Summary
By the time my childhood sweetheart transmigrated here, I had already been a concubine in the Marquis’s Mansion for three years. Rumor had it that ever since His Majesty fell into the water, his temperament had changed drastically. He emphasized science and education, executed treacherous officials, and ruled with thunderous methods, leaving rivers of blood in the mansions of ministers and nobles alike. Then, at the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, the emperor caught one glimpse of me. The very next day, he issued an imperial decree and forcibly brought me into the palace, bestowing upon me the position of empress. The entire court was furious. Even the Marquis, who had always been cold and indifferent, knelt outside the palace gates and refused to rise, knocking his forehead against the ground until blood marked his brow. But no one knew that inside Chengqian Hall, the emperor said to have killed without blinking was sitting across from me, eating hot pot. Holding a wine cup, he asked, feigning nonchalance, “If one day your husband and I end up fighting, will you help me or him?”