A calculating, innocent-faced emperor × a repressed, gloomy, loyal minister
[Fake siblinghood | Dark longing | Secret love comes true | Stealing someone else's partner]
Princess Lin Qiyue had followed her husband to Jiangnan and was busy outsmarting the concubines in his household when an imperial edict summoned her back to the capital.
Two rulers of the Wei Kingdom had died in succession, leaving only two heirs in the capital.
One was a grassland-blooded prince, who could not take the throne despite wielding great power.
The other was her younger brother, Lin Yexi.
If her younger brother took the throne, she would become the Grand Princess! No more concubines or mother-in-law to torment her.
But she never expected an old secret to come to light: Lin Yexi was not her biological younger brother, but her father's adopted son.
She was the only one left with pure royal blood, so, in a daze, the ministers pushed her onto the throne.
With an enemy nation eyeing her from the front and a powerful regent behind her, surviving between the two was no easy task.
Just as she was fretting, a pair of large hands seized hers. Lin Yexi knelt before her, his glistening eyes brimming with tears like a puppy begging for affection.
"Elder Sister, if you want this realm, I'll help you fight for it."
As the days grew better, the ministers began arranging her harem, submitting daily requests for her to produce heirs.
Lin Qiyue couldn't handle the pack of ravenous men, and kept running to hide in her younger brother's palace.
"It's so peaceful here. No one's pestering me to give birth to a child."
Her taciturn younger brother would simply listen to her complaints, then make her bed himself, take over the maids' work, and kneel to massage her feet.
Thinking of the senior minister's warning that she mustn't repeat the late emperor's mistakes, Lin Qiyue groaned. "I can't show favoritism to a grassland consort. But where am I supposed to find so many strong, willing Han men to enter the palace? Those old fossils..."
Before she could finish, the man unexpectedly spoke.
"Elder Sister, I'm a Han man too."
When she stared at him, stunned, he continued, "And I'm willing..."
Reading Guide:
1. The female lead is not a virgin; the male lead is.
2. A growing female lead who plays the fool while hiding her sharpness.
3. A competitive harem showdown.
4. The male lead fights to claim what he wants.
5. Alternate-history setting.
Theme: Devote oneself to the people.
