The Empress's Exclusive Favor in the Pepper Chamber

[My sincerest apologies. I've been dealing with some serious problems at work and with my health lately. I'm waiting for the story to be automatically unlocked. Once things get a little better, I'll do my best to update it for free until it's finished.]

* Coming next: A novel about taking by force and regretting it too late, "The Fifth Year After I Was Banished to the Cold Palace"

The blurb is at the very end. If you're interested, you can visit my author page and add it to your favorites.

Miao Yi was a lone orphan, abandoned at a Buddhist temple and raised in the countryside.

It was only when a group of lavishly dressed maids came looking for her that Miao Yi learned she had noble blood flowing through her veins.

Her father's surname was Xie: the same Xie as the Empress Dowager's elder brother, and the same Xie as the Emperor's maternal uncle.

Unfortunately, her mother had been a courtesan.

Her mother had given her a bloodline that made her a laughingstock, along with a delicate, graceful beauty that seemed to transcend the mortal world.

So, during her year in the Xie household, Miao Yi suffered endless torment at the hands of her stepmother and elder half-sister.

And so, to win over an influential court official, the Xie family gave Miao Yi to him as a concubine. In the end, his principal wife tormented her to death.

Miao Yi didn't want to die, and she certainly didn't want to be a stepping stone for someone else's ambition.

So, when she was reborn on the day of the family banquet at the Xie residence, where her elder half-sister was to perform for the Emperor, Miao Yi slipped away from everyone and hid in the room prepared for him.

That night, heat filled the air. The gold-embroidered gauze curtains swayed softly, and the fragrance of night-blooming cereus on Miao Yi's body mingled with the scent of dragon's breath incense, creating a heady atmosphere.

Leaning close to the Emperor's ear, Miao Yi panted softly. "Your Majesty, my childhood name is... Mingyue Nu."

The Chronicle of Emperor Zhaowu records: His Majesty and the Empress were devoted to each other, sharing a bed and traveling side by side. He said, "With the bright moon shining on me, I never want to be apart from her."

*

The Xie family's legitimate daughter was performing for the Emperor as part of a "recommendation" that he understood perfectly well.

So that night, when the Emperor saw the woman in his room, ethereal as a moonlit fairy, he put on just the right display of amazement and infatuation.

After all, any Xie daughter would do.

The Emperor, who had planned for every contingency, never imagined that on countless nights to come, he would kiss the tiny pale-red mole on her chest again and again, asking the same question each time.

"If I hadn't gone to the Xie residence that night, whose room would the Empress have entered?"

Reader's Guide:

1. A cool, resilient little fox * a laid-back, scheming great tiger

2. An unconventional palace-intrigue story. The male lead is not a virgin, and there is an 11-year age gap between the leads.

3. The male lead doesn't love anyone at first, but later devotes himself exclusively to her.

4. The setting is fictional, with inspiration from the Eastern Han and Wei-Jin periods. Historical research is not rigorous.

[Blurb written on August 14, 2025]

Character card thanks: mhs·d Carbon-Grilled Soy Milk b

[The following is a chart of the ranks. Although the setting is fictional, the general background is the Eastern Han period. At that time, neither the official system nor the consort system had yet developed a ranking system based on grades. Salaries, measured in grain, were generally used to determine rank. Since there were few ranks in this period, I've blended in a few elements from other dynasties.]

Ranks:

Empress (the nation's sovereign consort)

Ji (2) (rank equivalent to a chancellor, title equivalent to a feudal prince)

Consort (4) (rank equivalent to a senior minister, title equivalent to a marquis)

Noble Concubine (6) (rank equivalent to one of the Three Excellencies)

Nine Concubines (9, one at each rank) (rank equivalent to a full 2,000-bushel official, title equivalent to a Marquis of Guannei)

Jieyu (12) (rank equivalent to a full 2,000-bushel official)

Ronghua (24) (rank equivalent to a 2,000-bushel official)

* (The above are principal consorts.)

Twenty-Seven Ladies of the World (divided into three ranks, with 9 at each rank):

Noble Lady (rank equivalent to a 1,000-bushel official)

Beautiful Lady (rank equivalent to an 800-bushel official)

Talented Lady (rank equivalent to a 600-bushel official)

*

Eighty-One Imperial Consorts (divided into three ranks, with 27 at each rank):

Baolin (rank equivalent to a 400-bushel official)

Imperial Lady (rank equivalent to a 300-bushel official)

Chosen Lady (rank equivalent to a 200-bushel official)

*

Chosen Attendant (rank equivalent to a 100-bushel official)

* Coming next: "The Fifth Year After I Was Banished to the Cold Palace"

In the third year after the new Emperor's ascension, the Crown Prince's plot to rebel was exposed, and he was thrown into the imperial prison to await execution.

That night, the strategists gathered beneath the tent to discuss how to save their lord.

In truth, everyone knew the Crown Prince had little chance of survival.

The new Emperor, Huan Shuo, was cold-hearted and cruel, having usurped the throne and seized the empire.

He had won the realm with his own hands, and he would tolerate not even the slightest hint of ambition from anyone, not even his own son.

Amid the sighs, someone suddenly asked, "Why not ask Lady Ru for help?"

Everyone exchanged glances.

Lady Ru, Yan Rushuang, was Huan Shuo's most favored woman in his household.

It was said that when she gave birth to the Crown Prince years ago, Huan Shuo had abandoned a city on the verge of being conquered and raced back to his residence from a thousand miles away, staying awake for three days and nights.

But imperial favor was as fleeting as running water, and Lady Ru's days of being favored above all others were five years in the past.

Before Huan Shuo ascended the throne, Lady Ru had quarreled with him and moved to a secluded residence, from which she was never allowed to leave again.

Seeing everyone shake their heads, the man who had spoken fell silent as well.

*

Several days later, an old minister entered the palace to meet the Emperor. Relying on the merit of having supported him in his rise to power, he urged him to rescind his decree.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a cold sword pressed against his neck. Huan Shuo narrowed his eyes at him, his gaze sinister.

The old minister broke out in a cold sweat and was just about to beg for mercy when, beyond the pavilion, a slender figure appeared in the deepening dusk.

Lady Ru paid no attention to what was happening in the pavilion. She only lowered her head to inhale the fragrance of the orchids in the night.

Her smile was radiant, and her beauty bloomed at once.

The old minister had no time to wonder why Lady Ru, who had been secluded in the cold palace, was there.

He heard a clatter. The new Emperor stared blankly at Lady Ru's retreating figure, not even noticing the sword fall from his hand.

A moment later, a nearly savage delight came over him, and he strode out of the pavilion.

Several days later, the Crown Prince was released from the imperial prison.

That same day, he was named Crown Prince and moved to the Eastern Palace.

*

From the first moment Yan Rushuang met Huan Shuo, she disliked him.

She disliked how arrogant and self-important he was, leaving her elder brother waiting for two hours before finally laughing as he came out to greet him.

What right did a brute like him have?

In the second year of her marriage to Huan Shuo, Yan Rushuang still disliked him.

She disliked the sting of his rough fingertips against her skin, and the force with which he gripped her waist.

But since he loved her so deeply and put her first in everything,

she wasn't entirely unwilling to... live in harmony with him.

In the tenth year after giving birth to her eldest son, Yan Rushuang detested him more than ever.

She would rather die than become the empress of this usurper.

But Huan Shuo seized her chin, his voice icy:

"Whether you live or die is up to me."

Perhaps he had grown tired of her stubborn pride, for Huan Shuo impatiently swept out of the room and sent her away to live in seclusion at a separate residence.

For the next five years, she knew Huan Shuo paced outside her residence every night.

She also knew that as long as she was willing to step outside, she could still be the most exalted empress in the realm.

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Theme: Take your fate into your own hands