The Empress Displays Her Grace

[Obsessive beauty x Daddy-like emperor] *A touch of healing* Chang Qingnian was the daughter of the prime minister, yet she grew up in a Taoist temple. Though her name meant "pure thoughts," she had never gone a moment without harboring evil thoughts. She hated her faithless birth father and her vicious stepmother. She hated that she had to scrape by just to survive, while her elder half-sister could marry Zhou Xuan in splendid style and become empress. She had heard that Zhou Xuan was gentle as jade, devoted to Heaven and caring toward his people, and hailed by all as a benevolent ruler. At Qinghuang Temple, Chang Qingnian wagered everything. With a cup of Jin Feng Lu, a potion that stirred desire, she lured Zhou Xuan, who had come to offer incense, into spending a night of passion with her. When her elder half-sister fell gravely ill, Chang Qingnian finally got her wish: her family sent her into the palace, where she became the second daughter of the Chang family to attend the emperor. In front of everyone, she timidly called him "brother-in-law." But in the instant their gazes met, only the two of them knew how they had been captivated by each other and lost themselves in passion that night at Qinghuang Temple. Later, Chang Qingnian gradually came to realize the danger Zhou Xuan posed. His gentleness was only a facade. Indifference was the emperor's true nature. But she had no way back. She could only tread on thin ice, pretending to be pure and kind. She guarded the secret of Jin Feng Lu with all her might and used the emperor's guilt to climb ever higher. Unexpectedly, Zhou Xuan was willing to resolve the hardships of her childhood and the long-standing feud she had endured, and to teach her how to destroy her enemies without bloodshed and strike at their hearts. - Later, when Chang Qingnian was already an Imperial Noble Consort, she leaned against the kang table and watched Zhou Xuan pour her a cup of hot tea with his own hands. Chang Qingnian smiled sweetly and asked, testing him, when he would make her empress. Zhou Xuan only watched her finish the tea. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth lifted, though there was not the slightest trace of a smile in his eyes. "This Jin Feng Lu is quite something..." Zhou Xuan leisurely lifted the lid of the teacup and glanced at the woman beside him, whose eyes were growing hazy. His tone was teasing: "Nian Nian, wouldn't you agree?" "I was already in love with you without any Jin Feng Lu." "You can keep it for yourself, little liar." - #He personally trained his sharp-spined little rose, only to find out she was a snake? # #He loves her even more after learning she's a little black rabbit# #An indifferent emperor and a scheming consort: the most perfect match in the world# - [Reading Guide] 1. The heroine is not kindhearted and her thoughts can be rather extreme. She changes somewhat later on, but not much. Readers with high moral standards should proceed with caution. 2. The age gap is 7-8 years. The emperor is not sexually inexperienced. After the heroine enters the palace, he favors her alone. One couple, happy ending. The leads fall in love; this is not a story about the heroine thriving alone. 3. The setting is fictional, with a hodgepodge of elements. Historical accuracy is not the point. - Theme: Only when the heart has cracks can the light shine in