After the Villain Was Transmigrated, the Protagonist and Female Leads Began to Panic - Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: The Noble Consort Who Didn’t Love the Emperor (1)

“Whatever His Majesty says goes. If His Majesty insists on giving, then I have nothing to say.”

The cold and indifferent voice rang out by his ear, its chill biting to the core.

Tang Anzhi remained composed and silently said to the system, [System, the plot.]

Memories and plotline surged into his mind. Soon, Tang Anzhi understood everything about his identity and the current situation.

The original host was the new Emperor of the Sheng Empire. After enduring the brutal battle for the throne, surviving countless assassination attempts, he finally ascended the throne. In just three years, he had tamed all his former political enemies, and the court flourished under his rule, presenting the picture of a prosperous and wise sovereign.

Before his ascension, his siblings schemed against each other, his father was suspicious and ruthless, and the original host suffered greatly. But after becoming Emperor, he held power firmly and everything went his way.

His only regret was—

The noble consort he cherished above all, Chu Qingrou, remained noble and detached, like the moon among clouds or snow atop a mountain peak. He could only admire her from afar, never truly touching her heart.

In fact, when Tang Anzhi had just ascended the throne, he had intended to make Chu Qingrou the Empress. After all, he didn’t want the woman he loved to suffer any grievance.

Unfortunately, Chu Qingrou came from a declining Marquis Residence. Her father and brothers were incompetent, and the only way for their family to survive in court was through her beauty and his favor.

Meanwhile, his official wife Cui Lingshuang was from the leading noble family—virtuous, kind, and the mother of his legitimate son. Her reputation was impeccable. If he didn’t grant her the Empress title, it would be equivalent to demoting his wife to a concubine, inviting public criticism.

So, the original host could only bestow Chu Qingrou with the title of Consort. Yet he felt deep guilt and compensated her endlessly…

Gems and spices tributed by foreign lands, silks and brocades sent from the south, rare flowers and exotic plants from across the world—none of these were ever rewarded to Empress Cui Lingshuang. Instead, all of them flowed like water into Chu Qingrou’s Qingwu Palace.

But even with such overwhelming favor, Chu Qingrou remained indifferent.

Before marriage, she had already been known as the most talented woman in Shengjing. Her beauty was said to surpass frost and snow, and her personality was just as cold and pure.

The original host believed her aloofness was simply her nature.

It was precisely because she was noble and untainted by wealth or power that she would never flatter him like the other women.

But in truth…

Tang Anzhi, having absorbed the plot, knew the truth all too well.

It wasn’t that Chu Qingrou was born emotionless. It was because the original host was nothing more than a devoted supporting character!

And what did a supporting character amount to? How could he possibly be worthy of a flawless female lead?

Chu Qingrou considered herself pure and beyond the world, indifferent to imperial power and wealth. Even before marrying Tang Anzhi, she had already fallen in love with a stableboy in her household. The two had shared feelings and mutual affection. And that stableboy was the true protagonist of this world—

Though of low status, he was ambitious and strong, tall and muscular. He willingly went to war for the sake of the young lady and swore to earn glory and marry her.

When the stableboy left Shengjing, he took Chu Qingrou’s heart with him.

She accepted the original host’s protection of the Chu family and his endless indulgence with a clear conscience, yet never gave anything in return.

The original host had never even slept with her, because Chu Qingrou wanted to preserve her chastity for that stableboy. Whenever the original host showed the slightest intention to stay the night, Chu Qingrou would immediately accuse him of not truly loving her and only lusting after her body.

Eventually…

That stableboy became a decorated general. The two rekindled their relationship behind the Emperor’s back, becoming a pair of star-crossed lovers who had been forcibly separated. Yet, the original host never even got the chance to lie with Chu Qingrou.

The general resented the Emperor deeply, hating him for stealing his love, and secretly plotted rebellion to seize the throne.

Chu Qingrou, using the Emperor’s trust in her, delivered the fatal blow at the critical moment.

Thus, the flourishing Sheng Empire collapsed, torn apart in a storm of betrayal and war, plunging the realm into decades of chaos.

At this moment, more extravagant rewards were being delivered to Chu Qingrou’s palace.

