After Molding the Crown Prince, I Resigned from Office

The 8,000-word bonus chapters are now available. A 60% subscription rate is required to unlock them.

Please add my next novel, "My Lord, You Mustn't Climb Into the Phoenix Bed," to your reading list. Sending love!

Jiang Yuzhu disguises herself as a man and takes her brother's place in the imperial examinations. Not only does she come top of the list, she also makes it to the palace examination.

She calmly tells herself: Don't panic. I'll just cause a scene in front of the throne!

Unexpectedly, during the palace examination, Prince Heng launches a coup. By a twist of fate, Jiang Yuzhu saves the old emperor's life.

The old emperor's eyes fill with tears as he clasps her hand. "Scholar Jiang, you are brilliant, wise, and brave. From now on, you'll be the Crown Prince's tutor!"

Jiang Yuzhu looks at the rebel corpses sprawled across the golden steps, then at the Crown Prince, standing there with a precious sword in hand and a cold, handsome face.

Well... Your Majesty, are you sure this isn't repaying my kindness with harm?

Everyone knows that when the Crown Prince was born, the heavens foretold the dynasty's fall. Bowing to public pressure, the emperor sent the swaddled prince to the bitterly cold far north, leaving him to fend for himself.

A man raised in such a desperate place has bones tempered in ice and blood brewed from cold liquor. The first thing he does upon returning victorious to the capital is cut out the Imperial Astronomical Bureau director's tongue.

Faced with such a cold-blooded Crown Prince, Jiang Yuzhu tells herself: Don't panic. The heir-to-the-throne reform plan starts now!

The plan goes smoothly. The man once steeped in bloodlust, who made civil and military officials tremble with fear, becomes a gracious, virtuous Crown Prince who treats worthy people with respect.

Jiang Yuzhu nods in satisfaction and prepares to submit her resignation to the Crown Prince.

That day, he pins her against the window. His gaze is deep and mysterious as his long fingers trace her limpid eyes, delicate nose, and crimson lips, before coming to rest on the jade clasp at her neck. His voice is as rich as fine wine.

"Tutor, you are always advising me to treat others with propriety. Today, I will certainly treat you with all due propriety..."

Only then does Jiang Yuzhu realize: Wait, the Crown Prince isn't talking about showing respect to his teacher. He's talking about... damn it, the forbidden love between a man and a man!

Faced with a student devoted to her, she grits her teeth and tells herself: Don't panic. I'll just pretend to be a man and a woman!

Later, Jiang Yuzhu finds a chance to fake her death and start over. Standing in a corner of the mourning hall, she watches the Crown Prince approach step by step. Looking desolate, he lays a hand on his "elder brother's" coffin and suddenly vomits blood...

For the first time, Jiang Yuzhu thinks... maybe she should panic!

One true pairing, happy ending

Please add my next novel, "My Lord, You Mustn't Climb Into the Phoenix Bed," to your reading list. Sending love!

Chu Yueyuan is beautiful, with a slender waist and rounded hips. She is the second most beautiful woman in Qi.

The most beautiful is her half-sister.

The sisters share similar tastes and compete for everything.

The good news is that her sister, known as the most beautiful woman, catches the old emperor's eye at once and is made his Noble Consort.

The bad news is that after giving the old emperor his only son, her sister dies.

Soon, Chu Yueyuan is brought into the palace. On the wedding night of the emperor and empress, Prince Shu kills the old emperor with a single sword stroke.

On the dragon-and-phoenix canopy bed, Chu Yueyuan watches Prince Shu approach with a sinister grin, trembling as she grips the golden phoenix hairpin hidden in her sleeve.

The next moment, blood seeps from Prince Shu's chest, and he silently collapses at Chu Yueyuan's feet.

When she looks up, she sees a man with a gaze as cold as ice.

Although the Prince of Zhenbei arrives too late to save the emperor, he manages to protect the young Crown Prince. He becomes Qi's regent, while Chu Yueyuan becomes the youngest empress dowager in the kingdom.

After weathering countless storms, Chu Yueyuan, a powerless child empress dowager, wants only to live in peace. Then she uncovers a shocking secret.

The late emperor suffered from an illness that made it impossible for him to father children.

Which raises the question: whose child did her sister leave behind?

Chu Yueyuan remembers that her sister once had a beloved man she could never have, the very regent she now goes out of her way to avoid.

Once suspicion takes root, she secretly studies the man's refined features, straight nose, and abstinent lips in the Imperial Study... The more she looks, the more alike they seem.

"What is Your Majesty the Empress Dowager looking at?"

The man's deep, rich voice makes Chu Yueyuan's ears turn red.

After several attempts to sound him out, Chu Yueyuan finally works up her courage. She lightly tugs at the dragon-embroidered sleeve and asks in a small voice, "My lord Pei, do you... want a child?"

Later, Chu Yueyuan realizes she has made a huge mistake. She can only turn her attention to the officials at court, using her and her sister's similar taste to test the eligible young men one by one.

Today, she invites the handsome young Vice Minister of Revenue to play chess. Tomorrow, she summons the refined new top scholar to share a pot of tea.

That night, the regent forcibly traps her on the phoenix bed. His gaze is dark and his voice hoarse. "Didn't Your Majesty want a child? I can give you one."

Chu Yueyuan: ...My lord Pei, this misunderstanding has gotten way out of hand.

From the male lead's perspective:

At first, Pei Muwei simply keeps the little empress dowager like a caged songbird. This beautiful bird will circle around him, singing sweetly, charming and alluring, intent on pleasing only him.

He thinks, the inner palace is lonely. There's no harm in letting the little empress dowager have a child.

Later, he realizes that the little empress dowager is a bird of paradise who flirts with everyone, spreading her magnificent tail feathers and smiling brightly at each and every person.

How could he tolerate her smiling at anyone else...

Theme: As long as there is light in your heart, you won't fear the darkness.