.S. This is fake. At first, the male lead is heartless and unfeeling, half god and half demon, and loves no one. Later, he becomes a hopeless romantic.

The cover is used with permission. The copyright is non-exclusive, so any similarities are purely coincidental.

Theme: Money can't buy love. Love requires equality and respect.