After many twists and turns, An Ning returned to the space several decades later.

It must be said, a life of leisurely retirement with no worries at all was truly comfortable. Because her days were happy and she had consistently practiced swordsmanship, keeping her body in decent shape, An Ning lived quite a long life this time.

Even at around ninety years old, she could still stroll through gardens and admire the scenery with her daughter, and occasionally even perform a round of swordsmanship.

Because her physical fitness had always been quite good, and with a group of imperial grandsons vying for power below, at least before An Ning passed away, her daughter showed no signs of becoming muddle-headed. She still sat on the imperial throne, firmly grasping military and political power.

Of course, there was also the series of transformations in handicrafts and subsidiary industries brought about by the rapid development of agriculture. While overseas trade and commerce across various regions brought enormous profits, they naturally also gave rise to some unstable factors.

Without a completely peaceful and comfortable external environment, there was naturally no cozy bed for those in high positions to lie back and enjoy themselves.

However, these matters had little to do with An Ning, the old Empress Dowager who didn’t concern herself with anything.

She smoothly accepted the one hundred points given by the original body. The original body’s greatest wish in this life was simply for her family not to encounter trouble and for her sisters to live peacefully and smoothly.

With the Crown Princess, even the Emperor’s niece, holding great power in her hands, the lives of the several sisters naturally needed no elaboration.

That Third Brother-in-law, Chen Hui, was also extremely tactful. Even after later rising to the position of a Minister of a ministry and successfully entering the Cabinet, from beginning to end, there had never been anyone else by his side. His offspring were also solely the Chen Dalang born to Third Sister.

Although he occasionally provided assistance to those siblings back in the countryside, he never let Third Miss Zhou worry about them in the slightest.

It could be said that although Third Sister initially had some difficulty adapting materially, and the cold-heartedness and indifference of the person beside her pillow was somewhat chilling, she herself wasn’t seeking genuine affection. In the end, she naturally got what she wished for.

After all, just as Lady Jiang had predicted that day, this Chen Silang was indeed a clever and capable person.

However, compared to this Third Brother-in-law whose official career could be described as smooth sailing, Eldest Sister’s Husband, Han Dalang, fell far short.

Jun’er herself possessed extraordinary martial prowess and considerable military achievements. The capable generals who followed her were countless. Han Dalang was not some earth-shattering talent either, at best considered above average.

Even if he was a biological uncle by marriage, without outstanding ability and not being particularly sharp-witted, why should he be promoted?

She, the dignified Crown Princess, did not need to rely on imperial relatives and in-laws!

Moreover, her own Empress Dowager mother’s impression of this eldest brother-in-law was merely ordinary. With this spare effort, wouldn’t it be better to conveniently give a boost to her cousins who were somewhat clever?

Wouldn’t that be even more convenient?

It’s just that what these actions meant in the eyes of Han Dalang, and even the entire Han family, remained unknown, especially when compared with the other brother-in-law whose official rank kept climbing step by step.

Of course, the most speechless one belonged to Eldest Young Lady Zhou.

Just ask Zhou Yun, who suddenly received a great wave of attentiveness from her own husband in middle age: “……”

It really wasn’t necessary, truly. If not for years of upbringing, Eldest Young Lady Zhou almost couldn’t resist rolling her eyes dramatically.

If it were when they were young, fine. But at this point…

Her gaze swept over the other’s face, which clearly showed some signs of age, and his slightly portly figure. Eldest Young Lady Zhou’s expression remained unchanged, but the speechlessness in her heart grew heavier.

He neither had Fifth Brother-in-law’s looks, nor Third Brother-in-law’s considerate talent and charm. To be honest, she really didn’t need these self-satisfied attentions much at this point.

With this spare time, she’d rather go gather with her own sisters. Failing that, listening to the wives of the various branches below amusing themselves in various ways wasn’t bad either.

Just thinking about the expression of the always dignified and gracious Eldest Sister when complaining about these things made An Ning unable to suppress a laugh.

But then again, with a powerful backer behind them and the sisters themselves being clever and skilled at managing things, naturally each lived well.

Until An Ning was around seventy, the several sisters could still gather together to drink tea and chat.

As for the original body’s younger brother, although his aptitude was mediocre, he was somewhat diligent. In the end, he still passed the provincial examination before the age of thirty.

Seeing that he was genuinely honest and not cut out to be an official or achieve great success, and after all, he was her Empress Dowager mother’s only full-blooded younger brother, Shangguan Jun simply waved her hand and granted him a not-too-big, not-too-small noble title.

With this layer of relationship, after dividing the family property, he lived quite well with his own concubine mother.

In contrast, Father Zhou, whether fortunate or unfortunate, lingered on his sickbed for so long, yet unfortunately passed away just a few days after Jun’er ascended the throne.

Walking the same path as him was Eldest Brother Zhou. Watching the title of Duke of Imperial Favor revert back to a Count in less than half a year, Lady Jiang: “…”

Not to mention Lady Jiang, even An Ning was stunned for a moment by this level of misfortune.