The original host had only wanted to make her smile, but Chu Qingrou didn’t show the slightest appreciation and coldly responded with those words.

She was always like this. Whenever rewards arrived, she would certainly accept them, then send them out of the palace to support her crumbling Marquis Residence. But to hear a kind word from her? Impossible.

She greeted every favor with cold indifference. No matter how rare the treasure, she dismissed it as meaningless. She always emphasized that His Majesty insisted on giving—she never wanted them.

The original host, foolishly infatuated and lustful, didn’t get angry. Instead, he blamed the palace staff, thinking the so-called rare treasures were just worldly trinkets, unworthy of Chu Qingrou’s taste.

Tang Anzhi, however, wasn’t foolish. He wasn’t lusting after Chu Qingrou either.

So, he asked, “Consort Rou, do you truly not like these treasures I plan to bestow upon you?”

Chu Qingrou stood proud like a celestial maiden. Her stunning face remained indifferent, filled with the confidence that came from receiving the Emperor’s ultimate favor. In this world, she owed no one a good expression.

“Has Your Majesty not always known? I’ve never liked such things. If Your Majesty insists on giving them, I cannot defy the imperial decree.”

Every concubine in the palace referred to themselves as ‘this concubine,’ but Chu Qingrou never did.

“Magpie,” Chu Qingrou gestured for her personal maid to put the items away in storage.

But Tang Anzhi didn’t give her the chance.

“I didn’t insist on giving them. Since you don’t like them, then I won’t give them. Someone, take all of these to the Empress’s palace.”

Chief Eunuch Zhou Dequan was stunned for a moment, then quickly gave the order.

In his heart, he muttered: His Majesty loves Consort Rou the most. He gives her all the best things, even though she never appreciates it. Yet he always sends more. Could it be that this time, he’s simply acting out of anger?

What if, after cooling off, His Majesty blames him for lacking tact?

Even Chu Qingrou was caught off guard.

She felt insulted and looked at Tang Anzhi with eyes full of accusation.

Tang Anzhi was exhausted. His head was filled with future plotlines and the original host’s memories—he had to sort it all out.

Chu Qingrou refused to be respectful, and he had no intention of coaxing her. He turned and left.

“I still have matters to attend to. Beloved consort, do as you please.”

…

“Your Ladyship, His Majesty has never acted like this before!”

Magpie and Huamei were Chu Qingrou’s personal maids even before she married. They were used to seeing the Emperor cater to her every whim. This time… something was clearly different.

Chu Qingrou had doubts too, but her pride held firm.

“Just a petty display of anger.” She dismissed it with disdain.

So what if he gave her gifts and she refused them? Now he sends them to another woman, hoping to make her jealous?

If she had feelings for him, she might feel hurt. But she didn’t care about Tang Anzhi at all—so why would she care about the things he gave?

Chu Qingrou was indifferent, but over in Cheng’en Palace, Empress Cui was caught by surprise.

“Are these really sent by His Majesty to me?”

Zhou Dequan bowed respectfully. “This servant wouldn’t dare deceive Your Majesty.”

Cui Lingshuang had been raised in a powerful noble family and had seen many fine treasures. Though these gifts were rare, what mattered to her was the Emperor’s intention.

She had been married to the Emperor since their youth. It had been thirteen years.

From the time he was a proud and spirited teenager, she had loved him—and she never stopped.

But the Emperor’s heart had always belonged to Chu Qingrou. He had no room for any other woman. All the best things were given to her. Even the Qingwu Palace—traditionally the Empress’s residence—was bestowed upon Chu Qingrou.

The phoenix rests on the parasol tree. To him, Consort Rou was the only Empress in his heart.

Cui Lingshuang, a member of the noble Cui family, was made Empress only because political circumstances left the Emperor no other choice.

Now that such precious treasures had been delivered to her Cheng’en Palace, did that mean His Majesty had finally grown weary of Chu Qingrou’s coldness… and was beginning to look elsewhere?

Cui Lingshuang subtly probed Zhou Dequan and learned that these items had actually been sent to Qingwu Palace first before being redirected to her.

Her expression dimmed at once.

So that’s what it was.

She was just a prop in the Emperor’s spat with Consort Rou.