This is the country of Daxia, where the original Gu Jinghan was the Emperor. His path to the throne was not easy; among his brothers vying for the throne, he was the weakest, but favored by the late Emperor, who directly passed the throne to him upon his death. However, his brothers were fierce, and they jointly ousted him. The original Gu Jinghan was chased and fled to Loulan, where through much persuasion, he convinced the Loulan King to marry him to Princess Yuesang and lend him troops to reclaim his throne, promising eternal fidelity to her alone. But men’s words are as deceptive as ghosts, and Gu Jinghan was no exception. After securing his position, he no longer valued the Loulan Princess, seeking to take more concubines, but Yuesang blocked him. In anger and shame, his affection for her waned, though he never intended to mistreat her due to gratitude; he simply gave her the cold shoulder whenever she opposed his taking concubines.
The original Gu Jinghan was only a scoundrel for the first half of his life, but in the second half, he was thoroughly scoundreled by a transmigrator. This transmigrator, married in modern times to a domineering wife who strictly controlled him, found himself in the body of an ancient Emperor where he could act without restraint, taking as many women as he desired. With Yuesang obstructing his path to pleasure, he had no qualms about her, quickly deposing her, banishing her to the cold palace, and even killing their son. With no obstacles, the transmigrator filled the harem with concubines from the daughters of scholars, generals, and beautiful maids, indulging himself without attending to state affairs, causing discontent among court officials and the populace. The concubines fought covertly for his favor, and those who lost faced grim fates, while even the winners didn’t fare well, as the Emperor’s attention was always on the new arrivals. His extravagance and debauchery led to national decline, and upon his death, the country fell into chaos, divided by neighboring states. The concubines, now his women, were all buried with him, none meeting a good end.
Gu Jinghan’s mission this time was to make Yuesang a winner in life, but there was also a hidden task: to change the fate of everyone involved. Gu Jinghan had already thought it through; these two tasks were interconnected and could be carried out simultaneously. “Your Majesty, it is truly my daughter’s fault for being unable to serve you,” said both the Grand Secretary and the Grand General in unison. Just as Gu Jinghan was about to speak again, someone reported the arrival of the Dowager Empress, and he had to stand up to greet her. “Your son pays his respects to the Empress Dowager.”
“Hmph!” The Dowager Empress glanced at him, snorted coldly, walked past him, and sat down. Gu Jinghan was not surprised by his mother’s attitude; the Dowager Empress was not the biological mother of the original owner. The original owner had lost his mother in childhood and was only placed under the then-empress, now-Dowager Empress, at the age of fifteen. Thanks to the Dowager Empress’s position, the original owner was made the Crown Prince by the late Emperor, for which he was grateful. However, the Dowager Empress did not harbor much maternal affection for him; her acceptance of him as her son was for wealth and honor, thus she was always cold towards him, offering only the bare minimum of maternal duty.
In the original storyline, the Dowager Empress was also killed by the time traveler, who believed that as an emperor, he shouldn’t be overshadowed by a Dowager Empress, especially one who wasn’t his birth mother. So, he sent her a bowl of soup to ensure her peaceful departure. Despite not loving this son, the Dowager Empress was concerned about state affairs. If the emperor took in concubines, it would violate the promise made to Loulan, and should the queen send a letter back to Loulan, it could lead to war and suffering for the people, something she did not wish to see. The original Dowager Empress thought that if the emperor wanted to take concubines, he should first secure the queen’s agreement. But now, the Dowager Empress felt, “You want to cheat? Dream on!” Yes, she was also a transmigrator, previously the fierce wife of the man who had transmigrated into the emperor’s body.
After sitting down, the Dowager Empress looked at the Grand Secretary and the Grand General, “You want to send your daughters into the palace?”
“We dare not, we dare not, your servant would not dare,” they both waved their hands in refusal. The Dowager Empress snorted coldly, “It’s best if you don’t. Now, leave.” The Grand Secretary and the Grand General quickly withdrew. As they glanced back at the Changxin Palace, the Grand Secretary thought, “That was close, good thing I was reborn early, or else my daughter would have fallen into another pit.” The Grand General said, “I, a modern soldier, am sworn to defend the one-wife system and serve the country with loyalty.”
“Are you planning to take in concubines again?” The Dowager Empress tried to suppress her anger as she looked at this adopted son, who was secretly her husband.
Gu Jinghan shook his head, “No, I won’t.” The Dowager Empress, who had prepared a tirade, was somewhat surprised, “You won’t?”
“Yes, I won’t. It was just a moment of folly that made me think of breaking my promise to the queen. Now I understand, I want to be an emperor who keeps his word,” Gu Jinghan said earnestly. Wasn’t he just bewitched? That time traveler was the ghost.
The Dowager Empress swallowed hard and after a long pause said, “Good that you won’t.” This dead ghost, was he pretending to be good in front of her? It was his usual tactic; he had fooled her many times before, but she would keep a close watch on him this time.
After leaving Changxin Palace, the Dowager Empress helped Yue Sang up, “Why kneel? Go back to the palace. You are the queen; you must carry the dignity of a queen. Tomorrow, I will give you a secret weapon to keep the emperor in check.” She wondered if there were durians in this dynasty.
“Thank you, Mother.” Yue Sang suddenly felt a hint of fondness for this cold Dowager Empress. After seeing off the Dowager Empress, Gu Jinghan calculated the dates; how convenient, tonight was the day the time traveler would arrive.
Author’s Note: Isn’t this setting intriguing? I had a lot of fun writing it.
☆ Cold Palace Queen Wins Without Effort 2
Chen Qi opened his eyes to see a yellow canopy above him, and in the faint light, he could discern he was on a bed, the bed frame adorned with dragons and phoenixes, indicating its grandeur. Yellow? Emperor? Such thoughts excited Chen Qi, who sat up and pushed aside the canopy to find the room furnished with exquisite and majestic decor, much like the imperial palaces he had seen on TV.
“Your Majesty, you’re awake?” High One, who had been keeping watch outside, entered upon hearing the noise.
The Emperor?! He had transmigrated, into an emperor no less! Excitement, thrill, and a secret glee almost made him jump. He had finally escaped his wife, the tigress, and now he could do as he pleased.
“Your Majesty?” High One saw his flushed face and thought he might be ill, “Are you unwell?”
“I… I am fine, you may leave,” Chen Qi tried to calm himself, mimicking the tone of an emperor he had seen on TV.
High One acknowledged and withdrew, leaving the room in silence. Chen Qi’s excitement and joy overflowed as he caressed every item in the bedchamber, his eyes shining like a beast in the night forest. He had died in a car accident due to drunk driving, and in his last moments, he regretted marrying the tigress. If given another chance, he’d sworn to remain a bachelor forever. Now, he had his chance; he had transmigrated into an ancient emperor’s body, with the promise of a harem of thousands of beauties. It was exhilarating, almost too good to be true.
