After the Female Emperor Stole My Husband

Chao Rui, eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei, is sent to the Divine Capital as a hostage at the age of twelve, on the orders of the Empress, who fears the power of the Prince of Zhenbei.

During her eight years in the Divine Capital, Chao Rui is raised into a good-for-nothing.

Everyone in the Divine Capital looks down on Chao Rui, believing she is no good at either literature or martial arts, and has none of the bold spirit expected of the capital's daughters.

Even Chao Rui's betrothed looks down on her.

But their marriage was arranged when they were children. No matter how much the young man dislikes her, he will still have to marry Chao Rui.

On their wedding day, Chao Rui drinks the wine handed to her by the Empress and falls into a deep, groggy sleep.

When she wakes, she hears sounds outside her bridal chamber that she should never have heard.

The Empress has taken her husband on their wedding night.

After being caught, the Empress doesn't even blush. She merely pats Chao Rui's shoulder with feigned sympathy and says with a smile, "Chao Rui, your husband is quite something. I'll be visiting often from now on."

Chao Rui's husband, caught in the act, shows no shame at all. He taunts her: "You're a good-for-nothing anyway. Why shouldn't I attach myself to the wise and mighty Empress?"

From that day on, the Empress frequently visits Chao Rui's residence to discuss state affairs with her. At first, she comes once every three months, then once a month, and eventually she often summons Chao Rui's husband to the palace to pay his respects.

Stealing Chao Rui's husband would have been bad enough, but the Empress is also incompetent and tyrannical. She is suspicious of and suppresses her loyal ministers, and destroys Chao Rui's entire clan on trumped-up charges.

Reborn, Chao Rui vows to make the tyrant and everyone in the Divine Capital who looked down on her pay the price.

--

On a bright spring day, Chao Rui is ordered to escort Zhong Ming, heir to the Prince of Zhennan, who is about to marry the Empress as her second husband. He is dressed in flowing white, handsome and elegant, with an otherworldly air.

The instant their eyes meet, it is as if the world loses all its color.

A young man with such a distinguished family and an ethereal bearing, wasted on that Empress? What a shame.

On the night of their return to the capital, their wedding procession is attacked. Chao Rui takes Zhong Ming by the hand and flees with him.

At daybreak, Chao Rui grips him and refuses to let go. "Come with me."

Chao Rui expects him to refuse, but Zhong Ming answers without a moment's hesitation. "All right."

--

Months later, Chao Rui accompanies the Empress on a prayer pilgrimage, bringing along her ill-omened husband from home.

But even during prayers, the Empress won't behave. She insists that Chao Rui's husband attend her.

Late at night, Zhong Ming hides Chao Rui in a cramped space. Kneeling before her, his eyes red and dewy, he looks as wronged as a startled fawn in the woods. He clings to Chao Rui and sobs, "Young General, you once said you'd take me in. Are you abandoning me now?"

P.S. 1. Women can bear children! In this female-led world, women have higher social status, but the physical differences between men and women have not changed.

2. The ending is 1v1. Please note that the female lead is the founding Empress of the Chao imperial clan.

Some details in the story are the author's own inventions; the author reserves the right to explain them. This is a fictional setting. The background is the same as that of the author's other three completed Empress novels in her author column: they all take place in the female-led dynasty of the Divine Realm. You can read this without having read the earlier works.

This blurb was saved on 2022.11.11 on Weibo by Jinjiang Yimian Fengqing.

Theme: If you wait patiently, what is meant for you will come in time