Fortunately, although Xing-ge wasn’t exceptionally clever, he did achieve something in the official arena, which counted as one of Lady Jiang’s few consolations…

After reminiscing for a moment, An Ning then unhurriedly opened the plot line.

As expected earlier, in the original body’s life before last, that is, before that Concubine Yu arrived, she was indeed a favored consort, and undoubtedly the final victor, the Empress Dowager.

However, unexpectedly, the original body’s capabilities were clearly not limited to that.

In that lifetime, seeing that Eldest Young Lady Zhou still remained unfavored, and after entering the palace for three years there was still no news at all, to satisfy their ambitions, the Zhou family naturally sent the original body into the palace again.

But this time, they clearly bet correctly.

Her previous guess was right. The original body’s appearance and personality were exactly the type the Emperor liked. Even bearing the title of a noble’s daughter, which he least favored, it still couldn’t stop the original body’s fierce momentum.

Although there were setbacks, in less than a year, without even being pregnant, she had already reached the position of Noble Lady. Two years later, upon first becoming pregnant, she was promoted to the rank of Consort. Even though court ministers opposed it in various ways, when the Fourth Prince was eight years old, she was still successfully conferred as an Imperial Noble Consort.

More importantly, by then the Emperor was already quite advanced in years, and his health wasn’t great to begin with. To pave the way for the Fourth Prince at her knee, who was also the only clever and bright prince, not only did he personally ruin the prospects of the several princes ahead, but fearing the new Emperor would be young and be controlled by court ministers, especially his elder sister, in his final years, he personally taught the original body how to wield power.

Before his death, he even left an edict for the Empress Dowager to preside over court affairs until the new Emperor reached adulthood.

With a legitimate title, and the Grand Princess having no successors at that time, the original body’s regency behind the curtain faced no major obstacles. After all, she was the Emperor. Even if her methods were average, that was only in comparison to formidable people like the Grand Princess.

Besides, she herself had received orthodox imperial education.

And although the original body was lazy, she was undoubtedly a clever person. Moreover, after years of palace struggles, she had matured considerably in mind.

Although there were some setbacks at the beginning, she steadily laid a solid foundation for the later Emperor…

A Regent Empress Dowager!

No wonder, An Ning couldn’t help but think, that Concubine Yu was so wary of the original body.

She simply started directly with the original body’s eldest sister, giving the original body no chance to enter the palace at all.

However, ruthless as she was, she indeed succeeded in the previous lifetime.

Just thinking about the expression of the always dignified and gracious Eldest Sister when complaining about these things made An Ning unable to suppress a laugh.

It could be said she killed her husband, killed her son, killed her grandson, all the way to becoming the Grand Empress Dowager, reigning for several decades…

In the lifetime where the original body was exiled.

Although Emperor Sheng’an was incompetent, as the emperor of a nation, he still possessed the expected suspicion. Unlike that lifetime where he almost fully supported the original body’s regency and assistance, in the previous lifetime, after confirming that the Third Prince indeed had a good mind and the intention to pass the throne to him, the first thing he planned was to bestow poisoned wine and send Concubine Yu on her way.

The result, the result… naturally was that she struck first and sent him on his way instead.

Only because there was no imperial decree, and with the Grand Princess present, the dream of presiding over court was ultimately shattered.

But it didn’t matter. Unlike this lifetime where she had too few chips and was overly anxious. Having already become the Empress Dowager, Murong Qing had enough time, even patience, to wait. Besides, the new Emperor was young.

The Grand Princess was also of such an age, destined to have a continuous stream of opportunists in the court siding with her, the Empress Dowager.

As long as she was involved in governance, and with the system’s help, this period was also enough for Murong Qing to learn political maneuvering and struggles…

And this wait lasted over a decade. Almost in the second year after the Grand Princess passed away, her own son, that is, the new Emperor, contracted an acute illness. His originally decent health suddenly weakened, eventually reaching the point where he couldn’t get out of bed.

Finally, perhaps having realized something, just as he wanted to counterattack, he ultimately “died of illness” completely within a few years.

The only two princes at his knee were even younger…

Everything that followed proceeded logically.

As for what to do when the young children grew up and united with ministers to demand power, well, they naturally had to die! After all, there would be more obedient children later.

Along with a group of imperial clan members and ministers who wanted to “usurp power.”

Impressive!

Not to mention Lady Jiang, even An Ning was stunned for a moment by this level of misfortune.

If there was one regret for her in the previous lifetime, it was probably not successfully proclaiming herself Emperor, right? Even though she almost slaughtered the imperial clan clean.

Of course, the constant changes and struggles of political power, the trial-and-error process in between, and the hidden dangers brought by a ruler who hadn’t received orthodox imperial education were naturally not small.

Decades of consistent study, plus the wisdom from a past life, Murong Qing did have methods. But unfortunately, these methods were not possessed by the younger generation she had desperately suppressed during her reign.

However, regardless, during her decades-long reign, apart from the imperial throne, she indeed obtained what she wanted…

As for this lifetime, one can only say it was a matter of timing and fate!

Closing the world line in her hands, without the slightest hesitation, An Ning quickly pressed the button.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep