Consort Shu was exiled to the borderlands for ten grave crimes, carrying the emperor's child when she left.
Sixteen years later, the emperor fell gravely ill, and his children had all died young. To counter Prince Yu, Li Muting, the powerful official Wei Mingce went to the borderlands to bring the crown prince back to the capital.
But Consort Shu and the crown prince had both died beyond the passes. Who could take the throne?
Wei Mingce found Yang Youqing.
Yang Youqing looked like the crown prince and had been raised as his substitute from childhood, so she was naturally taken for the crown prince.
Wei Mingce said, "I am the crown prince's tutor, and now I am your teacher."
After returning to the capital, Yang Youqing met Prince Yu. Li Muting smiled brightly, but his eyes were cold. "Wei Mingce will teach you how to conduct yourself. If you don't feel like learning, tell your uncle. I'll personally show you how to have fun."
She had seen Li Muting before.
On the night Consort Shu and the crown prince were killed, she had seen Li Muting.
He must know she was a false crown prince.
Yet Li Muting continued to treat her with all the courtesies due to the crown prince, behaving impeccably and giving nothing away.
One day, Li Muting suddenly asked, "Do you want to sit on the throne?"
Knowing that speaking would mean certain death, Yang Youqing said nothing.
Li Muting looked up at her and smiled. "If not the throne, how about becoming empress?"
*
That night, a fierce storm raged, and Wei Mingce appeared outside her door.
After a long silence, Wei Mingce asked, "Did you agree to Prince Yu's proposal today?"
Yang Youqing frowned. "Teacher, I don't understand what you mean."
"Don't agree to it." Wei Mingce left her with those words, then departed from the Eastern Palace.
The powerful official Wei Mingce was like a deep pool, calm and inscrutable. Yet as Yang Youqing watched him disappear into the rain, his clothes soaked through despite his umbrella, he looked desolate.
Yang Youqing sneered.
It seemed she could use either of these two men.
An inscrutable powerful official vs. a woman disguised as a man and posing as the crown prince vs. a smiling, scheming regent
Theme: Braving wind and rain, contending for the throne, and seizing the chance like a cunning hare
