My Fifth Year Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger in the Cold Palace

Also known as: Falling in love with the stone-faced emperor who swaps bodies with me every night

[Cold young emperor x sweet, pampered discarded consort]

In the ninth year since the farm girl Su Mo began swapping bodies with the emperor, she thinks she has the upper hand over him.

She never expected the high-ranking official father who abandoned her to suddenly come looking for her, planning to send her into the palace to die in place of her younger sister. What? Don't you know the emperor and I have been childhood friends for ages? Surely he wouldn't make things difficult for me. You scumbag of a father, just wait for your death!

Rumor has it that the current emperor is cruel, tyrannical, and utterly devoid of humanity. When he announces a selection of consorts, the whole country is thrown into panic. Families with daughters of marriageable age flee overnight. At the most critical moment, Minister Su steps forward and declares that he is willing to send his legitimate daughter into the palace.

As everyone breathes a sigh of relief, they also pity Miss Su. Her father sold her off after she had barely enjoyed a few days of comfort. In gratitude for her having saved their own young daughters, the people silently pray that she will survive a few years in the tyrant's hands, and that she won't have such a miserable fate in her next life.

-

In these nine years, Su Mo and the young emperor have met only twice.

The first time, after her family passed away, Su Mo traveled a thousand miles to Luo Jing and held him as she cried all night.

The second time, Su Mo was kidnapped. He rushed to Jiangnan without stopping, day or night, and rescued her from pirates at sea.

This time, Su Mo enters the palace in high spirits, ready to catch up with him openly. But the young man's growth seems to have taken a strange turn. Wearing the emperor's bright yellow robes, he looks down at her from his imperial carriage and declares, "The Su clan has committed treason. From this day on, she is to be confined in the Cold Palace."

Where no one can see, Su Mo's mouth twitches. She thinks to herself that the rascal is far too good at acting.

-

That night, the emperor visits the Cold Palace. With great disdain, he lifts a corner of the straw mat. "These dog servants are really good at currying favor. Are they trying to freeze me to death?"

Su Mo watches the seconds tick by. The moment they swap bodies, she excitedly raises a wine cup. "Come, let's toast our Great Yan Dynasty's first emperor to live in the Cold Palace!"

In the fifth year, a young eunuch sees the discarded consort boldly pinning the emperor's hands down, while the emperor, completely unlike his usual self, acts delicate and weak, even letting out little moans.

That night, Yan Mu angrily presses her (himself) down onto the imperial desk, which is covered with memorials. "Have you acted so much that you believe your own performance? How about we let those old fossils see just how deeply devoted I am to the discarded consort in the Cold Palace?"

* The leads are the same age, and both are each other's first.

* The highest level of romance is falling in love with yourself.

* A story about childhood friends, an emperor and his consort, who seem distant but are actually in perfect sync as they work together to break through their predicament.

Theme: Always look ahead, no matter what