Quick Transmigration: The main focus is on speed.

The original owner was the eldest son of the Queen of Qin, and the only prince of Qin at present. He had just turned one year old, and today was his first birthday banquet, which was held in a grand manner. However, the man who was called his father was sitting on the dragon throne with a forced smile, looking at the court officials below who were congratulating him.

Qin Shou, the eighth prince of Qin, was the son of a foot-washing maid whom the late emperor had favored after drinking.

Logically speaking, Qin Shou had no chance of winning the throne, but fate is so unpredictable. The eldest prince and the second prince fought each other, and in the process, one lost a leg and the other lost an arm. The eldest prince, who lost his leg, went to a remote mountain forest to cultivate immortality and grow his leg again; the second prince, who lost his arm, became obsessed with training eagles and took his black eagle to bravely venture into the martial arts world.

After witnessing the fates of their elder brothers, the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince made a gentleman's agreement: they would not resort to underhanded tactics, but would openly fight each other, from the court to childbirth. If someone in the Third Prince's household was pregnant today, the Fourth Prince would surely emerge from his residence with dark circles under his eyes tomorrow.

They did not cherish their health. At such a young age, they looked like old men, with gray hair and hunched bodies, appearing to be a generation older than the late emperor. As a result, they lost their eligibility to succeed to the throne and passed away one after another before the late emperor's death, leaving behind only a group of children in the palace.

The fifth and sixth princes, born of the same mother, were unwilling to participate in this pointless struggle. They took the gold, silver, treasures, and army given to them by their maternal clan and secretly left the Qin Kingdom. They disappeared without a trace for several years afterward. Before leaving, they also took their mother and all her clan members with them.

After losing six princes in succession, the seventh prince was overjoyed but then went mad in court, stripping naked in public. He never regained his senses after that.

The late emperor was already deeply grieving over the successive deaths of his princes, and now, witnessing the seventh prince fall ill, he vomited blood in a fit of rage. It wasn't until someone remembered the existence of the eighth prince, Qin Shou, that the late emperor breathed his last, watching as the eighth prince was dragged from the cold palace and dressed in the imperial robes.

Even though Qin Shou didn't look like the Crown Prince when he wore the dragon robe, he was still his own bloodline. The late emperor arranged several noble ladies for Qin Shou and bestowed marriages upon him before he closed his eyes in death.

Qin Shou, who was ignored by everyone and could only make a living by stealing chickens and dogs every day, became the new emperor of Qin and even had an empress and concubines.

Qin Shou had a palace maid named Liu Ruyan who depended on him for survival, but he did not go against the opinions of others to make Liu Ruyan his empress. Instead, he made Liu Ruyan a concubine, the lowest-ranking person in the harem, and everyone bullied her.

The two were deeply in love, but lacked the means to protect their relationship. So, Qin Shou had a brilliant idea: he built a secret passage in Weiyang Palace that led directly to Liu Ruyan's bedroom.

When the secret guards assisted Qin Shou in having sex with the concubines, Qin Shou would use a secret passage to find Liu Ruyan.

However, Qin Shou forgot to administer an infertility drug to his secret guards, which led to the Empress becoming pregnant. He was essentially cuckolded, which could be attributed to his dislike for the Empress and his unavoidable predicament.

But if a child is conceived, it would mean handing the throne over to someone else.

Even if Qin Shou was stupid, he knew that royal bloodlines could not be mixed up. But what could a puppet emperor with a love-struck mind do? He couldn't get an abortion, so he could only watch helplessly as the empress gave birth to a son safely. Qin Shou even had to happily bestow a name and reward him. That's how the original owner got the name Qin Yuan.

Perhaps Qin Shou was too narrow-minded, so busy with how to make the original owner's child die in the womb that he completely forgot that he should sterilize the secret guards.

Thus, when the Empress was eight months pregnant, the Imperial Concubine was also found to be one month pregnant, and most of the other women in the harem were subsequently found to be pregnant as well.

Qin Shou touched Liu Ruyan's lower abdomen, not understanding what the difference was between himself and the secret guards. Why was he working diligently every day, but still not seeing results? Could it be that...?

