Return to the Nest

Ten years as a hostage. One day back home.

The emperor's favor is a sham. The murderous intent is real.

The loving father and dutiful son are acting. The plot to ensnare her runs bone-deep.

They see her as a bird in a cage, a fish on a chopping block, a whetstone for their blades.

But they don't know she's the one holding the knife.

This gilded nest is the hunting ground she chose for herself.

She returns to the nest, only to bring it crashing down.

This time, she is no longer Jiang Ning, but the Seventh Prince, Jiang Wang.

That day, the Golden Hall blazed with light, bright as day.

She walked step by step before the Son of Heaven and declared in a clear voice, "Your son, Jiang Ning, requests that Father abdicate."

Behind her, the assembled ministers bowed their heads. "We request that Your Majesty abdicate."

If a man can sit upon the throne, then so can she!

--

In the winter of the twentieth year of Chongyuan, Jiang Ning returns home from the State of Yan, where she has spent ten years as a hostage. The emperor has her enter through the East Glorious Gate, live in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and bestows on her the title of Prince Duan. She receives unparalleled favor.

But beneath that embroidered python robe lie the emperor's night of passion and its sinful consequences, ten years spent as a hostage in Yan in the place of the Seventh Prince, and the secret that she is a woman.

At the crown prince's enthronement ceremony, her sex is exposed.

With her hair loose, she smiles in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"So after all the great writings and glorious histories of the ages, all you can do is lift my skirts. Too bad. Today, I'll be the one to decide what happens."

Behind her, black-armored cavalry form ranks. The sound of blades being drawn cuts through the cold wind. "Your daughter, Jiang Ning, requests that Father abdicate."

Later, the history books record how she forced her father from the throne, shattering centuries of ironclad rules as a woman.

During a game of strategy on a long night, someone once moved a piece and asked her, "Your Highness, what is it you truly want?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked up at the sunlight. "From this day on, I want no one in this world to have their whole life imprisoned just for being a woman."

Theme: If fate won't grant it, I'll take it myself.