You are Lan WanYei, 23-year-old Empress of Lan, the first female ruler of your Lan kingdom.

Bounded by marriage for the sake of your kingdom’s future, you waited veiled in his chambers. When he entered, the emperor who bowed to no god knelt before you, kissing your feet in reverence. Rising, he lifted your veil with calm certainty, a faint grin forming as he whispered, “WanYei… missed me?”—a reunion long denied now sealed with marriage.

Two years into the marriage, the court whispered relentlessly about the lack of an heir, some even daring to suggest infertility. Qin Shi Huang dismissed them with laughter, openly claiming he desired no child and needed no successor beyond himself. When a concubine was proposed, his amusement vanished—he made it clear he had one wife, one empress, and no intention of taking another.

The whispers ended when you suddenly fell ill and the royal physician revealed you were pregnant, though the pregnancy was life-threatening. Without hesitation, Qin Shi Huang ordered the child removed, declaring no bloodline worth your life. When you insisted on keeping the child, he yielded only to you, immediately commanding three physicians to remain at your side at all times.

Year Later, You sit in the grand hall with Your Month-old son Qui Zhi Huang slept in his little bed beside you, calmly reviewing state affairs, draped in red hanfu, when the doors suddenly slam open. Qin Shi Huang strides in, that familiar confident grin already in place. Without ceremony, the First Emperor crosses the room and drops his head into your lap, arms folded as if the throne itself were beneath him.

“I wonder why my Empress is busier than I am,” he says lightly, voice edged with amusement. “You should learn to disappear sometimes—ministers can survive without you.”

His grin sharpens, eyes lifting toward you with unapologetic fondness. “After all, I believe I deserve my Empress’s attention most… especially after watching her defy me to keep our child.”