A Lady Official's Survival Guide in the Imperial Court

[Laid-back, innocent heroine x scheming career-driven man] Mild everyone-loves-her vibes / stealing someone’s love / romantic battlefield

[Blurb]

They say that in the Wei dynasty, there was a female official serving at the emperor’s court. She was stunningly beautiful and composed, and had joined the court at a young age, quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Yet everyone was convinced she’d risen through the ranks on her looks alone.

The aloof and otherworldly Lord Shiling made an exception for her. The legitimate son of Duke He, a notorious playboy, gave up his wild ways for her. Even the cold, solitary prince treated her differently.

The rumors spread far and wide. In Luoyang’s bookshops, people even wrote popular tales about her. Every day, teahouses and taverns sang songs and spun stories about how this female official worked her way among the powerful, and how formidable her tactics were.

Then one day, Fan Yin tried to sneak out early among the palace staff leaving the palace. A friend came over and told her all the rumors.

Fan Yin stared blankly, pointing at herself. “...Me?”

Fan Yin was a female official who just wanted to lie flat and live like a carefree drifter.

But her career was going too well, and she had too many influential patrons. She couldn’t lie flat.

She tried pretending to be sick, defying imperial orders, and asking for a transfer, but her luck was so good that every attempt backfired in just the right way, and she climbed all the way to the Lantai.

Just when she thought she’d spend the rest of her life in the eye of the storm, someone told her, “Work for me. You won’t have to deal with those old schemers in the bureaucracy or watch out for hidden attacks, and you’ll get paid twice your usual salary.”

Fan Yin thought it over. It sounded like a good deal, so she agreed.

After a while of comfortable living, that person shook her awake one day and calmly said:

“I’ve seized the throne.”

Fan Yin: “?”

[Reading Guide]

The plot is set up in the early chapters and gets going around chapter twenty.

It’s a sweet romance, with plenty of melodrama. It’s set in an alternate world with many creative liberties, so please don’t nitpick the details.

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"Questions at the Fallen Lantern Studio"

[Naturally airheaded, absent-minded beauty x feudal patriarch, fake-benevolent emperor]

[Blurb]

For the first eighteen years of her life, Shen Yunyu followed every rule to the letter.

She never stepped out of line, and never spoke out of turn.

She began her studies at seven, came of age at fifteen, and was betrothed at sixteen. She married her childhood sweetheart. They weren’t exactly inseparable after the wedding, but they treated each other with mutual respect. The only problem was that after three years of marriage, they still had no children.

Her mother-in-law was growing impatient and urged her to visit a temple to pray to Guanyin, the goddess of childbirth.

In the incense-filled Buddhist hall, she knelt with her eyes closed for a long time, feeling lost and unable to put her thoughts into words.

Then a soft laugh sounded behind her:

“Praying to Guanyin for a child?”

Shen Yunyu’s heart tightened. She didn’t dare say a word. Footsteps drew closer, and he leaned over her. His shadow fell heavily across her, enveloping her completely.

“Why not come and ask me instead?”

“What do you think, my...”

“niece-in-law.”

Theme: For the good of the nation, I would give my life without hesitation.