The Emperor Forced Me to Marry from the Start, So His Lazy Palace Maid Lies Flat

[An Average Woman Takes on the Harem, Scheming, Favor, Romantic Rivalry]

On her fifth day after transmigrating as the palace maid Chun Zhan, Shen Que figured out three things:

First, she was too plain to have any real chance of becoming a favored consort.

Second, the Empress was a hopeless romantic who wanted to kill anyone she laid eyes on.

Third, the Emperor was using her as a pawn to spite the Empress Dowager, and would toss her aside once she was no longer useful.

She only had to hang on for another half month before leaving the palace to open a teahouse and live a quiet life of her own. Then the Emperor pointed at her on a whim. "Her, then."

Well, there went her twenty-year career of slacking. She was forced to start climbing the ranks of the imperial harem.

The Empress Dowager wanted her to compete for favor, the Empress was afraid she'd get pregnant, and the Emperor thought she talked too much and wasn't pretty enough. Shen Que examined her round face in the bronze mirror and decided to set herself a modest goal: stay alive.

She stayed alive and, before she knew it, ended up in the imperial bed.

On the first night, the Emperor said, "Just wait on me by the bed."

Shen Que curtsied. "I don't want to wait on you by the bed. I'd rather wait on Your Majesty in it."