Thinking of this, Qin Shou finally remembered the matter of sterilizing the secret guards.

At the same time, Qin Shou was afraid that the women in the harem would give birth to a few more illegitimate children for him, so he hurriedly implemented an abortion plan. However, when he got to the Imperial Concubine, he became hesitant and restrained.

Fortunately, when the Imperial Concubine was five months pregnant, the imperial physician informed him that she was carrying a daughter. Qin Shou was finally relieved and busied himself with Liu Ruyan.

He refused to believe that he, an emperor, could be inferior to the secret guards.

Despite Qin Shou's tireless efforts, Liu Ruyan did not succeed in winning him over. Instead, she taught Qin Shou how to sow discord between the Empress and the Imperial Concubine, allowing him to reap the benefits.

When the original owner was eight years old, the Empress and the Consort's maternal clans fought to the point of exhaustion. Seeing that the time was right, Qin Shou staged a scene of catching his wife in adultery, making it public that he had become a father by accident.

The Empress, the Imperial Concubine, and others died without ever knowing why the eldest prince and the eldest princess were not Qin Shou's children.

With the Empress and Consort gone, Qin Shou dismissed the harem, leaving only Liu Ruyan, fulfilling his promise of a lifetime of one love.

Unfortunately, not long after, the army crossed the border, the Qin state was destroyed, and Qin Shou and Liu Ruyan escaped from the palace ahead of time. They took their gold and silver and hid in a beautiful village, living a blissful life together.

The entire Qin state, except for Qin Shou and Liu Ruyan, was living in dire straits, including the common people who knew nothing about it.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The main hall was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful ribbons. On the exquisite low table, there was a dazzling array of objects: a small jade seal symbolizing power, gold ingots representing wealth, ancient books symbolizing knowledge, a small sword symbolizing military prowess, and a rouge box inlaid with various gemstones.

Qi Yuan glanced at the rouge box that emitted a dazzling light, his eyes darkened, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Qin Shou, who had just secretly placed the rouge box when no one was looking, felt like someone was watching him. He was unsure whether to stand or sit, his eyes darting around, but he wouldn't look towards the low table.

Tsk, someone like that can become emperor? He really got incredibly lucky.

Today, Qi Yuan would be praised for anything she brought. Even a red bodice embroidered with mandarin ducks would be lauded as auspicious and festive, let alone a rouge box. Only someone as uncouth as Qin Shou would think that Qi Yuan taking the rouge box was a slap in the face to the Empress.

Don't they even look around? Who among those present today isn't a member of the Empress's maternal clan? Are they all out of their minds to go around spreading rumors? Even the Imperial Concubine isn't on bad terms with the Empress. I don't know where Qin Shou got the brains to do all this.

Qi Yuan looked at Qin Shou, who was doing disgusting things, and picked up the small jade seal. Immediately, various congratulatory voices rang out.

"With the Crown Prince being like this, he will surely inherit the throne and become a wise and benevolent ruler of Qin..."

"The eldest prince is far superior to the emperor in both literary and military prowess..."

Qi Yuan finally saw Qin Shou's dark face and laughed as she nestled into the Empress's arms.

"The eldest prince is quite the clever little devil. If the child in my womb has even a fraction of his intelligence, then all the suffering I've endured in childbirth will have been worthwhile." The Imperial Concubine walked up to the Empress without bowing, fiddling with the jeweled rouge box that had been on the low table, teasing Qi Yuan.

"You're always dabbling in these petty, low-class things. Is it even worth your time?" The Empress rolled her eyes at the Consort, not even glancing at the rouge box.

"This harem is really boring. Just treat it as entertainment. After all, no emperor in history has ever been like ours..." The imperial concubine said, gently covering the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, her smile full of teasing.

"They're always up to no good, so you should keep an eye on them."

Noticing the Empress's gaze fixed on her abdomen, the Consort smiled and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, he cannot harm me in the slightest."

