Chapter One: Her Majesty the Empress Is About to Face Catastrophe

Jiang Daiyin never imagined that a simple post—“I am a senior class teacher, please attack my weakest spot!”—would result in her transmigrating into another world.

She truly wished she could take out a loan and sue her own fate.

Just after successfully guiding that group of high school seniors out into the world, before she had a chance to hear their good news, she was whisked away.

“Your Majesty, the tenth prince has arrived,” a palace maid said, bowing and respectfully approaching.

Jiang Daiyin sighed deeply and rose to her feet.

This was a fictional dynasty, and she had become the Empress of the Crimson Lapis Kingdom.

Though she bore the title of Empress, the Emperor did not love her.

In fact, the Emperor was cold-hearted, indifferent—a merciless machine devoted to his duties, incapable of loving anyone.

This, however, did not stop the Empress from being hopelessly devoted to him.

Her transmigration was prompted by a system that told her the original Empress had suffered from unrequited love, and had thus commissioned the system to find someone to improve the Emperor’s affection towards her.

Once his favor was maxed out, Jiang Daiyin could return to her own world.

To win the Emperor’s full affection seemed utterly impossible!

Despite his youth, the Emperor already had eight children. After satisfying the ministers and the empress dowager’s demands for heirs, he had essentially forsaken the harem.

What did this mean?

It meant he was an emotionless sovereign! Such a man cared nothing for romance; the welfare of his people was his only concern.

As for increasing his affection, Jiang Daiyin had someone else in mind.

In history, emperors rarely lived long; with this Emperor’s relentless diligence, he was bound to die sooner than most.

She might as well nurture the next emperor. After all, the system only required her to raise the Emperor’s favor—not necessarily that of Feng Yu.

With this realization, a smile crept across Jiang Daiyin’s lips.

It was time to meet the child entrusted to her care under her own name.

Spring Rain, the palace maid beside her, quietly withdrew.

Since her mistress had fallen ill, she had not smiled in a long time; whatever brought her joy must surely be a good thing.

“Your son greets the Empress.”

Once Jiang Daiyin was seated, she craned her neck to look, and saw a boy in tattered clothing, thin as a reed, drop to his knees with a thud.

This child, gaunt as a monkey, knelt on the marble floor, his bones striking hard enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Jiang Daiyin was dumbstruck, instinctively gripping the chair’s back and rising.

“Feng Wuchen?”

Was this the tenth prince she was raising?

He’d live better if you threw him some rice and left him in the Cold Palace!

“How dare you! You’ve offended Her Majesty, hurry and confess!” Summer’s End, another palace maid, suddenly rebuked sternly.

Feng Wuchen was visibly startled, his frail body trembling like a leaf, his face ashen. As if practiced many times, he obediently raised his hand and slapped himself.

“It’s all my fault! Please, Your Majesty, spare me!”

“Stop!”

Jiang Daiyin finally snapped out of it. She rushed forward and embraced Feng Wuchen, realizing that “she”—that virtuous Empress—was in fact this heartless monster behind the scenes!

She was nothing short of a viper!

Though Jiang Daiyin had never borne children, she was nonetheless a teacher; there was no way she could allow such cruelty to continue.

Held tightly in her arms, Feng Wuchen’s fear only intensified. He wanted to struggle free, but dared not.

He was like a terrified groundhog, stiff and frozen.

“Your Majesty, this wretch is filthy,” Summer’s End offered helpfully.

She could not understand what had happened to the Empress. Hadn’t she always treated the child this way?

“He is His Majesty’s offspring. Do not address him like that again,” Jiang Daiyin said, her brow furrowed. This Empress was truly inhuman.

Even the palace maids felt free to disregard the prince.

Summer’s End looked bewildered. Wasn’t this always how they referred to him? In fact, it was the Empress who forbade them from calling him a prince.

Yet seeing Jiang Daiyin’s expression, she swallowed her words.

“Your Majesty, I’ve brought you something good,” Spring Rain said, handing over a beautifully crafted long box.

“Ah!”

Feng Wuchen cried out in terror at the sight of it, knocking Jiang Daiyin to the ground in his frantic attempt to flee the Phoenix Palace.

He looked as if he’d seen something unspeakably dreadful.

But the palace entrance was guarded by several young eunuchs, who hauled him back and dropped him at her feet.

“Your Majesty, this wretch dared to collide with you. Today, he must be taught a lesson!” Summer’s End’s gaze glinted with viciousness, her tone icy and cruel.

“No, please, Your Majesty, spare your son, I will never dare again!”

“I was wrong, please forgive me!”

Feng Wuchen’s face was lifeless, kneeling and kowtowing incessantly, begging for mercy.

He was clearly terrified of Jiang Daiyin to the core.

“Help him up.”

Jiang Daiyin was assisted by the palace maids. She was curious as to what was in the box that could inspire such terror in this child.

“Don’t be afraid, I won’t harm you,” Jiang Daiyin soothed, softening her voice in an attempt to comfort him.

Unexpectedly, Feng Wuchen’s eyes dimmed, his whole being shrouded in hopelessness.

He looked just like those students who swear confidence before an exam, only to be utterly disheartened when the results are released.

When she opened the ornate box, Jiang Daiyin couldn’t help but gasp.

Inside lay a black leather whip, still stained with dried blood.

“Worse than a beast!” she cursed inwardly.

Spring Rain’s eager expression froze, her smile stiffening.

Why would Her Majesty curse her so?

Meanwhile, Feng Wuchen, held upright by others, squeezed his eyes shut. His face, sallow and thin from malnutrition, made it clear that his frail body could not survive even two lashes.

Jiang Daiyin felt a suffocating rage in her chest. She shoved the box away.

“Burn this thing, and never bring it before me again!”

“Your Majesty?”

Spring Rain and Summer’s End exchanged glances, their pupils wide in shock.

Had Her Majesty taken the wrong medicine today?

Once the item was removed, Summer’s End dismissed everyone else, then mustered her courage to speak.

“Your Majesty, didn’t you always say this wretch was sent by His Majesty to disgust you? That you found him annoying?”

Her words conjured up a famous scene in Jiang Daiyin’s mind: “Why can everyone else have children, but I cannot?”

It was because the Empress could not bear children that she hated this boy so much.

Her face grew stern.

“Don’t say such things again.”

“Have someone bathe Feng Wuchen, give him fresh clothes, and make sure no one is negligent!” Jiang Daiyin emphasized.

“Yes,” Spring Rain and Summer’s End replied, exchanging uneasy looks. Their mistress seemed to have changed after her illness.

In the Phoenix Palace, the golden ginkgo tree shed its leaves daily, while the pine beside it remained evergreen.

“Your Majesty, should I announce your arrival?” Fu Linhai asked anxiously, sweating profusely. Disaster was surely imminent for the Empress!

“No need,” Feng Yu replied, his gaze icy and stern, striding in with long, purposeful steps.