The Queen's Thousand Autumns - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When the Emperor returned to the palace, he brought a woman back with him.

I’d been waiting at the palace gates since the crack of dawn for a full hour. I was still half-asleep when a palace maid jabbed my arm like her life depended on it. “Empress, something terrible has happened!”

I jerked awake. “The Imperial Kitchen stopped making roast duck?”

The maid was so anxious she stomped her feet. “Your Majesty has a Beauty with him!”

Still sleepy, I nodded. “Oh.”

Three seconds later, my head snapped up.

The maid burst into tears. “Empress, please don’t get angry-”

I grabbed her hand, frantic, eyes shining. “Where is she? Where’s the Beauty?”

Maid: “…”

Up ahead came a familiar, infuriating voice. “Empress, we haven’t seen each other in a month. You must have missed Us to death, hm?”

Tang Yichen flicked open his folding fan, his dog-like eyes glittering.

I ignored him completely and took the Beauty’s hand from behind him. “You must be exhausted after such a long trip! Come on, let’s go back and rest.”

Tang Yichen: “?”

The Beauty really was beautiful-delicate face, slender waist.

Unlike me. The food’s been too good these past few years; my face and belly have both gotten nice and round.

I pushed all the fruit and pastries toward the Beauty.

She was on guard and didn’t dare eat.

So I broke a mung bean cake in half-half for her, half for me.

When she saw how happily I was eating, she asked, confused, “The Emperor brought another woman back to the palace. You’re not angry?”

I chewed. “I’m not angry.”

She looked enlightened. “Oh, so you don’t love the Emperor. You’re a career-type big female lead.”

I only understood the first half. I propped my chin in my hands and smiled. “No, it’s the opposite. I love him very much.”

She immediately looked disgusted. “Damn. So you’re the ultimate love-brain wife. Even if your husband cheated so hard he turned into a centipede, you’d still love him. I can’t stand women like you.”

I didn’t understand what she was saying. I just watched her little mouth go on and on.

“To be honest, I transmigrated here. My mission is to win over the Emperor and become Empress within a year. Then I’ll get a one-hundred-million bonus and lie flat for the rest of my life.”

I looked at her, grinning.

She shrugged and complained, “NPCs can’t even understand what I’m saying. This mission’s so easy even an idiot could clear it.”

I raised my hand. “Actually, I think I got the gist. You want to be Empress.”

The Beauty lifted a brow. “That’s right. I’ll compete with you to the end.”

I smiled sweetly. “No need to compete. I can help you. It won’t take a year-six months at most. I’ll help you win the Emperor’s favor and have him make you Empress.”

This time, the Beauty went blank.

“Why would you help me?”

Cradling my hand warmer, I curved my eyes and spoke softly.

“Because I’m about to die. The Imperial Physician said I have, at most, half a year left.”