[Female lead controls the whole game • skilled in everything • high-IQ strategist • ruthless and sparing with words • devotion to home and country • putting the nation first]
The female lead is clearheaded and single-minded about revenge. The male lead has no mind of his own and is weak and useless, while the second male lead is obsessive, lovesick, and possessive.
Xie Ruyan, the legitimate daughter of the Xie family, should have had a brilliant life. But as a child, she witnessed her entire family being slaughtered, and was imprisoned in the Duke of Zhenguo's residence from then on.
Years of imprisonment never broke her spirit. At a hunting competition between eight nations, her exceptional horsemanship and archery won back the dignity of Da Qi, a nation long bullied by foreign powers. There, she was also reunited with a childhood friend.
Though she knew how he felt about her, Xie Ruyan ruthlessly used him for the sake of revenge.
She carefully plotted against her enemies' children and everyone around them, sparing not a single one and making them repent in hell.
When she learned that her childhood friend had deceived her, she showed no mercy, setting a trap to lock him in a cage and teach him a lesson.
Just as she was about to marry into Prince Ding's residence, news broke that the Ninth Prince had spent the night with a maid. Xie Ruyan seized the opportunity to take back the authority he could have used to command the Xie army.
On the wedding night, the Ninth Prince, who was supposed to appear, vanished without a trace. The one who arrived was that man instead.
After moving into the prince's residence, Xie Ruyan dealt with the servants who knew no rules by mixing rewards with punishments. She gave them a sweet first, then a slap, and sent them out of the residence once she was done teaching them a lesson.
When a concubine schemed to frame her for losing her chastity and causing her miscarriage, Xie Ruyan turned the plot against her and made sure the concubine was punished.
After taking her revenge, Xie Ruyan showed no fear when her husband betrayed her and gave the promised throne to someone else, because everything had gone according to plan.
After successfully overthrowing Yun Che, Xie Ruyan and Gu Jiuli founded the Yan Kingdom, and she became a wise ruler for the ages.
