[Tang Dynasty] I Have Something to Say

Qingluan transmigrated into the body of the orphaned daughter of a beloved concubine, and was raised by her own father.

Her mother was Consort Wu Huifei, and her father was Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

The An Lushan Rebellion was ten years away.

Yang Guifei would appear before her in ten seconds.

Qingluan: "..."

Qingluan was good at making everyone miserable.

Her father, her older brother, and the beloved consort who reigned supreme in the six palaces.

In front of her timid older brother, her ruthless and mighty father, and the gentle, sorrowful consort, she smiled sweetly and asked, "Father, Brother, should I call her Mother or Sister-in-law?"

Another round of punishment. Qingluan knelt in the bustling, chilly palace.

She listened to her great amateur musician of a father perform a famous song from the prosperous age.

She watched the peerless dance of the great professional dancer, the consort.

She thought about the gathering crisis looming behind all the singing and dancing.

She sincerely thought they were both idiots.

But the beautiful consort came over to her, gently helped her up, brushed the dust from her clothes, stroked her hair, and looked at her sadly. She forgave Qingluan again and again for talking back, defying her, and hating her.

She was powerless, yet she protected Qingluan.

She was delicate, yet she loved her.

Like an ordinary older sister, sister-in-law, or mother,

not a demon seductress who brought ruin to the nation.

Qingluan suddenly understood: her father was too absurd, and the consort was too pitiful.

She drew her sword and walked into the chaos on the eve of the capital's six crises and the emperor's nine relocations.

She rebelled against her father before anyone else did.

A collapsing economy, monopolies held by the nobility, and separatist warlords.

This was her father's realm.

This was the so-called golden age.

Qingluan changed her name and family name and restored the realm.

She passed the sorrowful commoners, the towering vermilion gates, the bleak world of mortals, and the shadows of the golden age, before arriving at its symbol.

--Before the consort.

Amid the clamor, she said to her pitiful subjects, the fierce and baffled soldiers, and the hostile, fearful Five Surnames and Seven Clans: "She is innocent."

She should not be a demon seductress who ruined the nation.

She should not be a target for others to vent their anger on.

She should not be blamed for the treacherous ministers throwing the country into chaos.

She is my older sister.

She is my sister-in-law.

She is my mother.

She is a pitiful woman.

She should not die.

Then who should die?

Qingluan drew her sword and pointed it at a stronger, more fearsome, and far more real enemy.

She said, "I will kill my brothers who seized power. I will kill my absurd father. I will kill the treacherous ministers who threw Tang into chaos. I will kill the nobles who bleed the people dry. I will take the highest seat of power.

I will save the world.

I will save this most pitiful woman in all the world.

I will make sure she gets back even the clothes that power stripped from her."

*

A few things to know before reading:

1. Qingluan has a love interest. It's not Yang Yuhuan, for goodness' sake!

2. It's a story about contending for supremacy, but there's still lots of romance and other emotional drama.

Theme: Help those in danger and hardship, and use strength to protect the weak