A domineering, headstrong princess who doesn’t understand love × a cool, upright scholar who’s truly innocent
[Heroine who takes what she wants + traditional historical romance + both leads are each other’s only one + devoted husband + wife who keeps her husband in line + fictional setting]
In the capital, Princess Zhaoning’s name was infamous.
She was spoiled and domineering, indulged by her family, and unable to have children.
The noblewomen of the capital all kept their distance from her.
Shen Mingzhao’s father had complicated feelings about her. He was proud of her talent, looks, and status, yet wary of how impossible she was to handle.
Even her marriage had to be approved by her personally.
Fortunately, she agreed to marry Zhu Yunfei, the son of the Minister of Personnel.
The Great Liang dynasty valued civil officials over the military, while the Duke of Zhenguo’s family had served in the military for generations. An alliance with a civil official’s family would, barring any surprises, greatly strengthen the duke’s influence.
But sometimes, life doesn’t play by the rules!
Well! Here comes the surprise!
In Shen Mingzhao’s eyes, marriage was nothing but a transaction.
Her father had spent more than a decade carefully raising her only to make her marriage more advantageous.
But the future she had planned so carefully was challenged on the eve of her wedding.
How could she tolerate her betrothed’s betrayal?
Why should a princess like her settle for a man who had been sullied?
Yet even after she called off the wedding, the uproar only grew.
What a headache!
So she decided to abduct a fair-faced scholar: clean, handsome, and just the thing to put an end to the turmoil.
But after they married, the scholar became all bashful and awkward, going on every day about propriety, morality, and how such behavior was beneath a gentleman.
Tsk!
Why so much chatter?
Just get on with it!
That’s all there is to it!
It's not about female competition, but the female characters in it all have their own growth, and the heroine's optimism and strength also subtly affects the people around her. I hope you won't be disturbed by some one-sided and arbitrary comments. Everyone needs room to grow, and the characters in the book are no exception.