Spring, Ninth Year of Hongde, Yanxia Imperial Palace
“My Qingxi slave, you wouldn’t want to bear the blame for a fallen dynasty, would you?”
“Ji Yanqing, how dare you! I am the reigning Empress!”
In the resplendent Empress’s bedchamber, a noblewoman of unparalleled elegance stood, her every frown and smile enough to steal a man’s soul.
Draped in a lavish phoenix robe, her hair adorned with a golden filigree tiara, jet-black tresses pinned with a Five Phoenixes at Dawn hairpin, her snowy neck was long and graceful, her porcelain collarbones delicate. Her full, rounded bosom swayed gently, and beneath her skirt, slender, shapely legs peeked out, wrapped in alluring black silk, exuding seductive charm.
Gazing at the breathtaking beauty before him, Ji Yanqing’s lips curled into a dangerous smile. A glint flickered in his peach-blossom eyes as he sneered, “Xiao Qingxi, His Majesty died amidst rebel forces months ago. The divine throne sits empty, the imperial seat unclaimed. What kind of Empress are you?”
Summer, Eighth Year of Hongde: Han Shu, the Yanran Protector-General and Northern Garrison King, commanding 300,000 Black-Armored Troops, rebelled. Joining the steppe tribes, he sacked Luoyang by March the next year, advancing to Tong Pass. The lands east of the pass fell.
In a blink, the once-mighty Yanxia Dynasty teetered on collapse, nearing annihilation. Quelling the rebellion was now urgent!
Beyond the armies at the front, Yanxia’s only hope was the 150,000 Tiger-Leopard Cavalry guarding the Western Regions.
And their master was none other than the dashing, decadent young powerbroker before her—Prince Wei, Ji Yanqing.
He was also the only force Empress Xiao could rely on within the palace.
Originally, a young prodigy named Xuanyuan Long’ao was meant to aid the Empress in crushing the rebellion. After all, he was the protagonist of Canglan Goddess Chronicles.
That’s right.
This was a game world, an 18+ ancient-style eroge on Steam.
And Ji Yanqing? A transmigrator.
He stood here purely because the protagonist, Xuanyuan Long’ao, didn’t survive that cold winter at age four. The legend destined to dominate the world and ascend to immortality choked to death on a stolen neighbor’s egg, too eager to cook it.
By the time Ji Yanqing heard, Xuanyuan Long’ao had been buried for years.
Clad in her phoenix robe, Xiao Qingxi’s expression was tense. Her fair, smooth hands pressed her heaving bosom, unable to calm her racing heart. Her peerless face shook slightly, her furrowed brow a heart-stirring sight.
“Prince Wei, what more do you want?”
“What I want, Your Majesty couldn’t possibly not know.” Ji Yanqing stepped closer, backing Xiao Qingxi to the wall.
A familiar scent hit her. Furious and humiliated, Xiao Qingxi raised a delicate hand to strike the lecher.
Ji Yanqing sidestepped deftly, seizing her slender wrists.
“Qingxi, playing pretend couple with that emperor who fancied men all these years—deep down, you must’ve been lonely, no?”
“Enough nonsense! As a vassal prince, how dare you spew such filth!”
Ji Yanqing smirked coldly, his fingertips grazing her tender, silky skin, smooth as the finest satin.
“Empress Xiao’s so upset—did I hit a nerve? Back then, Qingxi called me Master while welcoming me with open arms.”
At the mention of that old scandal, Xiao Qingxi’s face flushed scarlet, rosy beneath her fair skin, like a ripe, sweet peach begging for a bite.
“That was an accident, it doesn’t count,” she murmured, her alluring face lowered, voice barely a whisper.
“Once could be an accident. What about the next seventeen times, my Xi’er?”
“You’re outrageous, call me Empress…”
Before she finished, Ji Yanqing pulled her into his arms, one hand circling her lithe waist, the other lifting her black-silk-clad legs, striding toward the phoenix throne’s steps.
“Are you mad? Not here in the palace—put me down!”
Xiao Qingxi protested urgently, her pink fists hammering his chest, more like flirting than fighting.
“It’s because it’s the palace that it’s thrilling. If Qingxi refuses, I’ll join Han Ye’s infantry rebellion tomorrow. He’ll be Eastern Emperor, I’ll be Western Emperor, splitting Yanxia’s realm.” Ji Yanqing chuckled.
“After taking so many liberties, you still threaten me?”
Xiao Qingxi, humiliated and furious, complained coquettishly, “Back then, I did all the work!”
Ji Yanqing feigned shock, then said mournfully, “Xiao Qingxi, have you no conscience? You begged me, lonely as you were, then didn’t even pay. How’s that fair?!”
“You… you’re the man… I’m a woman.”
Empress Xiao forced the words through clenched teeth as a naughty hand slipped into her robe.
“So what if I’m a man?” Ji Yanqing snorted, indignant. “Everyone knows I was pure and chaste in Ye City, never touching brothels or dance halls, only to be ruined by you, you lewd rogue Empress.”
At the emotional peak, Ji Yanqing nearly teared up—holding back laughter was tough.
If not for that first night, when Ji Yanqing led her through thirty-odd positions, leaving her unable to walk the next day, Xiao Qingxi might’ve bought his sob story.
With a long sigh, she relented, “Fine. If you’ll lead troops against the Northern Garrison King, I’ll make an exception and indulge you once.”
Truth be told, quelling the rebellion was secondary. The main reason was Xiao Qingxi couldn’t hold back anymore.
“What are you saying?” Ji Yanqing asked, puzzled. “Isn’t this a slave’s duty? Plus, you enjoy it.”
Unmasked, Xiao Qingxi burned with shame, but couldn’t bear to let him go. She raised her pert hips, letting her skirt slide off, leaving only black silk stockings and slender heels.
“Master, hurry and punish your slave!”
At the sight, Ji Yanqing’s heart stirred, but he didn’t rush to indulge. Softly, he said, “Before Master grants Xi’er’s wish, shouldn’t Xi’er agree to Master’s request?”
“Whatever Master wants, your slave will obey.”
Lost in passion, Xiao Qingxi’s imperial dignity and caution were long tossed to the clouds.
“No regrets later, Xi’er!”
Ji Yanqing leaned close to her slender waist, dragging an edict and imperial brush before her.
With the Emperor missing, no heir, and the royal clan scattered, the court, in desperation, had Xiao Qingxi nominally rule as regent.
“Listen up. I want… command of all the realm’s armies!”
Ji Yanqing declared, word by word.
Xiao Qingxi’s dazed eyes snapped clear, ready to refuse, but the next moment, life’s heat overwhelmed her.
“Ah~”
With Ji Yanqing’s “kind” help, she dazedly drafted an edict, sealing it with the jade imperial stamp.
So they know each other and the game protagonist choked on an egg at age 4