A scheming, sharp-minded strategist x a beautiful, tragic crown prince of a fallen kingdom
Blurb:
Yu Chaoqiong has always maintained that she never loved Shen Lingfeng.
The Yan Dynasty is in decline, and the various vassal states eye it covetously. At the time, Zhao and Yu Chaoqiong, the illegitimate daughter of the ruler of Zhao, had nothing to do with each other. But after a palace coup, the ruler executes the young heir for treason. Yu Chaoqiong seizes the opportunity to maneuver her way into command of the army, climbing higher step by step. She makes a deal with the ruler of Zhao: help destroy Yan in exchange for the status of heir.
To achieve her goal, she deliberately gets close to Lingfeng, the crown prince of Yan. The young man is upright and naive. Showing him even half her vulnerability is enough to win his sympathy. They spend every day together, and after one night of passion, Yu Chaoqiong promises him they will meet again year after year.
Who could have guessed that the next time they met would be on the battlefield?
Nearly a hundred thousand soldiers stand outside Yan's capital. She stands beneath the city wall, holding his father's head, and looks at Shen Lingfeng as she says coldly:
"Your Highness, will you surrender or not?"
She watches him leap from the wall to die for his country. Knowing she shouldn't, she still rescues him from the brink of death and keeps him imprisoned at her side.
She thinks that perhaps she once had genuine feelings for him.
Shen Lingfeng has never met a woman like her.
The first time they meet, she takes his hand and pretends to be pitiful. But the pulse beating beneath his fingers is steady, not weak at all. He's seen plenty of spies like her. He knows she has ulterior motives, so he silently indulges her and waits for her to slip up.
He indulges her when she holds his hand, when she smiles brightly and says things that cross the line, when she claims to belong to him. Before he knows it, he has indulged her all the way into his heart. In the end, he even finds himself thinking that if she really is a spy, she must have her reasons.
Only when his country falls, his family is destroyed, and his father dies at her hands does he finally come to his senses.
He wants to atone with his life, but she keeps him firmly by her side.
He thinks she is the person he hates most in the world.
And yet he can't stop himself from giving in to her.
"Why don't you just kill me?" After enduring one torment after another, Shen Lingfeng glances at her and speaks in a hoarse voice. "Give me a quick death."
Instead, Yu Chaoqiong grips his chin and says fiercely, "Shen Lingfeng, you're mine. I decide whether you live or die."
"If you dare to die, even if I have to follow you to the underworld, I won't let you go."
Bonus Scene:
For the umpteenth time, Shen Lingfeng grabs Yu Chaoqiong by the hem of her clothes and shoves her away. She immediately sticks close to him again. Clinging to his forearm, she smiles slyly. "I just like Your Highness. Even the air around you smells sweet."
After a brief pause, she adds, "You smell sweet too."
Shen Lingfeng's face turns red in an instant. "Stop fooling around!"
Bonus Scene 2:
The two get lost in a mountain valley. In the pitch darkness, Yu Chaoqiong hooks a finger in Shen Lingfeng's clothes and complains offhandedly, "It's so dark, and Your Highness isn't looking after me. I don't like you anymore."
Shen Lingfeng pauses, then reaches out to her helplessly. "Do you want me to hold your hand?"
The listless young man perks right up. She grabs his hand and chirps, "Your Highness is the best. I still like you most of all. I was lying just now."
Shen Lingfeng raises an eyebrow, smiles brightly, and imitates her tone. "I don't like Your Highness anymore."
"Say it again, Your Highness!"
"I don't like Your Highness anymore~"
"Shen Lingfeng!"
*A friendly reminder before reading:
1. This is set in an alternate Warring States period. Everything serves the plot, so please don't overanalyze it.
2. Scheming strategist fox x fallen crown prince cat.
Romance: They play-act and flirt with each other at first | try to kill each other midway | fall deeply in love by the end.
Plot: Warring States setting, not a matriarchy | four nations, mainly through the women's perspective | women vie for supremacy over the Central Plains.
3. A delicious story about a cast of ambitious schemers, a female version of "a scholar will die for the one who understands him," and a male-female lead who love and hate each other in a sea of bitterness. The story will begin after the backlog is finished. Readers who are interested, please add it to your favorites!
Blurb noted on January 23, 2026
Message: Though my head may be severed, my heart will not be swayed.
