The Empress, Who Died Young, Has Returned

Blurb:

Su Qingyuan always thought that although her life was short, she had no regrets.

Everyone praised Su Qingyuan for her flawless beauty and gentle nature, saying no one could resist her kindness. Yet Prince Xuan broke off his engagement to her. While everyone watched for the drama, she turned around and married the Ninth Prince, born to a lowly palace maid. A year later, the Ninth Prince ascended the throne, Su Qingyuan became empress, and he cherished her like a precious jewel.

While Su Qingyuan was alive, the imperial harem was peaceful and harmonious. Even the most arrogant and domineering concubine behaved meekly before her and called her “Elder Sister.” The other concubines were even more well-behaved. Whenever little quarrels arose, Su Qingyuan soothed them with care.

When Su Qingyuan was dying, the only person she couldn't bear to leave behind was her crown prince. Putting on the frail, pitiful face of a sickly beauty, she gently urged the emperor, who was sobbing uncontrollably: “Take good care of Tannu.”

The throne must belong to the crown prince.

Once the emperor promised, Su Qingyuan promptly let go and died.

Twelve years later, Su Qingyuan woke up in an ice coffin, only to discover that the imperial harem had descended into chaos.

The Noble Consort was domineering, the concubines competed for favor, royal offspring were harmed, and acts of insubordination ran rampant.

As for the emperor, under the pretense of mourning her, he found a stand-in for her and spent his days watching the drama unfold. For this substitute, he even had Su Qingyuan's crown prince placed under house arrest, where the palace servants bullied him in every way.

Anger appeared on Su Qingyuan's usually gentle face.

She returned to the palace and took back the empress's throne, which the substitute had regarded as hers for the taking. As for Tannu, the crown prince, she would no longer leave him in the emperor's hands. She would raise him herself and soothe the pain he'd suffered all these years.

The people of the harem stopped competing for the emperor's favor, too. Instead, they all went to visit the empress and gathered around Su Qingyuan, fussing over her.

The substitute concubine tried the same old tricks, but could no longer win the emperor's pity. All she got was, “You're just an inferior imitation.”

The emperor, meanwhile, stood nervously outside the empress's chambers and called humbly, “Yuanyuan, let me in.”

The true white-moonlight empress: beautiful and gentle, but clever and capable.

Su Qingyuan's priorities: herself > Crown Prince Tannu > ... > the emperor

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