The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 1

The thirteenth year of Yongning, Summer.

Dark clouds pressed down, and the sound of rain was incessant.

Because the sky was gloomy, the imperial palace lit its candles early.

Raindrops struck the glazed tiles, producing a clear sound, and the entire palace was shrouded in a layer of mist.

On this day of heavy rain, occasionally, maids dressed in uniform palace attire could be seen laughing and playing.

Shen Lingyan stood in her sleeping quarters, her brow tightly furrowed, staring at the rainy scene outside the window for a long time. Finally, she couldn’t hold back a sigh.

This was her second day after transmigrating into the book, and her second day without eating or drinking. She was originally a recent university graduate, but who knew that staying up all night to read a shuangwen a satisfying, usually overpowered protagonist novel would lead her to transmigrate.

This shuangwen was quite bold, narrating how the heroine, Zhou Jin, transformed from a small, pitiful figure into a Regent who wielded power over the entire court, not only emptying out the power of the reigning Empress but also acting decisively to recover lost territories, gaining submission from the entire nation. In the end, she achieved a double harvest of love and career.

But when Shen Lingyan transmigrated… she didn’t become the heroine. Instead, she became the cannon fodder Empress whose power was emptied!

The thought of becoming a useless coward made Shen Lingyan begin to question her life.

Just as Shen Lingyan was about to leave the window and crawl back into her small quilt, a sudden clamor sounded outside her sleeping quarters.

“Your Majesty is resting, you cannot enter!”

Shen Lingyan was very familiar with this voice; it belonged to Yun Zhu, the maid who had been attending to her since she woke up.

She heard Yun Zhu try her best to obstruct the person, but it was futile. The person directly pushed open the exquisite wooden door of the sleeping quarters, their manner incredibly arrogant and domineering.

The only person who could be so brazen in the imperial palace was probably that Regent.

Sure enough, Shen Lingyan looked up and saw a woman standing there in a red outfit. It was not court attire, but a casual outfit that appeared even more alluring. Inside was a white shirt, with a long red skirt below, only covered by a layer of dark red gauze on the outside. This attire vaguely revealed her graceful figure, causing Shen Lingyan’s breath to catch.

She truly lived up to her description as the heroine whose appearance the author had spent a lot of ink describing in the original text. She was simply too beautiful to be permissible, especially that unruly and arrogant demeanor, which made it impossible for Shen Lingyan to look away.

“This subject pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress.” Zhou Jin adopted a casual, listless posture, giving a perfunctory curtsy, which she considered her bowing completed.

Shen Lingyan’s favorable impression of Zhou Jin stopped right there. When reading the novel, she thought the heroine’s personality was great, but experiencing it herself now, she started to feel annoyed.

Zhou Jin didn’t wait for Shen Lingyan to speak. She found a spot to sit down and casually picked up the memorial a written report Shen Lingyan had placed on the table to flip through it.

Shen Lingyan had just sorted out the timeline. At this moment, Zhou Jin had just become the Regent but had already begun to drain Shen Lingyan’s power.

“Does the Regent have any important matters for visiting Our sleeping quarters?” Seeing her reluctance to leave, Shen Lingyan finally asked.

Hearing this, Zhou Jin tossed the memorial aside: “Perhaps it is this King’s fault for disturbing Your Majesty’s rest.”

Hearing such deeply insulting words toward the Empress, Yun Zhu was about to rush forward to argue, but Shen Lingyan forcefully held her back.

She strained a smile: “With so many affairs in court now, We should not be resting. It is truly a joke for the Regent. From now on, We shall attend to all matters personally.”

Shen Lingyan put heavy emphasis on the four words “attend to all matters personally.” That’s right. She didn’t care how the previous cannon fodder Empress behaved, but since she had transmigrated here, she absolutely could not stand by and watch her empire be taken away.

As soon as Shen Lingyan finished speaking, Zhou Jin glanced at the dripping rain outside the window, a look of innocence appearing on her face: “Does Your Majesty… feel that something in A-Jin’s actions is improper? That I am unable to share your worries?”

