Who could stay in the palace and not go mad?
[Warning: Most characters in this book may not be in a very good state of mind.]
In the twenty-second year of the Liang Kingdom, the emperor died and the Crown Princess ascended the throne.
The new emperor was only sixteen, handsome, with a face like a peach blossom.
She seemed indecisive, yet she wielded power with an iron fist!
In only two years, she purged the remaining opposition, rooted out corrupt officials, and solved problems with irrigation and people's livelihoods.
Her ministers hailed her as the Purple Star descended from heaven, a true dragon among mortals.
The people spread tales of her deeds, built statues and temples in her honor, and bowed to their wise ruler.
The realm was at peace, and all was well.
Except in a dark, secret corner of the Daming Palace, the little emperor had gone mad.
Jiang Yuxi was hailed as a wise ruler, but there were two things for which she had wronged the world.
First, none of those achievements were hers.
Second, the Great Liang Dynasty was doomed!
Yet on the day the old emperor died, while the outside world was turned upside down, the inner palace was entirely peaceful.
Not a single eunuch or palace maid mourned the late emperor. They all rushed to the empress's palace to congratulate her on carrying out her grand plan: from now on, the Qin family would rule the realm.
The little emperor ascended the throne in a daze.
Her Majesty the Emperor's daily work was to read aloud the memorials written by the empress dowager, pretend to listen to the ministers' opinions, and then smile at them in approval.
Her Majesty the Emperor couldn't even decide what to eat each day. She had to follow that woman's vegetarian diet and prayers, and was forced to drink two cups of milk every day.
Her Majesty the Emperor had become a puppet.
And Her Majesty the Emperor knew that, as an ignorant ruler doing everything herself, she would still be nowhere near as capable as that woman.
As the realm that didn't belong to her grew more and more prosperous, the little emperor's desire to reclaim her power only grew more sinful.
Day after day, she sighed in despair, overwhelmed with sorrow.
At last, the little emperor went mad.
The empress dowager held power over the court, and everyone in the inner palace thought Qin Jinlan was the biggest winner.
She was born to a poor family, yet possessed the talent of a top scholar.
She entered the palace as a selection candidate, yet had a heart broad enough to embrace the world.
She hated scheming, yet understood the intrigues of the court inside and out.
Everyone thought she had seized imperial power and was living freely.
But in a dark, secret corner of the Cining Palace, the empress dowager had gone mad too.
She had wanted to be a consort who fought for nothing and lived out her days in peace, but the emperor, who favored men, forced her to wear the phoenix crown.
She had wanted to be an empress who stayed out of worldly affairs, but the consorts and concubines insisted on dragging her into their bitter rivalry!
At last, she outlived the emperor and hoped to enjoy her old age in peace, but the soon-to-be-crowned young princess was an idiot, ignorant of statecraft and unable to understand poetry or books!
Her own brother schemed against her, and she thanked him for it. People insulted her to her face, and she couldn't even understand, just sitting there grinning foolishly.
There was no helping it. To protect the great realm, she had to become a usurping villain herself. Once the princess could stand on her own, then...
The sky fell. The little emperor didn't want to stand on her own anymore.
The little emperor began clinging to her every day, trying to win her favor!
At first, Qin Jinlan thought Jiang Yuxi was enduring humiliation, biding her time.
Only later did she realize that this good-for-nothing was just building a good relationship in advance, so that when Qin Jinlan deposed her, she might still spare her life.
Strange scenes played out in the inner palace again and again.
The empress dowager handled state affairs, while the emperor warmed her bed.
The empress dowager worked herself ragged, and the emperor told her, "Sister, you work so hard."
The empress dowager, furious at her lack of ambition, called her useless. The emperor slammed the table and angrily ate three roasted sweet potatoes!
At last, the empress dowager went mad too.
It's good to be mad. Let everyone go mad.
Who could stay in the palace and not go mad?
[The thoroughly checked-out, airheaded little emperor x the politically indifferent, unwillingly hardworking empress dowager] (tentative)
Theme: Stand on your own and build a brighter future!
