Geng Nianshuang and her cousin grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and were betrothed when they were young.
She married him after coming of age. On their wedding night, the previous emperor died without an heir.
As the closest blood relative among the imperial clan, her cousin was chosen as the heir and ascended the throne.
She had not yet been favored by him, but she became empress all the same.
She also became a thorn in the side and a pain in the neck of those whose way she blocked.
After years without a child, she was accused of jealousy and misconduct, and deposed.
Bearing a grudge, she cursed the emperor and was demoted to the lowest position in the palace, a laundry servant.
Her youth passed in vain, and the man she once knew was gone, yet she never shed a tear.
She simply waited, coldly watching for the downfall of this wicked, faithless, and unjust ruler.
The foolish emperor favored petty men and distanced himself from worthy ministers, and the realm duly descended into chaos.
Princes and rebel armies rose up all over the land.
In the end, Lin Ruhai, who had once been a beggar and a monk, gathered the various rebel forces and stormed the capital.
He set fire to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, broke into the palace, and took the emperor, empress, empress dowager, and princesses prisoner.
He killed the eunuchs who had caused the chaos and beheaded the corrupt officials.
A commoner ascended the throne and became the new emperor.
Geng Nianshuang knew her chance had come.
She carefully plotted and seduced the new emperor, Lin Ruhai, who had risen from the ranks of the common people.
Lin Ruhai did indeed like her, and insisted on making her empress despite all opposition.
The ministers were aghast and knelt to remonstrate: "The empress is the mother of the nation. This concerns the dignity of the state, and the title must not be bestowed lightly."
Lin Ruhai glared at them: "I used to be a beggar and ask for food! If I say she’s worthy, then she’s worthy!"
His adoptive mother advised him in a trembling voice: "This woman was once deposed as empress by Emperor Hongping. If Your Majesty likes her, you can make her a consort."
Lin Ruhai was delighted. "So Nian Nian used to be an empress? All the better. The second time around will be even easier!"
A trusted confidant privately counseled him: "The empress is a woman of deep schemes. She may interfere in state affairs through the inner palace."
Lin Ruhai swept his sleeve. "The empress and I are a match made in heaven. We cannot defy fate."
What he called fate was, in fact, the result of her painstaking efforts.
She had originally planned to take revenge and then withdraw, but unexpectedly Lin Ruhai bound her to him with the title of empress.
Geng Nianshuang was caught between a rock and a hard place. Would she have to keep pretending for the rest of her life?
Lin Ruhai was full of ambition: With a wife, and a chubby baby on the way, life would be complete!
Theme: Only after the great waves wash away the sand does the gold emerge
