The Female Duke Who Rose from the Capital’s Finest Brothel

Strong female lead + ensemble cast of women Everyone in the capital says the women of Tingfang Pavilion are femme fatales. One smile from them can make the top scholar forget his exams; one dance can send a great general tumbling from his warhorse; one pipa song can make members of the imperial clan vie to offer up half their fortunes. And I, Shen Qingci, grew up in a place like that. My mother, Shen Yunlan, runs Tingfang Pavilion. She's the fiercest woman in the capital and the most fiercely protective mother around. She won't let me call her Mother. She makes me call her "Sister" instead, because she says it makes her seem younger. The Twelve Flower Goddesses of Tingfang Pavilion are all unfortunate women she personally took in. One is a princess of a fallen kingdom, another the daughter of a disgraced official, another a divorced legal wife, and another a courtesan who escaped a living hell. They don't sell their bodies, only their talents. They leave the men of the capital spellbound, yet never let a man set foot in their bedrooms. I was raised by this group of women. So... I have the plum blossom's cool elegance, the peony's grace, the peach blossom's allure, the chrysanthemum's proud aloofness... I learned every one of the Twelve Flower Goddesses' signature skills. The most beautiful woman in the capital? That's me. The most talented woman in the capital? Also me. The fiercest woman in the capital? Still me. When the Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review threatened to punish my mother, I grabbed him by the collar and gave him a three-incense-stick-long tongue-lashing right in the street. I left him red-faced, and the very next day he showed up with betrothal gifts to ask for my hand. The Crown Prince wanted to take me as his secondary consort. I lifted my wine and splashed it in his face. "Even your father wouldn't dare speak to me like that." What I truly want is this: For women everywhere to no longer have to depend on men to survive. I will become the first female duke of the Great Liang Empire.