[Political Intrigue/Marriage Before Love/Happy Ending]
Though Lu Wan is an orphan of a marquis's household, she has earned the princess's favor and is a prominent name in the capital.
But she holds no official post at court. If she wants to investigate the Eastern Palace's old case and uncover the cause of her parents' deaths, relying solely on the princess's household would make things difficult.
Who could have expected an imperial decree to arrive from the heavens, ordering her to marry Murong Zhao, heir to the Prince of Yan, who once served as the crown prince's study companion?
The emperor: Accept this marriage, and I will grant you an official post.
Under the emperor's scrutinizing gaze, Lu Wan calmly asked for the position of Registrar of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
A political marriage sets a precedent for female officials and brings her from behind the scenes into the public eye. A fine deal!
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Murong Zhao had been deeply in love with Lu Wan for three years already. He had no interest in political infighting, but everyone in Great Chu knew that the crown prince and the princess were at odds.
He asked the emperor to arrange a match, never expecting it to work. But somehow, the marriage really went through.
After they wed, Lady Lu treated him with tender affection and attentive care. He thought they had finally fallen in love with each other and that his secret love had come true.
But as he watched his wife climb from a seventh-rank registrar's post to become a chancellor with power in the palm of her hand, he finally realized something was off.
The Wan in Lu Wan's name meant to grasp and wield power.
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The open and covert struggles of officialdom were not all that difficult for Lu Wan. The hard part was facing her husband.
Murong Zhao was a vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, upright in office and sincere by nature.
In Lu Wan's view, someone like him should not fall for a woman who had spent years immersed in the cutthroat world of politics.
They should have each done their own duty and served their respective sides, but Lu Wan discovered that her husband was always helping her in secret.
By the time the Eastern Palace faction had been fully purged, she found herself hesitating over him.
*A scheming powerbroker who stops at nothing × an upright gentleman with a secret selfish streak
*The mastermind falls in love when he looks back × a rival becomes a devoted lover and joins the game for love
[Please Note]
1. Both leads are each other's first and only partners, in every sense.
2. The emperor is no fool. He has many reasons for arranging their marriage.
3. The princess ultimately ascends the throne.
4. This is a fictional setting where women can study and practice martial arts, so society is not especially feudal. However, this is not a conventional female-led power fantasy. Readers with extreme expectations, please look elsewhere.
Theme: Love is the missing corner that political maneuvering cannot account for.
Male 2, please tell me your strengths