Before entering the palace, the two weren't exactly at odds, but their relationship wasn't great either. However, both knew their purpose for entering the palace. Both were raised by prominent families, and upon entering the palace, they immediately sensed that Qin Shou had no interest in either of them. They just hadn't expected Qin Shou to be capable of cuckolding them. Otherwise, even if the Empress and the Imperial Concubine were locked in a fierce battle, as long as the original owner of this body could grow up safely, they could achieve their goal of entering the palace.

After receiving the original owner's memories, Qi Yuan originally thought that the Empress and the Consort had a bad relationship. But after seeing that scene just now, she realized that the two actually had a good relationship. In particular, the Empress's sister actually married the Consort's brother. Although this was done secretly, it seemed to be a marriage alliance. So why did they fight in the previous life?

Could it be that they were deliberately putting on an act for Qin Shou? It's just unexpected that the original owner and the eldest princess really weren't Qin Shou's children, otherwise this is inexplicable.

Qi Yuan had a strong thirst for knowledge and, fearing he might be mistaken, restored the memories of the Empress and the Imperial Concubine that very night.

Seeing the Imperial Concubine rush over despite the late hour and throw herself into the Empress's arms, Qi Yuan thought: Ah no, no wonder... you should have said earlier that you two were in this relationship!

"Lingxi~ You're still alive, that's wonderful!"

"Xuan'er~ I'm here, don't be afraid, I'm here..." The Empress held the person in her arms, stroking the Consort's back with one hand to comfort her.

"He's disgusting! What should we do? What should we do now? No, I'm going to tell Father! I'm going to make Father kill this dog emperor!" The imperial concubine was pregnant, and she spoke without any restraint.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to Xuan'er. Sit down and have a bowl of milk." The Empress looked at the Consort with affection. Qi Yuan on the bed closed his eyes. He hadn't expected to be fed dog food in this situation.

Listening to the Empress's gentle soothing voice, Qi Yuan gradually fell asleep and had no idea what the two women discussed afterwards.

A month passed peacefully. On this day, Qi Yuan lay in bed unable to fall asleep. Given the Consort's recent behavior, this time should have passed by now. Why hadn't she come yet, and the Empress was not there either?

Just as he was feeling resentful and puzzled, the sounds of fighting outside shattered the tranquility of the night.

Qin Shou was holding Liu Ruyan, dreaming about the future, when he heard the noise and his expression changed drastically.

"Ah Shou!" Liu Ruyan trembled with fear at the sound of the voice, wishing she could be stuffed into Qin Shou's body to feel safe.

"No, I don't know." Qin Shou's voice trembled.

The sounds of fighting outside continued, growing closer and closer. Inside the house, Qin Shou and Liu Ruyan huddled together behind the bed curtains, trembling.

With a loud crash, the door shattered into pieces, and splinters of wood flew in front of Qin Shou, startling Liu Ruyan into screaming and attracting the attention of the newcomers.

"Brothers, go! Take this guard away who's having an affair with the empress!"

"I, I am the Emperor! You, you dare!" Qin Shou could barely speak as he watched the burly man approach step by step.

"You're the Emperor? Then I'm the Retired Emperor! Today, the Emperor is in the Empress's palace, how could he be in this lowly concubine's palace? You two are clearly adulterers! Enough, stop listening to his excuses, take him away!"

"Be careful when you arrest him, don't hurt this adulterer's face, understand?" the head guard added.

"Yes!" The guards responded readily, their hands moving even faster as the blades fell. With Qin Shou's screams, his face was completely disfigured, unrecognizable from his original form.

"Oh dear, how did you get so much blood? This won't do. If this offends Her Majesty the Empress's eyes, it would be a capital offense. What should we do?" The head guard looked at Qin Shou's pitiful, blood-covered face with a troubled expression.

"My lord, wood ash can stop bleeding." There was always a shrewd guard who would speak up. Sure enough, someone immediately went to the small kitchen to get wood ash and applied it to Qin Shou's face.

The person who had already fainted from the pain screamed like a pig being slaughtered again, and Liu Ruyan was not far behind. One or two cuts missed and landed on Liu Ruyan's face.

The next morning, news of the Emperor's assassination attempt in Consort Liu's palace spread throughout the entire palace, plunging the entire palace into panic and chaos (fake).