What’s with this intense ‘white lotus’ vibe? Where did that arrogant and domineering person from earlier go?

Shen Lingyan looked at her, utterly bewildered, yet temporarily unable to refute. She watched helplessly as Zhou Jin stood up by herself and wiped away a tear: “This subject once thought that I could share Your Majesty’s worries…”

The rain outside pattered softly, and inside the hall was this scene of a pear blossom drenched in rain a metaphor for a beautiful woman crying. Shen Lingyan was someone who could not resist gentleness but resisted firmness. Now, seeing the mighty Regent Zhou Jin actually wiping tears, all thoughts of seizing back power were completely thrown out of her mind. She shook her head blankly: “The Regent is very capable. Then, I shall trouble the Regent from now on…”

It wasn’t until Zhou Jin left Shen Lingyan’s sleeping quarters, satisfied with the memorial in hand, that Shen Lingyan snapped back to reality. She looked at Yun Zhu suspiciously and asked: “Wait, why did I give the memorial to her? Didn’t I plan to reclaim all the power?!”

Yun Zhu sighed and placed the exquisite and delicious pastries on the table: “Your Majesty is still too soft-hearted… Please eat some pastries first. You haven’t eaten anything for two days.”

Shen Lingyan picked up a piece of pastry, examined it carefully, and after a while, broke off a small bit to put into her mouth, savoring the sweet taste. She knew well that if she didn’t take action soon, once Zhou Jin expanded her influence, it would be difficult for her to move!

It’s just that… why was this heroine so different from the one in the original book? Although she was arrogant and domineering when she first appeared, why was she so… ‘white lotus’ afterward? It made her unable to harden her heart and say no.

Shen Lingyan pondered while eating the pastry. She then looked down at the embroidered gold-threaded Phoenix Imperial Robe she was wearing. How could such a solemn outfit be confined to this small sleeping quarter?

“Yun Zhu! I won’t eat anymore! We need to visit the various ministers to understand the current situation in court. This throne, We must sit on it firmly.” Shen Lingyan’s eyes were fierce, staring at the raindrops just like she was staring at the teardrops on Zhou Jin’s face—she would no longer be soft-hearted.

Yun Zhu was stunned by this motivated Shen Lingyan and was so moved that she immediately stood up and cried: “The late Emperor’s spirit in heaven will surely be proud of Your Majesty’s rise this time!”

Yun Zhu wasn’t much for flattery. She dutifully prepared an umbrella and the imperial carriage/sedan chair for Shen Lingyan. Their first stop was the Prime Minister’s residence.

Stepping out of the sleeping quarters, this was arguably the first time Shen Lingyan had truly stepped into this world. She adjusted the hair ornaments on her head, smoothed the creases on her Phoenix Robe, held her head high, and her eyes were full of coldness and… a hint of nervousness.

The red walls and yellow tiles of the imperial palace were drenched by the rain. The palace maids in the courtyard dared not speak, holding their breath as they respectfully saw Shen Lingyan off. Only after she left did they begin to grumble.

“Why did the Regent come looking for Her Majesty just now?” one maid asked simply.

Another maid holding a large broom curled her lip: “What else could it be? She’s the Regent, so she comes every day just to humiliate Her Majesty, isn’t she?”

Several maids sighed. The reason their Empress could ascend to the throne was only because the late Emperor favored the Empress, and the Empress only gave birth to one daughter, who was Shen Lingyan. All other consorts had no children, which forced Shen Lingyan to take the throne. Zhou Jin, seeing that Shen Lingyan lacked authority, rallied the ministers to propose her as the Regent. Since then, the court has been divided into two factions: the Empress’s faction and the Regent’s faction.

Shen Lingyan was aware of these matters. It’s just that one mountain cannot house two tigers, and she had to reclaim all the power.

The sedan bearers walked along the long palace road. Shen Lingyan was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Zhou Jin standing around the corner.