Everyone knows that in Kaifeng, there is a Lord Yan who is upright—extremely upright, incredibly upright.
Every day, at a fixed time, she uses trivial matters to impeach imperial relatives, civil officials, and military generals. She has offended every single person in the imperial court; even the Emperor stays as far away from her as possible.
Consequently, ever since entering officialdom, Yan Tongshu has been marginalized to the extreme—she has no power, no influence, and nothing to do.
Of course, the transmigrated Yan Tongshu is perfectly happy to “lie flat.”
Yan Tongshu: Who understands this, guys! As soon as I transmigrated, I committed the capital offense of deceiving the monarch by dressing as a man. If I hadn’t reacted quickly and established a persona of being so upright that I became a marginalized outsider, I would have been dealt with long ago.
Just as Yan Tongshu was happily lying flat, the new Emperor ascended the throne, and Yan Tongshu was promoted to Acting Prefect of Kaifeng.
Acting Prefect of Kaifeng is a rank three official—a high-ranking position on paper. However, she is managing the area right at the foot of the Imperial City. Here, if you throw a brick and hit five people, four of them will have powerful backgrounds and the influence to crush Yan Tongshu.
With no other choice and the imperial decree already issued, Yan Tongshu could only bite the bullet. Clinging to her persona of being “upright, extremely upright, incredibly upright,” she set out to try and drive the entire capital crazy.
The Horror on the Flower Boat.
Murder in a Sealed Room.
The Modern-day Chen Shimei.
As case after case was investigated, it didn’t matter if they were imperial relatives, first-rank officials, princesses and their husbands, or the Empress Dowager and Princes—if they committed a crime, no one could use their connections to get a lighter sentence from Lord Yan.
Lord Yan declared: “As long as I sit in the position of the Prefect of Kaifeng for one day, no criminal shall dream of receiving leniency!”
Lord Yan’s Internal Monologue: So please, hurry up and fire me! I want to go home and lie flat.
Qin Yi is a man of deep schemes and ruthless methods. He endured and bided his time for ten years before finally ascending the throne.
To Qin Yi, Yan Tongshu was merely a pawn to be used for rectifying the court after his coronation.
She was excessively upright and lacked social graces, making her the perfect tool to deal with those stubborn, stagnant, and arrogant high officials and noble relatives.
Thus, while Yan Tongshu investigated cases, he provided the support. Under his iron-fisted purging and ruthless executions, every official in the capital lived in fear.
However, what Qin Yi didn’t expect was that as they worked together, this pawn, Yan Tongshu, would actually climb over his head and act like a tyrant. She would even kick him out of bed over the slightest disagreement.
That day, at Zichen Hall.
Below the White Jade Steps.
The Emperor was furious.
The marquises, princes, and generals bowed their heads to the ground, their hearts racing with terror.
Yan Tongshu grabbed the Emperor’s dragon robe, refusing to yield an inch. She stated clearly that if His Majesty did not agree to a thorough investigation into the Dried Well Female Corpse in the Former Emperor’s Mausoleum, she would not allow the court session to end.
Qin Yi’s eyes were dark, his face livid, and he ground his teeth in rage. “You want to investigate, right? Fine, fine, fine! Investigate! Go ahead! I’ll have the Former Emperor’s Mausoleum dug up for your investigation—is that enough for you?!”
That evening, his carriage arrived at the Yan Mansion.
The gates of the Yan Mansion were tightly shut.
After knocking, the gatekeeper reported: “Lord Yan said she will not see anyone tonight.”
“Ha!”
Qin Yi laughed out of sheer anger. “During the day, she embarrassed me in front of all the civil and military officials. Now at night, she’s the one throwing a tantrum? Does she really think I can’t live without her?!”
Qin Yi flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
The guards and attendants knelt all over the ground, not daring to rise without the Emperor’s command.
The head eunuch kept his gaze fixed on his own nose, silently complaining in his heart: If you were so unhappy during the day, why did you come running here so eagerly at night? To serve her in bed?
