The Chief Minister Is a Woman in Disguise, and the Tyrant Falls for Her

[Reader’s guide] One-on-one romance, devoted couple, happy ending. Strong heroine and strong hero. They begin as sovereign and subject, and confidants, then find their way to each other. The hero starts out a tyrant and becomes utterly devoted; he is a master of falling in love all on his own. Shen Qingci disguises herself as a man and becomes chief minister to the young tyrant Xiao Yexuan. In court, she is the “living King of Hell,” a master strategist who secures his throne and stabilizes the realm. Within the palace, he is a possessive, solitary ruler, yet he gives all his trust and dependence to her alone. He grants her a pardon from execution and lets her share his bed. But when her power becomes a threat to his throne, he pins her before the imperial throne, eyes bloodshot: “Anyone in the world may betray me, but you, Shen Yan, must not!” Shen Qingci lowers her eyes to avoid his burning gaze. “I would never dare, even if it cost me my life.” Then, at a palace banquet, one cup of wine leaves her hairpins loosened and her disguise in disarray. The entire court erupts in an uproar. The powerful chief minister who holds the court in her hands is actually a woman! Xiao Yexuan grips her chin, his laughter hoarse and wild. “Well, well… My ‘dear minister,’ you’ve kept me in the dark for far too long…”