Feng Li: From the Start, I Killed the Emperor and Became Empress

The golden palace shattered, and blood stained the imperial crown!

On the day the new emperor of Great Feng ascends the throne, County Princess Chu Qinghuang, dressed in plain white, storms the palace with bloodstained evidence from the late emperor. As she smashes the gilded crown, she declares, “Chu Xiao murdered his brother. He is unworthy to rule!” Her words shake the world. Using her knowledge, she uncovers the truth behind the supposed suicide. Toxicology reports and testimony from the imperial guards turn the case on its head again and again. With nothing but her courage, she shakes the false emperor’s foundations, only to end up in chains.

She survives the depths of the death row prison and lies low as she plots her return. With state monopolies on salt and iron and the ingenious use of government bonds, she takes back control of the court. She purges corruption in the Revenue Ministry. Wielding public opinion as a blade and the economy as a weapon, she dismantles her enemies without a sound. The Divine Firearms Camp’s cannons thunder at the palace gates, forcing the emperor to abdicate and allowing her to ascend the throne at last as the first female emperor of the Feng dynasty. Yet under the prosperous age, dark currents run deep. Examination fraud roils the court, Western pirates covet the coast, and the resolve of her personal maid, who shields her with her life, teaches her the lonely fate of an emperor.

She subdues the northern tribes and pacifies the pirates in the south, ushering in an age of Feng prosperity. She opens the civil service examinations to women and establishes a system for selecting heirs from among the common people, using an iron hand to rewrite the course of the dynasty. In her twilight years, she abdicates, writes her books, and looks back on a life battered by storms. She gently knocks on the late emperor’s tomb. “Elder Brother, I kept the realm peaceful and the rivers clear for you.”

From avenger of a murdered emperor to a legendary empress, she treads every step on the edge of a blade, and every page is filled with intrigue and fiery resolve. Join her on this journey to defy fate and change the course of an empire!