The Deposed Princess: Reigning Over All

A powerful female lead + princess + no romance + a battle for the throne

Yue Xiaoyue was born to privilege, the legitimate daughter of the empress and the most radiant, carefree girl in the capital. She thought she would be happy forever. But when she was five, on her mother's birthday, she accidentally drank a wedding wine and lost consciousness. When she awoke, her bedchamber was a scene of bloodshed. The crown prince lay beside her, barely alive. The emperor flew into a rage, and the Noble Consort's faction seized the chance to demand that Yue Xiaoyue be put to death. She pleaded her case, but before she could find evidence to prove her innocence, her mother, the empress, struck her head against a pillar and died before the assembled court. Her maternal grandfather, who commanded the army, retired and surrendered his military power, all to save her life. The emperor agreed to spare her, kept her princess title, and sent her to Shuiyue Convent, a hundred li from the capital, to recuperate. She neither cried nor protested. She obeyed and left the capital, determined to take revenge. Ten years later, an imperial decree arrived, summoning her back to the capital as the empress dowager lay gravely ill…