Empress Xiaoyi Chun (Qing Dynasty Transmigration)

[The blurb may still change. I'll use this version for now.]

Shanhu's first formal audience with Empress Xiaoxian took place in the summer of the eighth year of the Qianlong reign.

The empress sat in a pavilion and cheerfully said to the head gardener, "I've heard she speaks about flowers and plants with such expertise. Have her come back to Changchun Palace with me today."

Before she knew it, Shanhu had been brought to Changchun Palace. Princess Hejing, a little over ten years old, and fourteen-year-old Shanhu hit it off wonderfully. With Empress Xiaoxian's blessing, they often climbed trees to catch birds and waded into the water to catch fish.

She never had to do a day's work. All she had to do was listen to the empress tell her and the princess strange stories and teach them, hand over hand, how to draw a bow and shoot arrows. In those days, Changchun Palace was a carefree paradise to Shanhu.

That lasted until the winter of the twelfth year of the Qianlong reign, when Prince Yongcong of the First Rank, posthumously titled Min, died. Overcome with grief, Empress Xiaoxian passed away the following year.

Shanhu knelt by the bed, tears streaming down her face. The empress gently held her hand and said with regret, "I thought I would always be able to protect you..."

Shanhu, originally named Wei Jin, was a bondservant of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Manchu Eight Banners, and the daughter of Wei Qingtai, an official in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

She was also the first Han Chinese empress in Qing history.

[Reading Guide]

1. The heroine is ambitious and competitive, and does not have a strong sense of morality.

2. The story differs substantially from historical records. It is a fictionalized unofficial history, so please don't scrutinize it too closely.

3. An important supporting character transmigrates and has a strong presence. Please don't read if that's not your thing.

Theme: Your fate is in your own hands.