The Frail County Lady Is Actually the Intelligence Chief

Everyone in Shengjing knows that Nie Yufeng, County Lady of Shun'an, is a sickly beauty who will not live past twenty. But no one knows that beneath her frail appearance, she is the intelligence chief known as Night Owl, secretly commanding informants across the land. When the water clock runs dry, the ward gates close, and the whole city falls asleep, her world comes alive.

The Battle of Qishan left her loved ones dead and gone. She lay low for three years, determined to uncover the truth behind an old case and make her enemies pay in blood.

Then Prince Ning, exiled to guard the frontier, returned to the capital one day and secretly sought out Night Owl, hoping to forge an alliance powerful enough to overturn the court.

From then on, they were strangers in public and co-conspirators in private, laying out their shared plans under the eyes of countless watchers, steering the chessboard toward that day...

*On the eve of her wedding, Prince Ning Xu Lingzhi, who had always avoided worldly conflicts, climbed over the wall and blocked her beneath the corridor, hazy with drink. "He can give you everything I can. Why choose him?"

She smiled and lightly tapped his chest with a fingertip. "Your Highness is fighting for nothing more than a title. What I want is his life."

[Sickly, calculating intelligence chief x Disgraced prince with hidden ambitions]

[Official title: Hidden Owl] Due to performance reasons, the title was changed to something more straightforward during serialization. This will not affect the story in any way. Thank you for your understanding.

[Some other notes]

1. This is not a traditional feel-good revenge story, but rather a lightly political tale with a realistic tone and a plot-driven focus.

2. There is no plot where the male lead falls for the heroine disguised as a man and mistakes himself for gay. I dislike that trope myself, so I wanted to make that clear.

3. This is a fictional setting. Some court and folk customs are inspired by the Tang dynasty, but my knowledge is limited, so please don't scrutinize the details. Hope you enjoy!

4. It's my personal writing habit to go back and revise the prose occasionally the day after an update and later on. I won't change the plot, only the wording, so it won't affect your reading experience. Feel free to ignore the revisions.

Works planned for the future:

① A wuxia ensemble story about a cold-faced swordsman, The Life-Snuffing Judge

② A case-solving chronicle about a perceptive fortune-teller, Knowing the Hour, Peering into Fate

③ A collection of strange and romantic tales across the Three Realms, The Moon Goddess Reigns Supreme

④ The food-filled daily life of a master chef, Tasting Spring and Summer

All are told from the heroine's perspective. You can find the blurbs on my profile or follow the direct links in the author's announcements for this novel.

Readers who are interested can add them to their favorites in advance. After this novel is finished, I'll start the one with the most favorites first.

Theme: The road may be long and arduous, but take one step at a time and you will arrive.