The Grand Princess Rules the Court Through Farming

Calculating Grand Princess × impoverished-born minister willing to be her pawn

Strong female lead | Character growth and plot-driven | No transmigration, rebirth, or golden finger | Light ensemble cast | One-on-one romance | Happy ending

How do you become a Grand Princess?

Step one: Join forces with a powerful minister and bring down the Crown Prince.

Step two: Save the Emperor, eliminate treacherous officials, and put down the rebellion.

Step three: Wait for your elder brother to ascend the throne.

It sounds simple, but Xiao Yuanzhao is currently just an obscure Fifth Princess. Her mother came from a humble family, and she has no powerful relatives to rely on. The Crown Prince fears her elder brother and has ruthlessly tried to kill him.

She is caught up in the scheme and nearly loses her life. To find a way out, her elder brother heads to the border region, hoping to gain influence through military achievements.

Her father, the Emperor, feels guilty and allows her to leave the palace to recuperate, granting her an estate as well.

As soon as she arrives, she sets about clearing land and cultivating fields. Others think she has accepted her fate, but between her farming work, she gathers talented people, cultivates good seeds, and sends cartloads of provisions to her brother.

The estate lies next to Qingya Academy, whose headmaster cares nothing for family status and selects students solely for their talent. Taking advantage of the academy's proximity, Xiao Yuanzhao tries to recruit its impoverished-born students.

The student she values most is Shen Li. Forced into obscurity for three years by the schemes of powerful clans, he returns and astonishes the world, becoming the first person in the Great Jing Dynasty to place first in all three imperial examinations.

The Emperor thinks he is Shen Li's patron, never realizing that Shen Li had already bowed to Xiao Yuanzhao.

"Shen Jianwei is at Your Highness's service."

At an estate on the outskirts of the capital, the new top graduate of the imperial examinations, Shen Li, bowed his head before Princess Yiyang, Xiao Yuanzhao, and spoke with reverence.

Theme: Cultivate ten thousand acres of good farmland, gather talented people from across the realm, and usher in an age of peace and prosperity.