Vermilion Robes Upon Her Hairpin

[Court intrigue + woman disguised as a man + no romance + ensemble cast]

The first person Xie Yaoyao killed in her life was the second wife her father insisted on marrying.

She was seven years old.

The second time she killed someone was when she was fifteen.

At the time, she was a newly appointed top scholar disguised as a man, assigned to investigate a corruption case.

It was also the first time she confronted her father since killing his second wife.

The ridiculous thing was, her father did not recognize her. He only begged her to spare him.

But her father did not know that he was the person Xie Yaoyao most wanted to kill.

How could the man who married off his own daughter, her elder sister, to a seventy-year-old man to advance his career still live in comfort and glory?

She personally oversaw his execution, watching the shock in her father’s eyes as he finally recognized her in his last moments. She only smiled.

Later, she became the Xie Yao everyone spoke of, the ruthless, decisive powerbroker.

She pushed through new policies, reformed the tax system, and stood against every great clan, yet no one dared challenge her.

Because she was truly ruthless.

Some hated her, calling her cruel and vicious.

Some trusted her, believing she had a discerning eye for talent.

Others wanted her dead, accusing her of controlling the emperor to command the realm.

But Xie Yaoyao never cared.

She had known since childhood that without power or influence, you would become someone else’s dish. She would never be that dish.

She would be the one on top!