The Phoenix's Stratagem Shakes the Tang Dynasty

In the early years of the Zhenguan era, ritual and law were as unyielding as iron, and imperial authority loomed like a mountain. Shen Mingshu was the daughter of a disgraced official. Her family was destroyed overnight, and she was forced to enter the palace as a female official, caught in the deadly struggle among the princes for the throne. Li Chengyao was the prince Li Shimin both feared most and relied on most. With brilliant military accomplishments and a cold, ruthless nature, everyone believed he was born to sit on the Dragon Throne.

She didn’t want to be anyone’s pawn, yet she became bound to the [Chinese Heroes and Spirits AI Simulator]. The court was ensnared in a web of aristocratic clans, upright officials, and marriage alliances. She loaded the [AI Guiguzi Template] to model the game of power and read people’s hearts. Foreign nations threatened the borders with their cavalry, so she loaded the [AI Lu Ban Template], inventing repeating crossbows, improving irrigation, and expanding workshops, advancing the technology of the Tang dynasty until everyone trembled.

But the more brilliantly she shone, the more deeply entangled she became with Li Chengyao. He suspected her, used her, and protected her. Then, beneath the palace walls on a rainy night, he clutched her wrist and asked in a low voice, “Shen Mingshu, you can read everyone in the world. Have you ever tried to read me?”

Three years later, the Tang dynasty had expanded its borders, and both the literary world and the court had changed because of her. She opened the System, and the highest authority, [Ultimate Template: AI Qin Shi Huang], lit up: [Loading this template will overwrite the fortunes of the Tang dynasty. Confirm?] Looking at Li Shimin on the Dragon Throne and the silent Li Chengyao by her side, she finally understood: the one she had to save was not just a nation, but also a man who loved her to the point of madness and was destined to be buried with imperial power.