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In the year 721 of the Chu Calendar, the Imperial Grandson Zhongli Ran ascended the throne. With the Grand Empress Dowager acting as regent, the court remained stable despite the predatory glares of powerful officials. Unable to seize the throne directly, these officials turned their schemes toward the inner palace.
Barely a year after his coronation, the eleven-year-old Emperor was forced into an early marriage.
It was during this time that Gu Siyuan arrived in the Imperial Capital. Driven by a desire to access the vast collection of the Hongwen Library—and desperate to escape her family’s marriage arrangements back home—she chose to enter the Central Palace. She intended to serve as a useless elder Empress, a mere figurehead for the young sovereign.
The dream was grand, but reality proved sharp. The little Emperor eventually had to grow up. Even in the Kingdom of Chu, where female Emperors were a common occurrence, Gu Siyuan realized she could not escape her marital duties.
She had taught him his lessons and guided him through the philosophies of the world since he was a boy, never imagining that one day she would have to teach him… the affairs of the bed.
If that wasn’t enough, what happened to her little Emperor? At some point, he transformed into a ‘Big Bad Wolf’. Gu Siyuan felt she had been swindled, but looking at the young, vigorous Emperor standing before her, she realized it was a debt she could no longer afford to default on.
“My only wish is that the same wind blows for a thousand miles, and that I may roam the vast mountains and rivers of this world by your side.”
