The Laid-Back Consort Yi's Busy Days Raising Kids in the Qing Dynasty

Pre-release: Her Late Husband Has Come Back from the Dead

Yang Weimo, a modern forensic anthropologist, transmigrates to the Da Li dynasty after an accident and becomes Yang Weimo, the daughter of a merchant family born to a concubine.

Unlike in the novel, although Yang Weimo is a concubine-born daughter, her parents dote on her, and her siblings get along well.

Her only trouble is that the high fever that nearly killed her in her previous life terrified the Yang family so much that they arranged a marriage for her to bring her good fortune:

Her betrothed is named Gu Qu'an.

He is a scholar, brilliant and gifted, like the star of literature made flesh.

At just fourteen, he passed the provincial examination and went to Yun Jing for the metropolitan examination, but never returned.

Now Yang Weimo is nearly seventeen, and there is still no word from Gu Qu'an.

People outside the family all say that after passing the provincial examination, Gu Qu'an climbed the social ladder and found a better match. Rumors are flying everywhere, but the Yang family has been unable to find out what happened.

Just then, word arrives from Dayang County: while suppressing bandits, they found Gu Qu'an's bones. It turns out he was murdered on the road to the capital, and the county has sent someone to identify the body.

Yang Weimo is delighted. Widowed without the pain of losing a husband? Such a wonderful thing really exists in this world!!! So she packs her things and heads straight to Dayang County to claim her newly acquired status as a widow.

But fate has other plans. A heavy rain traps her in a mountain temple, where she meets Shen Pingyuan, the young and promising Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.

A forensic anthropologist and a case-solving expert: together, they're a perfect match.

The remains of an old acquaintance, now reduced to bones, draw them into a conspiracy that spans decades. The bones in Yun Jing, a massacre and extermination of a family, a boy in a ditch... Little by little, they edge closer to the truth, and to danger, while also growing closer to each other's hearts.

There's just one lingering doubt in Yang Weimo's heart: why does Lord Shen look a little like her awful late husband? Could she really be about to lose her widow status?

Story blurb: Guo Yi, a comic artist who loves to procrastinate until the deadline is right on top of her, is pulling an all-nighter to finish a manuscript when she transmigrates into the body of Guoluoluo Shi in the eighteenth year of Kangxi's reign, becoming Consort Yi, the consort most favored by Emperor Kangxi.

The experiences of those who came before her have taught her that there are two paths ahead. First, work herself to the bone, fight her way up the ranks, and ultimately become the most powerful woman in the harem, adored above three thousand beauties. Second, lie flat and do nothing: if the wind stirs, let her enemies make the first move; she won't budge. She can eat and drink her way to a happy ending.

Guo Yi decisively chooses the second path. She clings to her son, avoids making the future Yongzheng Emperor angry and suffering a miserable old age, then lies flat for good. All she wants is a complete and happy life. There's just one problem: the place she's lying down is a little uncomfortable...

Why are you treating corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes as ornamental plants?

Why are glass mirrors so expensive?

Why are captured firearms just left to rot in the warehouse?

What a waste! Guo Yi rolls up her sleeves. Come on, my son, get moving!

And so Kangxi hears his most beloved Consort Yi say to her son, "The people are going hungry because the court hasn't done its job."

Kangxi: ??? Is he not doing enough? He personally oversees agricultural breeding research! Just as he is about to push open the door and scold her, he hears her say, "Rice and wheat aren't the only way. We should visit different places and see if there are higher-yield crops we can promote."

Kangxi nods. That does seem to make sense. But how did she come up with all this?

Then he hears her say, "It's not just the crops. We should also check whether the soil is fertile enough and whether people are planting properly. Look at the flowers in the imperial garden. They don't bloom well if they're planted too early or too late, and different flowers produce fruit in different sizes and quantities."

So that's how it is! Kangxi suddenly understands. He turns and orders Liang Jiugong to summon people for a meeting to discuss how to innovate in agriculture. Before he has gone far, he hears Consort Yi say, "You're not just the son of your parents. You're also a prince of Great Qing. In the future, you must always put Great Qing first. Only when the realm stands firm can it prosper for generations to come."

!!! Excellent! Consort Yi's noble spirit sets an example for all the women of the imperial harem. Deeply moved, Kangxi leaves. From then on, he develops a new hobby: eavesdropping on Consort Yi.

But he walks away too quickly to hear her next words: "So stop joining your brothers in keeping an eye on the throne beneath your father's backside. Make more money instead, so that when I come visit your residence someday, I can enjoy a comfortable life too."

One day, Guo Yi realizes that not only is her son working himself to the bone, but Kangxi also keeps coming by every few days to ask, "Have you thought of anything else today? Tell me about it."

Guo Yi is horrified. Has Emperor Kangxi made her work herself to the bone too?

Bonus scene: Yunsi and Yunsui clench their tiny fists. "Today is another day of working hard so Mother can enjoy a comfortable life!!!"

Reader's Guide:

1. Updated daily, six thousand characters.

2. This story includes some historical figures, but the plot is entirely fictional. If that bothers you, please think twice before reading.

3. The court politics are not intended to be a tale of scheming. They simply describe the people and circumstances the children face.

4. There will be bonus scenes. I'm worried the author's notes might get too long, so I haven't set up one-click thanks for everyone who sends watering items or gift rewards. But I'm truly grateful. Mwah~~

Theme: Have a broader perspective when you do things.