Many a Treacherous Minister Beneath the Empress Dowager’s Skirts

[My new story next door is now available. Come give it a try.] Qin Banruo spent eleven years navigating the imperial harem. At last, at the age of twenty-five, she became the most powerful Empress Dowager in the empire. The new emperor was obedient and respectful, paying his respects every day and treating her with all the honor and deference she could ask for. The young monk who had recently arrived to chant sutras was handsome and useful, too, and helped ease the nightmares that plagued her long nights. But her good fortune didn't last. That unfilial son dragged the young monk right out of her bed and beat him to death. Qin Banruo was so furious her face turned deathly pale. She slapped him hard, then turned and left the palace. She stayed away for three months, returning just in time for the birthday banquet of the late emperor's legitimate princess. Qin Banruo had only meant to get out and clear her head, but she accidentally took a liking to a white-robed musician. Young, handsome, gentle, and refined. She had only been distracted for a moment, yet that very night he was delivered to her bed. Qin Banruo naturally didn't turn down her subordinates' kindness. She hadn't expected the musician to be so handsome, or so good in bed. With a thin layer of mermaid silk veiling her eyes, everything blurred together, and Qin Banruo felt as if she were seeing the late emperor again. A few days later, the new emperor came after her and asked her to oversee his wedding. He didn't say anything about the musician. He simply lowered his head, admitted his mistake, and begged her to return to the palace. She had raised the boy herself, after all. A few stern words would be enough. The imperial wedding went smoothly, and Qin Banruo thought it was time to step aside and retire. But when she woke up, she heard nine bells ringing together: the Empress Dowager had died. The new emperor sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze lowered and shadowed as he quietly laid bare all his thoughts. Qin Banruo stared at him for a long while, then said hoarsely, “Absurd.” “Absurd?” the man repeated. His gaze slowly traveled from her face downward, sharp as a blade, as if it could cut her open. At last, it settled on the pale, delicate calf exposed beneath her disheveled clothes. He asked softly, “How is it absurd?” He seemed to smile. His fingers lightly touched her leg, stroking it back and forth with a tenderness that seemed entirely out of place. His tone was so unhurried it sounded almost careless. “Is it more absurd than you, Mother?” Reader's guide: 1. The author revises constantly, so the official and pirated versions are completely different. For the best reading experience, and to help the author earn enough for electricity while writing, please support the official version! Thank you so much. 2. The female lead has had no previous sexual partners; the male lead has. She sleeps with the late emperor, Zhan Rang, Zhang Guanzhi, and others... The late emperor is not a virgin, while the other male leads and supporting male characters are. 3. Regarding the age gap: the female lead is seven years older than the male lead, and the late emperor is ten years older than her. He's called the old emperor, but he isn't actually old. 4. No romantic feelings are depicted while the male and female leads are in a mother-son relationship. 5. This is neither a strong female lead story nor a wish-fulfillment story. The focus is on the romantic push and pull. The female lead isn't perfect: she's flirtatious, pleasure-seeking, clear-eyed, and self-interested. A 200,000-character sweet treat. This is the next story I'll write. “Seeking Fragrance, Exploring Jade” Before Xixi turned seventeen, her three older brothers treated her like a princess. She could have anything she wanted, and if she asked for a star, they'd never give her the moon instead. But after she turned seventeen, everything changed. She said the top scholar was handsome, learned, and good-looking. Her eldest brother sneered. “All show on the outside, rotten within.” Her second brother's expression darkened as he murmured, “He's not the right man for my sister.” Her third brother rolled his eyes as if she were blind and said, “Looks good, but useless.” Unconvinced, Xixi turned her attention to the stern-faced general who had returned from the borderlands. He was a man of steel, upright and righteous. Nothing like those powdered-up young gentlemen in the capital. Her eldest brother didn't even look up. “His words and actions don't live up to his reputation. He's just a brute.” Her second brother's eyes softened, his voice full of concern. “The borderlands are bitterly cold, and the sandstorms blot out the sun. How could my sister stand it?” Her third brother was the most infuriating of all. “Oh, he's just a silver spear with a wax tip.” Xixi: ... Furious and humiliated, Xixi left the house to clear her head, but she was abducted by villains and forced to take an aphrodisiac. At the moment when her body was burning and her mind was hazy, a familiar warmth enveloped her. Xixi looked up at the man, but couldn't make out his face. Amid the storm, she heard his hoarse voice say, “Call me big brother.” “Big brother,” Xixi replied sweetly. And so he gave her exactly what she wanted. But once it was all over and her senses returned, Xixi realized there was a problem. Which of her brothers had she called “big brother” in her confusion? Note: The male and female leads are not blood-related from the beginning. Theme: Love can take a long time to recognize