Rong Xuan was probably the most unfortunate princess alive. From the moment she was born, everyone treated her as if she were an idiot.
When she was ten, the Emperor, who was also her father, tried to kill her because a sorcerer had predicted that she was destined to rule. She managed to escape him.
When she was eighteen, the Emperor, now her younger brother, tried to kill her too. Luckily, she managed to get away again.
This time, she absolutely couldn’t risk returning to the palace.
Perhaps she could find another way back: overthrow the throne herself!
According to ancestral law, anyone who gathered the seals of four of the six great houses could petition the Imperial Ancestral Temple to impeach the Emperor and request his deposition.
The law had been forgotten for a hundred years. It was nothing but an outdated rule that no one took seriously.
But Rong Xuan did.
Under the alias Li Shengxue, she entered the territories of the great houses. She went to great lengths to gain entry to each one, uncovered every family’s hidden weakness, and matched wits with them until she finally secured four seals capable of overturning imperial rule.
In the third year of the new Emperor’s reign, during the Imperial Ancestral Temple’s sacrificial rites,
she stood before the tyrant with all four seals in hand.
“I, Rong Xuan, hereby impeach the Emperor according to ancestral law, with the seals of four great houses!”
The assembled officials realized in shock that she was the Ninth Princess, who had supposedly died and come back to life.
Bonus Scene
On her quest to gather the seals, Rong Xuan met Guo Qianshan, a mute swordsman; Qing Yuan, a master of mechanical arts; and Wang Yanqing, a gifted writer. The four traveled together through life-or-death trials, always standing by one another.
Qing Yuan had long suspected Rong Xuan’s identity, but since Rong Xuan said nothing, she didn’t think it was her place to ask.
At last, Qing Yuan couldn’t hold back and asked, “Sister, we’ve known each other for so long. We’ve faced countless life-or-death situations along the way. Surely you can tell me who you really are now?”
Rong Xuan wiped her sword and slowly replied, “There are ten children in my family. I’m the ninth. My eight older sisters are all married, and I have a younger brother.”
Qing Yuan slapped her thigh in outrage. “Your father is terrible! He had nine daughters just to get a son. Is he inheriting a throne or something?”
Rong Xuan paused, then stood and gazed toward the capital. “He is, in fact, inheriting a throne.”
Qing Yuan was stunned. “??? Wait! Your father has nine daughters, and the late Emperor had nine daughters too. You have eight older sisters, and your father is inheriting the throne. So your father is the late Emperor? You’re the Ninth Princess????”
Author’s Note:
1. This story contains no rebirth or transmigration.
2. An ancient-style, fictional-world road-trip power fantasy (not really…)
3. The overall tone is fairly lighthearted.
Blurb written on January 21, 2026
Theme: The realm does not belong to one person
