The Ningzhou Strategy

[Please don't wait until it's complete to read. Comments welcome]

Clever, scheming, ambitious, and independent heroine x awkward, devoted, pure-hearted young wolf

An official who seems as serene as a chrysanthemum but has an extremely active inner monologue x a seemingly inscrutable young lord who is actually simple-minded

Growth | Infrastructure | Political intrigue | Ensemble of women | Mysteries | A touch of business management

Song Yulin is known as the strictest mother in the Liang court.

As a remonstrance official, she criticizes everything and everyone.

From peddlers and laborers to the emperor himself.

She is especially merciless toward the great clans caught up in factional struggles.

The explanation is that she's jealous because she comes from a poor family.

After making the emperor so angry his beard nearly bristles once again, she receives an imperial edict from on high: she is to be sent to Ningzhou as an inspector. It borders the Hu and Han lands, is remote and desolate, and she may not return to the capital without permission.

The court is eager to see her make a fool of herself. The powerful men she's criticized are even more eager, waiting to watch the once-mighty female official leave the city gates in tears.

She simply says, "Just what I wanted!"

-

Ningzhou is remote, ruled by corrupt officials and plagued by disasters. She learns as much on her very first day there.

By a tea stall, Song Yulin points at a group of riders and asks with a raised brow, "Who's leading them?"

The tea stall owner replies, "The heir to the Prince of Huaibei, General Liang. A very proper and upright fellow. He's quite the gentleman."

Song Yulin thinks to herself, Tsk. He's had that stiff, icy face since childhood. It doesn't matter how handsome he is.

Liang Yuchao glances back from his horse and thinks, She's been a burden since childhood, always idle. She makes serving as an official look like a thug prowling the streets.

Not long afterward, Song Yulin is framed, and the very icy man she spoke of comes to her rescue.

She thinks that having an ally like him in Ningzhou might not be so bad.

So she links her arm with his and tells the prefect of Ningzhou, "Lord Liang and I get along wonderfully. Men as good as him are a rare find."

After they leave, his gaze turns unreadable. "Do you like me?"

Song Yulin smiles and shakes her head. "It was a ploy. Don't take it to heart, Lord Liang."

-

The two treat each other with icy courtesy and are forced into an alliance.

They solve one painted-skin mystery after another, the women's guild grows ever stronger, and the truth behind it all gradually comes to light. The two of them deserve the most credit.

But after losing his memory one day, the formerly proud and aristocratic young lord undergoes a dramatic change in personality. He transforms into a god who controls...everything, as well as a cold-faced, adorable, utterly loyal puppy who never leaves Song Yulin's side.

When Song Yulin picks him up from a mountain of corpses, he is still shouting that he wants to kill Liang Yu.

Liang Yu: "Why did you save me?"

Song Yulin: "...Because you look like my late husband, and I couldn't help myself."

Two days later

Liang Yu: "Why did you bring me back to Ningzhou?"

Song Yulin: "Because you look like my late husband, and I couldn't help myself."

A few days later

The news that Song Yulin is getting married spreads throughout the city.

Liang Yu's eyes fill with tears, and he looks utterly aggrieved. "Could you let me be your kept man, since I look like your late husband?"

Song Yulin: "...All right."

[Reading Guide]

· The heroine keeps straying from the main plot, yet somehow still achieves her goals. √

· Political intrigue runs throughout the story, and painted skin is part of the setting.

· Character-driven story, with character growth arcs driving the plot.

· Comments welcome. 1,000 nutrient points = an extra chapter.

· Please support the official release! The pirated version differs in many ways.

Theme: Women are strong by nature. Say no to corruption.