Great Sheng’s Number One Playboy: The Disowned Son-in-Law

The First Wastrel of the Dasheng Dynasty: Cast-Off Son and Abandoned Husband follows the undercurrents swirling through the Anle Marquis’s estate in the Dasheng Dynasty. Zhao Feng, the eldest legitimate son of the marquis, lost his mother at an early age. His stepmother, Liu Jiaoe, is a venomous schemer. To survive the dangers of the marquis’s household, Zhao Feng has pretended to be a good-for-nothing since the age of twelve, secretly honing his literary and martial skills while keeping a low profile. At twenty, he is framed by his stepmother, cast out by his father, and abandoned by his fiancée, becoming both a discarded son and a rejected bridegroom. In his darkest hour, he sheds every disguise at the estate gifted to him by his childhood friend. Armed with knowledge beyond his time, he starts with a jar of strong liquor, invents hot pot, improves textile production, and gradually builds a vast business empire. The story’s great villain, Xiao Jianren, the chancellor’s son, sees Zhao Feng as his lifelong nemesis. Desperate to outshine him, he colludes with foreign powers and frames loyal officials,

But Zhao Feng’s hidden brilliance cannot stay concealed forever. He shocks the court as the top scorer in both the civil and military examinations, shattering every prejudice against him. He navigates the court, the martial world, the marketplace, and the frontier, while his fate becomes entwined with five remarkable women: Empress Li Yuling, who disguises herself as a man while sitting alone on the dragon throne; his gentle, resilient childhood sweetheart, Lu Qianqian; Shen Mengyao, the sharp and capable daughter of a wealthy merchant; Ouyang Mingyue, the forthright and chivalrous princess of an enemy state; and Qin Ruolan, a valiant and spirited female general. They become his confidantes and allies as he rises to power.

When the empress’s identity is exposed and she faces a deadly coup, Zhao Feng turns the tide and becomes the pillar holding up the nation’s destiny. In the end, he answers the Mandate of Heaven, founds a new dynasty, advances agriculture and industry, builds an invincible fleet, and pacifies the four seas. He destroys the Eastern Isles in one fell swoop, ends a century of turmoil, and ushers in an unprecedented age of peace and prosperity.