The Great Zhao's Female Chancellor: She Helped the Empress Dowager Ascend the Throne

【A growth-oriented female lead + multiple male leads with one-sided feelings for her + court intrigue + fictional setting + slow-burn wish fulfillment + rising through the ranks on genuine talent】 The female lead does not enter into a romantic or marital relationship with any of the male leads in the main storyline. Shen Shanyi, the legitimate daughter of a fallen noble family, possesses extraordinary skills in calligraphy and seal carving. Proud to the core, she is treated as a pawn by her father and brothers, who pressure her to marry an old minister. To restore her family’s former glory, she tears up the marriage contract and resolutely enters the palace, only to be banished to a desolate courtyard deep within the imperial palace for standing out too much. Everyone thinks that the once-celebrated, virtuous prodigy will fade into obscurity. But she is determined to defy fate and change her destiny. At the grand ceremony, she stirs up the court, completes the mandate of Heaven, and saves the empire from collapse. Beyond the frontier, she uncovers a secret that shocks the entire court. In the imperial court, she debates the scholars, champions the imperial examinations for women, and opens up a new path for them. Through decades of political maneuvering, she advances one careful step at a time, helping the Empress Dowager reach the pinnacle of power. A mere female historian, she comes to command the court for generations. Meet the male leads: Yu Mingyuan, an upright Confucian official Huo Sui, a loyal guard Yuchi Yi, a battle-hardened general Li Heng, a scheming prince