Cool, beautiful patriot who serves her country loyally x sly, wolfish man who's neither wholly righteous nor wholly evil
In the early years of Xuanping, the new emperor ascended the throne, and the Di Rong launched a massive invasion. The border was in peril.
The court lacked capable generals, and the border troops suffered defeat after defeat. Marquis Pingyuan, a general under the former crown prince, volunteered to lead an army into battle.
After months of sustained fighting, the dynasty's forces turned the tide and drove the Di Rong completely out of the country, but their commander was gravely wounded and near death.
When the good news and the tragic news reached the capital together, the wife of Marquis Pingyuan was eight months pregnant. In her grief and shock, she went into premature labor and gave birth to a girl.
The widowed mother and her orphaned child faced a difficult future. To keep their title, they came up with the idea of raising the girl as a boy.
*
Everyone in the palace knew that Pei Song'an, heir to the Marquis of Pingyuan, had been personally chosen by the emperor to be the crown prince's study companion. They had grown up together, eating and living side by side. The crown prince treasured him above all others.
But no one knew how precarious Pei Song'an's life really was.
Before she was born, her father had died on the battlefield defending the realm from foreign invaders. To protect the marquisate's legacy, her mother had no choice but to raise her as a boy.
To keep her secret, Pei Song'an had intended to keep a low profile. She never expected to catch the crown prince's eye and be forced into the spotlight.
As she grew older, afraid her identity would be exposed, she resolved to go to Jiangnan to recuperate as planned. She never expected that the crown prince, who had always indulged her in everything, would become the biggest obstacle to her plans.
Bonus scene:
When they were attacked on the hunting grounds, Pei Song'an took a hidden arrow for the crown prince.
The arrow was poisoned. As filthy blood poured from her shoulder, Zhu Dingjun panicked for the first time in his life. Eyes blazing red with fury, he demanded to know why she had taken the arrow for him.
Pei Song'an's consciousness was hazy, but she still insisted:
"Your Highness is... the foundation of the realm. You mustn't... be put in danger."
"To hell with being the foundation of the realm!" the crown prince shouted, calling her by her full name for once. "Pei Song'an, if you dare to die, I'll gladly give my own life to join you!"
Realizing he'd been too harsh, he worried she would get angry and refuse to speak to him. He softened his voice and coaxed her instead. "Pei Song'an, you know that without you by my side, there's no one who can keep me in line..."
"So you have to stay alive..."
Pei Song'an managed to open her eyes. Looking at him, soaked through and utterly miserable, she finally relented.
"Your subject... obeys."
*The protagonists' names may change before the story begins, but the premise will stay the same.
*Planned for release in 2026. It'll start once enough people have added it to their collections ^o^
Theme: Women should build careers of their own
