The Empress Resigns - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As you can see, I am an Empress.

In my last life, to put the Emperor at ease, Imperial Consort He Hongye and I were at each other’s throats.

She came from a family of military generals; I was the legitimate daughter of the prime minister. In the inner palace, one of us represented the pen and the other the sword, and we fought with spectacular enthusiasm.

Put it this way: if she tripped the moment she stepped outside, she would suspect I had waxed the floor in front of her palace gates.

In truth, the two of us had no great blood feud. There are no true winners or losers in inner-palace struggles. It all depends on whose family in the imperial court can drag them down harder.

In my previous life, I was implicated by my clan. The Dog Emperor said that, since we had once been husband and wife, he would leave my corpse intact.

Before I died, Consort He made a special trip to see me one last time.

She said I was the loser, but she had not won either.

The position of Empress I left vacant did not fall to her. Instead, her younger cousin He Mianmian picked up the bargain.

She personally poured me a cup of wine.

“My father has laid down his armor and retired to the countryside. My younger brother lost both his legs. The Emperor said he would reward us handsomely, so he granted my uncle the title of Marquis of Wu’an and made the cousin who has never gotten along with me since childhood the Empress.

“Xie Wan’er, I spent my whole life fighting you, only to end up making wedding clothes for someone else.”

Theoretically speaking, since she came to see me off at the very end and the two of us even poured our hearts out to each other, this should have counted as letting all grudges die with death.

Once I finished the poisoned wine and dropped dead, she would go back and start Inner Palace Storms: Part Two with her cousin, and that would be the end of it.

But nothing in this world is more terrifying than an accident.

I thought I would strike a dramatic pose and drink the wine standing up. Who could have guessed that He Hongye’s personal female official would suddenly shove me? I went straight into intimate lip-to-lip contact with He Hongye.

While I was foaming at the mouth, He Hongye was rolling her eyes. Before I died, I was still thinking: Damn, this poison is strong!

As for how I died and came back to life, I have no explanation. In any case, the moment I opened my eyes, I found the Dog Emperor Li Yuan’s face right in front of me.

Fortunately, those of us who make our living in the inner palace all have excellent fundamentals. Even under circumstances like these, we can still maintain a smile.

At that moment, I had not yet realized I had been revived. I had committed enough sins in my life that seeing Li Yuan one more time before death was the retribution I deserved.

Until I saw He Hongye seated below.

Based on what I knew of her, she was absolutely in the same state as me.

In that split second, our eyes met, and we raised our cups at the same time.

“I toast the Imperial Consort.”

“And I toast the Empress.”

He Hongye took an elegant sip of wine and said, “Today is this consort’s birthday. For Your Majesty and Your Highness to personally come celebrate with this consort is truly a joy beyond words.”

Li Yuan smiled and teased, “Hongye is being especially sensible today. Turning a year older really does make a difference.”

“Your Majesty is always fond of making fun of this consort.”

He Hongye was reminding me what point in time we had returned to.

The Jian’an third year. The seventh year after I married Li Yuan. The second year after He Hongye entered the palace.

The fifteenth day of the sixth month. Her birthday banquet.

Last time, I toasted her with one cup of wine and left before eating more than a few bites.

According to the unwritten rules of the world, on whosever birthday it was, the Emperor was that person’s gift. I was afraid that if I stayed too long, people would suspect I was trying to steal her prize.

But today, not only was I going to steal the prize, I was going to steal the Imperial Consort right out of the Emperor’s hands.

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, He Hongye and I awkwardly began chattering about sisterly affection.

He Hongye said, “This consort is endlessly grateful for Your Highness’s care over the years.”

I gave a hypocritical smile. “Consort He is far too polite. We are all sisters under one roof.”

“Your Highness the Empress~”

“My dear Imperial Consort sister~”

This was why I had to say He Hongye and I were truly matched opponents, a fine general meeting a worthy rival. She immediately told the Emperor that tonight, she wished to sleep with her Empress sister and rekindle their sisterly bond.

“Her Highness and I are truly kindred spirits who met far too late.”

Li Yuan’s expression looked as if he had not relieved himself in thirty days. After a long, indescribable pause, he said, “My beloved consort, you and the Empress will have plenty of time in the future-”

“No!”

I cut Li Yuan off and, suppressing the goose bumps rising all over my body, took He Hongye’s hand.

“A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a bosom friend. Today, this consort must drink with the Imperial Consort until dawn!”

“Exactly. Today, I shall risk my life to accompany a noble friend!”

Li Yuan was silent for a very long time. In the end, he left on unsteady feet.

His eyes were filled with doubt about life itself. At that moment, he must have been thinking: When exactly did my Empress manage to fool the Imperial Consort into this?

Once the Emperor left, the other stunned concubines also filed out in an orderly fashion, leaving only He Hongye’s attendants and mine.

Considering that her female official had dealt that dirty shove back then, the two of us dismissed everyone around us in perfect unspoken agreement.

Before leaving, my personal female official gave me a thumbs-up.